In other words, I don't hate people that catch influenza, I hate the flu virus itself.That's not a good analogy. What we're saying is that religion isn't the ultimate cause of the problem.
You take a child and start pumping lies into them about this invisible Magicman who has the power to send people to eternal torture, and all this anti-gay, anti-other religion business,and sex is dirty and evil and should only be done for baby making and yada yada yada, and you warp that child's mind.The point is it's not the religion that's the problem; it's the brainwashing, bigotry, etc. That's why I always say it's the basic us vs. them mindset. There are loads of ways to cultivate that and promote it in people. Religion is one of the most popular ways, but so are nationalism, xenophobia and homophobia. This is why I say I'm all for getting rid of the crappier religions like the big 3 (and others), but that's not going to fix the problem.
Atheists don't have to hold down the shift key when they type god.gODD
The brainwashing IS religion.
Atheists are the only people smart enough to deprogram themselves.
The brainwashing IS religion.No, it's not. What I'm saying is it's sort of like a a feudal government in a monarchy. You can get rid of the local sheriff, but then there's still the magistrate, and if you get rid of him, there's still the king. There is bigotry and the us vs. them mindset, which is what we need to get rid of ultimately. Religion is just a reflection of those things, just an outlet for them. All religious people don't brainwash and aren't bigoted. So, what you're trying to do is get rid of the bigotry and brain-washing.
The last two are, in the vast majority of cases, side effect of religious brainwashing.The point is that the bigotry, xenophobia, etc. cause the brainwashing in the first place. The brainwashing, bigotry, etc. are the problem, not so much the religion. Would you rather get rid of brainwashing and bigotry or belief in the Christian god?
Mball seems to be saying that it isn't religion's fault, but the fault of the human condition. I'm not saying I disagree with this completely, but I think the best way to get rid of things like bigotry and such things is to cut off what is enabling it to thrive. Besides, I think it was the human condition that created religion in the first place. If you cut away the means people use to justify their bigotry, it makes displaying their bigotry that much harder. Religion is the biggest enabler for people to loudly and proudly justify these horrible things.I don't really disagree with this.
Mball will likely then say, "Well, if not religion. people will find a different excuse to justify their bigotry."Nationalism, politics, xenophobia are still strong enablers. As I've said, I'm all for getting rid of problematic religions like Christianity, and I think overall it would have a positive effect. I just don't think it's the cure for the problem.
Then I can only ask, "Like what? What could possibly step into religion's shoes as an enabler of such thigs?"
Everything would be an accident of monumental proportions.
