VIII. Why Religion Sucks: (Part 1) The Obvious
“One must state it plainly. Religion comes from the period of human prehistory where nobody- not even the mighty Democritus who concluded that all matter was made from atoms- had the smallest idea what was going on. It comes from the bawling and fearful infancy of our species, and is a babyish attempt to meet our inescapable demand for knowledge (as well as for comfort, reassurance and other infantile needs). Today the least educated of my children knows much more about the natural order than any of the founders of religion, and one would like to think- though the connection is not a fully demonstrable one- that this is why they seem so uninterested in sending fellow humans to hell.”
― Christopher Hitchens, God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything
God does not care whether or not your sports team wins. He does not care how much of your face or your body you choose to show in public. No, he doesn’t care who wins or looses at the culmination of your damned holy war, and God certainly does not care whom, or in what position, you choose to have sex with. As a matter of fact, he doesn’t even mind if you masturbate! (I promise.) In the next two posts, I am calling bullshit on Religion.
It is my firm belief that religion (and I do mean ALL religion- each and every single one on the menu) is one of THE main causes of the major problems that the world is facing today, and I am not alone in that belief. Far from it. I fully admit and disclose that I now “stand on the shoulders of giants”, and most of this post will consist of me paraphrasing or quoting the incredible work of the authors I have come to trust. My aim is not to steal their work, but rather to make it more accessible and collected in one location for your benefit. My ramblings are no substitute for the original and complete works of these courageous and outspoken critics of the perils of faith, and I highly recommend that you peruse the bibliography at the end of this post to read further. And just as you should not simply take me at my word but seek to verify the sources of my claims through independent research, you should give the authors that I have come to hold in such high regard the same treatment, just as I have. Unfortunately, the facts back up our claims. (Click here to read my post on how to use logic and reasoning to determine the authenticity of a claim.)
So why am I always hatin’ on religion so much? Well, let’s look at the evidence…
First of all, nearly all religions of the world subscribe to a belief that the world will one day come to an end as part of God’s plan. Most of these people believe that it may happen soon. Please take the time to read my post here on why this type of thinking is not only horribly ignorant but insidiously dangerous, and ironically stands in the way of preventing the very plausible end of our species.
Furthermore, the body count alone that can be attributed to all the religions of the world or the deadly persecution thereof is a mind-blowing and completely revolting realization. Do a quick google search on missionaries and pagan conversion; the Crusades; the burning of heretics and the Inquisition; the trial, torture and execution of so called “witches”; persecution and murder of Jews, the slaughter of native peoples in the name of colonization and expansion of the Church, ethnic cleansing and genocide in Rwanda and other third world countries; decades of violence in Ireland; hundreds of years of Muslim holy war; slavery; human sacrifice; and religious terrorism. Am I making the claim that religion is the cause of ALL of the world’s wars, violence and death? No, certainly not. I’m not even making the claim that religion has killed more people than any other cause ( I don’t believe that, based on the evidence, but I do firmly believe that religion has, at least indirectly, contributed to the destructive thinking behind nearly all of those other causes). But even if just one person once alive on this earth were ever slain, if one defenseless child was ever laid to waste, simply due to the words in a book about an invisible god in the sky, then that would be one too many. Unfortunately, there have been thousands upon hundreds of thousands.
So have you seen so many torture-porn movies that all this blood and guts doesn’t phase you in the slightest? (If that IS true, then you seriously need some psychiatric help.) Does the idea of persecution in the name of religion affect you at all? How many untold homosexuals, born gay and without a choice to be otherwise, and supposedly created that way by a Holy Creator (click here to read about the “gay gene”), have been bullied, harassed, discriminated against, beaten, killed, or have become convinced that suicide is the only option left, all because we’re told that the Bible says that being a homosexual is a sin (which it clearly does) and yet God makes homosexuals and then condemns them to Hell? Bullshit anyone?
