is religion the cause.....?

Question

atheists are always so quick to point the finger at religion for causing suffering. they often bring up the inquisition and terrorism etc... they seem to have forgotten all the atrocities comitted by the atheist extremists under communism. in the soviet union religion was outlawed. millions of christians,muslims and jews were imprisoned or even killed simply for practicing their faiths. religious persecution still goes on today in china, north korea, vietnam and cuba. i dare say that the inquisition pales in comparison to the atrocities comitted by these atheist regimes. could it be that its not religion or atheism that cause all this suffering, but just arrogant human nature that says "im right and anyone who disagrees with me must be silenced" ?

Answer 1

I've gotta agree with you here. The cause for human suffering is naked human stupidity. Without religion, people would just find something else to be idiots about.

All the best,

Lazarus

Answer 2

I must sympathize with the Atheist although I am not one myself. I can't excuse what they did to religions during communism but all the atrocities of approximately 100 years of communism couldn't come close to all the massacres due to religion. Remember by religion I mean ALL religion, not just the one with the inquisition:)
Although Atheism isn't a religion it is a philosophy and people invest faith into it because it gives them hope. Strict Atheism is like religion in effect while logic is the faith.

So yes religion is the cause....
Faith is the solution.
Perhaps my mistake is thinking you know the difference.

Blessed Be

Answer 3

OK - then - does the Holocaust pale in light of communism? Or were still more killed for a pure Christian society than ever died at the hands of communists - through today?

Look it up.
10 million under communism, 60 million as a direct result of WWII.
Now tell me, which was worse - a Christian society that was trying to "cleanse the world" of the "imperfect" or a social concept and construct gone astray under corrupt leaders?

Both were bad - but you cannot tell me that communism has been worse.

Just so you know, there WAS religion in communist Russia, it was just strictly regulated - there were jews and Christians all over Russia, just not fanatical ones. The Russian Orthodox Church was, and still is, the favored ad supported religion by the communist regime.

Answer 4

Nice try but in the context of world history communism was a mere drop in the ocean and if you had even bothered to check your history references you would see religion has clearly caused far more deaths and persecution than atheism (atheism is not a religion).
The inquisition is basically summed up by your last quote "I'm right and anyone who disagrees ...must be silenced".

Answer 5

I think you hit the nail on the head in the last sentence. Atrocities have been committed by religious people and non-religious people all throughout history. It's the way in which you use these beliefs that bring problems for others. If you misuse either in an effort to acquire power or prestige or wealth, you invaribly end up harming other people. When your belief, religious or otherwise, leads to the harm of others, that should be your first clue that something is wrong.

Answer 6

You're right

Also a lot of people who don't like religion and bring up inquisition don't know much about inquisition.

Inquisition was a series of events limited to one region and which did not cause too many deaths. it wasn't a big massacre all over Europe.

Probably the least excusable thing done in name of Christian religion was the Crusades. That was a bloody mess. But I think it would have happened even without religion because the Muslims were trying to take over Spain anyway.

Answer 7

You are 100% correct. It is the "I'm right and anyone who disagrees with me must be silenced" attitude that is the problem.

And the Church (in its various guises) had a monopoly on this for almost 2,000 years!! In which time it killed millions.

Of course some recent idealogies have tried to play catch up, but they are way, way behind.

Answer 8

I agree with you in principle, but causal chains for the occurrence of any event can be mind-boggling in terms of ever figuring out, at best, just how many factors are involved. Alot of war and other atrocities have been blamed on religion that had nothing to do with religion. It's classic cloak and dagger BS and religion just happened to be standing in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Answer 9

There is a difference between christian atheists, and atheists in other lands who worship the penis. Atheists in America are called so by christians because they don't believe the trumped up story of the two sky daddies who are father and son who had sexual relations together and shat out human beings. What a joke . . . ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha . . .
To answer your question at the top, man is the cause of religion. Religion is not a cause in itself.

Answer 10

Confusing religion with politics to attack Atheists. Charming.

In any case, EVERY group has caused the world suffering one way or another. At least Atheists aren't stupid enough to say, "Well... God told me so!"

- Agnostic