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May 19th, 2011
03:00 PM ET
My Take: Doomsdayers show what’s wrong with all religion
By David Silverman, Special to CNN Let nobody doubt that religion hurts people. Good, intelligent, caring people suffer every day and everywhere at the hands of religion, the happy lie. Religion is used by dishonest people who claim to know the way to the one thing humans want most: immortality. To combat fear of death, religious people ignore their intellect, believe the lie, and follow the preacher, usually blindly and sometimes to the point of insanity. We are witnessing one very good example of this right now, as a group led by Christian ministry leader Harold Camping prepares for the end of the world this Saturday, May 21. Of course, the weekend will pass without incident and thousands of Camping's followers, having spent or donated huge amounts of money on his behalf, will be gravely disappointed. Victims will be broken. Families will be damaged. Lives will be ruined. All because someone made a good pitch, and followers believed. Opinion: May 21 Doomsday movement harms Christianity I am not sure if Camping is a liar, but I think so. He realized that religion is a great way to make tax-free money off the backs of well-meaning people, through donations to his ministry, all without fearing eternal damnation. You see, I suspect that he, like many others of his ilk, doesn’t believe in God at all. It may seem odd that I would accuse this man of being an atheist like me, but rest assured that he is nothing like me. Like most atheists, I’m a pretty nice person and would never scam someone out of his or her life savings or convince someone to quit a job just to line my pockets. The truth is that religion and ethics are completely independent of one another. Follow CNN’s Belief Blog on Twitter Consider how Newt Gingrich could campaign against President Bill Clinton's adultery as the darling of the Religious Right while actually being an adulterer himself. Consider how evangelical superstar Ted Haggard could preach against homosexuality, in God’s name, while hiding a gay lover. And consider Camping, who can get donors to cough up what appears to be a lot of money in God’s name while ruining his followers’ real lives on Earth. These are not people who fear God or hell. In my opinion, they know very well that gods are myths. They are just bad people. Atheists have bad people, too, the worst of whom feign religion for their own personal gain. Next week, Camping’s victims will ask our forgiveness for being so foolish, and we will forgive them, because we’ve all done stupid things. They will ask for money and we will help them, because most people are charitable. And then Camping victims will ask us to forget all about this whole ugly scam. That is something we must never do. We must remember that Camping, atheist or not, is no different from any other preacher. Religion thrives on fear–the constant threat of any-time-now Judgment Day coupled with eternal punishment in hell for those who don’t believe strongly enough. Since rational minds question irrational things, believers constantly have doubts, and therefore fear that they don't have enough faith to pass muster during the eventual Rapture, when the righteous will be saved and the unrighteous will be damned. Fear of hell makes believers desperate to ease those doubts so they can be sure to get into heaven. It’s a recipe for fear-based obedience, which is exactly what religion craves. It’s the method used by Camping, and by the rest of Christianity, too. If we forget about Camping, this apocalyptic madness will happen again. Next year is 2012 and, just as was supposed to happen in 2011, 2004, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1997, 1994 and other years that the world is supposed to end, according to one religion or another. What will we do in 2012? Will we sit still while preachers take advantage of the gullible again? Will we refrain from confronting the fools and continue to revere religion? Or will we, as a society, demand that people use their intellect and pay attention to their preachers, priests, rabbis or mullahs and see them as the scammers they really are? This weekend, preachers from coast to coast will talk about why they are right and Camping is wrong, and I ask you all to listen closely. They will try to justify why one interpretation of the Bible (theirs) is right while the others are wrong. In the end, they are all interpreting the “perfect word of God” in their own imperfect way so that God agrees with their own agenda. It’s obvious if you look for it; no preacher ever says "God disagrees with me." Yes, this weekend we will giggle at the fools who follow the preachers that earn their living spreading happy lies. Religion will have been proven wrong yet again. But we all must remember that people have been hurt this weekend. We hope the victims of this year’s end-of-the-world will lift themselves back up, dust themselves off, and come out of this as better, less gullible people. Hopefully, they will use their experience to help others avoid future scams by shouting loudly at tomorrow’s victims, without fear of being irreverent about something which deserves no reverence at all. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of David Silverman. soundoff (1,927 Responses)« Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 Next »
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The CNN Belief Blog covers the faith angles of the day's biggest stories, from breaking news to politics to entertainment, fostering a global conversation about the role of religion and belief in readers' lives. It's edited by CNN's Daniel Burke with contributions from Eric Marrapodi and CNN's worldwide news gathering team.  |
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Editor's Note: David Silverman, an atheist since age 6, is president of 
Yet another pseudo-intellectual person who thinks that atheism is rational...bummer, America is consistently losing intellect and becoming more shallow
Sheila...you fool.
