RE: Why some humans are so evil: double standards and irreligion
January 25, 2018 at 6:51 pm
(This post was last modified: January 25, 2018 at 6:52 pm by Whateverist.)
(January 25, 2018 at 3:13 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote:(January 25, 2018 at 1:52 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: Evil people will do evil things but for a good person to do evil takes a strong idea and religion fits the bill.
I never did understand that quote that I keep seeing around here. It doesn't mean religious ideals are, in and of themselves, intrinsically bad. Which is what I think the quote is trying to convey. Obviously any strong idea can influence you do bad things if it's a bad idea lol. And likewise a strong idea can influence you to do good things if it's a good idea. We can't just talk about ideas in isolation as though they are all the same, whether they came from religion or not.
I think it is more that religion is so powerfully motivating that it can over-ride our natural repulsion against killing or torturing a fellow human being. Conditions of war and nationalist fervor is another such dangerous motivation.
