religion

[dfward]

has religion caused most of the worldly conflicts throughout time. Surely it is meant to preach peace not war , love not hate, harmony not disharmony. Are all the people who perpetrate wars not being true to their gods

[China Doll]

That's a much nicer way to start a debate!

You answered your own question though I think. Religion is often the sh1tty stick or scapegoat used when in fact it's usually something to do with politics. Or oil. Or money. Or land.

I'm not particularly religious myself but I do think that if there is a higher power out there it's got to be pretty mad at us for blaming it for the rubbish we do.

Spike Milligan (sp) once wrote 'God made night but man made darkness.' I've always liked that.

[jake-the-peg]

Personally I prefer:

Religion is an insult to human dignity. With or without it you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion.

-Steven Weinberg

[dfward]

thank you CD. i just feel anxious for the kids ... when they mature what sort of world will they face.... i hope a slightly more peaceful one but i have my doubts

[laurence2]

Politics and religion go hand in hand in regards to causing world conflicts

They both suck

-laurence2.

[China Doll]

Jake - Not heard that one before. Like it a lot though!

Df - Calvin to Hobbs 'Can we refuse to inherit the earth?'

I think I've just stopped answering now and started random quoting! Sorry...

[sp1814]

I'm not 100% sure on this but I read somewhere that contrary to popular belief, it's not religion that is the cause of most (modern) conflicts, but territorial disputes.

The question is still valid though...but I don't see any major changes in the way that major religions operate any time soon, or the way in which people use religious doctrines to further their own secular goals.

[kwicky]

With the UK pushing for Turkey's entry into the EU and their population is over 99% Muslim we will all have to live in harmony or self destruct.

[Lonnie]

In the old Testament/Torah, God was a God of War, this is the same God that Christians and Muslims also worship, but in different guises.

I would guess its all about which religion you adhere to as to whether its peaceful or not.

Having said that, wars are caused minly by old fashioned greed/prejudice/jealousy etc.

The only way to eradicate war, is to eradicate Humankind,

[Whickerman]

further to this - are there any religions that have never been involved in armed religious conflict? (Obviously there's the Wiccans who can't be ar$ed, and the Hare Krishnas who don't have the energy as they're veggies, and probably the Mormons...?)

[LeMarchand]

I strongly believe that religion is the excuse rather than the cause.

[jno]

depends how you define religion. It's seldom the cause of war, though you could include Muslim jihadi teaching and the Christian crusades in the list of religious wars. But religions don't necessarily preach peace. They're more often about achieving happiness, making the crops grow, honouring your ancestors. Peace, or war, may be seen as a means to these ends.

[commonsense]

"I would guess its all about which religion you adhere to as to whether its peaceful or not".

This quote from Lonnie is why Wars are started, because religion has caused everyone to take sides, and want to prove how much their religion is the true way to God. Man causes War because we sin and we pay attention to religion. God di not give us religion, Man did.

[shaunnajadel]

if there were no religion, world war 2 might never have happened since hitler would not have been encouraged to be hostile to the jews. personally i don't see how religions, eg the bible stories are physically possible, maybe people just made it up years ago because they are afraid of the unknown? just an opinion x

[VS Prasad]

Ancient Europeans wrote about Ages of Man:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ages_of_Man

There are also many other references to various types of world ages or Ages of Man in Hopi (worlds), Mayan (suns) and other cultures of antiquity. Giorgio de Santillana, the former professsor of the history of science, mentions approximately thirty ancient cultures that believed in the concept of a series of ages and the rise and fall of history, with alternating Dark and Golden Ages.

More information about the ages is available in the Yuga
theory of the Hindus:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuga

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satya_Yuga

The theory states that there were no wars in Satya Yuga
(Golden Age). People lived with peace and harmony.
Wars started with the second Age, with only righteous
and justified causes. They were very small in number.
The largest number of them occur in Kali Yuga (age of
darkness) which clouds the mind of most of the people.

It has been astrologically forecasted that the dawn of
Golden Age will occur in about two decades from now:

"From 2010, winds of spiritualism will blow across
the entire world, awakening more and more people
in its wake. Where limits of (modern) science end,
spiritualism begins. .... Along with scientific
progress, intellectuals will start recognizing the
importance of spiritualism. .... From 2050, a new
era will begin...."

Swami Dattavadhut, Prophecies 1998 to 2100, Vanita Books, Mumbai, 1997, pp. 33-42.