RE:Does religion deserve respect?
(Date Posted:04/06/2008 3:50 PM)
I love this old gent. (I've seen this clip before) I think its an individuals decision - how 'you' feel about religion - no matter what that is. Its not the providence of the 'group' to determine or dictate any of that kind of decision or personal preference. I avoid the 'group think'. Oh yeah....the question 'does religion deserve respect' I say nothing deserves respect. Respect is not a 'given' ..its something I treat as being earned. I certainly don't feel as if religion respects me - (to generalise) the non believer or atheist. The bible for example contains scads of material that makes that point clear. http://skepticsannotatedbible.com/int/long.html Religion is a system within society - just like any other ie. Politics - why would that fact or function 'deserve' anything?
(Message edited by snakechic on 04/06/2008 4:49 PM)
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In exchange for obedience, Christianity promises salvation in an afterlife; but in order to elicit obedience through this promise, Christianity must convince people that they need salvation, that there is something to be saved from. Christianity has nothing to offer a happy person living in a natural, intelligible universe. If Christianity is to gain a motivational foothold, it must declare war on earthly pleasure and happiness, and this, historically, has been its precise course of action. In the eyes of Christianity, woman(man) is sinful and helpless in the face of God, and is potential fuel for the flames of hell. Just as Christianity must destroy reason before it can introduce faith, so it must destroy happiness before it can introduce salvation.
-- George H Smith, Atheism: The Case Against God
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