If anyone here is a pseudo intellectual, it is you.
^ 🙂
What a disjointed statement. And you talk of rationality? How do you logically connect these two statements?
Logic and 'god' and nary shall the twixt meet the twain
Oh and Sheila, up is actually down.. havnt you heard this?? There is no hope for you, please keep your nonsence to yourself...
Why is everyone so afraid of death? I know what happens after you die, but I wouldn't dare reveal the secret here. There will be another you. 🙂
And that other you might actually be more powerful and more intelligent because of the knowledge gained in this life.
However, delusional thinking does not advance that. Only logical thinking does.
logical thinking is a recipe for disaster, the mother of all screw ups, you think logically about flying and your plane crashes, you make logical decision to buy groceries and die in a car crash on way home, the only sure rock is a undying faith in almighty God!
Peter, you are an idiot.
You are inferior to an atheist.
baseless comment, next! substance please.
Take a look at the pope and his little pope mobile. Nothing says "I have faith in God" than 3 inches of bullet proof glass. That's FAITH folks!
Baseless?
Not at all. Your god is baseless.
End of discussion, retard.
right there is the crux of the problem! THE POPE IS NOT A REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD! you have been duped! it was organized religion that killed Jesus Christ! you can't put God in a box, he steps out every time!
All Peter's Base Are Belong To Us.
Peter the only reason my plane would crash is because you were the pilot and you left the navigation up to "GOD" you dunce
let's all sing Kumbaya
I'm calling troll on peter... I mean no one can be THAT stupid..
He's got some good points, but also sounds quite one-sided, and it is obvious he is spiteful of people of religion, especially Christians), I wonder why I don't see articles like that against other religions~ like Islam, afraid? From what I know, my friends who are Christians/Catholics NEVER talk about "if you don't believe you go to hell", they've tried to show me the love of God/Jesus/Christ, and the positives, otherwise I wouldn't even be interested in what they have to say "go to hell?" "why don't you go to hell..." you know what I mean? I think he is very biased about religious people, I certainly don't see what he's seeing, although the world end / camping thing is crazy, I agree
Quote some scripture and see what responses you get. Humanize the situation and see what responses you get. I usually get a "Yea, I get your point" as they proceed to completely ignore it and continue in their delusion. If anyone genuinely believes that an all loving god would have a place of torment, they are insane. If they believe that a good person of any religion can go to hell for being born into the wrong religion, they are insane. I know the argument that we are all sinners. But going to church once a week to apologize for being human, never having asked for this to begin with, isn't that appealing to me.
Perhaps it just irritates me that I'm surrounded by people who joyfully look forward to the destruction of the world. But I'm just rambling.
of course he is one-sided–it is an opinion piece
I did ask questions like that, was told hell is not created, but simply a place without God (no good things there), and people are looking forward to god and not torment, but of course as non-believers it's only torment? I wouldn't be looking forward to world end if I am not the beleiver because I'd be in hell, but then again being a non-believer I wouldn't believe in hell in the first place, so it wouldn't even matter~ *shrug*. And I am not sure if you actually been to church, but from just few time I have been, nobody apologizes for being human, I hear them give thanks, asks to be better people, and be blessing to others... maybe not all churches are the same?
