More harm caused by religious extremists

245

Comments

  • ajedigecko
    ajedigecko \m/deplorable af \m/ Posts: 2,431
    darn it......you went and got all warm and fuzzy.
    live and let live...unless it violates the pearligious doctrine.
  • BinauralJam
    BinauralJam Posts: 14,158
    Amen
  • Byrnzie
    Byrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Giz wrote:
    So that takes away what they are doing now. I love people that live in the past. people should be beyond this, not having another religion start it all over again. enough with what happened 500 years ago. get a clue.

    I need to get a clue? Here's a clue for you which I hope you can comprehend: The Iraq war isn't the past, it's the present.
  • arq
    arq Posts: 8,101
    ajedigecko wrote:
    darn it......you went and got all warm and fuzzy.

    Well maybe the way I word it made me look like this other wako:

    dove_world_outreach_center_summer_2009_credit_gainesville_sun.jpg

    But I'm against all religious extremists.
    "The good thing about science is that it's true whether or not you believe in it"
    Neil deGrasse Tyson

    Why not (V) (°,,,,°) (V) ?
  • neweltheman
    neweltheman Posts: 13
    arq wrote:
    neweltheman wrote:
    This is definitely a topic that should be addressed and not placed aside, because understanding is in the end what creates tolerance. Religion is a pretty huge topic in the world. Although the biggest mass genocides in the world have actually been conducted by secular governments (Stalin, Mao etc) it cannot be denied that Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, Sheiks have all been involved in religious oriented violence and genocide. What is important to note is what has been said in the previous posts. These are extremist renditions of these faiths that participate in these violent acts or help to perpetuate violence in conflict areas. Sorry, I don't mean to be long winded but it is on my mind a lot because I am a graduate student that just finished a class called Religion, Violence, and Global Politics. If you want some good, insightful reading on this subject the following are excellent reads:

    1)Terror in the Mind of God: The Global Rise of Religious Violence by Mark Juergensmeyer (Cultural biography of religious violence looking at perspectives of extremist religious beliefs (of many religions) full of interviews with members of these groups)
    2)Religion and Peacebuilding, edited by Harold Coward and Gordon S. Smith
    3)Sudan: Race, Religion and Violence by Jok Madut Jok (Christian vs. Muslim violence, Muslim vs. Muslim violence)
    4)Unholy War: Terror in the Name of Islam by John L. Esposito (Islam)
    5)Osama bin Laden, Messages to the World: Statements of Osama bin Laden, edited by Bruce Lawrence (Islam)
    6)Sinhalese Buddhist Nationalist Ideology: Implications for Politics and Cinflict Resolution in Sri Lanka by Neil DeVotta (Buddhist vs. Tamil)
    7)The Bridge Betrayed: Religion and Genocide in Bosnia by Michael Sells (Christian vs. Muslim violence)
    8)Genocide in Rwanda: Complicity of the Churches? edited by Carol Rittner and John Roth


    Only 8 posts and this one is just awesome! :D I'll take some time to check some of the books you mentioned, I really appreciate your comment :thumbup:

    No problem arq. Anytime. It was a fascinating class and the scholarship being done on the subject is starting to grow in leaps and bounds. Hope you enjoy what you are able to grab and read.
  • Go Beavers
    Go Beavers Posts: 9,623
    arq wrote:
    Byrnzie wrote:
    More Muslim bashing on the M.T?

    Seems to be the fashionable thing at the moment.


    By the way arq, have you ever considered how many people have been murdered by Christians in the past 500 years? The biggest genocides the world has ever seen were committed by 'Christians'.

    Also, over 1 million Iraqi's have been killed by 'Christians' since 2003.

    I'm an atheist, so religion is the force behind this kind of atrocities, I don't care from which religion comes from.

    I'm going to say that the force behind it is fear, desperation, and ignorance. Religion just gives them something to hitch their wagon to.
  • pandora
    pandora Posts: 21,855
    just the flipside here...
    http://www.christianchronicle.org/artic ... aged_South

    all the loving religious people who have come from churches all around the country to help

    its beautiful people..... those of religion or not.... coming together

    as the Pastor said

    "What remains? Faith Hope And Love. Those are the only three things we had beforehand anyway. The things that matter have not changed.”

