All religions basically teach peace. Love your neighbor, worship god, be good to others. That sort of crap.
Now, I find this very interesting as you can look back to a lot of the major conflicts of the world and see that that they were usually motivated by land, power, and religion. I put those things in that order because the land and power is usually what the war is REALLY about. The sad thing is that the leaders use religion as the major reason to have their followers fight, i.e. the Crusades, the Jewish/Muslim conflicts, Bosnian and Serbian conflicts, etc.
The leaders present the war as 'God's will' and they use words for their enemies such as savages, infidels, non-believers. These words dehumanize enemies and makes the bad things you do to them seem to be fine with God. 'You aren't killing a human.. you're killing an infidel!'
My question is this. If religion is supposed to be teaching peace, why does it condone the poor treatment of those who do not believe?
2006-09-15 02:39:19 · 17 answers · asked by bleedcoltsblue 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Here! Here!
About time they are starting walking the talk!
2006-09-15 02:41:09 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
There is a difference between what something teaches and then putting that in practice. You answered your own question, people use religions as a means of furthering their cause. They know religion is teh one thing that will fuel a persons emotions like no other, especially if that person is lead to believe that what they are doing is not only for their god, but for the greater good. What man doesn't dream of the day his life can have meaning and purpose, even a legacy of a hero after they are gone? And what better way to accomplish this than by thinking that you are serving your god.
As far as your question, speaking from a Christian background, the bible does not condone the poor treatment of people because they do not believe, nor does it condone the poor treatment of people in general. The main purpose of Christian living as tought by the bible is to present the truth and its message to non-believers so that they can believe. When people try to quote atrocities in the Bible as a means of attempting to prove that it condones violence or mistreatment of others they do both themselves and others a great disservice. What you have to understand is that most of what you read weren't things to live by, but events that occured at that time in history, a way to show what culture and society were like in those days.
If my duty as a Christian is to present the truths of the bible and God to you then it makes no sense to think I can treat you poorly and expect you to accept what I am saying. Anyone who acts contrary to that then you have to ask if they are truely Christians. Remember, being the loudest person in church makes you know more a Christian than me standing in my garage looking under the hood makes me a mechanic.
2006-09-15 09:51:55 · answer #2 · answered by Bruce Leroy - The Last Dragon 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
To correct you,there is one religion that practices what it preaches.That religion is Jehovah's Witnesses.
They are the only religious organisation who, instead of adhering to a creed based on human tradition,they hold to the Bible as the standard for all their beliefs.
And as such you will find love amongst them.They show genuine Christian love for their neighbors,but they do not share in the politics or the wars of any nation.
2006-09-15 10:05:03 · answer #3 · answered by lillie 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion is not supposed to teach peace sweetheart. God and His word bring us peace. Religions are made by people who choose to follow God's Word in a way that they agree. Thats why you have so many religions. But if you ask me, there is one tru religion that will brinng you internal peace and most importantly peace with God. Mny religions do condone you. But Not Jehovah God. He gave us the gift of free will and he gave us a choice to do what is right and follow what his word says or do whats wrong. U won't go to hell if u do whats wrong because hell does not exist because if it did then God wouldn't be o loving, would he? But if you do whats wrong u won't recieve the gift of eternal life in the near future that God has given us.
2006-09-15 09:58:28 · answer #4 · answered by giggles 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
This happens because people do not really
believe. They are mostly opportune and if they
pray they pray with empty hearts and empty
souls... sometimes with an empty stomach too...
They are such hypocrites. They betrayal themselves
and their poor children... But they are also full of fear.
They just follow their priests, their Rabbis and imams.
But that's not enough. If some one believes, he has to
do a bit more than just "duck and cover" !!!
2006-09-15 09:47:25 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
religion is a conflicting issue..n it has many sides wich r true n false at da same tym........its just a damn setup for human coz most of them lyks bein tied by chains of false rules n regulation...n it depends on individual wether they wanna be a prisoner or they wanna be free....
yeah ur point of view is very accurate..religion teaches u to be a priest n a killer at da same tym.....n its very vague...but wen u reallize the truth n stuff people tend to hate u n obstruct u....
religion is just a faith and depends on how u take it.....n if u wanna be free its also upto u....i know dat i can't depend on sumthing ambiguous .. the rest of the decision is on u..
p.s. i am glad finally sum1 pointed this fact out
2006-09-15 09:53:08 · answer #6 · answered by wants_to_know 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Coz it's wonderful " hide behind facility ".
Can cover a multitude of duff religious behavior & the more people who believe it the better.
Ban all Religion B4 we all kill 1 another or self-destruct!
2006-09-15 09:43:11 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Because religion is a man made fabrication created in the old days to keep control of a population. It's not in our "nature" to be peaceful no matter how hard we try. Wars happen, people fist fight or argue. It's just the way we are. It doesn't make us bad...we're just human.
2006-09-15 09:42:52 · answer #8 · answered by Mike 2 · 2⤊ 2⤋
Good question. For the most part, Buddhists have a very peaceful track record!
2006-09-15 09:40:54 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
That is a very good question. Religion should unite people and bring peace. Most do fail.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/pr/article_04.htm
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2005/1/1/article_01.htm
However, there is one religion that does promote peace and unity. It's members even go to jail and receive persecution for refusing to go to war.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/2005/1/1/article_02.htm
2006-09-15 10:21:07 · answer #10 · answered by izofblue37 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Because it all gets mixed up with politics, which is anything but peaceful. I believe that is why the founding fathers wanted to separate church and state.
2006-09-15 09:41:30 · answer #11 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