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 The Branch Davidians, a religious sect led by David Koresh, clashed with federal agents in 1993 in Waco, Texas.
April 28th, 2013
06:00 AM ET
When religious beliefs become evil: 4 signsBy John Blake, CNN (CNN) - An angry outburst at a mosque. The posting of a suspicious YouTube video. A friendship with a shadowy imam. Those were just some of the signs that Tamerlan Tsarnaev, accused of masterminding the Boston Marathon bombings, had adopted a virulent strain of Islam that led to the deaths of four people and injury of more than 260. But how else can you tell that someone’s religious beliefs have crossed the line? The answer may not be as simple you think, according to scholars who study all brands of religious extremism. The line between good and evil religion is thin, they say, and it’s easy to make self-righteous assumptions. “When it’s something we like, we say it’s commitment to an idea; when it’s something we don’t like, we say it’s blind obedience,” said Douglas Jacobsen, a theology professor at Messiah College in Pennsylvania. Yet there are ways to tell that a person’s faith has drifted into fanaticism if you know what to look and listen for, say scholars who have studied some of history’s most horrific cases of religious violence. Follow the CNN Belief Blog on Twitter “There are a lot of warning signs all around us, but we usually learn about them after a Jim Jones or a David Koresh,” said Charles Kimball, author of “When Religion Becomes Evil.” Here are four warning signs: 1. I know the truth, and you don’t. On the morning of July 29, 1994, the Rev. Paul Hill walked up to John Britton outside an abortion clinic in Pensacola, Florida, and shot the doctor to death. Hill was part of a Christian extremist group called the Army of God, which taught that abortion was legalized murder. Hill’s actions were motivated by a claim that virtually all religions espouse: We have the truth that others lack. Those claims can turn deadly when they become absolute and there is no room for interpretation, Kimball says. “Absolute claims can quickly move into a justification of violence against someone who rejects that claim,” Kimball said. “It’s often a short step.” Healthy religions acknowledge that sincere people can disagree about even basic truths, Kimball says. The history of religion is filled with examples of truths that were once considered beyond questioning but are no longer accepted by all followers: inerrancy of sacred scripture, for example, or the subjugation of women and sanctioning of slavery. If someone like Hall believes that they know God’s truth and they cannot be wrong, watch out, Kimball says. “Authentic religious truth claims are never as inflexible as zealous adherents insist,” he writes in “When Religion Becomes Evil.” Yet there’s a flip side to warnings about claiming absolute truth: Much of religion couldn’t exist without them, scholars say. Many of history’s greatest religious figures – Moses, Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed – all believed that they had discovered some truth, scholars say. Ordinary people inflamed with a sense of self-righteousness have made the same claim and done good throughout history, says Carl Raschke, a theology professor at the University of Denver in Colorado. The Protestant Reformation was sparked by an angry German monk who thought he had the truth, Raschke says. “Martin Luther’s disgust at the worldliness of the papacy in the early 1500s inspired him to become a radical revolutionary whose ideas overturned the entire political structure in Europe,” Raschke said. So how do you tell the difference between the healthy claims of absolute truth and the deadly? Scholars say to look at the results: When people start hurting others in the name of their religious truth, they’ve crossed the line. 2. Beware the charismatic leader. It was one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Japanese history. In March 1995, a religious sect called Aum Shinrikyo released a deadly nerve gas in a Tokyo subway station, leaving 12 people dead and 5,000 injured. Two months later, Japanese police found Shoko Asahara, the sect’s founder, hiding in a room filled with cash and gold bars. Kimball, who tells the story of the sect in “When Religion Becomes Evil,” says Asahara had poisoned the minds of his followers years before. Asahara demanded unquestioned devotion from members of his sect and isolated followers in communities where they were told that they no longer needed to think for themselves, Kimball says. Any religion that limits the intellectual freedom of its followers, he says, has become dangerous. “When you start to get individuals who are the sole interpreters of truth, you get people who follow them blindly." Charismatic leaders, though, often don’t start off being cruel. Jim Jones, who led the mass suicide of his followers in South America, was a gifted speaker who built an interracial church in San Francisco that did much good in the community. Few people at the beginning of his ministry could predict what he would become. As time went on, though, his charisma turned cruel as he tolerated no questions to his authority and became delusional. “Charismatic leadership is important, but in healthy religions, there’s always a process where questions are encouraged,” Kimball said. Weaning followers away from corrupt charismatic leaders and bad religion can take years, but it can be done if one knows how to speak their language, says Ed Husain, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Countries such as Saudi Arabia and Egypt will often deploy imams to reach out to young men in prison who have adopted “Islamism,” or extreme forms of Islam sanctioning violence against civilians, says Husain, who has written about Muslim extremism. These Muslim clerics know the Quran better than the extremists and can use their knowledge to reach extremists in a place that logic and outsiders cannot penetrate, Husain said. “The antidote to extremism is religion itself,” Husain said. “The problem is not to take Islam out of the debate but to use Islam to counter Islamism.” 