There isn't a single religion

[Father Heathen]

No person today is.

Misanthropic, abitrary nonsense.

 

[Father Heathen]

People manipulating religion, you mean?

People using religion to manipulate people (which is exactly what the self-appointed, self-serving middlemen who wrote the bible did), thus the whole "good people doing evil" thing. History is littered with heinous atrocities committed by those who genuinely saw themselves as good guys doing God's work.

 

[Father Heathen]

That is not the purview of religion.

That is the purview of propaganda from leaders and has nothing to do with "God beliefs."



What completely throws me is this idea some atheists (well, I would say 'most' atheists) have, the ones who blame religion (i.e. 'God') for all the ills of the world, that this God they claim does not exist can be blamed for anything at all.

If there is no God, then PEOPLE are the culprits, and it doesn't much matter whether they put their trust in what their leaders say about 'God,' or about 'the mother/fatherland' or 'humanity' or 'the good of the majority' or 'honor' or whatever the flip is being used by the current crop of 'powers that be.'

Atheism has already taken God out of the equation...so then what makes them think that people will suddenly change and become something different because they have to use something else as a rallying cry?

Vive la révolution!!!

Care to quote some examples of atheists "blaming god"?

 

[shmogie]

Actual satanists or Hollywood/chick tract satanists?

nope, real ones.

 

[Father Heathen]

nope, real ones.

Neat. Any specific examples?

 

[shmogie]

Neat. Any specific examples?

Yep. The best example is the FBI training module on them that I attended when I was a LEO. Tactics on how to approach their ritual sites because they post armed guards, emphasis on their crimes, child abuse and sexual abuse of children, among other things.

The closest I ever came to them was an old, preserved house, alleged to be haunted, after the fact. There were numerus gutted candles, defaced walls with their emblems, primarily the upside down pentagram and blood all over the place, probably from animals as no human blood could be identified.

They aren´t the Anton Lavay show satanists, these people are very secretive and come from all walks of life. They are few, but out there.

 

[Michelle71]

that preaches evil. All religions talk about love. So people are free to choose whichever religion they like! All religions are correct. All people can unite. And atheists have to say to other people that they choose love and not evil. How can atheists show to other people that they don't choose evil?

There are many religions. Just because most religions esteem love, or tolerance, does not make them the same thing. They just agree on a value. Virtues transcend cultures as does the ideas of good and evil, order and chaos, and being whole vs. being less than whole. Sin means to miss the mark. Enlightenment means to see that you are capable of evil and of good. The Taoist embraces the balancing between two extremes. None of this makes them the same religion.

 

[idea]

that preaches evil. All religions talk about love. So people are free to choose whichever religion they like! All religions are correct. All people can unite. And atheists have to say to other people that they choose love and not evil. How can atheists show to other people that they don't choose evil?

I agree - most religions teach love. To me, saying this is the "true" church is similar to saying something like this is the "true" car. There is no true/perfect/right church or car - both are just vehicles, many different designs to get the driver from point A to point B.

As far as atheists - go read the good Samaritan again. You know the Samaritans were atheists right? I love that Jesus gives a parable of religious people passing by, and an atheist stopping to help care for the wounded. Why did the good Samaritan atheist stop? Not from obligation, not from responsibility, not to show off to his community - the Samaritan was just good - the most beautiful kind of good, good for goodness sake.

 

[Thief]

All religions talk about love.

several years ago....a tv documentary gave the podium to three representatives of Islam

the second man up wore black
and opened his speech with the words.....Islam is not a religion of peace

his pronouncement was not well received

he continued his speech after waiting for the rejection to quiet down
but he spoke of the practice as aggressive
with physical application

 

[fantome profane]

Yep. The best example is the FBI training module on them that I attended when I was a LEO. Tactics on how to approach their ritual sites because they post armed guards, emphasis on their crimes, child abuse and sexual abuse of children, among other things.

The closest I ever came to them was an old, preserved house, alleged to be haunted, after the fact. There were numerus gutted candles, defaced walls with their emblems, primarily the upside down pentagram and blood all over the place, probably from animals as no human blood could be identified.

They aren´t the Anton Lavay show satanists, these people are very secretive and come from all walks of life. They are few, but out there.

Candles you say. Horrible. I got shivers.

