Religion has had it's time.

[merrylander]

Originally Posted by Oerets

My experiences with religion is a simple one. It has little effect on a strong willed persons ability to do the right or wrong thing. Just the easily swayed.

So will always be around in one shape or another to control the masses. Even the Nazis came up with a mythology to confuse and use.

Barney

Barney some people are control freaks and they manage without religion as a tool. I recall summat about Kool Aid in South America. The one thing that I have learned, well two things actually, first we have free will so whatever happens to us is usually our own fault or just happenstance. The second thing was what He called the second greatest commandment* is quite true - love your neighbor as yourself. Now think about that - most people really don't love themselves and so cannot love others. So you see what the shrinks call projection - people will assume that others will act toward them as they themselves would. Now loving yourself does not mean being blind to one's own faults - but at least you know they are faults and so don't project them onto others.

* I have often wondered why we call them commandments, I mean who is going to enforce them, beyond 'Thou shalt not murder'.

Another thing is this idea that the Old Testament is God's word - he did not fax it down. It is mostly allegorical and historical. You don't actually believe Adam and Eve were the first surely. Note that every artists painting of Adam and Eve shows both with navels - really?

Actually that story was the first example of misogyny. Blame it all on poor Eve.