by exWTslave 67 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
DJS: I hope the world fills with atheists. Think about it - no more wars betwee X-tians and X-tians, X-tians and Muslims, Hindus and Muslims, Buddhists and Muslims, Muslims and Muslims, ad nauseum.
DJS
"Humanity Is Becoming Increasingly Less Violent, with One Exception -- Religious Violence"
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I think a better question for this topic would have been:
"Why is the world full of religious people?"
The inevitable response to the "why are religious people so violent if religion is a good thing?" challenge, from most of our pro-spirituality posters here:
"They're not being religious the right way. Let me tell you something vague and mystical about feeling Jesus inside of you."
you know, we are a funny group of people for someone to attempt to convert, you would think that they might suspect we would be more resistant than most.
There will still be wars if atheists control the world. I remain fascinated and puzzled why God vs. atheism is always argued on this forum. Within my limited social circle, we have no fundamentalists. Perhaps I had to switch to focusing on real life problems. No matter what I do I can never prove that God exists or does not exist.
I found that mainstream Christians think about God and any doctrine in very different ways than fundamentalists. Life is not easy or black and white. Almost everyone I knows practices atheism or religion as though ordering from a Chinese menu. The Witness way is very arrogant. I believe Pope Francis' teaching respect for other religions will help matters. Religion should be a private, life style choice. Being ordered what to think is gross. Religion is not the sole cause for war or disease. Religion is often cited as a cause but when you read the history more carefully or study economics, there were usually economic forces at work.
Over heard a conversion in class yesterday, one member
is very religious woman, she always insist that we play more
religious songs. LOL
But doing our break she mention the Atheists are taking over world,
one of the other members ask "what atheists"?
She said the Muslims..LOL I didn't say anything, but one member said
what about the Crusade in Europe.
She said that was different..
DJS, some wars are the result of greed, selfishness, bad politics and bad governments......these wars have no religious motives......not all violence and strife is fuelled by religion.
Kate xx
If only the world were full of atheists, it would be a much better world IMO.
Greedy people are worse than believers or atheists. Both can be greedy and thrive of vulnerable people.
Kate xx
"not all violence and strife is fuelled by religion." - kate
That's true, but many conflict arise from religion. Internal and external conflicts are recorded throughout history. The most rampant is between religions or external conflict. An example of this is the jihad wherein Muslims believe that they have been waging a holy war to fight for their faith against the Christians.
Religion is the primary source of our values and our values basically reflect our identity. When this part our identity gets threatened we usually feel an impulse to protect or fight for it. At its worst case sometimes even through violence. In their Encyclopedia of Wars, authors Charles Phillips and Alan Axelrod attempt a comprehensive listing of wars in history. They document 1763 wars overall, of which 123 (7%) have been classified to involve a religious conflict.
Religious conflict in the modern period
Palestine and Israel
Pakistan and India
Ethiopia - Somalia
Nigerian conflict
Buddhist Uprising
Chinese conflict
Lebanese Civil War
| Lowest estimate | Highest estimate | Event | Location | From | To | Religions involved | Percentage of the world population [ 10 ] |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000,000 | 11,500,000 [ 11 ] | Thirty Years' War | Holy Roman Empire | 1618 | 1648 | ProtestantsandCatholics | 0.5%–2.1% |
| 2,000,000 | 4,000,000 [ 12 ] | French Wars of Religion | France | 1562 | 1598 | ProtestantsandCatholics | 0.4%–0.8% |
| 1,000,000 | 3,000,000 [ 13 ] | Nigerian Civil War | Nigeria | 1967 | 1970 | Islam andChristian | 0.03%-0.09% |
| 1,000,000 [ 14 ] | 2,000,000 | Second Sudanese Civil War | Sudan | 1983 | 2005 | Islam andChristian | 0.02% |
| 1,000,000 [ 15 ] | 3,000,000 [ 16 ] | Crusades | Holy Land, Europe | 1095 | 1291 | Islam andChristian | 0.3%–2.3% |
| 130,000 [ 17 ] | 250,000 | Lebanese Civil War | Lebanon | 1975 | 1990 | Sunni,Shiite andChristian |
"Why is the world full of atheists?"
Using the vernacular of where I grew up, I would say because a lot of people have had a complete gutsfull of religion.
Bill