3. The end is near. In 1970, an unknown pastor from Texas wrote a book called “The Late, Great Planet Earth.” The book, which linked biblical prophecy with political events like Israel’s victory in the 1967 Six-Day War, predicted the imminent return of an antichrist and the end of the world. Author Hal Lindsey’s book has sold an estimated 15 million copies and spawned a genre of books like the “Left Behind” series. Many people are fascinated by the idea that the heavens will open soon because the end is near. That end-times theology can turn lethal, though, when a follower decides that he or she will speed up that end-time by conducting some dramatic or violent act, says John Alverson, chairman of the theology department at Carlow University in Pittsburgh. “A religious terrorist mistakenly believes that God has ordained or called him or her to establish the will of God on Earth now, not gradually and not according to the slow and finicky free will of other humans,” Alverson said. Yet this impulse to see God’s intervention in human affairs now and not in some distant future can also be good, he says. There are vibrant religious communities that teach that political and economic injustice must be addressed now. Liberation theology, for example, was a movement among pastors and theologians in Latin America that called for justice for the poor now, not in some future apocalyptic event, Alverson says. “Hope is a good breakfast but not much of a supper,” Alverson said. “We can’t just live on the hope that justice will happen; we have to actually experience justice from time to time so that our hope can continue.” 4. The end justifies the means. It was one of the biggest scandals the Roman Catholic Church ever faced, and the repercussions are still being felt today. In January 2002, the Boston Globe published a story about Father John Geoghan, a priest who had been moved around various parishes after Catholic leaders learned that he had abused children. It was later revealed that Catholic officials had quietly paid at least $10 million to settle lawsuits against Geoghan. Kimball says the Catholic scandal revealed another sign that a faith has turned toxic: Religious figures start justifying doing something wrong for a higher good. “The common theme was trying to protect the integrity of the church,” Kimball said of some Catholic leaders who covered up the crimes. “You get all of these rationalizations that we can’t let this scandal bring the whole church down, so we have to pay off this family and send the priests off to rehab.” Religion is supposed to be a force for good. Still, it’s common that everyone from suicide bombers to venal church figures finds ways to justify their behavior in the name of some higher good. Those rationalizations are so pervasive that religious movements that avoid them stand out, scholars say. Jacobsen, the theology professor from Messiah College, cited the civil rights movement. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. and his fellow activists renounced violence, even as they were attacked and sometimes murdered. “They were willing to lay down their lives for what they believed in, but what’s incredible is, they practiced not retaliating when they suffered violence,” he said. “Those people really believed that God created everyone equal, and they were committed to the point of death.” In some ways, it’s easy to say we would never adopt a form of religion that’s evil. But when we use the word “evil” to describe those who kill in the name of their faith, we’re already mimicking what we condemn, Jacobsen says. In his new book, “No Longer Invisible: Religion in University Education,” Jacobson writes that calling a religion evil is dangerous because “bad or wrong actions can be corrected, but typically evil needs to be destroyed.” CNN’s Belief Blog: The faith angles behind the biggest stories “To label someone or something as evil is to demonize it, putting it in a category of otherness where the rules of normal life do not apply, where the end often justifies almost any means,” Jacobson writes. And when we do that, we don’t have to read about radical imams or look at angry YouTube videos to see how easy it is for someone to drift toward religious extremism, he says. We need only look at ourselves. soundoff (3,810 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 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 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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You know faith is a CPA. (C&P addict)
I had the pleasure of seeing the fvcktard's walls of text, from last night, get nuked. XD
Now to the nitty-gritty:
What instigated the attack on the Twin Towers, Flight 93 and the Pentagon?
And what drives today's 24/7 mosque/imam-planned acts of terror and horror?
The koran, Mohammed's book of death for all infidels and Muslim domination of the world by any means.
