Just to start, please note. This is not a 'troll thread.' This is not an attempt to antagonize anyone, so if you're here for that just take a step outside and get some fresh air. No, what I want to discuss is humanity as itself, not as an entity manipulated by another all-powerful being.
Religion has been the cause of many deaths- more than any other abrupt cause in history. People have been tortured in the name of religion. Killed. And yet... in the name of religion, nations have been founded. Order has been brought to certain areas as people gathered under a common belief, and possibly these people have been brought together under a common banner instead of having even more killing than they otherwise would have had.
Some people think Religion causes people to act kind towards one another. Because God said so, we should respect our fellow neighbor and be kind to even our enemies. Others believe humans would, on their own, be just as kind towards one another as they would be if God said to be- just that they would do it because of their own senses of morality.
So I'm curious what Bnet thinks, after I've tried my best to [concisely] show both sides of the argument [that I am aware of, anyways]. Do you believe religion has done more good than harm, or more harm than good? Has the order it has brought around the world outweighed the strife it has brought? If you are a religious person and believe in a God, do you think it might have been better if we were never aware of God? And if you are not religious, do you think in a world without these people sharing beliefs, would the world be in even more chaos as people fought over other differences?
Discuss. Nicely. Respectfully. Don't be an asshole. Cheers.
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I think I remember my Econ teacher giving a nice intro to his class. He said if a bunch of people were stranded on an island over time 4 things would be created: Laws/rules, a Language, Currency, and Religion.