GARGLEBLASTER Loc: Spain

And about time too!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-36451954

exakta56 Loc: Orford,New Hampshire

I understand the attraction of religion for some people. It can be a social focus point and it can give a moments respite to the weary in a world of harsh realities. Beyond that, it has fueled hatred , self-loathing, self-righteous killing, poverty and an ordained class of leaders who live in the lap of luxury and see celibacy as natural. Then add to this the hocus-pocus of drinking the blood and eating the flesh of some guy who may or may not have ever existed. Superstition, bolstered by fantasized explanations, guilt and my favorite: original sin, just so you know that you are behind the eight ball at birth have provided the world with cruelty, torture, burning alive and all sorts of clever methods to extract confessions from those caught up in the ugly grip of the self-loathing elite. ISIS is just the latest in this long, twisted tale of embracing the make-believe. Please tell me how we are to survive as sentient human beings if we continue to embrace the mental bondage of religion.

GARGLEBLASTER Loc: Spain

Thank you for that exakta56, I couldn't have said it better myself. The only thing I will disagree with you is the point about celibacy. As it has been shown, many speak about it but don't actually practise it.

Croce Loc: Earth

We will not survive. Your fous seems centered on Catholicism. Fair enough but the rest of Christianity and toters of the Bible are every bit as power hungry as the upper echelon of the CC. Southern Baptists are particularly visible in this respect. Now when it comes to the very worst and militant, there are no peers for Islamists. Yes, there are many good people in all of these fantasy islands but there are all to many bad in each. Judging by the attrition in churchgoes in the US perhaps there is a ray of hope after all. Religionists hate Secular Humanists because they place man above god. Men of God never did anything but instill fear and dissention resulting in war, famine, poverty and on a lower level, derision and rejection of good people. My take.

exakta56 Loc: Orford,New Hampshire

Croce,
I hope that your prediction of 'we will not survive' is never realized. As Christopher Hitchins broadly pointed out: a religion that puts its emphasis on the afterlife [whatever the hell THAT is] is not particularly concerned with this life. Poverty, lack of education, lack of freedom of thought, and no opportunity to explore the grand abundance of life's variation, work together to prevent humans from achieving a true world of peace and equality. That possibly sounds naive, but what many people have right now is way too much of the above. On the other hand, the corrupt leaders of the many countries who like power and know that poverty and illiteracy really work to stay in power, why would they want to change??

Croce Loc: Earth

I should have made myself more clear. I meant we would not survive as sentient human beings under the conditions outlined by exakta 56. We would probably survive as a species of slaves. Your take on the leaders always was and always will be. Until we as a human race reject them out of hand by any means necessary. Oh I forgot, the only thing that always was and always will be is God! Yeah right. What a fucking delusional head trip that is. The pillar of " if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with bullshit."