These are the 12 worst ideas religion has unleashed on the world

Some of humanity’s technological innovations are things we would have been better off without: the medieval rack, the atomic bomb and powdered lead potions come to mind. Religions tend to invent ideas or concepts rather than technologies, but like every other creative human enterprise, they produce some really bad ones along with the good.
I’ve previously highlighted some of humanity’s best moral and spiritual concepts, our shared moral core. Here, by way of contrast, are some of the worst. These twelve dubious concepts promote conflict, cruelty, suffering and death rather than love and peace. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, they belong in the dustbin of history just as soon as we can get them there.
Chosen People –The term “Chosen People” typically refers to the Hebrew Bible and the ugly idea that God has given certain tribes a Promised Land (even though it is already occupied by other people). But in reality many sects endorse some version of this concept. The New Testament identifies Christians as the chosen ones. Calvinists talk about “God’s elect,” believing that they themselves are the special few who were chosen before the beginning of time. Jehovah’s witnesses believe that 144,000 souls will get a special place in the afterlife. In many cultures certain privileged and powerful bloodlines were thought to be descended directly from gods (in contrast to everyone else).


http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2015/01/these-are-the-12-worst-ideas-religion-has-unleashed-on-the-world/

Infant circumcision in Judaism serves as a sign of tribal membership, but circumcision also serves to test the commitment of adult converts. In one Bible story, a chieftain agrees to convert and submit his clan to the procedure as a show of commitment to a peace treaty. (While the men lie incapacitated, the whole town is then slain by the Israelites.)

I thought that was a good Bible story that doesn't get told enough

Agree with the this list, Although I don't think Eternal life is necessarily that bad depending on context same with Karma.... Not sure if it is a ranked list or not

With Karma what is the alternative for disease? Genetic weakness, faulty genes, If belief in Evolution replaces Karma it can be even crueler as there is no need to be kind unless it give you direct advantage and if one is weaker than you it is your evolutionary right to lord it over them.

I've seen personally what the concept of eternal life does to some people. Within the context of the rest of the religion, it has made them retreat from their lives almost entirely, hoping that by not getting involved in this life (which they think is just a brief precursor to eternity), they'll stay focused on getting into Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

And, in order to get to the point where you even question the religion, you have to forfeit your ticket to Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

Pardon the pun, but that's some diabolical shit.

Oh, and another great part of that idea is that you can also forfeit your ticket to Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games) if you don't start indoctrinating your kids into those beliefs about as soon as they're able to speak.

Ben_Reilly wrote:I've seen personally what the concept of eternal life does to some people. Within the context of the rest of the religion, it has made them retreat from their lives almost entirely, hoping that by not getting involved in this life (which they think is just a brief precursor to eternity), they'll stay focused on getting into Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

And, in order to get to the point where you even question the religion, you have to forfeit your ticket to Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

Pardon the pun, but that's some diabolical shit.

Morning Ben and Veya

This is the point, here it has been ingrained into central thought for centuries. Where no in the west its influence is diminishing thankfully and in the future it does so in the East. It is all well and good saying there is good in these religions, but there is lso much wrong with them. Which should make any rational person question their own faith, just as in the same way they question others faiths or non-faiths, but they never do. They contradict themselves over this point

Ben_Reilly wrote:I've seen personally what the concept of eternal life does to some people. Within the context of the rest of the religion, it has made them retreat from their lives almost entirely, hoping that by not getting involved in this life (which they think is just a brief precursor to eternity), they'll stay focused on getting into Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

And, in order to get to the point where you even question the religion, you have to forfeit your ticket to Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

Pardon the pun, but that's some diabolical shit.

That's why I said depending on context, Obviously there are case (like indoctrinating suicide bombers) where it is bad.

