Myth: Religion is one of history's leading causes of war and bloodshed.

communism never hurt anyone, cecile

My readings indicate that you are correct.

[quote=JBeukema;1296796]
Vikings came for booty and stayed for the land.

They didn't come to pray they came to prey.

Who cares what they told themselves, they weren't there to SPREAD THEIR FAITH, which the benchmark of a RELIGIOUS war.

How do you know that? You don't, but let's assume it's true anyway, shall we?

Now, was the religion of Egypt spread to the people of the lands Egypt dominated?

Hell no, it was not.

The captive lands of the Pharohs could pray to anything they wanted, just as long as they paid tribute to Egypt.

Ergo, religion was NOT the cause of Egypts wars of expansion

You're playing (or falling for) a revisionist game.

And the way the game is played is this...

If the people fighting believed in a GOD, credit their every move as being motivated by that religion.

Sheer fucking revisionist (and thoughly anti-religious) nonsense.

Everyculture or tribe believed in some religion in those days.

But not every religion sought converts and if conversion isn't the point of the war their war isn't a religious war.

What you and others who believe this myth seem to be doing is viewing every war every culture and every people through the (presumed, incorrectly) religiously fanaticism of the Judeao-Christian lens of rationalizg why they had the RIGHT to slaughter people who got in their way.

The ancient Hebrews didn't have religious wars even if they c they claimed they were backed by GOD.

They had wars of domination for territory. Anyone who stood in their way happened NOT to be in the tribes.

Sure they killed all non-believers, but not because they were non-believers, but because they were on the land that the Jews wanted.

That's not a RELIGIOUS war, sport, that's a tribal war for territory, plain and simple.

The biggest reason for bloodshed is Imperialism and precious stones; religion has only been a useful tool in that conquest, and that is an undeniable fact. How many millions of natives lost their lives "In the nme of god"? How many more were enslaved "in the name of god"? How many Christians and Muslims slaughtered each other "in the name of god"? The casualties are countless, and while it might not have been THE real reason, it was more often than not the justification, because it's easier to say that people must die to defend god than to defend those who "defend god" to maintain their power and wealth. And in the meantime, the representative of Christ on Earth sits in his golden palace reaping the benefits of fountains of red blood.

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"I will continue to be an impossible man as long as those men who are possible today remain possible." - Bakunin, letter to Ogarev.

"The ultimate aim of production is not production of goods, but the production of free human beings associated with one another on terms of equality." - John Dewey.

"It is embarrassing that the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council are responsible for the largest quantity of arms sales to the developing world. The very countries that should be maintaining world peace and security are the ones most responsible for promoting war and insecurity by producing and selling weapons." - Oscar Arias, 1987 Nobel Peace Prize Winner.

Religion caused everyone to divide into little groups , who each called the other liar and fool, and is still a dividing force today. A lot of the friction and war in today's world are religion based.

In related truth...

The leading cause of death is life. Deal.

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PLEASE READ!: The contents of the above post is the educated opinion of the author. At times, said opinion is so strong it gets stated as fact. This is simply how the author chooses to express his deeply held opinion and should not be misconstrued to suggest more. Or it's a joke. Deal.

But you've brought them all back together Al. Everyone thinks you're a liar and a fool.

Way to go!

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ok, so what's wrong with my statement? Do you even have anything intelligent to say about religious wars today? Chechnya, Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, 9/11...

As is political and economic theory the source of much contention

And much as people were brainwashed into fighting for their GOD, so too have we been brained-washed into defending democracy and capitalism from copeting political and economic systems.

Shall we resign all people who believed in those things into the idiot catagory just as we're putting all believers?

I mean given that we fought Maoist communism until we became China's best trade partner and all, I mean.

"brained-washed into defending democracy" LOL "and capitalism" LOL LOL
Like there's a feasable alternative.

Very true. When someone says that money is the motivation, they're really saying the same thing, because isn't the power it brings with it the reason people like money? Didn't someone once say that war is the continuation of diplomacy by non-diplomatic means? That makes it political, and isn't politics all about power?

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Knowledge is one of the few things that can be given to others without reducing the amount you have left.

A chalk outline is being drawn around common sense in this country, and most Americans can't even identify the victim. - Dennis Miller

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. - Herbert Spencer

So if something is twisted out of all recognition in order to justify evil actions, it's the fault of the thing being twisted, rather than the person/people doing the twisting? I don't think so.

And I'm assuming by "representative of Christ on Earth", you're referring to the Pope, and I for one will thank you to contain the rampant anti-Catholic bigotry. The Catholic Church is no more perfect than any other organization of human beings, but it's also no more evil. It's just . . . human, and it has done a whole hell of a lot of good throughout its history, and continues to do so today.

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Knowledge is one of the few things that can be given to others without reducing the amount you have left.

A chalk outline is being drawn around common sense in this country, and most Americans can't even identify the victim. - Dennis Miller

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. - Herbert Spencer

The catholic church is full of homo pedophiles and is one of the, if not the richest business on the planet, yet they still demand money from you just to be a part of their religion. Just like the mob. They've killed more people over the years than any other organization, except the us army maybe, and continue to enslave women, discriminate against gays, and condone and promote overpopulation.

Actually, no.

Top 20 Causes of Mortality Throughout the World

Top 20 Causes of Mortality Throughout the World — Infoplease.com

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The road to truth is long and lined the entire way with annoying bastards

The Catholic Church is no more "full of" bad people than any other large organization made up of people, so spare me your media-driven anti-Catholic bigotry, all right? The Catholic Church is one of the foremost sponsors of charitable institutions in the entire world. When the vaunted US federal government, source of all charity and goodness in the eyes of leftists, cannot help someone, they refer them to the Catholic Church. Don't believe me? Go to your local welfare office and ask them for a list of charities to help the poor in your city. At least half of them will be operated under the auspices of the Catholic Church.

When YOUR compassion involves putting YOUR money where your fat mouth is the way theirs does, then maybe you can sit back and sanctimoniously dismiss the entire Catholic Church as a bunch of pedophiles and killers and mobsters. Until then, shut your juvenile, ignorant mouth.

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Knowledge is one of the few things that can be given to others without reducing the amount you have left.

A chalk outline is being drawn around common sense in this country, and most Americans can't even identify the victim. - Dennis Miller

The ultimate result of shielding men from the effects of folly is to fill the world with fools. - Herbert Spencer