Perhaps you're right to some extend but religion(especially the abrahamic ones) teach us that we are sinful and evil from birth. I reject that. When they tell you that hell is just a separation from God, ask them where that is in scripture. Then point out the ones that state that there will be torment. Their scriptures are the best argument against them. It's where the line is drawn. How much are they just making up? I always try to find out. It's fun for me. 🙂
I fundamentally disagree with this post, however my issue does not lie there. My issue is with his comment "It’s the method used by Camping, and by the rest of Christianity, too.", refering to religion's use of, essentially, fearmongering. I take issue with this, because it singles out one religion. Having a problem with religion is different that having problems with christianity. I would just like to make that clear. I personally don't care what you believe, I am a firm believer in personal choice, if you choose to believe or not believe in a god, that is your choice. If you choose to believe in the same God I believe in, that too is your choice. But if your going to take issue with a subject as big as religion as a whole, than address it as a whole and don't single out individual beliefs just becasue its easier.
I agree that it was not fair to single out one religion, however, Christianity (and Catholocism) are the major religions in the U.S so that could be the reason he focussed on Christianity.
Actually, the number of aetheists and agnostics in the developed world is somewhere around 15%. Someone posted 3% which is very ,very, low.
Christianity and the Jesus story is based upon anceint Egyptian religion. They worshiped the sun and had many gods that were "son god's". The Jesus story is completely based upon observations of the sun's movement throughout the year and focuses on it's movements during the winter solstice for the core of the story. The Egyptian god Horus was born on Dec. 25, died and lay dead for 3 days and then was ressurrected. This story is prevelent in many ancient religions in the northern hemisphere.
The story is based upon the movement of the sun during the winter soltice. On Dec. 22nd, the sun makes it's lowest sunrise against the horizon. It stays in this position for 3 days and then moves north again on Dec. 25th. Hence, the "Sun" (Son) died , lay dead for three days, and then resurrected (moved north again signaling that spring was coming) . This celebration of this event is done on Easter (during the middle of spring).
This is the basis of Christianity . It is purely the newest of the Son God's of Egyptian history . Even the "Jesus Fish" signifies that Jesus is the Sun God (God's Son?) of the constellation Pisces (the current age we are in astrologically).
All of these people looking for the end of the world.. The books actually refer to the end of the AGE. As in the AGE astrologically. Then end of the AGE of Pisces and the beginiing of the AGE of Aquarius (approx. 2100 AD). At that time, a new Sun God would be born.
Dont' you guys get it?? This is all a story. There is no end of the world. It's a fallacy.
The world will end one day in about 4 billion years when our yellow star swells into a red giant. Then, the world will end. Mankind will be long gone before that day more than likely .
that argument holds about as much ground as the doomsayers
Just to clarify Not all Christians believe Jesus was born in December. Some of us are very aware of how Egyptian history and other pagan religions coincide with "Christian" holidays created by the Catholic religion. However, to say that this is the basis for our beliefs is extremely false. You may want to do a little more research before you make comments of that nature.
Your statistic is wrong you are using the stat for those who reported no religious affiliation..that does not equate them to atheist or agnostic.. the actual figure or one or the other group is about 3 %...very very low.
Well, what's it based upon then if it's not based upon astrology?
