Reply to: Starkey does it again

[oscarose]

Religion is for people who don’t want to go to hell. Spirituality is for people who’ve been there.

[alluvial]

He's off again. Bloody guffawing away to himself. I wouldn't mind but I have a real doozy of a hangover this morning.

[BrilloPad]

Mine are funny! I just laughed at one only a couple of minutes ago!

Tell us and lets see if anyone here laughs.

[Doggy Styles]

Maybe you should make your jokes funny?

Mine are funny! I just laughed at one only a couple of minutes ago!

[SueEllen]

Yeah but he's a miserable sod who never laughs at anyone's jokes. Not mine, anyway.

Maybe you should make your jokes funny?

[Doggy Styles]

He sounds like a spot on sort of bloke.

Yeah but he's a miserable sod who never laughs at anyone's jokes. Not mine, anyway.

[alluvial]

No you're right. The bloke opposite me was saying exactly the same thing.

He sounds like a spot on sort of bloke.

[Doggy Styles]

I think religion has figured as an excuse for a war where the real reason was to grab more land and riches and was a good way of giving your younger sons somthing to do instead of plotting to get hold of the family seat.

Even where religion was the driving force, the underlying reasons were more to do with either consolidating or extending influence and power, so again, an excuse, not a reason.

But then, I'm not a historian so I could be talking tosh.

No you're right. The bloke opposite me was saying exactly the same thing.

[alluvial]

oh I think religion factored in a lot of pre 1800's wars, post then it seemed mostly about profit.

I think religion has figured as an excuse for a war where the real reason was to grab more land and riches and was a good way of giving your younger sons somthing to do instead of plotting to get hold of the family seat.

Even where religion was the driving force, the underlying reasons were more to do with either consolidating or extending influence and power, so again, an excuse, not a reason.

But then, I'm not a historian so I could be talking tosh.

[vetran]

oh I think religion factored in a lot of pre 1800's wars, post then it seemed mostly about profit.

[EternalOptimist]

Of course there have been religious wars. There have been imperial wars, wars of survival, wars for greed, dogma, resources, accidental wars, drug wars, ideological wars.
There was even a war once over some blokes ear

Religion is an idea, loads of ideas have caused wars, I wouldn't single religion out particularly

[xoggoth]

PS Although religion can be blamed in a way as it allows people to be manipulated. Religion is worse than other creeds like Marxism because it is not subject to any rational challenge and evolution is very slow, we have to wait for the scholars to "reinterpret" what god was supposed to mean.

Since there are no "out there" factors we are more able to judge political beliefs on facts, like the reality that communism in practice delivered corruption, repression and poor economic performance. Communism is dying after only a hundred years but we have been stuck with the religions of the book for thousands.

Coincidence? I don't think so.

[Doggy Styles]

Agree with d0000000000000000000gh on that. Religion only "caused" all the wars and conflicts pre 17th century because it was always dragged in as a justification. Since then, we have the Napoleonic wars, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, to name but a few, plus all the 100s of million killed by Stalin, Mau Zedong, Pol Pot etc. No religion involved.

Yes, good point. Blaming religion for badness done in its name is only a step or two from blaming life itself.

[xoggoth]

Agree with d0000000000000000000gh on that. Religion only "caused" all the wars and conflicts pre 17th century because it was always dragged in as a justification. Since then, we have the Napoleonic wars, WW1, WW2, Korea, Vietnam, to name but a few, plus all the 100s of million killed by Stalin, Mau Zedong, Pol Pot etc. No religion involved.

[Diver]

No, people using religion as their excuse has. You only have to look at China and Russia for examples of how evil people will happily latch onto non-religious motivations with equally horrific results. In fact those countries did ban/suppress religion didn't they?

You are perfectly correct.

I say we we bring in the death penalty for anybody that through deliberate action or inaction allows harm to come to another person.

Do you see what I did there?