Religion—Who Needs It?

Do people need religion?

Look at the world around us. There is war, conflict, division, racism, slavery, hate, and many other atrocities that are caused by people who practice one religion or another.

Who needs religion when its existence creates or contributes to, among other things, pain, misery, manipulation, chagrin, division, resentment, caste system, etc.?

No wait! Maybe I should have asked a different question: Who is the cause of these ungodly practices—religion or people? I believe that it is, not religion, but people who are the cause of these ungodly practices.

People do indeed need religion to keep them from committing more heinous acts. When practiced properly, religion averts people from evil and its byproduct. But when misunderstood and used for selfish reasons, religion can become the source of inspiration for the most ungodly and deadliest cruelty.

Now, who needs religion?

Ironically, it is people who consider themselves religious, especially extremists and fanatics, who need religion. I am not talking about religion corrupted by “religious” people, but religion in its authenticity. If and when people practice their religions the way God and the founder of their respective religion wanted it to be understood and practiced, there will be no more war, conflict, division, racism, slavery, hate, and the like.

Who needs religion? We all need it—in its pure form.

Just Curious

I am just wondering: What are people trying to achieve by bashing religion, demonizing Islam, and/or implicitly praising Christianity? Are people trying to create balance or more schism?

My Response to Herbert I. London’s Post

This morning I read an article titled: “The Reality of a Religion of Peace,” written by Herbert I. London. Basically his point was that people who think that Islam is a religion of peace are ignorant—ignorant of Islam. And probably history too.

As I was reading it, I remembered something that Jesus said. It is recorded that Jesus said the following: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3).

Now this led me to ask Mr. London a double fold question, which I am now asking you as well: Is there any religion that can be labeled a religion of peace? If so, which one?

Religion and Violence

I was reading a blog that had the following title: “Would Eliminating Religion Mean the End of Fundamentalist Violence?” It can be found at: http://anatheistdefendsreligion.com/blog/blog.html.

I liked the fact that Bruce Sheiman, the author of the abovementioned blog, responded to the question before delving into in the heart of the matter. The answer he provided was, “No.” And he also went as far as to say:

I am not going to deny that religion plays a role in fundamentalist violence. But I am going to argue that religion is just one of many factors contributing to group violence - and is rarely the primary factor. Thus, if we eliminated religion, the number and severity of group conflicts will not appreciably decline.

The question tackled by Bruce can also be paired with the following question: “Can religion really lead to the end of humanity?”

I don’t believe that religion has been the cause of violence in human history. Neither do I think that religion can lead to the end of humanity. It is rather people who abuse of religion who are the causes of violence and the ambassadors of destruction.

By the same token, can either science or technology be the cause of violence in today’s world? I don’t think so. I believe it is people who abuse of science and technology, those who use science and technology as means to satisfy their greed or create chaos, who are causes of violence in the world.

So in short, religion is not a problem. Neither is it a source of violence and conflict. Corrupt people are.

Christians vs. Koran

I was just wondering: Why are Christians quick to dismiss Islam and the Koran?

Religion and People

Why do some people use religion to cover their hate of others? It makes me wonder whether people understand what religion is supposed to be about.
Religion is supposed to be about bringing people together; not segregating them.