God's Sun = Sun God
12 Deciples = 12 Constellations
Rose again on Dec 25th = Sun rises towards the north 1° on Dec 25th signalling the "ressurection of life" that is Spring
It's all based upon the sun and how ancient people interpreted it's movements... nothing more. i'm sorry.
sorry ti rock your world Chuck but Science specifically quantum physics has already proved God.E\psi(r)=-\frac{\hbar}{2m}\nabla^2\psi+V(r)\psi(r)
There is the formula for GOD! now deal with it! also, you have to deal with the measurablilty problem! look it up, google fan. everything Atheist have used to try to refute Christianity can no longer be used for what they use as a standard of measure..does not exist. all your applied sciences are falls for sub atomically when things are observed they react. proven 1982 twin proton experiment. now you know. so you can deal with your judgement from the Creator with the full knowledge that He exist. being imaged..images have purpose and design.///and need a designed they are not part of random chance and chaotic.Atheism is DEAD! or should I say "TWICE DEAD"
^ funniest post of the night!
I'm sorry. I'm not trying to put down Christianity. I'm just trying to say that there are real world explainations for almost everything we observe here on Earth , including religious beliefs. I am a scientist and believe in what is measurable and provable. I gave up religon a long time ago. It doesn't make sense to me.
I personally blieve that ALL religons are wrong and do more harm in the world than good. They breed intolerance and close mindedness. They don't allow for rational responses to events. I'm not saying that there may not be a God! Spirituality is different than religon. You can be a spriitual person who may believe in a higher being, but you can reject religons. You don't have to have a label.
I 'believe'...no I don't.....yes I do... I need proof! Wait... what's that myth again?
Excellent article, excellent points. I hope people are listening.
I assure you, they arent.. its sad.. but like all important progressive movements.. it takes time.. soon we will be a successful logical, evidence based race that will have limitless potential.. but i predict it will take at least another couple hundred years..
I see a lot of Christians becoming defensive over this article. There is nothing to be defensive about here. This man is just stating the truth, the truth that most believers follow people who feign morality, offer false hope but pretend as if it is legitimate, take your money (tax free) which most of us work hard to make, and each and every other preacher seems to think he is in direct congress with God and that this God always agrees with him/her when in reality they are just making stuff up to fill the pews and make themselves more money (I have witnessed this personally many times). This man is writing exactly what ALL you Christians cannot admit to yourselves maybe out of fear, maybe because from birth you have been conditioned to believe these stories and it is all you know (which is even sadder), maybe because this is the only community you believe you fit into, etc. Whatever the reason, you can live just as if not a MORE of fulfilling, moral, happy, full of wonder and amazement life by NOT believing in some ethereal being as you do believing in it. I know it's hard to imagine for some of you but I can honestly tell you when I finally got out of private catholic school after 12 years and studied the bible from cover to cover (and probably more in depth then some seminarian getting a 4 year degree in the subject, think about it 12-4 years) that this book is better used as good bed time stories than as something trying to resemble a moral compass. And you know what, I don't fear death, I treat others with respect and compassion, I love all people, races, and creatures, I pay my taxes, I make charitable donations, when I can I buy some homeless person a meal, I don't cheat, lie or steal, and I am completely happy and get along with almost everyone I meet. Now I'm not saying all Christians are evil, mean spirited, wack jobs............ what I am saying is that ALLLLL of you are being fooled by false prophets and fakes and I have nothing but the greatest sense of pitty on you all for it becomes plainly obvious that you know not what you do.
I 'believe'...no I don't.....yes I do...wait... I need proof!
sorry! that is your loss, the proof of the pudding is the eating thereof, you haven't had a bite! sucks to be you
The persistence of religion lies in a fundamental aspect of human psychology...the unwillingness to admit when we are wrong. Psychological tests have shown time and time again that when people are presented with evidence that contradicts one of their beliefs (it doesn't have to be religion,) they will double down on their belief rather than entertain the impossible notion that they might be wrong.
actually you need to think three dimensionally, God is hiding from man, he is sovereign in revealing himself!
Real men love cheeses!
thou art a cheeseweasel
i just think that religions have too many fallacies in what they say to be completly believable. If the world could just turn a scientific eye or a purely ethical eye to the problems in the world, the world would be a much nicer place. Cant we just do whats right, because its right? cant we find some wonder in the world and just appreciate nature without attributing it to some "God" Cant we all just chill out, and be cool with everyone else? I just love the universe for HOW it works. That is the true beauty of humans, to try and EXPLAIN how things work and where we came from. But the approach to these problems should follow a logical transition of steps. I respet Christains and all peope alike, but cant we just step back and THINK for a while?
