Atheism and hope

[Gooders1002]

I was asked by a friend about religion giving hope to people who are poor and who live in this must inhumane conditions. What do you think? do you think that religion is bad in those areas and how would you justify your stance?

[Tempus]

I don't need to justify my stance to poor people or people who 'need' hope. Their feelings (and my own for that matter) of despair are irrelevant to what's true.

[Paul the Human]

I don't need to justify my stance to poor people or people who 'need' hope. Their feelings (and my own for that matter) of despair are irrelevant to what's true.

Exactly. Religion does offer hope to the downtrodden, but it is false hope in the form of cruel lies.

[Cato]

I was asked by a friend about religion giving hope to people who are poor and who live in this must inhumane conditions. What do you think? do you think that religion is bad in those areas and how would you justify your stance?

This is by far much worse than bad. No matter how bad the inhumane conditions are, giving people a false sense of hope based on a future unproven existence is even more inhumane. Perhaps the most well known proponent of this view of religion was Hitchens; a prime example illustrated in his book The Missionary Position.

Promising the good life after life is done is only a means to keep people in their place. It does nothing to change their plight. People in poor condition are nothing more than easy victims for proselytizing. Many will belive in anything, at least for the moment, if they know there is a meal at the end of the sermon.

[Anomalocaris]

[/i].

Promising the good life after life is done is only a means to keep people in their place. It does nothing to change their plight. People in poor condition are nothing more than easy victims for proselytizing. Many will belive in anything, at least for the moment, if they know there is a meal at the end of the sermon.

Exactly, the good life in hereafter for the oppressed is promised solely for the purposes of protecting the good life in the here and now of the oppressors.

The false hope of religion is but a tool to extinguish well founded hope of real improvement.

[Reforged]

Hope: "A feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen."

Taking the definition into account is it actually possible for a human being to not experience hope on a regular basis? Someone starving hopes for food, someone poor hopes for money, someone imprisoned hopes for freedom. I can hope a take-away pizza will arrive quickly, I can hope for a better lot in life, I can certainly hope that R&B dies horribly and the music industry can get back to being original and talented like the good old days when Led Zeppelin and Jimi Hendrix were rocking the scene.
At what point is religion a prerequisite for hope? It is simply part of the human condition.

[Minimalist]

I was asked by a friend about religion giving hope to people who are poor and who live in this must inhumane conditions. What do you think? do you think that religion is bad in those areas and how would you justify your stance?

What kind of "hope?" Delusions?

What religion gives is a crock. "Keep your mouth shut, do what the fuck your told and you'll get your reward in "heaven. Meanwhile...we'll just keep cleaning up down here."

Fuck religion. Anyone stupid enough to fall for that line of shit gets no sympathy from me.

[Oldandeasilyconfused]

What do you think? do you think that religion is bad in those areas and how would you justify your stance?

THAT is one of the most evil things organised religion does; .it supports the status quo and keeps the poor under control.

Religion is considered by the common people as true, by the wise as false, and by rulers as useful (Seneca,I think)

[AgnosticKnowledge]

Religion isn't bad at it, but I believe the act of giving these people false hope in itself isn't "good". The charitable acts are good, but the "you can be saved if you follow this guideline for the rest of your life" part is simply proselytizing and is no different from other religious people saying "believing there's a god makes me feel good". I think the truth is more important than feeling special and happy, especially when this special feeling comes with a moral code that's as atrocious as the bible.

[Minimalist]

Religion isn't bad at it,

I guess you don't read the papers much?