I laugh at the idea of a Christian conservative running for office or even holding office when the very idea of government is one of the things the alleged Jesus preached against. by today’s standards, “Christ” would be considered a socialist (like Sweden, not Nazi Germany pseudo socialism-dictatorship) or borderline communist (OG communism, not dictatorship). The ideas of communal living and giving weren’t breaking any new ground. Pythagoras (yep, the dude who gave us the formula to figure out the measurements of right triangles) preached the same thing about 500 BC.
The religions we have today serve more as separatist tools and organizations than actual community builders (I’m talking on the global community level here). The fact that they believe their way is the only way to this one goal (“salvation” “enlightenment” “a million virgins” “a field of unicorns”) is just mind control. By stating that their way is the only way conversely says that any other way is WRONG. This separates one religion from another one and it’s also elitist. Not very loving of your neighbor, is it? The idea of converting people is the equivalence of jumping in a new member of a gang. Sure, some religious organizations do great things– charities and aid around the world– but with what real goal? Is it to honestly teach them, help them– or is it to convert them, get them on their team, build a church and stake claim on their turf? Why is that so important? Is it an underlying need for global control or cat lady syndrome?
If religion disappeared today we would not have chaos and a moral-less society. Even wild animals know right from wrong and they even deal with those who don’t. Plants too for all we know. To say modern humans need to follow a book of wild yarns that have no different a message of character and morals than a Gilligan’s Islandepisode is silly. You could easily watch a pack of wild dogs, your neighbors or an anthill and derive a myth or fable to relate the world around you to another person. I won’t say that there aren’t aspects of religious activities that are beneficial; but one doesn’t need to join a particular gang to reap the benefits of these activities. Being a part of group activities and even prayer (meditation) is stimulating for the mind (some would read this as soul, but science has proved that actual regions of the brain get stimulated during such activities). There is even loose, and I mean loose evidence that shows that group prayer can actually produce, well, let’s just say “positive results;” but prayer is nothing more than concentrated positive thought, is it not? I’ll leave it at that and you can do your own research.
I do respect Buddhists (technically speaking, Buddhism is a philosophy and not a religion) because they openly embrace science. Sure, the pope (lower case used since alleged jeezis would’ve hated the very fucking idea of a fucking pope) helped get a telescope going, but that’s probably Catholic guilt from giving Leo Da Vinci such a hard time about his “Earth is not the center of the universe” theory (although Copernicus was famous for publishing his book on the theory, it was Da Vinci that first suggested it; and it was major beef between him and the church—one of the many reasons he put hidden ‘jokes’ in the painting on the ceiling in the vatican). Buddhists hold a once a year dialogue, around the world, to know and understand what advances science is making and how it can benefit the human condition. That’s gangster!
When fundamentalists (Christian, Jewish, Muslim etc.) stand in the way of human scientific progress, I really empathize with the “Angry Atheists.” I understand and appreciate fundamentalists moral questioning but when they get their flocks all riled up, twisting ancient parables based on onions and salt to manipulate public opinion– which in turn prevents research that could save lives– it just validates my ideas that these institutions do more harm than good. Wouldn’t ‘god’ want lives saved? Let me ask you this, what’s the last revelation that came from the World Religions Conference? Ever heard of it? If there really was an effort to unify all the different beliefs, the WRC would be more popular than (name of mega-brand _here_). Maybe they’d have a rep on the UN or even a multi-faith moral army taking on the true evil doers! Gesundheit.
