How to tell if a religion is B.S.

[Reltzik]

The biggest tell is faith. If believing on faith alone, or on faith plus minimal and shaky evidence and/or argumentation, is either a requirement or a virtue in the religion, that's your best sign it's bullshit.

[Aliza]

Everyone learns how to spot a huckster.

At least the smart ones learn.

What do you consider a " tell", that sets off your alarm bells?

A few of mine.


1. They ask for money. Their God created the universe, but needs your money to feed orphans?

2. They' re unusually concerned about your genitalia, and how you' re using it. In fact, they have a knife and want to make " a small adjustment".

3. They want to tell you what to eat. I got news for you swami -- you get between me and the beer and bacon - and there' s gonna be trouble.

...

Contribute your insights and observations.

Has this ever happened to you? Has anyone offered to make a small adjustment on you or told you that you can't drink beer or eat bacon?

As for feeding children, yeah, I'm going to give to that regardless of who is organizing the feeding. If the end result is starving kids get food, then I don't care who gives it to them. ... I do require a 501C3 or comparable government non-profit document and their most recent financial audit, though.

[onlinebiker]

My observation is that you have set a very low bar for, essentially, fraud, and are likely maligning a lot of innocent people as a result.

Spot on. I find it pretty difficult to criticize people who collect money to feed hungry children, whatever their motivation for doing so.

Boru

I don't criticize people who do good or even great deeds. People amaze.

I do have a problem when they do good things because Jebus, Yomomma, or the Great Pumpkin commands it.

That' s the B.S.

[Angrboda]

My observation is that you have set a very low bar for, essentially, fraud, and are likely maligning a lot of innocent people as a result.

Most of the participants in the scheme may be innocent, but the scheme is nonetheless fraudulent, and conceived to defraud.

Even if true, his criteria for concluding that it is fraudulent are poor at best, and more likely to simply serve to comfort the prejudice of bigots rather than lead to any clarity.

[Anomalocaris]

Everyone learns how to spot a huckster.

At least the smart ones learn.

What do you consider a " tell", that sets off your alarm bells?

A few of mine.


1. They ask for money. Their God created the universe, but needs your money to feed orphans?

2. They' re unusually concerned about your genitalia, and how you' re using it. In fact, they have a knife and want to make " a small adjustment".

3. They want to tell you what to eat. I got news for you swami -- you get between me and the beer and bacon - and there' s gonna be trouble.

...

Contribute your insights and observations.

Has this ever happened to you? Has anyone offered to make a small adjustment on you or told you that you can't drink beer or eat bacon?

As for feeding children, yeah, I'm going to give to that regardless of who is organizing the feeding. If the end result is starving kids get food, then I don't care who gives it to them. ... I do require a 501C3 or comparable government non-profit document and their most recent financial audit, though.

Except in cases where religious hucksters morally hold starving children hostage in order for get a pass for their self-enriching fraud.

A good question to ask when told how church is justified by its charitable good deeds and how many children a mega church fed is, how many children hunger still because the pastor needed another rolls Royce or private jet?

[Mystic]

I don't mind money going to orphans, however, what I do mind is clergy making a living off taking an office of leadership that doesn't belong to no one but God's chosen guides and anointed kings.

[Aliza]

Spot on. I find it pretty difficult to criticize people who collect money to feed hungry children, whatever their motivation for doing so.

Boru

I don't criticize people who do good or even great deeds. People amaze.

I do have a problem when they do good things because Jebus, Yomomma, or the Great Pumpkin commands it.

That' s the B.S.

If the theist thinks Jebus or Yomomma told them to feed starving child, and a starving child gets fed, then who gives a shit why they did it? If the atheist thinks that feeding hungry children is the right thing to do, but they don't do anything about and nor do they facilitate the theist in doing it, then as far as I can see, the theist wins the game.

Regardless of why the theist went on a mission to feed hungry children, kids ended up with food in their bellies.

---

Has this ever happened to you? Has anyone offered to make a small adjustment on you or told you that you can't drink beer or eat bacon?

As for feeding children, yeah, I'm going to give to that regardless of who is organizing the feeding. If the end result is starving kids get food, then I don't care who gives it to them. ... I do require a 501C3 or comparable government non-profit document and their most recent financial audit, though.

Except in cases where religious hucksters morally hold starving children hostage in order for get a pass for their self-enriching fraud.

A good question to ask when told how church is justified by its charitable good deeds and how many children a mega church fed is, how many children hunger still because the pastor needed another rolls Royce or private jet?

Yes, but that's where their most recent audit comes in handy. (And I do actually read them.)

[onlinebiker]

If the theist thinks Jebus or Yomomma told them to feed starving child, and a starving child gets fed, then who gives a shit why they did it? If the atheist thinks that feeding hungry children is the right thing to do, but they don't do anything about and nor do they facilitate the theist in doing it, then as far as I can see, the theist wins the game.

Regardless of why the theist went on a mission to feed hungry children, kids ended up with food in their bellies.

When people start taking their marching orders from invisible friends, we end up with a bunch of whackadoodle all running about. Doing WHATEVER they think they got told to do.

Rational people don't force a thousand people to drink poisoned koolaid - or drive aircraft full of people into buildings.

Only people with " a direct line to god" do that kind of shit. Or whackadoodles - which amount to the same thing.

[Aliza]

If the theist thinks Jebus or Yomomma told them to feed starving child, and a starving child gets fed, then who gives a shit why they did it? If the atheist thinks that feeding hungry children is the right thing to do, but they don't do anything about and nor do they facilitate the theist in doing it, then as far as I can see, the theist wins the game.

Regardless of why the theist went on a mission to feed hungry children, kids ended up with food in their bellies.

When people start taking their marching orders from invisible friends, we end up with a bunch of whackadoodle all running about. Doing WHATEVER they think they got told to do.

Rational people don't force a thousand people to drink poisoned koolaid - or drive aircraft full of people into buildings.

Only people with " a direct line to god" do that kind of shit. Or whackadoodles - which amount to the same thing.

I dunno... the mother of three who is organizing a door-to-door food drive in my neighborhood for the local Christian food pantry seems driven by the desire to help people. She doesn't seem like a whackadoodle to me at all. That she also believes in Jesus is immaterial. I'm too lazy to do a food drive, but because of her efforts, homeless people will have a bagged lunch and a hot dinner.

So I'll fill up the bag she left me and leave it on my door.

Good job, lady.

[Brian37]

I don't mind money going to orphans, however, what I do mind is clergy making a living off taking an office of leadership that doesn't belong to no one but God's chosen guides and anointed kings.

Again MK, why do you want to think of yourself as living under a dictator? That is what a king is. 

If I was your God, or even merely your king, and I could prove it, knowing how we disagree, would you like the idea of me having absolute final say over your life or whom you associate with? If I offered you free Sushi for your entire life, would it negate all the other things you don't like about what I say?

Charity is an act of empathy, and charity is GREAT, but there is no one religion that owns a patent on doing good and being good.

If the only goal of a charity is to glorify a god or a king, it is only promoting local tribalism, not understanding of humanity.