(January 5, 2015 at 1:26 pm)Cthulhu Dreaming Wrote:(January 5, 2015 at 12:35 pm)Brian37 Wrote: I hope you are not accusing me of black and white thinking.
I wasn't responding to you (in fact, I had not seen your response).
My point is this: the proposition "religion is always harmful" is falsified by providing a singular example where an expression of religion is not harmful. I don't believe that would be difficult to do (at least insofar as I can satisfy my own idea of "not harmful").
(January 5, 2015 at 12:35 pm)Brian37 Wrote: If I said we had to get rid of it by force, then that would be black and white thinking.
Non sequitur.
"X is always bad" and "Y is always good" are prototypical examples of black and white thinking.
Context.
In the grand scope of evolution religion is always harmful just like that dormant volcano will always be a volcano. Just like a gun is always a weapon. What happens between the volcano's eruptions, or between the gun being shot, does not change the dangers in them.
Holy crap "expression of religion". You can find nice stories and acts of kindness in all religious writings. That does not mean that religion is harmless. The danger is still in them regardless. Because humans can and do use bad ideas and turn them into religions. And as long as humans are flawed in their perceptions which they are, religion must always be treated as dangerous.