Muslims must clean up this book removing said passages admitting that they are based on the Gabriel myth and therefore obviously the hallucinations and/or lies of Mohammed.
Then we can talk about the safety and location of mosques and what is taught therein.
Until then, no Muslim can be trusted anytime or anywhere..................................
Some of the koranic passages that cause Islamic terrorists to justify their actions in the name of Allah:
o "Believers, take neither Jews nor Christians for your friends." (Surah 5:51)
o
"Believers, when you encounter the infidels on the march, do not turn your backs to them in flight. If anyone on that day turns his back to them, except it be for tactical reasons...he shall incur the wrath of God and Hell shall be his home..." (Surah 8:12-)
"Make war on them until idolatry shall cease and God's religion shall reign supreme." (Surah 8:36-)
"...make war on the leaders of unbelief...Make war on them: God will chastise them at your hands and humble them. He will grant you victory over them..." (Surah 9:12-)
"Fight against such as those to whom the Scriptures were given [Jews and Christians]...until they pay tribute out of hand and are utterly subdued." (Surah 9:27-)
"It is He who has sent forth His apostle with guidance and the true Faith [Islam] to make it triumphant over all religions, however much the idolaters [non-Muslims] may dislike it." (Surah 9:31-)
"If you do not fight, He will punish you sternly, and replace you by other men." (Surah 9:37-)
"Prophet make war on the unbelievers and the hypocrites and deal rigorously with them. Hell shall be their home." (Surah 9:73)
"Believers, make war on the infidels who dwell around you. Deal firmly with them." (Surah 9:121-)
"Say: 'Praise be to God who has never begotten a son; who has no partner in His Kingdom..." (Surah 17:111)
"'How shall I bear a child,' she [Mary] answered, 'when I am a virgin...?' 'Such is the will of the Lord,' he replied. 'That is no difficult thing for Him...God forbid that He [God[ Himself should beget a son!...Those who say: 'The Lord of Mercy has begotten a son,' preach a monstrous falsehood..." (Surah 19:12-, 29-, 88)
"Fight for the cause of God with the devotion due to Him...He has given you the name of Muslims..." (Surah 22:78-)
"Blessed are the believers...who restrain their carnal desires (except with their wives and slave-girls, for these are lawful to them)...These are the heirs of Paradise..." (Surah 23:1-5-)
"Muhammad is God's apostle. Those who follow him are ruthless to the unbelievers but merciful to one another." (Surah 48:29)
"Shall the reward of goodness be anything but good?...Dark-eyed virgins sheltered in their tents...They shall recline on green cushions and fine carpets...Blessed be the name of your Lord..." (Surah 55:52-66-)
i seek lunch
"And will choke." <<– god is calling you.
You should seek therapy.
Uh oh, the MD 20/20 ran out.
And I am not "thinkingforyourself" idiots!
Whatevcer, moron!
Which of you here don't believe that capitalism is the only true economic principle? How about liberalism? How about democracy? If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned, how different are you from the person who believes socialism or communism is true? Most of you here are equally close-minded, intolerant and ignorant like the very people you seek to castigate! Pathetic!
==quote==
how different are you from the person who believes socialism or communism is true?
==end==
How pathetic are you, really?
You don't think at all. Who really believes that any system of trying to govern a society is "true"? What goes on in everyone's mind is that "IT WAS TRIED".
Any form of governing is just a methodology. Nothing true about it. You're too fvcking stupid.
Want a theocracy? How's Iran working out? Seeya!
You're really showing your ignorance here "Answer." Whenever you espouse a worldview or ideolog y, whether consciously or unconsciously, it is because you believe it to be true interms of principle! If you did not think it so, you would oppose it, hence, making it false from your pespective. I need not waste my precious time debating you when clearly I can see that you're incapable of reasoning!
@ .
Is Iran a theocracy? I didn't know that! I don't think you even know what a theocracy is in the first place. What has this world come to when idiots like you make claims you cannot support? Hmmm. I fear for this world very greatly!
Openyoureyes translation: "vote for the GOPTP or you're a commie!" Shaddup....
The only ideology behind any form of governance was "how should we tend to our fellow citizens."
You fvcktards can't ever wrap your thoughts around that.
What is it about social studies that you fvcktards can never grasp? Man go back to grade 10 social studies.
As they say the devil is always in the details... Actually, the true ideology behind every form of governance is not "how should we tend to our citizens;" rather it is "what is the role of Government?" But let's assume you're right and scrutinize the your proposition: "How should we tend to our citizens?"
