"There are no great religions. They're all stupid and dangerous..."

Atheism is a belief on the cusp of becoming an organised religion, churches spokesmen and women and some have doctrines.
Politics
Communism stated there was no god and they killed the religious, its a sad person who acts like the religious when they claim no religion.

a reply to: borntowatch

Anti religion does not automatically mean atheist.
People can believe in God and disagree with religion because religion is not from God but man.

originally posted by: canucks555
"We have to stop saying, 'Well we should not insult a great religion,'" Maher continued. "First of all, there are no great religions. They're all stupid and dangerous. And we should insult them. "

Religion is a set of ideas, ideals, thoughts tenets and beliefs. Inanimate. Like a gun, it has no power of its own and can do no damage. Blaming "religion" takes the responsibility away from blaming the PEOPLE who commit acts in the name of their religion.

For example, Christianity used to be about loving, helping, caring, forgiveness and self-assessment. PEOPLE have twisted it and made it into a warped set of beliefs about controlling others' choices, controlling the political landscape, hatred, nonacceptance, judgment and war. The religion didn't change, the PEOPLE, who claim to be following a religion, absconded it and use it to further their own personal biases, judgments, hatreds and fears. It's the PEOPLE who make religion what it is.

When someone kills in the name of religion, it's important to realize that they actually are NOT following the religion they're hiding behind, whether it be in a terrorist attack or by waging a war in a foreign country.

The only way to have religion and live in a polite society is to get ALL religion OUT of government. People shouldn't be able to USE their religion to control others, as we see in the US today with LEGAL restrictions on abortion, marriage equality, and birth control, etc.

The government is at fault for allowing religions to lobby them and control our laws. The government should be keeping religion in its place: The home and the church. If that were the case, we'd know more freedom. Freedom of religion does not mean freedom to take action against things that don't agree with your religion.

Insulting a religion (or anything) is a matter of free speech, and I fully support that. Government shouldn't interfere except to keep the "insulted" from physical retaliation.

But society will always have religion. Kept in its place, it's a fine structure that many people depend upon and receive benefits from. There's no reason to abolish it. But when we let it control our society (as we are seeing more and more with the right-wing control of government) that's when we have the kind of problems we have today.

originally posted by: boymonkey74
a reply to: borntowatch

Anti religion does not automatically mean atheist.

Or in the majority of threads and comments on this site it does

a reply to: canucks555

I can't believe that Bill and I are in complete agreement regarding the deadliest part of human civilization.

Religion.

Has anything in human history (other than disease) killed more humans than religion/superstition?

Breaking the eons old choke hold of religion would make most of our other problems seem trivial.

Thank you for this thread,canuck555,it actually makes me start to see Maher in a different light.

I will have to actually sit back and hear him out instead of instantly dismissing him.

a reply to: Benevolent Heretic

Amen to that!

a reply to: boymonkey74

boymonkey74,

In the most heterosexual manner possible.... I love you man... really.

You grasp the space between the lines absolutely perfectly in what you say about Religion being a product of mankind, rather than of God. Like a laser, right to the heart of the matter.

Nm

originally posted by: FalcoFan
a reply to: canucks555


Has anything in human history (other than disease) killed more humans than religion/superstition?

Yes Communism, an atheist political system, never mind the rest of the political ideologies

It truly amazes my how ignorant people are and how ludicrous this little Religion killed more people than anything else line is.
Its very wrong
Read the stats

a reply to: TrueBrit

love you to man love you to .