Still not moved? What’s your opinion of the domination and oppression of OVER HALF of the world’s entire population? Who are these unfortunate targets of violence and discrimination? Women. And who is in favor of treating women like crap? Your religion. Your God. Click here for a list of verses from the Bible, a teaching document shared by over 54% of the world’s religious faithful and supposedly written by God himself, that describe in detail the sanctified rape and murder of women, a woman’s divinely decreed submission to a man and her relegated role in society, and how the general uncleanliness and unholiness of women should be dealt with. And if one looks at the Muslim faith, one of the fastest-growing religions at the current moment, certainly you are familiar with the inhuman concept of the burka, and the mortal penalties associated with not wearing one, as well as all of the other restrictions placed upon the female livelihood.
Still not queasy? The World Heath Organization estimates that 100 to 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the cruel consequences of female genital mutilation, the ritualistic removal of the clitoris (so that the young girl will never feel pleasure during sex), the removal of the labia, and/or the sewing up of the vagina until marriage. Also according to WHO approximately 664,500,000 males aged 15 and over are circumcised (70% of these being Muslim), which is nothing less than cruel and medically unnecessary male genital mutilation. You can thank religion for both of these atrocities.
Chris the Humanist 
why do you feel the need to defend yourself?
You are doing that which you rant about … trying to sell us on your viewpoint.
Only the outraged and the “intellegent” or the fokes looking for someone to talk to about how everyone else is either a fool or ignorant or both will agree with you.
granted, I have come to many of the conclusions that you have but I do not feel the need get angry about it ….. that is as futile as any religious ritual.
I can even talk about them without using gutter language …. what is it with you young folkes .. is it that you think that it makes more of a point to others when they read it?
I think you are well on your way, however, do not ever think that you have all the answers or that you do not have more to learn from the ideas you oppose.
you have a sharp and quick mind …. that can be a burden in matters of the heart ….it is hard to tell a “know it all” something he does not know yet because he usually sticks up his fists and dares you.
I respect you
You have not experienced enough of life to have many of the answers but I will give you an A for tying.
and I will keep checking in here
I have reasons of my own for doing that
take care …. and have a good day
Namaste …Lois
Hey Lois, thank you as always for taking the time to read and respond. I really respect your opinion and I enjoy our conversations. I know that I have benefited from and learned from you in this process.
The reason why I am working so hard to defend myself with a cohesive argument is because I believe that is what separates people who are merely “ranting” from those who are trying to start an intelligent discussion. I hope that I fall into the latter category, which is why I take the time to provide links and references and try to present my ideas in an organized way, so that readers can follow my logic and do independent research on their own. That’s why I allow anyone to post comments on my blog, so that I can give anyone and everyone the opportunity to call me out on any bullshit I may not have been aware of in my arguments.
As for the “gutter” language, I apologize if I offended you by using a perfectly normal expression for that particular function. Although I value language and believe that common respect, tact and courtesy should be used in all matters of discourse, I have no hang ups about occasionally sprinkling in a bit of crude language to punctuate a point. I don’t believe in the concept of “dirty words”. I side with George Carlin on this issue. (For anyone who hasn’t seen it, watch George Carlin’s hilarious “7 Dirty Words” standup routine. Click here: http://youtu.be/Yd0FY1YGbnIin for the utube video…the unedited version, of course.)
I really didn’t see the tone of this blog post as being particularly angry. I only pointed out well-documented facts that are, I admit, rather revolting. But if I do sound angry it is because I am. And if I sound like I am trying to piss people off it is because I am. Our species will NOT survive much longer if we don’t all get on the same page and focus on the issues at hand. Religion simply stands in the way of that. I feel the responsibility to my fellow humans to speak out about that, and loudly, and with force, not because I believe I have all the answers (believe me, I don’t), but because I believe that searching for the answers, as opposed to having them handed to us by religion, is the only way to save ourselves.
Much Love, Namaste.
Well, you say many truths. Way too many have died trying to have the most peaceful religion.