Communism answer: by robbing our citizens by denying them property
Capitalism answer: by robbing the poor of their fare wage.
Democracy answer: everyone is equal and free, except that some are more equal and free than others
Should I go on? I don't think you want me to because I believe by now you've gotten the message!
Communism answer: by robbing our citizens by denying them property
Capitalism answer: by robbing the poor of their fare wage.
Democracy answer: everyone is equal and free, except that some are more equal and free than others
Should I go on? I don't think you want me to because I believe by now you've gotten the message!
====Do go on. Go back and tell your social studies teacher that you have all the correct answers. And make the ultimate changes because you're so bitter that you didn't get a proper education.
Came out of that religious hatred already you fvcktard. Get an education, for real. Not just your random dogma spiel.
I answered no to all of those, though I do think some are better answers than others under particular conditions. What does that make me?
"What has this world come to when idiots like you make claims you cannot support?"
I don't make claims I can't back up, Oye.
The political system of the Islamic
Republic is based on the 1979 Constitution.
In December 1979, the country approved a theocratic constitution.
Sharia law. Ever hear of it?
Now, admit you were wrong about my telling you Iran is a theocracy. Apparently YOU don't know what it means. And now you DO know Iran is a theocracy. Do your own homework and stop expecting others to do it for you, junior.
"Democracy is the worst system devised by wit of man, except for all the others." – Winston Churchill
I am a Christian. I believe that Christianity is the only true religion. I also believe in the endtimes. So I guess this makes me evil? I am always flabbergasted when these anti-religionists post nonsense about religion. Yes, it is a fact that some people have done evil in the name of religion, but is that not also true about every ideology? The truth is that every ideology has the potential for evil when its extreme form is adhered to. For example, capitalism in its extreme form fosters greed and corruption; socialism in its extreme form (communism) fosters oppression; both conservatism and liberalism in their extreme forms also foster hate, intolerance and oppression etc. In a nutshell, ideologies can be good, but ideologies can also be bad. As a result, all ideologies (all worldviews for that matter) should be embraced with caution as while they may give you a lens to see the world through, they may also give you a sword to kill!
Have you received the date of the end times?
You're going to be telling your children that they'll be the ones to see it. But not in your lifetime I'd bet.
"So afraid .. oh please sky daddy come on down." XD
Your handle is "thinkingforyourself". Lol...really? You have to grow a brain first.
Just silly reasoning. You missed the point "thinkingforyourself" made. There's a lot of truth in what he said. Why don't you learn to reason before you comment and reveal your ignorance Mr. "Answer!"
"I am a Christian. I believe that Christianity is the only true religion. I also believe in the endtimes. So I guess this makes me evil?"
Well, it doesn't necessary make you evil. But since the stress is so much on what you believe and that your belief is the only right one (and the rest of the world is doomed to hell), it makes me question you – WHERE IS THE THINKING FOR YOURSELF part of you???
clearly not Thinking for yourself
Why is your religion the "true religion"? Why not any of the others, there are thousands.
Which form of christianity...there are more than 40,000 versions?
If your bible is truly the word of god, how could mere mortals corrupt it so easily? ( do not say satan, as your god created satan knowing full well the consequences, so your god is to blame for anything your satan does.)
Simple answer for any who do think for themselves....men created all religions, and therefore are flawed.
friday 9 pm
Observer
faith,
@open
You don't see much. You're just as retarded as the person who posted the above I see.
Answer,
I would like to make a possible as.sumption – thinking for yourself and open your eyes are the same person. What are the chances of that?
Very high.
It's the same mental routine employed by a christard. Use another 'name' to bolster the first.
Which of you here don't believe that capitalism is the only true economic principle? How about liberalism? How about democracy? If you answered yes to any of the aforementioned, how different are you from the person who believes socialism or communism is true? Most of you here are equally close-minded, intolerant and ignorant like the very people you seek to castigate! Pathetic!
Other non-religious ideologies don't have the belief that the creator of the universe agrees with their ideology.
@ Blessed...
And they have those beliefs because they believe that there's no God, hence, making themselves God in the process. You certainly don't need me to go digging into the graveyard of history to exhume the names of the likes of Stalin, Hitler, Mao and Pual Put or do you?