Is reincarnation eternal life
becoming a 'Buddha' is the pursuit of eternal life although they normally take it in context of needing to learn 'everything' to reach/enjoy it

On replacing belief systems with evolution veya, I think this is a common assumption on the parts of some people (not you specifically), especially the American conservative Christian RW. But no one ever advocated Darwinian morality, in fact Dawkins has spoken against. For all the bad in religion there are good elements which we recognize, as a species moving forward we should be able to recognize what is good and works and remove it from brutal context of religion.

veya_victaous wrote:

Infant circumcision in Judaism serves as a sign of tribal membership, but circumcision also serves to test the commitment of adult converts. In one Bible story, a chieftain agrees to convert and submit his clan to the procedure as a show of commitment to a peace treaty. (While the men lie incapacitated, the whole town is then slain by the Israelites.)

I thought that was a good Bible story that doesn't get told enough

Agree with the this list, Although I don't think Eternal life is necessarily that bad depending on context same with Karma.... Not sure if it is a ranked list or not

With Karma what is the alternative for disease? Genetic weakness, faulty genes, If belief in Evolution replaces Karma it can be even crueler as there is no need to be kind unless it give you direct advantage and if one is weaker than you it is your evolutionary right to lord it over them.  

What's kind of funny is how the right wing has fully embraced Darwinism when it comes to human beings and specifically the poor ... which is actually in complete contradiction to what scientists actually think about how our species survived, thrived and came to control the environment in a way no other species has ever managed.

One early hominid vs. one tiger? No contest -- the tiger is an evolutionarily perfected killing machine, while the human being is a weak, frail, pants-shitting meal for the tiger. But 10 humans against the tiger? Well, they'll make it (at least mostly) while the tiger is toast. That's what right-wingers have never grasped -- that our species wasn't selected on the basis of the abilities of an individual, but on the unique and wholly unprecedented power of a group of humans working in concert.

Look at socially isolated people even now, so long after we first emerged -- they become depressed, less productive and largely ineffective. Take a lonely person and give them a few friends, and almost instantly they become more vibrant and vital. That's just what evolution made us, and very few individuals accomplish much without help.

Ben_Reilly wrote:

veya_victaous wrote:
I thought that was a good Bible story that doesn't get told enough

Agree with the this list, Although I don't think Eternal life is necessarily that bad depending on context same with Karma.... Not sure if it is a ranked list or not

With Karma what is the alternative for disease? Genetic weakness, faulty genes, If belief in Evolution replaces Karma it can be even crueler as there is no need to be kind unless it give you direct advantage and if one is weaker than you it is your evolutionary right to lord it over them.  

What's kind of funny is how the right wing has fully embraced Darwinism when it comes to human beings and specifically the poor ... which is actually in complete contradiction to what scientists actually think about how our species survived, thrived and came to control the environment in a way no other species has ever managed.

One early hominid vs. one tiger? No contest -- the tiger is an evolutionarily perfected killing machine, while the human being is a weak, frail, pants-shitting meal for the tiger. But 10 humans against the tiger? Well, they'll make it (at least mostly) while the tiger is toast. That's what right-wingers have never grasped -- that our species wasn't selected on the basis of the abilities of an individual, but on the unique and wholly unprecedented power of a group of humans working in concert.

Look at socially isolated people even now, so long after we first emerged -- they become depressed, less productive and largely ineffective. Take a lonely person and give them a few friends, and almost instantly they become more vibrant and vital. That's just what evolution made us, and very few individuals accomplish much without help.

Poor comparison and absurd about right wing.
Our species nearly became extinct, where little pockets of humans survived, where one human is a match for a Tiger because of his superior intelligence, which enabled him to develop and perfect the skills of missile weapons, that can kill the tiger before it gets within ten feet of him. Having more numbers has always more been centered around a defense concept for animals, giving the species more chance of survival. The fact that humans are unique is our intelligence. In fact evolutionary, humans by walking on two legs lost the skill of speed from four, but this is easily compensated by higher intelligence. Also people can very very uncomfortable being placed in the company of people and prefer their own company.
Blimey why is everything about left and right wing with you?