I was not talking about ” peaceful religion .”…I was addressing the thrust and the sardonic tone of what you say when it is not in a realm fhat you have experienced personally…. until you personally have killed or died for either one of those beliefs you are an outsider looking in and your answer is no better than theirs. At least when you keep your personal battles to yourself you do not harm others and that in itself has merit.
ah so
all too many have died “defending” their rights as they see them ….religious or agnostic ….. please do not leave the likes of you out of the mix….you are no more innocent than we are. … all of it “much ado about nothing” for the simple reason that each believer and each non-believer will sow their seeds and raise their children to mimic them and their thoughts.
sigh
things just are
no right … no wrong
just makers of consequences
no more no less
sigh
Lois, I was talking about ALL religion…peaceful or not. And I’m sorry, but I do not share your belief that you must first kill another human being or sacrifice yourself in the name of an idea before you can be considered fit to speak in the realm of that idea. False. I have never served in the Armed Forces but I can look at the current Holy War in the Middle East and be qualified enough to say that no one should have to die for those wicked ideals.
And I would never want to kill or want others to kill in the name of my ideas. That goes against my entire philosophy here. I am trying to have rational discussions with people in the interest of making a better world. I’m not trying to start a war, I’m trying to leave the era of warfare behind in human history.
And as for my innocence, I believe I have stated throughout this blog that 1) I fully open myself up to criticism from others; 2) writing this blog has made me take a hard look at the bullshit in my own life; and 3) I do not have all the answers. I am just trying to get humanity to a point where we no longer quibble about useless things that have been proven false, so that we can figure out the answers to our real problems together. But the idea that religion is wrong is not my opinion, it is proven fact.
You misread my meaning if you think I believe that killing is the answer to ANY problem and you have very nicely turned my words into your own interpretation ..(. not mine…) .so I will set that record straight if I can find the words that sync with you .
My point is that too many folks talk a lot about issues they do not totally know or have ever experienced…..you definitely are an independent thinker and have not inherited your views but rather have developed them from what you perceive …. I am just saying that speaking in generalities …. (done the home work of investigation or not) …. your own experience is your only reliable teacher and only then when looked at from an unbiased position.
if you don’t like to deal with the possibility of there being a higher power that dwells within all beings …. then approach it from the psychiatric stance …the ego, the alter ego, the shadow ….etc. Just consider that there is the availability of sources within the self that operate on different levels of comprehension. If you want to call that option atheist be my guest … what it is called does not matter….and if you/we do none of the above …….so be it.
I do not know how a heretic explains himself to himself ……so I plead ignorance on that one ….
You likely would think me ignorant on all of the above ….. or not.
what I do know is that you have opened a Pandora’s box of ideas and options to think about ….. you see, I never close the door on seeing something differently …………stretching the possibilities of anything keeps the growing edge sharp …. and I never want to stop growing.
I personally think you are premature in assuming that you are the end all and be all of what you think you are ……but I am just an old lady, what do I know …..:>)
Namaste
Lois
Thank you for clarifying your point, and now please allow me to clarify mine. I do not believe that I am the “end all and be all” of anything. I recognize, as I have ardently admitted in this blog, that I am on a journey of growth and discovery, just like everyone else. Again, all of the main points I have made thus far in my blog are not opinions. They are facts- albeit facts that are often unreported or distorted by the religious. I don’t feel as if I have done anything pretentious; I am merely trying to wake people up to the truth, as it really is, to the best of our knowledge, based on science, logic, and evidence. Religion is not only wrong but harmful, and I am doing everything I can to point that out. Thank you for your time.
I am, I guess you can say, half Atheist and Spiritualist. Or, a good Atheist, not a person who purposely tries to cut down others for their ideas. Some Atheists I met were disrespectful, and they were the only ones who had the best ideas and were always right with everything. Everyone has different views, and some are standing behind shit most of the time, then change their position to being behind another piece of shit, so their views are messed up most of the time. Some try to find the best views, others don’t care, some hold their ground and don’t move at all. Personally, I like to take a hose and spray their shitty views away, and force them to see what is and is not truth. Then they get mad and just say that some need religion. Those who need religion are not mature enough to handle the world as it really is, then some just pray for those who are not of their religion, because they are so closed-minded they hold their ground in their fields of shit. Some think religion is just a one word over the other, but in fact, no matter what, there is a way to overpower the bullshit of religion, because all there is to give is the facts.
