Atheism vs. World Religions - Which has caused more deaths?

This is an interesting and hopeful view, but to see it you'd have to step out of the box of religion that most people are in.

 

Yeah, the belief in something higher does not make you religious.

I have no doubt there is something higher than this material world. I just don't think the answers can be found in any manmade dogma or religious writings. People would rather follow than look within themselves.

 

I'm unsure of whether or not theres a purpose. Theres deep esoteric beauty in existing, which very few atheists would call pointless.

I don't believe my life was created and is watched over by a father figure, and I don't feel the need to constantly defend myself from people who imply I'm spiritually empty because of that.

I'm out.

 

i will always crush on you.

 

yeah, so youre sig is pretty much the best ever.

i loved that song, in 5th grade i memorized all the lyrics. Which my brother loved when i sang because a tiny little girl should not be singing such things.

 

I don't believe in anything higher, yet I think I'm mildly religious. Or something...

I'm confused by this thread.

Christianity is by far responsible for the cause of deaths of people than Communism though. Yer wrong there Matty.

 

Notice I said the past 100 years.

Do you know how many people died under Mao and Stalin?

 

I don't understand how a person can be religious and not believe in something higher.

I can see how a person can believe in something higher and not be religious, but not the other way around. What's even the point of practicing religion. I don't get that at all.

 

Aristartle: if you're saying that Christianity in and of itself is responsible for more deaths than communism in and of yourself, I think you're mistaken.

I'll even go more than the 100 years rat is talking about and up the ante to all of world history.

Stalin by himself killed over 43 MILLION souls in the name of communism. Mao did another 40 million EASILY, if not close to double that.

So where can you account for 80 million+ bodies that can be attributed to Christian aggression?

 

Let's stop keeping count, just let's stop hurting eachother. We are all responsible and all victims, and it not religion or the lack thereof to blame, but greed, lust and malice ingrained in our species. If religion can suppress these primal urges, so be it; if it fosters them, so be the death of it.

 

From what I have studied, Stalin killed 20 million. Mao killed 60 million. I am fairly certain these numbers are correct... or as close to being correct as you're going to get. Some people will say more, some less. It's hard to pinpoint the exact number. The fact is, combined they both killed an enormous number of people.

 

Tradition? Out of love for parents? Respect for ancestry and history?

I think I occassionally practice my religion, because there is some good in it. Not because I want to whorship God. I don't consider myself to be a Catholic because I whorship and follow God's teachings as seen through the eyes of the Church. I don't believe in God, but I consider myself to be Catholic. Sure, it may not make much sense to some people.

The point of practicing would be to keep a routine, to keep in touch with an inner spiritual sense of self, to reflect and meditate, to enrich a communal sense of belonging, and to learn how to make personal relationships reach their full potential.

That's what I practice my religion for. Not for the love of God.

 

Does that make a bit of sense?

 

It sure does

 

Wow, Michael Savage. Just wow.

I refuse to argue about this, but I will make a few rhetorical questions for you to ponder.

How many wars have been fought over Christianity? How many did the Romans kill and conquer? The Nazis? The Crusaders? The NRA? The First Nations' peoples of North America who were nothing but cattle to Christians and early settlers? What about the FN People in Australia and NZ? How many Christians in Africa are dying of AIDS because they don't believe in the use of condoms? How many in the world? How many Muslims have killed or gone to war? (Islam acknowledges, adopts and accepts most of the teachings of Jesus) And how many Christians are involved in any type of war and military as of today?

Yeah. Just wow.

 

Aristartle, no one is trying to say that religions hands are clean of gross amounts of death and suffering worldwide...But we are talking about pure numbers here. And are you trying to say that athiests/agnostics are not involved in any military or war today?

I think its pretty obvious that religion is not inherintly evil, but that there is a dark side of human nature. There are certain disgusting human appetites that religion does not curb, and I dont think athiesm does either.

 

The Nazis were not Christians. Not if you studied them like I have. They were occultists -- theosophists primarily. They simply used Christianity as a facade, a front, much like today's "conservative Christians" who love sodomizing young boys, attending Bohemian Grove and being members of Skull & Bones.

Still, the atrocities carried out by Hitler were nothing compared to those committed by Mao and Stalin.

How many millions has the NRA killed? Geez, you're really grasping at straws now.

So I must ask you, why do you practice this awful religion. Don't you feel guilty by association.

You are really confusing sometimes.

And shit, I really need to get to bed.

 

Yea the NRA one threw me off too. Im not a big gun man myself, but Im not sure that they have been killing in the name of religion too much.

 

Sure. But on the same token I could argue that Stalin was a totalitarian dictator, not a communist.

I'm going to bed too.

 

Eh. I feel more guilty by association to be human than being apart of any particular religion. Don't you??

I suppose I do feel terrible about Christian atrocities. Who wouldn't? But it doesn't make me guilty of them - nor does it make me guilty of perpetuating atrocities, violence, and oppression.

What makes you so confused, dear?