Bob,
I agree with your rhetorical question "Cant we just do whats right, because its right?" I am an atheist. I am also a very socially aware person who does what is right – not because it's expected of me, or because some unknown force is taking note of my actions, or because I need praise from others or even my own ego – I do the right thing because I expect it of myself.
I totally agree with hiim. We are just animals floating through the void. But we're one-of-a-kind all of us; and they're are a lot of pretty wonderful things to do and enjoy whilst we experience humanity. However, I wonder if all this denial by Christians only shows a key evolutionary ability we've given ourselves to deny the truth in favor of the survival of our species. Hmmm...That's interesting. A Christian's "earnest" belief in God a piece of a Godless evolution. Kind of off the topic; but discussion would be cool.
I like. Very interesting. It has kept order through the ions....
civilization is biggest hindrance to God, education separates people from God,...they become smart fools as Saint Paul so eloquently put it...actually you know who is equally in opposition to God? organized religion! they put him in a box, he steps out. the new civilization coming up will have no cars, space shuttles, cell phones, it is a superior civilization, the book of Genesis highlights the fact that this modern civilization came through Cain, a bas tard born child..Adam's race were humble shepherds who kept a connection with their creator open, Jesus said, "the meek shall inherit the earth" " and every plant my heavenly Father hasn't planted will be uprooted"
Logic is the greatest hindrance to delusional thinking.
"education separates people from god"- and there goes the credibility. And they wonder why we speak out against religion.
You know, I've always thought that religion is more of an insult to any god(if there is one) than my atheism ever could be.
.... but..... didn't education come from God?
Research the Aborigines in the context of the development of consciousness in humanity. God didn't sprinkle fairy dust on the human organism and say 'thou shalt be smart, but not too smart'.
Man...arguing religion with the religious is like making fun of Jets fans...so easy it almost isn't worth the effort.
Mr. Silverman hit the nail on the head.
Religion is the biggest scam on the planet, after insurance.
atheists and religious fanatics haha
such seemingly complex things with simple answers
you see each other as opposing forces not knowing that it is impossible for your man made ego-centric delusions to be true in either regard
all things come from the one and to the one they return
dualism is the ultra self playing a giant game
the ultra self rests in pure emptiness all religions and non religions are just disguises the self takes to play the game of life
it will take many more googles of years until these seemingly complex thoughts evolve back to the one emptiness
if you do not believe then just witness the evolution of all things
you live in a world that has pain and suffering coupled with joy and great motion towards good
do you not believe that life has an evolutionary purpose
have we not seen on our planet alone a great amount of sentient beings arise from a primordial soup
do you then doubt that this point in time is just another baby step forward to where it all began
all things are one
how can the infinite unknowable play the game with so many faces stretched across unimaginable universes
even if we were all a great big computer simulation
are you saying another inanimate computer set that program in motion
in the beginning for every one billion antimatter particles there was one billion and one matter particles
why did life as we know it come to be
it is by an extremely thin margin that something arose from apparently nothing
this is the great trick the self plays on itself
this is the endless game played over and over in infinitesimal worlds and among lifeforms that are unimaginable to the human mind
but i give you reason to love because you are all one no matter what direction or ideas you create in order to explain the truth
there is no other only illusions of other
this is the great game
so keep playing those mind games forever
love is the answer and you know that for sure
you are not as wise as you want others to believe–no human possesses pure truth–and I would be a fool to find it in CNN's comment sections
and the term is 'googol, as in, googolplex...'
wow you picked on one quick misspelled term to make your point
nowhere did i say i held the ultimate truth
i guess you missed the point
as far as intellect is concerned
our two micro-selves could debate whenever and wherever you wish
I really like this debate, but how come the Christians are not saying what we believe in the Bible. If we say what is on our hearts rather than what we believe than we are not backing up what we believe.
