Religion – your views

[Holy Crap]

I think you should all read The Lucifer Principle. You seem to be very interested on this matter, so you'll enjoy it.
Anyway, Zay:

Animals have it in them that under normal conditions, they don't kill one another, but there's none of that in us!

Not true. Animals have wars. As I've said earlier in this topic, animals can be just as vioelnt towards each other as humans, even to others of their own species.

Humans are not the only species to go to war though.

What other species go to war ? I can't even think of one

Ants, chimps, langur monkeys, to name a few...
...
Dominant males and females in many ape species will kill children that aren't their own.*
There are many other intances of animals killing others of their own species too... Read the Lucifer Principle.

*As in the children of other's in that community.
Anyway, I think there were other things said herethat I had something to say about, but I can't be bothered...

[Joshua822]

I've just thought about something, you're all saying 9/11 wouldn't have happened when religion wouldn't exist. But, you can say that if apes would have never evaluated to human beings 9/11 wouldn't have happened.

[Zay-el]

Animals usually have very specific reasons for killing each other though, like, fight for dominance, and the sorts. They also show a kind of mercy humanity doesn't, though. Take wolves, for example. Even if they go for a kill in an alpha male fight, if one of them promptly places his neck to the mouth of the other, it won't bite it. ;3

[stan423321]

You mean some really polite wolves, actually. We in Poland know another ones. Also note that we the humen also have a very specific reason for killing each other - the gene fight.

Anyway, saying that animals arebetter than us is actually claim of devolution.

[Tobbe]

Animals usually have very specific reasons for killing each other though

So do humans.

[stan423321]

Also note that we the humen also have a very specific reason for killing each other

Owned.

Oh no - it seems like we're not arguing here!

[Joshua822]

So do humans.

Not always. I remember that a couple of weeks ago some lunatic here in Belgium walked into a baby shelter and started stabbing every baby for no reason at all.

[stan423321]

This means he's mad. So he's sick. Animals can be sick too. And they can become mad then.

[Puruun]

So do humans.

Not always. I remember that a couple of weeks ago some lunatic here in Belgium walked into a baby shelter and started stabbing every baby for no reason at all.

OMG yeah, that was shocking. I don't understand how someone could do that.

[stan423321]

He just was mad.

[Tobbe]

So do humans.

Not always. I remember that a couple of weeks ago some lunatic here in Belgium walked into a baby shelter and started stabbing every baby for no reason at all.

Yeah, and a couple of weeks ago some Norwegian guy killed three people in their home for no reason whatsoever because he was severly mentally ill. There's a reason Zay-El (and thus me) used the qualifier 'usually' in his statement. 99% of all murders have some kind of motive. There's a reason behind them. It might not be a very good reason, but at least there is one.

[Zay-el]

Yep, exactly. If an animal becomes too wild for the pack, they kill that one off as well. However, animals can be a bit more merciful at times, than humans. They live through instincts, which provides them certain barriers. However, we humans work on emotions a lot more, and we can be driven into momentary madness quite easily.

[Xenon]

99%? Surely reasoning can be found for every action, if searched hard enough. Even if we are talking mental instability.

[stan423321]

Yep, exactly. If an animal becomes too wild for the pack, they kill that one off as well. However, animals can be a bit more merciful at times, than humans. They live through instincts, which provides them certain barriers. However, we humans work on emotions a lot more, and we can be driven into momentary madness quite easily.

if (instinct!=emotion) cout << "What?\n";

[Holy Crap]

Animals usually have very specific reasons for killing each other though

So do humans.

And many of these reasons are religiously based.

[spiraldoor]

If all religion disappeared from the world tomorrow, there would be no more Muslim suicide bombers, no more discrimination on the basis of religion, no more Protestant/Catholic bullshit in Northern Ireland (they don't seem to realise that there's practically no difference at all between them), and probably quite a few other things as well. I can't think of any drawbacks that the eradication of religion might have.

[MLII]

Well, we wouldn't have anything to argue about...

[Xenon]

I can't think of any drawbacks that the eradication of religion might have.

Those drawbacks have been highlighted. Check the previous three or four pages in this topic and enlighten yourself...

[spiraldoor]

Briefly state the drawbacks, please.

[Xenon]

Here are some self-devised ones:

• Gives some incentive not to commit crime, thus not 'sin'
• Religion provides charities
• Pre-Raphaelite artwork and poems dedicated to Christianity
• Gives some people a meaning to life
• Allows social and spiritual relationships to develop within church congregations
• Reforms people
• It's interesting controversy to argue and debate

With the loss of religion comes the loss of all these benefits embedded in it...