Skeptics are often asked "What's the harm?" when they attempt to debunk crazy beliefs and expose charlatans.
I've had a few moments when people have asked "What's the harm?" when it comes to religion.
We've cited lots of examples why religion is bullshit and harmful, but I think this blog gives a good brief example of what makes it most heinous: fear.
http://www.patheos.com/community/slackti...d-camping/
My ex, who used to not give a single crap about religion, is now married to a woman who is neurotic, childish, and ignorant because her mother calls her every day to remind her of the fear of God. They now visit church twice a week. I know because I'm a regular gym rat with his half-sister, who is an atheist. He regularly abuses her verbally for her "choices" because the fear of God twists family relations into ugly things.
A sweet girl I knew in high school, naive, pretty, full of sunshine and generosity, has fallen into Christ-love and now spends all of her blogging about it, in angst because many of her family and good friends "just don't believe like she does" and she's been told they'll end up in hell. She can't do anything about it. That natural fear you feel for a loved one when they're in pain and you're helpless to do anything about it? Imagine feeling that every moment that your mind isn't occupied by your immediate activities. Imagine living your life in fear because your clergyman is abusing you and not only is this an older more powerful person who's shaming you in all the same ways a secular person could be, but they'll put a cosmic spin on it too because God is always watching...and isn't he/she appointed by God?
It's not hard to see the hate and bigotry and sometimes barely concealed terror when you're on religious forums.
There is an all-or-nothing attitude within those who accept religious doctrine that also stems from fear: you shouldn't have ANY sex before marriage because of... And they use fear to try and keep kids from doing it, all because they fear either their god, or hopefully they're just being decent parents and wanting their kids to get the best out of life. Either way, it's the wrong tactic. They do the same shit with drugs.
Fear of God's wrath and damnation isn't going to make this world better - real, truthful information IS.
To that end, I don't know why, in an age when information is so readily available, people still cling to fear and choose to follow men like this asswipe Camping. We could argue that point infinitely - it might be different for every single person. Either way, Camping was capitalizing on fears held within each of his followers, and I find it loathsome to the extreme.
And that's why, the older I get and the more people I meet, the less tolerance I find I have for religion. Humanity ought not live in fear of a God prone to hissy fits.
I've had a few moments when people have asked "What's the harm?" when it comes to religion.
We've cited lots of examples why religion is bullshit and harmful, but I think this blog gives a good brief example of what makes it most heinous: fear.
http://www.patheos.com/community/slackti...d-camping/
My ex, who used to not give a single crap about religion, is now married to a woman who is neurotic, childish, and ignorant because her mother calls her every day to remind her of the fear of God. They now visit church twice a week. I know because I'm a regular gym rat with his half-sister, who is an atheist. He regularly abuses her verbally for her "choices" because the fear of God twists family relations into ugly things.
A sweet girl I knew in high school, naive, pretty, full of sunshine and generosity, has fallen into Christ-love and now spends all of her blogging about it, in angst because many of her family and good friends "just don't believe like she does" and she's been told they'll end up in hell. She can't do anything about it. That natural fear you feel for a loved one when they're in pain and you're helpless to do anything about it? Imagine feeling that every moment that your mind isn't occupied by your immediate activities. Imagine living your life in fear because your clergyman is abusing you and not only is this an older more powerful person who's shaming you in all the same ways a secular person could be, but they'll put a cosmic spin on it too because God is always watching...and isn't he/she appointed by God?
It's not hard to see the hate and bigotry and sometimes barely concealed terror when you're on religious forums.
There is an all-or-nothing attitude within those who accept religious doctrine that also stems from fear: you shouldn't have ANY sex before marriage because of... And they use fear to try and keep kids from doing it, all because they fear either their god, or hopefully they're just being decent parents and wanting their kids to get the best out of life. Either way, it's the wrong tactic. They do the same shit with drugs.
Fear of God's wrath and damnation isn't going to make this world better - real, truthful information IS.
To that end, I don't know why, in an age when information is so readily available, people still cling to fear and choose to follow men like this asswipe Camping. We could argue that point infinitely - it might be different for every single person. Either way, Camping was capitalizing on fears held within each of his followers, and I find it loathsome to the extreme.
And that's why, the older I get and the more people I meet, the less tolerance I find I have for religion. Humanity ought not live in fear of a God prone to hissy fits.
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