Matthew 24:36 "But of that day and hour, no one knows, no, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only."
Straight out of the Bible, This is why I don't think the rapture will happen on the 21st.
Yes, your silly comic book is full of nebulous references and ideas to cover as many possible challenges to it's lack of facts as it possibly could.
Clever, those men who wrote it.
I read it and to tell you the truth I don't believe it because I saw anything happen or know it is true I wasn't there. I believe in it through faith. That is the point for me. The opinions are just fuel for arguements.
Your "faith" is nothing more than a delusional opinion.
My faith is a delusional opinion?
Yes, it is.
Just fuel for an arguement then. I do not think it is a delusional opinion, but you have stated such. The comments got away from my main point as you put me on a tanget.
The point is to not spout what you think, but rather what we believe.
James.. You seem like an intelligent fellow, please stop the non-sense though. Use your logic, reason, and evidence based skills to make your decision. But before you do, you must abandon all self-satisfying ideology. I.E. it benifits you to believe in God because you do not want your existance to end.. its the fear of death that holding you back, not your lack of intelligence, (like most religious people)
The sad part is that there will be quire a few of Harold Camping's followers who will wake up Sunday morning to find that they have not been chosen in the rapture.
What are they to do then? They will know that they are going to face the wrath of GOD. That may be more than many of them can stand. Those true believers will probably throw themselves off of bridges or buildings, rather than to face the suffering that their GOD will certainly inflict upon them.
Serves then right!
David Berkowitz (the Son of Sam) talked to his dog, whom he saw as his god.
People who "speak to god" are no less insane than he was.
Do adults who still believe in Santa Claus deserve respect for their beliefs? No.
Do adults who believe in the tooth fairy deserve respect? No.
They are clearly delusional. People who believe in gods are no less delusional, and cannot be trusted.
Just because I believe in God does not mean that I cannot be trusted. I, too, donate to charities, pay my taxes, help the homeless, help my neighbors, and am generally thought of as a nice, caring, thoughtful person. But because I believe in God, on my own time, without bothering you or anyone else, I cannot be trusted? That is the most ignorant thing I have ever heard. In don't judge you or anyone else, and neither should you. Everyone has the right to their own opinion and faith. I hope that you think twice before posting something stupid again.
Oh, but you make it a point to bother me, at every opportunity. You try and influence everyone else with your delusional thinking. It is a pattern woven throughout the history of belief in that which does not exist.
Why should you be trusted? You have based your reality upon illogic. Of what other bizarre behavior are you capable?
Your opinion is from the opposite end of the atheist spectrum. I am an atheist but I would not assume believers to be delusional. There are many reasons why people believe the things they do. Having a difference of opinion is not grounds for bullying and taunting.
I have no issue vetting people by their bleating. I will not qo along to get along when these very people would have burned me at the stake as a witch less than 200 years ago. Complacency against zealots is a dangerous place to find yourself.
Take a moment to absorb this quote please:
"I contend that we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours"
It's one of my favorite quotes and in my opinion, the simplest argument against any one religion. Simple and straight to the point.
that's a classic way to put it.... if you don't mind me saying so.
Credit given to Stephen Roberts.
What a great summary in the hypocrisy to most religions to killing, and a large root cause in the act of actually going to war for a “cause”
To: "GOD, THE REAL ONE",
I looked at this site to just satisfy my curiosity, as I do not think that the "end of the world" will be this Saturday. You, however, have irritated the living hell out of me, with your accusatory tone and closed-minded (YES–CLOSED MINDED) thinking. Like I said before, we all have a voice, and we all have an opinion. Some of us are tolerant of these opinions, although they may differ from our own. You, however, are a moron.