BOTTOM LINE: If you are in a religion there is political and social baggage that you take on whether you want it or not. That entails a link to violence. If you are not violent, you are not responsible for what a co-religionist terrorist does in the name of the religion but you are responsible for being the sea for that fish to swim in.
A religion comes and peace is destroyed. It says it is good and not to blame. You need to be able to prove that the faith or religious drive is not to blame for what its terrorists do in its name. You cannot prove that. People have rights - ideas and religious ideas do not so it is inherently very unfair to blame people and leave the beliefs or religious system out of it. To say that something else will be persecuting and killing if you don't have the religion to do it is really saying we should put up with the religion for better the devil you know. It is either saying that human nature is bad and will find something else. To say that another bad religion will come. So it is an inherently sectarian argument. It is a terrible thing that a human person as a person has to be blamed like that rather than the religious human person. It amounts to saying that human nature is dangerous but religion is not. The argument backfires for its says that man-made religion then must be bad!
Honouring a Bible with violence that you see as man-made though it says it is God's word is vile. That is deliberately condoning man preaching violence for God. Only God has the right to write a scripture and one that has nasty commands should be rejected. Cherry-picking the good bits from scriptures that contain tolerance or endorsements of violence is just making them look good though they have the violence in. It's ingrained in the book once it is written in. To honour the book is denying that the violence is disgusting and intolerable. It is a thin argument against violence that depends on you being selective. Politicians do that all the time - they cherry pick the life story of the terrorist and make him or her a hero. You are cherry picking non-violent statements and ignoring the violent so you are making the ban on violence depend on you and what you say. It is not you. You did not write the scripture. Who do you think you are? Don't you know that evil religions and evil scriptures need to do a lot of good in order to be effective at doing the evil? Nothing can afford to be totally and too obviously bad.
VIOLENCE AND RELIGION
ARGUMENT: "IF WE DON'T HAVE RELIGION TO FIGHT ABOUT IT WILL BE SOMETHING ELSE!" REFUTED
ARGUMENT: "YOU CAN'T DEFINE A RELIGION BY THIS GENOCIDAL TYRANT"
A theologian answers those who say religion causes violence
AUTHORITY - HOW IT MAKES "GOOD" PEOPLE FEEL OKAY ABOUT OBEYING EVIL COMMANDS
An example of Christians in good standing defending genocide
BAD RELIGION - IS THERE SUCH A THING AS GOOD RELIGION?
BANNING VIOLENCE DOES NOT ABSOLVE A RELIGION FROM BEING TO BLAME FOR IT
BIBLE IS NOT THE FRIEND OF IMMIGRANTS
BOREDOM - HOW IT LEADS TO RELIGIOUS EXTREMISM AND
EVEN SUICIDE
BYSTANDER EFFECT - WHEN RELIGIOUS PEOPLE LET THEIR
RELIGION HURT YOU
CATHOLIC CHURCH DECREES PERSECUTION
Catholicism remains a threat to religious freedom
CHARLIE HEBDO AND THE EVIL IDEA THAT YOU CAN DIVINE THAT GOD HAS A PLAN
God is the ingredient that makes a religion dangerous
COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY TELLS YOU TO WALK AWAY FROM RELIGION
DOES IT MATTER IF RELIGION MAKES BAD PEOPLE VERY GOOD OR VERY GOOD PEOPLE VERY BAD?
DON'T FORGET THAT A RELIGION'S EXTREMISM IS NOT A PERCENTAGE GAME - 1% AS BAD AS 99%
"EGALITARIAN" BIBLE TEXTS ARE TWISTED - THEY ARE NOT INCLUSIVE
"EQUALITY IN THE BIBLE? -THERE IS NEITHER JEW/GREEK OR MALE/FEMALE IN CHRIST"
EMPATHY AND ENABLING RELIGIOUS EVIL
EXCUSES FOR VIOLENCE COMMANDED BY GOD IN THE BIBLE ANSWERED
EXTREMIST OR ABSOLUTIST - WHAT SHOULD WE CALL RELIGIOUS TERRORIST?
FACTIONS IN A RELIGION ARE AS BAD AS THE RELIGION
FOR GOOD PEOPLE TO DO EVIL IT TAKES RELIGION
FOUNDER OF RELIGION IF BAD MAKES HIS FOLLOWERS AS BAD AS HIMSELF IN PRINCIPLE
IDEOLOGY - IDEOLOGY EVEN WHEN "BENIGN" IS STILL HARMFUL AND POTENTIALLY EVEN MORE SO
"I SIN AND DO BAD BUT I'D BE WORSE WITHOUT THE GRACE OF GOD AND MY RELIGION"
CALLING TERRORISTS MAD OR BAD?
LUCIFER EFFECT - WE WOULD BE HITLERS GIVEN THE RIGHT CHANCE
RELIGION CAN USE THE CRAVE FOR MEANING IN LIFE TO TURN YOU TERRORIST
RELIGIOUS SPIN - HOW RELIGION TRICKS WITH A GOOD IMAGE
RELIGION DOES NOT JUST HURT OTHER RELIGIONS BUT ITS OWN PEOPLE
RELIGIOUS WARS - A LIST - NOT EXHAUSTIVE!
