Lets get rid of Major Organized Religion.

Banning organized religion will only make it stronger.
The best way is to ignore it and deny its authority.

If organized religion gives a single parent comfort in their day to day struggle to feed their child, who are you to deny them that?

Is your "openmindedness" only at work if they agree with you? Seems that way to me. But then I'm only a simpleminded person who respects the rights of people to believe and worship as they please. I may not share their belief, but they are welcome to it.

As I said before, if they gain comfort from it, who are we, you, or I to deny them that? Very few members of a religion are fanatical fundementalists out to convert by the sword. Don't let your disgust, well deserved, with them color your views of all of them.

if they gain comfort from it, who are we, you, or I to deny them that

If org. religion denies someone comfort, what gives them the right?

What religion, other than extra fundamentalistic portions, does so? Most do not deny comfort to those seeking it. Some may indeed, but these are not in the majority, nor are they "major".

Here is asubtleexample of religion overstepping its bounds. I was driving through town the other day and one of the church billboards said,

"Jesus, it's hell without him."

Who are these people to tell me I cannot have communion with God. What makes them think they are so special, so particular in God's favor. Why cant they just worship in there own way together without the need to tell everyone they are going to hell?
It is this mindset, the "us vs them" attitude, that is a major factor in why the world cannot get along. I can just ignore them true, but when you live in the Bible belt, and everyday you have masses of people telling you your going to hell, well, that doesnt help people coexist peacefully in thier communities. I very much know God, but it is in my own way, it is a personal friendship. If someone on thier own accord wants to discuss divinity with me I'm all for it. However, threatening people is not the way to commune.

All this from one church billboard. Add to this the millions of other congregations with a punitive, separatist philosophy and you have the ingredients for a volitle enviroment in which masses of people do not relate to one another. When masses are able to veiw other people as not as worthy, not as deserving, simply not as good as themselves, it justifies inhumane acts to be commited on human beings. This is a driving force of hate and ignorance in our world today and i think we could do with out it.

Ignore it. Nobody's making anyone go to any particular church, or worship any particular thing any particicular way. Them that wants, can. Them that don't, won't.

What's the difference between the religiously minded placing their views on a billboard and someone wanting to ban religion?

Choice. Always side with the option that allows choice.

To ignore it is to encourage it. Children are born into these religions, go to school, later get a job, and some of them end up in positions in society that directly effect the entire popultion. It is my belief that thoughts are creative, and when you have billions of people making real world decisions based on thier thought that the other half of the world is destined to hell-fire and seperation from god, it justifies evil to be commited.
The Nazi's had a belief that they were superior to Jews. This belief system allowed otherwise normal people to commit atrocities against human beings. The seed of this horrible sencario began with belief, a belief in seperation.
White Christians in the 1500's believed themselves to be superior to the African peoples. This again allowed evil acts to be commited.
Everything that happens in this world starts with thoughts. And when that thought is one of superiority and seperation it only leads to the worst in people.

Originally posted by Stewart Lewis
To ignore it is to encourage it.

I'll tell you a little secret you've apparently not heard -

They want to be persecuted. That's all part of the deal. The more you persecute them, the more convinced they are of being right. They're not Nazis. Naziism isn't an analogy to everything. Every time you react to an ad, billboard, leaflet, you feed their system. Much like we're doing here.

So I'll do my part and stop now.

Would you agree that most of the conflicts in our world go back to the idea of God wanting something from us? Most all religions are based around an idea of a God who requires humans to act or not act in specific ways. This sponsering thought results in conflict, because different ideas about what God wants leads to opposing actions.

After reading the book "The Secret", I discovered that the more focus you place on something, the more reality and power it gains, and the more you ignore something (not giving it focus), the less reality and power it gains.

So collectively, people should just focus on what they want instead of what they don't want. If you ignore it, it will eventually fade away.

BTW, I am against organized religion as well, but I do agree that the more we focus on a bad thing, the more power we give it.

Just a little something to think about.

I can say yes, there is something to "where attention goes, energy flows".

So far as this concept applies to religions of seperation, it is difficult to ignore when you are constanly bombarded and surrounded by people giving in to that worldview. Look what happened when Nazi Germany was ignored by the west. It didn't go away, it got worse. If you can ignore something that bothers there are instances when that is a good way to deal with it, but not always. But in this case we are talking about tring to ignore millions if not billions of people who are activley involved in supporting an illusion which enables humans to enact violence upon one another.

When the interstates are full of billboards, you can't ignore it.
When people come to your house to convert you, you can't ignore it.
When laws are being passed based on the religious backgrounds of lawmakers, you can't ignore it.
When people want to kill you because your not "with them", you can't ignore it.

Or, you can ignore it, and let the world around you be created without you.

It is time to realize, and admit, that some of our most long held ideas about God, about Life, are wrong and no longer serve us. The problems in our world are not political problems, not finacial problems, not military problems, they are spiritual problems, and require spiritual solutions.