    There are really bad evil people out there... you can find them anywhere

    but remember all the good too.

    It is that good the spirit needs to cherish it is uplifting and fufilling :D
  • cincybearcat
    cincybearcat Posts: 16,895
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Giz wrote:
    So that takes away what they are doing now. I love people that live in the past. people should be beyond this, not having another religion start it all over again. enough with what happened 500 years ago. get a clue.

    I need to get a clue? Here's a clue for you which I hope you can comprehend: The Iraq war isn't the past, it's the present.


    Byrnzie, I also had wondered why you would show your support of the Muslim faith through bringing up what Christians had done in the past.

    Now you bring up the Iraqi war...I thought that was a war about natural resources (your words)? Now it's Christians killing people because of their religion? Which is it?

    I think is safe to say that there are extremists of every religion that do terrible things. What are the current day examples of Christians doing the equivalent of what is seen in the Muslim world? I'm honestly asking.
    hippiemom = goodness
  • Digital Twilight
    Digital Twilight Posts: 5,642
    cincybearcat wrote:
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Giz wrote:
    So that takes away what they are doing now. I love people that live in the past. people should be beyond this, not having another religion start it all over again. enough with what happened 500 years ago. get a clue.

    I need to get a clue? Here's a clue for you which I hope you can comprehend: The Iraq war isn't the past, it's the present.


    Byrnzie, I also had wondered why you would show your support of the Muslim faith through bringing up what Christians had done in the past.

    Now you bring up the Iraqi war...I thought that was a war about natural resources (your words)? Now it's Christians killing people because of their religion? Which is it?

    I think is safe to say that there are extremists of every religion that do terrible things. What are the current day examples of Christians doing the equivalent of what is seen in the Muslim world? I'm honestly asking.

    http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world ... 09925.html

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pOTkVhfMWcw
  • butterjam
    butterjam Posts: 221
    ledvedderman wrote:
    Kat wrote:
    I'm having deja vu.

    Remember to keep the discussion about the people who actually did the killing and not an entire group of people who don't all think with one mind. Thank you.

    This makes way too much sense for the Train. This guy cut me off on the road today, so that means all guys are assholes.

    However, Islam IS a religion of peace...like all religions. It's too bad some wackos have given it this public face.


    Actually, that could be another thread about how most guys are a-holes. I've been saying this for years. Who is responsible for the majority of the evil in this world? Men. The world would be a much more peaceful place if women were in charge. Or hobbits. But I digress.

    “We need religion to give grace and comfort to a world torn apart by religion.” -Jon Stewart
  • Byrnzie
    Byrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Yosi made a good point in the other thread about ideologies being the problem.

    Religions are o.k until they are misused.

    Communism also looks good on paper but in practice it becomes too easy for those in control to abuse the power they have - Lenin, Stalin, Mao Tse Dong.

    As soon as an ideology allows someone to commit an act of murder then we have a problem.

    Theodor Adorno wrote a pretty difficult-to-read book on this subject called Negative Dialectics, in which he basically posited that we should resist all ideologies as they are inherently dangerous and lead to the gas chambers. We should not allow any creed or ideology lead us beyond our basic humanity.
  • bytterman
    bytterman Posts: 136
    Byrnzie wrote:
    As soon as an ideology allows someone to commit an act of murder then we have a problem.

    Theodor Adorno wrote a pretty difficult-to-read book on this subject called Negative Dialectics, in which he basically posited that we should resist all ideologies as they are inherently dangerous and lead to the gas chambers. We should not allow any creed or ideology lead us beyond our basic humanity.

    I think ideologies become problems when they enable someone to think that they're better than someone else, killing is just the extreme outcome. I haven't read Adrono. It's an interesting idea but begging a question: is basic humanity defined universally? Is everyone born with same basic belief system? Dawkins would probably argue yes, but I'm not so sure.
  • Byrnzie
    Byrnzie Posts: 21,037
    bytterman wrote:
    Byrnzie wrote:
    As soon as an ideology allows someone to commit an act of murder then we have a problem.