 

[dianaiad]

Actual satanists or Hollywood/chick tract satanists?

...and which branch of Satanism? The ones who worship an actual Satan, or the atheists who use the concept of Satan as a rebel to illustrate their views on religion in general?

 

[dianaiad]

Care to quote some examples of atheists "blaming god"?

Every single atheist who has ever blamed religion (theism) for the ills of the world has, in the context in which I was talking, 'blamed God.' Did you bother to read my post?

 

[ACEofALLaces]

God BECAME God Man in the flesh in the form of Jesus.

Jesus also called Himself the "Son of Man."

"Adam" is both the proper name of the first human and a designation for .... the generic name for man, having the same meaning in the Hebrew and the Assyrian*
...that said, I take it that Jesus was simply saying that he was the "son of Adam"....made from the same "dust" as was the very FIRST man.
And God's WORDS became "flesh" with Jesus, and should be considered as coming FROM God when spoken, BY Jesus.

Of course, you (apparently) being a bible believer, YMMV from mine.
*ref: Adam Definition and Meaning - Bible Dictionary

 

[Father Heathen]

Every single atheist who has ever blamed religion (theism) for the ills of the world has, in the context in which I was talking, 'blamed God.' Did you bother to read my post?

I did read it, but I just wanted an actual example of what you perceive as "blaming god."

 

[England my lionheart]

that preaches evil. All religions talk about love. So people are free to choose whichever religion they like! All religions are correct. All people can unite. And atheists have to say to other people that they choose love and not evil. How can atheists show to other people that they don't choose evil?

Would you say it's ok to have slaves?,torture people for eternity?,is it ok for one sex to be Superior to the other?,show me the "love".

 

[dianaiad]

I did read it, but I just wanted an actual example of what you perceive as "blaming god."

I gave you one. When atheists blame religion for wars and cruelty and all sorts of bad things, they ARE 'blaming God.'

Why?

Because the only way they would not be blaming GOD is to recognize that if there is no God, then religions are just as man made as any secular humanist group, any dictatorship, any form of government/group there is. If religions are strictly man-made, then getting rid of them only means that mankind will find another way to make the same choices the religious have done, and do.

If they were not 'blaming God,' then, they would realize that 'getting rid of religion' wouldn't solve a blessed (or cursed) thing. They are going after the wrong thing: criticizing the product of humanity's hatred of others, not dealing with the basic problem; humans doing nasty things to other humans because humans do that.

Only if there IS a God to criticize would eliminating religion (at least, all but one of 'em) have any affect upon the way humans handle things, at all.

The OP is right about one thing, though...I haven't run into a religion that wasn't about 'love' and 'peace' at its core. It's only when humans start messing with them and using them as excuses to get power and/or territory that religions get creatively nasty.

 

[The Kilted Heathen]

Evil is all a matter of perspective. All of the Abrahamic beliefs teach what I would genuinely call evil, despite their other passages of conditional love and brotherhood.

 

[LuisDantas]

that preaches evil. All religions talk about love. So people are free to choose whichever religion they like! All religions are correct. All people can unite. And atheists have to say to other people that they choose love and not evil. How can atheists show to other people that they don't choose evil?

By showing truth.

Which, btw, is not a defining attribute of the movements that purport to be religions.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

People using religion to manipulate people (which is exactly what the self-appointed, self-serving middlemen who wrote the bible did), thus the whole "good people doing evil" thing. History is littered with heinous atrocities committed by those who genuinely saw themselves as good guys doing God's work.

That is just a flaw of being human. It is not religion per se. Stalin was an atheist, and thought he was doing good. He killed more people than anyone else in history.

 

[IndigoChild5559]

Yep. The best example is the FBI training module on them that I attended when I was a LEO. Tactics on how to approach their ritual sites because they post armed guards, emphasis on their crimes, child abuse and sexual abuse of children, among other things.

The closest I ever came to them was an old, preserved house, alleged to be haunted, after the fact. There were numerus gutted candles, defaced walls with their emblems, primarily the upside down pentagram and blood all over the place, probably from animals as no human blood could be identified.

They aren´t the Anton Lavay show satanists, these people are very secretive and come from all walks of life. They are few, but out there.

Funny, because last time I checked, the FBI investigation revealed that ritual child abuse by Satanists turned out to be nothing but an urban legend.