>>630

It really depends on the person, I don't think what you're saying can be applied to religion as a whole but to only a few specific assholes. As far as the fatalistic consequences, the same could be said about, say, determinism. Most faiths emphasize personal responsibility even though they are predestined.

Honestly though the spectra of religions is so diverse that you can't pin it down like this, for any one of those points one could find a faith that maintains the opposite. Citing examples of religious tyrants and maniacs really has no relevance to your average believer that does not literally believe the book but holds certain stories as examples of good behavior that outline a roughly true event. The idea of god manifested as man is an ideal of personal perfection that can never be obtained but can be approached for many, it's not about blindly accepting some random set of rules. People choose to believe because it can make them stronger people, and it has tangible benefits for them.

When you say that religious people are "permanently handicapped when it comes to understanding the gravity his or her actions" I feel that the only experience you have with religion is with sunday-school baptists and media reports. People that are touched by sincere faith are few but they make us seem handicapped in comparison with their conscientiousness.

As a side note, I can't believe people still use the King James edition. The man was a fucking lunatic.

"During a very famous moment, Krishnamurti asked the audience if they wanted to know his secret. The lecture hall went silent, and everyone leaned forward.

“You see,” he said, “I don’t give a shit.”"

It's pretty much the opposite. The vast majority of religions believe that our actions in this world matter. I mean you can't really have a dogma if you don't value the physical world at all can you? Not only do most religions believe our actions matter, but just as many believe that we ought to try our best to do good. This generally extends to not murdering people, I mean it's one of the commandments in Christianity. Some religious believers even go to the extreme and try to preserve potential lives by banning abortion. So what I'm getting at is that there is not a religion I can think of that explicitly outlines in its texts that human life or experience is of little value. Even religions which see the physical world as a horrible place we must escape from (Buddhism, Gnosticism) STILL maintain that our actions here matter and we ought to do good.

I always find it really ignorant when people blame religion for things. Religion is words and ideas, it exists as much as James Bond does. Religion doesn't do good or bad, people do.

>>634

But our concept of blame is religious in origin. I guess I'll be blunt and say I'm not really talking about religion, but rather Abrahamic religion (as the most egregious and popular example).

If people don't murder because of religion, then what happens when a religious figure issues a fatwa (declaration) that sanctions murder? Religion is the lens through which many, many people see the world.

When a secular person does something wrong, there's no doubt about it. But in a religious context, you can never truly eliminate the possibility that what happens is god's will. Thus religion lends to cynical manipulation, even more than the regular con act, because with salesmen you're supposed to do due diligence; with Abrahamic religion you subordinate yourself, you conform, driven by the guilt of something your ancestors have done (even if your ancestors would have rejected the notion, as polytheists). It's a wicked cult that curses one's revered ancestors, and tramples upon all legacy and tradition for this "religion 2.0" mockery. They even set a fucking Year Zero. Can you imagine the arrogance of these people?

If you ask your wife who's watching the baby. "God's watching the baby." You'd
have that bitch committed, right?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diffusion_of_responsibility

The theory takes effect with three or more people, even if the third person is a completely made up entity.

>>641