    Theodor Adorno wrote a pretty difficult-to-read book on this subject called Negative Dialectics, in which he basically posited that we should resist all ideologies as they are inherently dangerous and lead to the gas chambers. We should not allow any creed or ideology lead us beyond our basic humanity.

    I think ideologies become problems when they enable someone to think that they're better than someone else, killing is just the extreme outcome. I haven't read Adrono. It's an interesting idea but begging a question: is basic humanity defined universally? Is everyone born with same basic belief system? Dawkins would probably argue yes, but I'm not so sure.

    'Belief systems' - i.e, ideologies - are the problem. Belief systems & ideologies are what allow people to justify mass murder. But all belief systems are ephemeral - temporal - and finally end up being made redundant.
    There's something fundamental about humans that has nothing to do with where our rationality often leads us in our search for a crutch - something simpler and truer than any creed, dogma, or ideology. 'Negative Dialectics' involves constant questioning, and never stopping at a fixed point from which we can elevate ourselves above others. It requires a perpetual revolution of the mind.
  • bytterman
    bytterman Posts: 136
    Byrnzie wrote:
    'Belief systems' - i.e, ideologies - are the problem. Belief systems & ideologies are what allow people to justify mass murder. But all belief systems are ephemeral - temporal - and finally end up being made redundant.
    There's something fundamental about humans that has nothing to do with where our rationality often leads us in our search for a crutch - something simpler and truer than any creed, dogma, or ideology. 'Negative Dialectics' involves constant questioning, and never stopping at a fixed point from which we can elevate ourselves above others. It requires a perpetual revolution of the mind.

    Constant questioning is the only way to learn anything, it's answers that cause the problems.
  • he still stands
    he still stands Posts: 2,835
    another way to say this is "model agnosticism." Personally, I'm agnostic about most concepts that require abstract thought, not just god(s).

    "I believe in everything - nothing is sacred...

    I believe in nothing - EVERYTHING is sacred." (Tom Robbins, Even Cowgirls Get the Blues)
    Everything not forbidden is compulsory and eveything not compulsory is forbidden. You are free... free to do what the government says you can do.
  • Nothingman54
    Nothingman54 Posts: 2,251
    Let's kill the ones that are doing the killing. Because they won't hesitate to cutoff your head or your children. Weather your atheist or not they want your head.
    I'll be back
  • BinauralJam
    BinauralJam Posts: 14,158
    Nothingman54 wrote:
    Let's kill the ones that are doing the killing. Because they won't hesitate to cutoff your head or your children. Weather your atheist or not they want your head.


    i love head
  • Nothingman54
    Nothingman54 Posts: 2,251
    BinauralJam wrote:
    Nothingman54 wrote:
    Let's kill the ones that are doing the killing. Because they won't hesitate to cutoff your head or your children. Weather your atheist or not they want your head.


    i love head


    Don't we all
    I'll be back
  • Byrnzie
    Byrnzie Posts: 21,037
    Nothingman54 wrote:
    Let's kill the ones that are doing the killing. Because they won't hesitate to cutoff your head or your children. Weather your atheist or not they want your head.

    Murder the murderer?

    I don't believe this would solve anything, and it certainly wouldn't place you in any loftier position above the original murderer.

    Capital punishment is the sickest of all sick things.
  • Giz
    Giz Posts: 6
    I would hope you live in another country.

    or else should move. We are all responsible for what the governement and leaders do. My guess is that you only grow your own food from seed and ride a bicycle everywhere and have no apple products? right. I think not.
    Byrnzie wrote:
    Giz wrote:
    So that takes away what they are doing now. I love people that live in the past. people should be beyond this, not having another religion start it all over again. enough with what happened 500 years ago. get a clue.

    I need to get a clue? Here's a clue for you which I hope you can comprehend: The Iraq war isn't the past, it's the present.

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