How do we slay the dragon?

[CapnAwesome]

With the internet?

[archangle]

Bertrand Russell--whom I am currently reading and falling in love with (yes I'm late to the party)--says at the close of his essay, "Has Religion Made Useful Contributions to Civilization":

"It is possible that mankind is on the threshold of a golden age; but, if so, it will be necessary first to slay the dragon that guards the door, and this dragon is religion."

I agree with that sentiment and that is the frustrating situation we still find ourselves in. Here we are, facing this monster, the rational among us realizing that physical threat or coercion would only strengthen the monster and fuse ourselves to it, yet at the same time, realizing that the dragon is completely immune to reasoned argument. Or is it just very stubborn, and will reasoned argument eventually slay the dragon? I can't see that happening. Human beings are generally too dumb.

How do we slay the dragon?

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Btw, these are a few of the many quotes in his writings I have had to underline. It is a pleasure to find someone who can summarize truths in such a succinct manner:

"A habit of basing conviction upon evidence, and of giving to them only that degree of certainty which the evidence warrants, would, if it became general, cure most of the ills from which the world is suffering."

"I should wish to see a world in which education aimed at mental freedom rather than at impoverishing the minds of the young in a rigid armor of dogma calculated to protect them through life against the shafts of impartial evidence."

"At all times, from the age of Constantine to the end of the seventeenth century, Christians were far more fiercely persecuted by other Christians than they ever were by the Roman emperors... It is true that the modern Christian is less robust but that is not thanks to Christianity; it is thanks to the generations of freethinkers, who, from the Renaissance to the present day, have made Christians ashamed of many of their traditional beliefs. It is amusing to hear the modern Christian telling you how mild and rationalistic Christianity really is and ignoring the fact that all its mildness and rationalism is due to the teaching of men who in their own day were persecuted by all orthodox Christians."

when you put a bullet in your head. There will be one less dragon.

When you can say: "thank you and good luck to you too." after someone said "god bless you" you will be awake.

So continue in your dream time my child. Paddle that fuckin boat as hard as you can, seeking a shore that is everywhere.

[Mudhammam]

when you put a bullet in your head. There will be one less dragon.

When you can say: "thank you and good luck to you too." after someone said "god bless you" you will be awake.

So continue in your dream time my child. Paddle that fuckin boat as hard as you can, seeking a shore that is everywhere.

Your obtuse, myopic, boorish ramblings are the highlight of my day.

[Mister Agenda]

it is projected there will be more Christians there than in the US in a couple of decades.

Where do you get that from?

China has such a large population that it can have followers of a minority religion that still outnumber the total population of the USA. I'm pretty sure the 'projection' is by Christians projecting the current rate of increase will continue unabated for decades, and I would like to see data besides wishful thinking that this will be the case.

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In America, the 'dragon' is eating itself. It can't truly die, but it's shrinking. The best we can hope for is that faith becomes a minority position, and that atheists are kinder and more fair when they are in the majority than theists were when they had that power.

[WhatIfGodWasJustAMyth]

In order to slay the dragon we must decide upon three things.
1. What is the this "golden age"?
2. Are we sure its better than life now?
3. Why is the dragon such a powerful beast to slay?

Firstly, we can not know what this golden age would be like only speculate. Hell, if religion didn't exist we as humans would still have problems. Religion can do bad, we all know that, but its not the source of all evils. Its also not the only thing that holds back scientific advancements. Human stupidity (including but not limited to religion) and fear of change and simple human MORALS are the major restraining factors now seeing as the dark ages are over. Meaning that we cannot assume that a golden age would erupt from the eradication of religion. *cough* Atlas Shrugged *cough*

Secondly, without being able to guarantee something greater than the Status Quo, why would we want to indulge in such world changing endeavor. Considering religion is at its core the product of culture, meaning that if we were to destroy religion in its entirety then we would have to destroy diverse culture. And a world without culture?...good luck maintaining a world such as that.

Finally, the mighty dragon itself, religion. Its strenghts; human stupidity, blind fellowship, and the aforementioned roots in culture. All of which are IMPOSSIBLE to break without the taking away of free will, in which case is a much worse evil than the dragon its self.

In short, I'm sorry my brothers, but this dragon is a nasty bastard but what he protects could be even worse. Hes that one boss that we all hate but ignore and never go back to on that one dark corner of Azeroth.