Religion Hurts, Why religions do harm as well as good by John Bowker, a book review
Religion Hurts, this book's examination of Islam and the violence linked with it
Religion Hurts, how it helps us think about what religion actually is and means
JUST WAR THEORY - HOW GOD TURNS WAR INTO A RELIGIOUS CRUSADE
NO EXCUSE FOR SAYING, "RELIGION SHOULD BE ENCOURAGED FOR MEMBERS ARE NOT ALL BAD"
Unpacking the "not all bad" statement on religion
NO EXCUSE FOR SAYING THAT A RELIGION IS ALWAYS PURE GOODNESS
WHY IT IS WORST WHEN IT IS A RELIGIOUS ENTITY THAT IS BAD
REFUTING "THEY LIE THAT THEY KILL FOR THE RELIGION FOR THEY DON'T OBSERVE IT"
RELIGION HAS NO JUSTIFIED EXISTENCE
RELIGION IS INHERENTLY VIOLENT
RELIGION WHEN SAID TO BE VIOLENT THOUGH NOT INHERENTLY VIOLENT
RELIGION HAS A PART IN THE ACTS OF INDIVIDUALS FOR IT PROVIDES NO SOLUTIONS FOR EVIL
SOME CALL RELIGION GOODNESS SO THAT THEY CAN DENY VIOLENCE AND LIES CAN BE LINKED TO IT
SOME RELIGIONS AFFIRM THAT "NOT ALL BAD" IS AN EXCUSE FOR FAITH VIOLENCE
ENABLING VIOLENCE - CHRISTIANS SAYING, "THE TERRORISTS ARE NOT CHRISTIAN AT ALL"
WHEN A RELIGION PRODUCES A TERRORIST AND SAYS "NOT IN OUR NAME!"
WHEN RELIGION PRODUCES "SILENT" TERRORISM
REMOVING FEAR OF DEATH OR THE ENEMY DRIVES RELIGIOUS TERRORISM
LOOK AT A RELIGION'S PAST AND YOU WILL SEE HOW MUCH EVIL IS IN ITS DNA!
Theology of the Inquisition, it had to happen
Theoterrorism - all religion has this trait
RELIGION CAN BE NON-VIOLENT AND STILL VIOLENT IN SPIRIT
IS THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS HARDWIRED INTO US? IS IT A TENDENCY WE ALWAYS HAVE?
VIOLENT HISTORY MAKES A CURRENTLY OKAY RELIGION STILL BAD
INVOLVEMENT WITH A WRONG RELIGION OR A CON ONE IS INEXCUSABLE
FIELDS OF BLOOD BY KAREN ARMSTRONG
RELIGION - EXCUSE FOR VIOLENCE OR NOT?
HOW SECULARISM RESTRAINS RELIGIOUS VIOLENCE
RELIGION IN SOME WAY BLAMES HUMANIST OPTIMISTS FOR WHAT BAD HUMANISTS DO
"Religion is good" - a pathetically stupid statement
RELIGION TAKES YOU TO WAR BIT BY BIT
RELIGION SETS THE STAGE FOR VIOLENCE
RELIGION WARMONGERS IN A SUBTLE CRAFTY WAY
RELIGION HAS ITS DEFENDERS IN AND OUT WHO CONDONE ITS WARMONGERING
RELIGION CAN'T OPPOSE FORCED CONVERSION
Is Dawkins wrong on religious being inherently open to violence?
When Christians revere the stoning texts of the Bible
RELIGION AND FORCED CONVERSION FORCED TO BELIEVE ANYWAY
RELIGION AND ITS SOCIOPATH SIDE
RELIGION AND KILLING THOSE WHO WON'T CONVERT
RELIGION AND PERSECUTING ATHEISTS
RELIGION IN THE LIGHT OF HATE LAW
Overview of the violent commands of the Jewish Law
RELIGION IS A LAMB IN CAPTIVITY AND A LION WHEN UNLEASHED
RELIGION WHEN SEEN AS STEPPING STONE TO PEACE IN DAYS OF RELIGIOUS STRIFE
The ally of the fanatic is worse or as bad
SHARING IN THE EVIL AND LIES OF RELIGION - BEING COMPLICIT
Sharing in the evil of religious faith and the harm it does
TERRORISTS GET A BETTER RELIGIOUS SEND OFF THAN THE POOR!
THE "MY RELIGION WILL CHANGE SOME DAY SO I WONT LEAVE IT" EXCUSE
THE "I STAY IN MY RELIGION FOR LIKE EVERYTHING ELSE I CAN'T/DON'T SIGN UP TO IT 100%"
TRUTH SADLY CAN LEAD TO VIOLENCE
USTASHI - WHEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH TRIED TO FORCIBLY CONVERT ORTHODOX AND MUSLIMS
WAR HEROES - HOW RELIGION HONOURS BLOODSHED
"WE ARE ALL SINNERS" USED TO WARM PEOPLE TO RELIGIOUS EVIL
WHAT IF A VIOLENT RELIGION OR FORMERLY VIOLENT RELIGION IS THE MOST CONVINCING?
WHAT IS WRONG WITH BLAMING LEADERS NOT THE RELIGION?
WHY RELIGIOUS CONS GET AWAY WITH IT
Answering I AM STAYING IN THIS BAD RELIGION FOR I COULD BE IN WORSE
Church and intolerance for heresy
Religion's tacit support for IRA speaks louder than the condemnations
Why do people lie that religion is good?
EXTERNAL LINK: MORAL CULPABILITY AND BELIEF IN GOD BY DAVID K JOHNSON