No, I wouldn't want you to throw out the same red herring arguement that is always bandied around. The article is about how religious faith can be used to justify violent behavior. No one is arguing political ideologies are not used to dominate and manipulate populations. The discussion is about how religion acheives that end, ......saying "well they did it too" is the arguement of a 3rd grader.
You're not evil, just delusional. THAT occasionally leads to evil. Maybe just try not to leave the house.
@ Blessed...Sure, I understand the original article. But this thread is about how every ideology–be it political, social, or religion–has the potential to give rise to evil when its extreme views are adhered to. I believe what happened here is that you do not know which thread you're commenting on. Go back to the top and look at the thread before you comment next time please!
I know perfectly well that this thread is about shifting the focus away from religion, that is why I commented. Like I said, religious violence is justified by the believers as being sactioned by the creator of the universe, they actually think they are doing god's will, that is what differentuates religion from other ideologies. Your red herring argument is nothing but a diversion.
@thinkingforyourself,
In the article these characteristics are described as warning signs, not definitive traits. puckered skin might be a "warning sign" of cancer, but it might just mean you're kind of wrinkly. The key is to look out for these traits, especially when clustered, as a *possible* sign of trouble. It's just like saying people with a certain trait, like a Y chromosome, are more likely to murder. It certainly doesn't mean the majority do.
To be honest, these "signs" can easily be applied to the secular world as well.
What is apparent though is that they are commonly exhibited by the religious.
"Answer
What is apparent though is that they are commonly exhibited by the religious." feel free to provide evidence
You have faith. Use it.
Christards don't want evidence and you won't get any. XD
I see faith failed to read the article. No surprise there.
hey. some people gots to work 4 a living. whdgudo all day? i been ripping babies heads off and impregnantin my hos
Yes, but the author of the book being discussed is a. professor of religion and divinity and the current topic of interest is religious violence.
.
Rationalize it anyway you want, sweetheart, you're a hypocrite. A lying, pseudo Christian hypocrite.
Go bash a baby against a rock, Deuteronomy.
.
I see faith failed to read the article. No surprise there.
Oh those beautiful thoughts of others being tortured. Those small comforts of the mind that you think of others who don't care about your bullsh!t.
she don't care! whew
Faaaaaaaaaaaabulous!
Eating rotten fruit or meat can be lethal, but not all fruit or meat is lethal. Same with religion.
author, "Kissing Fish: christianity for people who don't like christianity"
The anti-extremist tone of the article is a positive. What he says about religion is probably also applicable in the context of politics. Religion may have been developed with good intentions but in all cases the major religions became corrupted and obsolete, dumbed down for the masses, and even became obstacles to any fundamental form of enlightenment. They essentially propagate darkness and stupidity rather than enlightenment and wisdom. Various Religions for the masses exist however and they won't be disbanded, and I can accept that as long as the members of these religions obey the secular laws. It is when they become habitually indecent, evil, and become destructive to the community and environment that I have a problem with them. The end doesn't justify the means in any case per se. Faith reasoning is an oxymoron. When you replace facts with groundless beliefs, you give up the ability to reason logically. Fact versus faith, reality versus fantasy. I am sure there are plusses and minuses to both but they are like comparing apples and oranges. There is the big disconnect. Aldous Huxley proposed that the nature of the means determines the nature of the end. He questioned being able to achieve peace through violence, war, separation. Can you achieve justice by committing another injustice? Can religion teach enlightenment, wisdom by stirring up fear and emotions, by not allowing us to learn how to think for ourselves and make the right choices out of fact based reasoning? Can we ever become wise if we are confined in our thinking to memorizing some little book of stale rules and verses? Does one size shoe ever fit all?
Yes, loving others and forgiving others who hurt you certainly is "darkness and stupidity." Right?
I am a Christian. I believe that Christianity is the only true religion. I also believe in the endtimes. So I guess this makes me evil? I am always flabbergasted when these anti-religionists post nonsense about religion. Yes, it is a fact that some people have done evil in the name of religion, but is that not also true about every ideology? The truth is that every ideology has the potential for evil when its extreme form is adhered to. For example, capitalism in its extreme form fosters greed and corruption, socialism in its extreme form (communism) fosters oppression, both conservatism and liberalism in their extreme forms also foster hate, intolerance and oppression etc. In a nutshell, ideologies can be good, but ideologies can also be bad. As a result, all ideologies (all worldviews for that matter) should be embraced with caution as while they may give you a lens to see the world through, they may also give you a sword to kill!