A good way to shut religious folks up in one verbal or text chat dispute with religion against truth. For one, predict they will leave if they can’t handle the truth, there for no matter what you say it is true. So when they leave, you told the weakest minds you told them so, which is a brutal method, and keeps the strongest ones there to shortly lose their religion.
Then, begin with the world all building pyramids, monuments, and other ancient structures. The sun, the astrological movements of stars and equinox. The sun stops for 3 days at the south on Dec-25, right ? Constellation of Orion has 3 stars (3 Kings), all pointed at Sirus (House of birth or some shit), then its place during Ancient times, when the sun set, it set on the crux, of cross constellation. Then it began to move north, symbolizing the resurrection of the sun for the year. And every day it showed the battle for light and dark, winter being the longest night days of the norther part of the world. It is all about an ancient calendar to tell the times of the years. They discovered that the constellations change over time, and they calculated it. Religion just fucked it all up, and is used for a tool to control large populations. Egyptians were among the first to use this belief system to control their population. that is where their Jesus story came from.
Then on to science and the universe, etc. Energy is everything. Lots of energy or static energy gathers and forms atoms, then molecules, then clumps of dust, then it all clumps together to form a vortex of gravity in the center, inevitably spinning, then stars form, remnants orbit the stars into the center of gravity, planets form, and depending on where the planets form, life could form. Very simple, very true. Humans are traced back as primates, DNA shows very close links, even humans today resemble apes, you can see the links in teeth and bones. Africans show much closer relations to early humans, and those early humans look very close to apes, with hair all over and everything. We evolved over time, that is already proven to be a fact. Theory of Gravity and Evolution use to be theories, now they are fact.
So, now you have some examples to use when trying to make those of fake ass religions think, rather than run. If they run, your on the offense. If you remain silence, they still believe in fake beings. The proof of their gods not existing is more than what they have. There is more proof of their god NOT existing then there is of their gods existing. We can see the lack of their god, and also can see the evidence of scientific research and facts.
At that point, their religion is torn away, and is only looked at as a ceremonial or ritualistic cause, rather than serving a god or false idol. Also pointing out that it even says in their book to not worship false idols. It can also be considered offensive or an insult to their god for even worshiping, because if their god gave everyone life, it is disrespectful to worship something that gave you free will to learn the science and truth about their life and existence in the first place. So, no matter what, their belief in gods is proof of their lack of knowledge of how the universe works. It also adds a sense of disgust to them, of how they were tricked, and lied to, and were a sheep in a herd of dumb fucks who were ok with dying and wasting their free will on worshiping and believing in lies.
For the record: As I said before, I am around the border line of Atheist and Spiritualist. Atheism is NOT a Religion or a Belief. Religion is NOT Spirituality. Spirituality requires no money, no hindering of ones way of talking, acting, or thinking. It makes no drama, hate or divides anyone. It serves nothing other than good. There is no hell or heaven, we put ourselves where we should be through our actions. There is no rules, no restrictions or punishment from others. The only punishment is that what we put onto ourselves through what we do to others. Karma plays a good role in how we end up. Death is never the end, because our energy ends up as something else (but what we once were is like a snowflake, is there then gone). Love is only an emotion, compassion is what we show through actions, empathy is how we relate to how others feel in their situations. We can only help and give good advice to others, and can only learn from mistakes we and others make. Life is short, ditch the drama, religion, and baggage. Life, Live Free and Die Hard. Freedom, Love it or Leave it (meaning don’t change or oppress it for others). Humanity, Freedom for All, Freedom for Life.