(November 23, 2010 at 7:11 am)Skipper Wrote: Without religion you would have good people doing good things and bad people doing bad things. It takes religion to make good people do bad things.
That's the kind of point I was trying to make. I don't think there would be any more evil in the world without religion, as anyone who wants to be evil already is. Religion dosen't stop evil people doing evil things it gives them an excuse and a get out of jail free card with the whole repenting and excepting to save their souls. But there are people who commit evil in the name of their religion who could otherwise have done good.
I'm probably not making the point very well but I think the point im trying to make is summed up best by the first sentence in this post. Obviously not my words, but certainly sums up my stance.
I simply do not agree with that. Take an example like the criminal who was holding a woman hostage, ready to murder her. She read the book "The Purpose-Driven Life" to him, and he changed his mind and waved the white flag. Or a pastor who once came to our church when i was still a theist: he was a gang leader and one day simply "saw the light" and changed his mind.
Look up on YouTube videos with the atheist comedian Ricky Gervais explaining why his mother made him believe in God when he was a child. He said "Jesus is like an unpaid babysitter". When you believe that God is watching, some people might refrain from criminal activities out of guilt.
These simple examples mean that religion can also make bad people do good things. There is no general rule, and these witty one-liners are not always right.
I just think atheists here just have a much too polarized view of religion. Life is not just black and white. Nothing is all good or all evil, especially religion.