Next time you reference Lord Jesus in your article make sure to include
Jesus the messiah, when you care to include the title prophet to human beings you might as well take extra care when referencing the divine.
Do you get it?
"CNN must conform to my delusions."
- Oh they must.. to please you.
#1 right here ^^^ getting ready to bomb someone.
Seriously?
Hey, ChadLive4HimHeavenSent christy, shove it. Get it?
Jesus, the myth.
Not ONE example from islam? Not one?? Wow, what a distorted and biased article.
Don't worry Steve, It'll be k.
@FAITH: from an earlier post on page 31
"so, you no nothin."
very nice use of not only a double negitive but also total misuse of the word "no" instead of "know".
i was teasing "faith" on his claim that atheists would attack religious people given the chance, so i said we should atart with "him"..............seeing he thinks so little of us anyway.
i always enjoy seeing how far the american education system has fallen since my time in school............it's totally depressing.
true. atart
@faith: "anyone denying that truth deserves the burning lake, witch."
how very christian of you................though not very christ like. 🙂
WASP.............private and public schools !
Hey faith again
Human Y Chromosome Much Older Than Previously Thought
Mar. 4, 2013 — The discovery and analysis of an extremely rare African American Y chromosome pushes back the time of the most recent common ancestor for the Y chromosome lineage tree to 338,000 years ago. This time predates the age of the oldest known anatomically modern human fossils.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130305145821.htm
No god(s) needed or required to graduate from public schools in the US
Remember : Adam had to POKE himself hard with his OWN BONE to create Eve.
No god(s) needed................... Old. DNA works..................also catches crooks !
Ancient DNA Reveals Europe's Dynamic Genetic History
Apr. 23, 2013 — Ancient DNA recovered from a series of skeletons in central Germany up to 7,500 years old has been used to reconstruct the first detailed genetic history of modern Europe.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130423134037.htm
@faith: there is a difference in a missed key stroke and a total misuse of a word. 🙂 but nice try.
not to mention i'm also dyslexic............i think that's how it's spelled. i see pictures instead of words in my mind. if i don't slow myself down i miss complete spellings of words because all i see is an "apple" instead of the word apple.
so pointing out my failings in spelling is truly helping my to correct it further along; so thank you for that. 🙂
Faith has the advantage since she's mentally challenged, and it's not good sport to make fun of the retarded. Of course, I have no such qualms about making fun of the little addled sh.....it deserves all it gets for being the festering boil on the ass on the BB.
ALL religous beliefs are either evil or stupid – take your choice.And the people who believe in them are also either one or the other.
Faith is gay?? Whoa!
Watching the christard go all out is indeed fun.
Better get your paranoia checked out, faith.......you seem to think everyone is named dorothy and sam......and calling sam "sambo" makes you sound racist as hell......which is wherew you're gonna end up with your lying for Jesus!
Think abortion was a bad exampte.
I think it was a very good example of religious stupidity. The more abortions we have the merrier! There can never be too many. And now I will get the kooks telling me my mother should have aborted me so don't waste the effort.
faith
i am seeking to draft a bill that would force abortion doctors to store all dead babies they tear to shreds; there is no reason it can't be used as dog food
.
Excellent use for fetuses.
If I could rid the world of one thing, it would be religion.
Not funny, clever, nor at all appropriate... grow up!
there u go sambo. confession is good for the soul
Any belief system that will teach a child to love someone who never existed with all of their heart or burn forever in eternal damnation is evil. That pretty much sums up all religions.
Not Buddhism
anyone denying that truth deserves the burning lake, witch
"faith" There is no burning lake either.
dream on.
ask the head korn welsh
Why? Is he in a burning lake? His music sucks, THAT should burn, too.
QUOTE: "Many of history’s greatest religious figures – Moses, Jesus, the Prophet Mohammed – all believed that they had discovered some truth, scholars say."
Correction: Jesus didn't discover some truth. Jesus WAS the truth. John 14:6-7 [NIV]: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
Except he never existed to begin with. Just a fairly tale based on many previous religious fairy tales.
Boy are you ever gullible. I have a bridge in Brooklyn I would liek to sell you.
Perfect example of #1. Thanks for the affirmation.
Good point swohio.
It's good to see at least some people aren't drinking this secular koolaid.
@swohio
You’re living in fantasy land if you think there is any truth in the bible. The myths it plagiarized are no longer believed by anyone so why do you continue to believe?
Name one demonstrable, original "truth" Jesus referenced.