So after a long time I got sick (and got sick again -.- ) I hope I can reply to this in the manner of a theologian because there were many things which are totally wrong resp. blind borrowed. I try to write not too much and gonna pick up the ones which annoy me the most.
A 'true evil' is not detectable here on earth, there are many factors influencing on persons' acting, just like people trying to legitimate their violence with the name of God. So the first sentence can't be philosphically argued because - first of all - 'the true evil' is a non-existing dualistic way of thinking which includes religious (polytheistic) thoughts already. Satan was many a time an inferior 'assistant' in the tradition of the book of Job and no other negative force has the power to oppose God (monotheistic traditional line). Because of that the true evil comes less from a 'theistic manner of speech', but more from bad anthropogenic influences on humans themselves. In a word: Jesus Christ never utilized violence as an option to realize aims (just like terrorists want to do to increase their power [to gain more money, ...]), Jesus fulfilled the laws of Moses with - love. Totally diametral to the way of thinking terrorists wanted to teach.
Huh? Why complicate things? All I was referring to by "true evil" is an evil far more pervasive and unquestioned than any act of terrorism. Religion encourages a thought process where you can rationalise evil acts. Terrorists are obviously evil but they are relatively small in number and every rational man on the planet knows this - so this threat is relatively limited.
Just by saying theistic speech like "I'll pray you recover from illness" makes you closer to a terrorist than an atheist, but of course that isn't questioned at all because it's normalised in the worlds culture. It's actually crazy to say that, because prayer does nothing.
The whole problem with religion is that there is absolutely no proof of any deity existing... And from a man-made book, the three big religions encourage absolute arguments from authority and unquestioning fanaticism towards their particular deity. Islam in particular is most guilty of this, in that there's so many surveys, studies, and facts that show a sizeable portion of the Muslim population in the world wants a worldwide Islamic caliphate, a sizeable population can rationalise killing for their God, and view women as inferior, anti-semetic, homophobic, etc. These aren't only terrorists, but they are the moderates.
The creation of the world in Genesis is written in a mythological narrative style and it's even more difficult because the ancient Hebrew is a world apart, can not be totally correctly translated because we are not totally sure what a significant term can mean (in the world of today and in the cultural thinking of many thousands years before Christ). So trying to explain the universe with religion is therefold not an ignorant argument, it's another argument. The Bible does not explain how the world works, otherwise we could close CERN and our will to discover from the universe should be vanished. And besides the evangelical Christs, many others would never try to convince someone that the world has been created in seven days. It's a mythological and metaphorical understanding of the world with the stress, e.g. on water; to these dates it was in many parts of the world detectable water was the arché of the whole materialism and Thales of Miletus for example tried to inset this thinking in his vestigial metaphyisics.
Using religion to explain the universe is absolutely an argument for ignorance (the logical fallacy). It is this way because theists use God to explain the creation of the universe when no such proof exists, and never will exist. This isn't only in reference to the evangelical christians. The best bet is waiting for advancements in science, because then you won't assert things without proper evidence and arguments that only stand on authority.
This was the hierarchy in paradise, lions and gazelles live peacefully quasi hand-in-hand and the thing is it should be a 'transcendent imagination', others would say utopia, to elevate the pattern of life before our lifes, before we have 'sinned'. Our current life is based on world status quo after the Flood. All this happens with the axiome God created world, creats humans in their mortality today and people die because of their mortality (God doesn't let them die) and hope on living eternally
What does that have to do with my statement? :shrug: I'm not talking heirarchies, but scientific evidence that theists tend to dismiss when linking anthropoids to less intelligent animals. Science shows that we're all animals, and I find with many theists that they can't comprehend this.
How can be religion declared to be dangerous for humanity, if many persons believing in God have done many things humanity helped, and besides the terrorists and many sins churchesa itself and believers commit(ed): What have moderate, deeply religious persons done to you? Do they always harm you?
Religion is dangerous because it emphasises authority-like doctrines despite superior forms of evidence (science) saying the contrary. It's dangerous because with religion, nothing changes, and there is no concept of adaptation or flexibility. It's dangerous because it discourages skepticism over blind faith and fanaticism. It's dangerous because religion is based on nothing (unverifiable) and if it wasn't based on nothing - then its followers wouldn't need to rely on blind faith. Faith isn't even respectable IMO, and if religion had a shred of scientific support - no religious person would ever bother using the faith argument, because it doesn't mean shit really.
Religious people are pretty annoying to me as an atheist. Most have no concept of an atheist viewpoint. I dismiss their religion like they (Christian) dismiss Islam labelling them as false-believing kafirs. I'll believe whatever religion can prove their god exists, and until then - it's all bullshit to me.
BTW this is not meant as an attack towards you, but my stance on religion. You are a pretty good poster.
