Well make that game already!
YES! (Parts of) what you’re talking about is capitalism. Not that it’s a bad thing from the ground up, but even oxygen can be toxic in too high doses. 
In other words: I know that feel, bro 
Instinct.
We don’t need religion to tell us that we should be kind to one another.
Prove it.
New York.
Never said it was.
No law, in any state prohibits a gay man from marrying. Marriage being defined as “the formal union of a man and a woman, typically recognized by law, by which they become husband and wife.”.
Laws in many states do however, prohibit a man from marrying a man, or a woman from marrying a woman. But this is not sexuality specific.
My point was that the debate on gay marriage isnt about unfair laws that only apply to homosexuals. It is about changing the accepted definition of marriage.
partly successful supression of innovation? the dark ages , if there was no religion we would be 200 years more advanced.
The dark ages eventually ended, and there was enlightenment.
So it was only partly successful.
:\
Religion is just an older, more established version of a group, a movement etc. of people who want to increase something specific.
This means, people believe in its aims and think that everybody should, because it is good.
Unfortunally these people are those who believe they know what is right or wrong and because they are humans and humans mostly mistrust new ideas, people etc. first, they say it is evil and proscribe it.
Well, ironically most of our morality system points right back to religion. Of all the systems out there, morality toward fellow human beings tends to create the most debate because of its roots in religion. Most laws and practices in terms of human rights has a lot to do with people’s religious compass. Even if you don’t necessarily believe, societies leave morale influences on all members.
One could argue that without religion that the world would be socially behind. Religion allows a certain measure of tolerance to be attained over time. Being able to reinterpret the Bible in many ways has allowed Christianity to push the boundaries of tolerance. The more people that try to live in a socially acceptable way, the better we are in the long run.
Now, that doesn’t mean I’m disregarding the past. Christianity has had its fair share of holy wars, sexually discriminating against people, and even violating young children. Thanks to these actions, Christianity is going through a rebirth, or second Renaissance. Combined with the Internet, I believe that all individuals are becoming much more aware. The more people are aware, the better people will be tolerant and wipe out these notions of discrimination.
It is a process, but one that is shaping for a better world overtime. There is still a lot of old questionable practices still around, but as each new generation gains more knowledge, these practices will slowly be erased with time.
@ctomni231: Well, there is a point where we need a definition what is Christianity and what is just calling itself as…
Everything a matter of definition… definition…
Well I personally believe that religion used to be a way to give yourself hope in something, but now it has just become ridiculous. Honestly, why do something that a little book says to do for your entire life to get into some “Heaven” when you absolutely no proof whatsoever that any of it exists. It’s like an internet meme in a way, nobody has a clue who’s really leading it, but everybody does it. We haven’t a clue if we benefit from it or not.
On the gay rights, I am all for it. Just because someone is attracted to a different gender than is common doesn’t mean that they aren’t people. Making it illegal is even worse than orally discriminating it, because this means that those people can’t legally own a child together, or do many other things a married couple normally could. Marriage has evolved (or should I say devolved) from a signature to a necessary thing for a couple that wants to spend the rest of their life together.
I believe that most people shy away and discriminate gay people because they are scared. First, scared of not being normal, and after that, scared of being shunned by society. The first one gave the ball a shove, and now it’s rolling down the neverending hill.
I found a great video on this a while back: What If Being Gay Was the Norm?
CnOJgDW0gPI
Religion is like end user software agreements: Users scroll to the end without reading and click “I Agree”.
It’s too easy for doubter to non-believers to point their finger at all the world’s woes and say religion is the cause. And for believers to come to basically the same conclusion with the minor tweaks of people using religion for their own purposes and/or perverting proper beliefs. And these are really easy arguments to make because religion even when not the direct cause is virtually always somewhere in the background.
If everyone stopped having religious believes a couple of thousand years ago, world history would be very different…but I don’t it would have been much nicer. Religion is the excuse…we would have just found a different one. Using reductive pop psyche the real problem is self identity and notably mechanisms to improve our self worth. The good side of this makes the best of us and the bad side brings out the worst. As mentioned before religion is really nothing more than “some group” to join…like a terrorist cell or java programming forum.
Probably way way more than that. The base 10 number system only caught on in Europe in 15th century. The destruction of scientific and mathematical books (well pretty much all human pursuits) was a major set back…certainly more than a couple of centuries.
To a certain extent that’s true…but only because that’s the way it’s taught. They weren’t the first but chances are you’ve heard of ancient Greek philosophy? The famous ones predate the first codifications of Judaism (~300 B.C. if memory serves) . Even older are the codes of Ur-Nammu and Hammurabi (harsh by today’s standards). Sadly Mesopotamia along with many older cultures liked to write on wax and clay tablets. Talk about no forward vision.
I must say this is moving , amazing peice of work showing how it feels. You wouldnt like it if you were treated differently for something. And its such a shame its all due to a few small minded people manipulating others to believe what simply isnt true.
Meh.
Pointing at “religion” as the cause makes you blind to the responsibility of the people doing things in the name of some religion. Religion can be a source of love and compassion, and a source of hate and distrust. What makes the difference? The person(s) who choose to interpret religion in one or the other way in a specific context. I know religious people who are fine with practicing gays, and I know religious people who are not. My conclusion: this has more to do with these people than their religion.
And the events in Uganda? Thats a clear case of where religion is used as a tool by those in power to control the masses. By directing the attention of the dumb masses towards gays and creating some imagined threat originating in gays they draw away the attention from their own corruption and -really- disgusting behaviour. Pointing at religion as an imagined threat is pretty much the same: the attention is drawn away from those responsible for misdeeds and towards some kind of abstract idea or an abstract group of people. The problem is not religion, communism or any other idiology, the problem is the dumb herd that is all too eager to hate and blame, whilst being blind to the responsibility of the people that do the herding.
Best description I have for those who do not recognize the fundamental human right of people to experience their sexuality and love life in the way they want, be it hetero, gay or bi, is dumb. Dumb for not knowing that being gay is not a choice. Dumb for not recognizing how cynical people in power use religion to manipulate them into denying other the rights that they themselves do enjoy. I dont really that people generally evil, just that sometimes they are really dumb and have never learned to think for themselves.
Or more importantly…even if it was: THAT shouldn’t make a difference either.
Good point.