Religions that That Teach Evil, but Attract Good People.

[pinkbuffalo91]

The Abrahamic Religions are the most powerful and polarizing religions of our time. Mostly filled with good people. How can someone follow a belief that can be interpreted into a declaration of war?

Islam has yet to achieve the body count that Christianity has racked up over the years. The crusades and inquistions were played out on a much larger scale than the more recent Jihads.

How can a Christian condemn the acts and attrocities? Does time truly separate a belief system from its mistakes? In a hundred years will it be accepted and A Ok to be a self proclaimed National Socialist?

How do these religions pull in crowds?

 

[Foreigner]

Most of the people in these faiths are born into them and raised believing in them. It becomes part of their self-concept, their inner framework, and forms the basis for their communities.

Most people raised unaffiliated, stay unaffiliated. The conversion rate is generally quite low in general, whether it's converting to another sect within a faith, or another faith entirely.

So... to answer your question, religion is successful because it's taught to children; or, more analytically, religion is better ingrained into people whose critical thinking functions are undeveloped or compromised in some way. Every adult I've known who became a born-again did so after a period of severe trauma, depression, addiction, etc.

You're looking for logic in something that is not logical, unfortunately.

 

[Mysterie]

there is an ingrained need for community which religion fulfills.

i think it is possible to be a christian or muslim, and be able to think critically and question religious dogma whilst maintaining a spiritual connection and faith in a god that isn't a projection of ones own beliefs. it is probably rare though i can concede that.

i don't think christians in 2015 are complicit with atrocious events that occurred centuries ago... similarly i am not guilty or ashamed for being a white australian even though white settlers pretty much committed cultural and social genocide on the native aboriginals. i think it was a tragedy, but i am not responsible for the actions of people hundreds of years ago which i had no say in and have never agreed with. it doesn't make me racist or violent.

 

[pinkbuffalo91]

I definitely agree with you. No one is responsible for the mistakes previous generation.

There is a difference between heritage and ideology. The children of a 1930s era Nazi are not responsible for the autrocities committed by the Third Reich, but embracing the same belief system and incorporating such in daily life?

 

[lazydullard]

In my discussions with Christians I have heard the following:

God mush punish because he is good and thus must hate evil.

Free will.

People are sinful by nature and that's what you see out there: work of the flesh.

 

[infectedmushroom]

I think Foreigner nailed it. Mostly, people are born into it. Many obviously convert into (and out of) Abrahamic religion as well. With the increase of accessibility to things like the internet and books which are scientifically, secularly and atheistically based, more and more people I think will move away from monotheism in time.

 

[TAVOR]

Just wanted to point out that more people have died in islamic terrorist attacks between 9/11 and 2015 than in 200 years of Spanish Inquisition lol.

In addition most of the people don't know that the Crusades were a defensive and geostrategic war fought after 400 years of Islamic expansionism in North Africa, Middle East, Persia, India, Spain, Portugal and consistent attacks towards Constantinople (biggest christian city in the West) All territories that were either controlled by the Byzantine Empire or were majority christian / zoroastrian states that had been conquered in 50-100 years after the establishment of Islam.
You can guess what happened to the conquered populations...

Although I do agree that all religions have their fair share of deaths and I perceive most of them as retarded.

 

[Felonious Monk]

Just wanted to point out that more people have died in islamic terrorist attacks between 9/11 and 2015 than in 200 years of Spanish Inquisition lol.

Do have a reference for that? Because that sounds like wingnut revisionist nonsense.

Fact of the matter is that Islamists will be working a LONG TIME to equal the millions of people exterminated by Western Imperialism during the last 1000 years.

 

[bingey]

Imperialism was a logical step in the evolution of human society (and subsequent democratization) radical islam is just a throwback IMO

 

[SKL]

^yes and it is quite a natural reaction too tbh

As far as "inquisition" goes, the thing to know about the Spanish Inquisition is that, compared to the usual criminal justice proceedings of that time, it was relatively lenient. La leyenda negrda is exactrly that, a legend, propogated by the political and religious opponents of Spanish Catholicism. Yes, by our modern standards, some of the things that went on are brutal, but in context, they are distinctly different thing. People should read up on it before tossing the terms around.