I don't give the religions of Asia a pass either. There is nothing special or unique about those either, not even Buddhism. That part of the world has also had its divisions and wars and even today those countries also have prisons too.
If you want a good book that explains where our morality as a species is coming from, "The New Atheism" by Victor Stinger, doesn't just address the omni god claims, but also compares the religions of the world to say they all claim to be the secret to morality.
That book for me, while not the first skeptic work I read, really drove home to me what I know and accept now. That our species ability to cruel or compassionate is not in old traditions, old writings or old religions, but has always been in our evolution.
If you want a good book that explains where our morality as a species is coming from, "The New Atheism" by Victor Stinger, doesn't just address the omni god claims, but also compares the religions of the world to say they all claim to be the secret to morality.
That book for me, while not the first skeptic work I read, really drove home to me what I know and accept now. That our species ability to cruel or compassionate is not in old traditions, old writings or old religions, but has always been in our evolution.
