I've finally got around looking at some of the items in my interesting stuff pile. It's taken a while...but that's a story for another post.
Anyway I followed this link some time ago. My first thought when I saw the story was, oh no what's Richard Dawkins up to now...
Hold on I hear you say, if you know me (which given the circumstances is unlikely!) you would know that I'm a confirmed atheist. So what's an atheist doing not liking Richard Dawkins?
Well I'm very happy being an atheist and I know lots of people are very happy with there religious faiths and that's fine with me too. What bugs me are those who try and convince me that there faith is right and mine is wrong. Don't get me wrong I'm happy to discuss my atheism, but I don't want some one to try and convert me. And I see Richard Dawkins as trying to do just that, he is so blinded by his ideology that he see's any different ideologies as wrong. In other words I regard him as being in the same category as those people who hi-jack you in the street and try to convince you your life is wrong. And accord him about the same level of respect!
Any way on to the question that was being debated, would we be better off with out religion? I think not, but I also think the question is irrelevant!
Okay interesting I hear you say. What is my reasoning behind this statement.
Well, as an atheist, I see religion as an invention of man and as all inventions of man it can be used for both good and evil, to create and destroy. It is if you like a tool which is used by man and hence an evil man can put it to evil uses, just as it can be used for good. Yes religion has started and fueled some of the worst and bloodiest wars in man's history, which is clearly an evil use (unless your involved in which case god is clearly on your side so you can do no wrong). But to counter this religion probably was a the kernel of man's first steps toward civilisation. I would guess that the first written language was used to record the stories of man's earliest religions.
Ah but you could say that is no more than wild uninformed speculation and you would be right it is. However there have been many many times when religion has been used for good. I point to the good works done by Mother teresa who's totally selfless life's work touched so many in a positive way.
So without religion would we still have wars? Yes. Ideologies come in many forms both religious and secular and ideologies can not be destroyed, they are bulletproof. All you can do is suppress with violence or threat of violence those of opposing ideologies. Such a conflict of ideologies at one time held the whole of mankind at the brink annihilation. I speak for course of the cold war, two opposed ideologies communism and capitalism with believers on both sides that knew they had the power to pretty much destroy all of mankind and they where prepared to do it rather than submit to the others ideas. And this had nothing to do with religion.
Likewise there are people that show kindness and selflessness to others with out the any religious motivations.
So why would I say that we would not be better off with out religion if I think not having religion would make so little difference?
Well most religions in less extreme forms preach helping our fellow man, which can be a bad thing. Yes there will always be those who take words written thousands of years ago and try to apply them today, which doesn't work (the world has changed some what since then). But then again that same thing can happen with non-religious ideologies.
So what of my statement that the question is irrelevant?
Very simple, this, as I said earlier I see religion is an invention of man and as such, once it's been created, it can't be uncreated. We have religion now, wether we like it or not it's here an it's not going to go away.
So there you have it. Well that's one thing off my in pile. 1 down, err...lots to go!