How you equate evolution to the poor shows that view is very wrong based on the survival of the fittest. Or as it should correctly be written "survival of those who are better equipped for surviving". I am not being nasty here but realistic based on evolution, if you had limited resources, then the poor would be an issue to your survival. As nasty as that may be and something I would never back, it shows you are in fact in error by comparing evolution to the poor.

Ben_Reilly wrote:I've seen personally what the concept of eternal life does to some people. Within the context of the rest of the religion, it has made them retreat from their lives almost entirely, hoping that by not getting involved in this life (which they think is just a brief precursor to eternity), they'll stay focused on getting into Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

And, in order to get to the point where you even question the religion, you have to forfeit your ticket to Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

Pardon the pun, but that's some diabolical shit.

Video games???
That's my idea of hell!!

eddie wrote:

Ben_Reilly wrote:I've seen personally what the concept of eternal life does to some people. Within the context of the rest of the religion, it has made them retreat from their lives almost entirely, hoping that by not getting involved in this life (which they think is just a brief precursor to eternity), they'll stay focused on getting into Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

And, in order to get to the point where you even question the religion, you have to forfeit your ticket to Endless Joyous Never-Die Wonderland (Where Everything is Made of Chocolate and Video Games).

Pardon the pun, but that's some diabolical shit.

Video games???
That's my idea of hell!!

It could be made of Adventure Quest (and don't forget chocolate)

Eilzel wrote:On replacing belief systems with evolution veya, I think this is a common assumption on the parts of some people (not you specifically), especially the American conservative Christian RW. But no one ever advocated Darwinian morality, in fact Dawkins has spoken against. For all the bad in religion there are good elements which we recognize, as a species moving forward we should be able to recognize what is good and works and remove it from brutal context of religion.

that's the problem with the article it says this is bad because... but doesn't give an alternative
Some like 'Chosen Race' we can say it implies the opposite i.e. 'there is no chosen race all men are potentially equal'
but what is the opposite of Karma? is it chaos? since good and bad things will happen with out reason... in which case we have worked out some patterns (genetics and evolution) that cause some of the good and bad things.

Good things and bad things happening are way too broad an area than to be defined by karma. It stands to reason if you are a nice person people will usually respond in a nice way and vise versa.

However you may be the kindest person and still be hit by cancer or be at the centre of some natural disaster or war- the latter two being a result of geographical location more than anything.

Likewise many bad people are filthy rich amd die in the luxury they lived their whole lives (a certain late Abdullah comes to mind). How many selfish thoughtless bankers and lawyers will never be made to feel how they may have caused others to feel?

Karma is a nice concept but evidently not a reality. Its opposite would be absolute chaos but that isn't really true either. While there is no easily defined order things don't don't happen completely by chance.

If you live in England you can be the baddest person around and know that you will never be struck by certain exotic diseases, or live through a hurricane or earthquake- chance doesn't stretch to defying geography. Luck of birth helps, education helps- but neither karma nor chaos are realities on Earth.

People need to lose the mindset that there must be some 'system' which was designed for things to be a certain way.

Author of the OP says it is a BAD Belief/idea.. I think it is neutral at worst.

you can be good or bad and still get good or bad. there is no consistent flow of events, joy or suffering are received by random chance. that is chaos as there is no order to the outcomes. (maybe 'randomness' is a better word since Chaos gets conflated with Anarchy)

All those examples work within the bounds of reincarnation. The Authors main issue with it was it is easy to say "well that person got cancer/etc because they were bad in a previous life". which is a valid complaint but what is the alternative? why did the person get cancer? we give a bunch of things that increase chances but ultimately there are people that smoke a pack a day and don't get cancer and other that never smoked in their life and do. If we put this down to Genetics than that is no better than Karma as the person now deserves it for having weak genes, (as beyond your immediate control as the deeds of your last life.) So maybe what I am saying is that Karma isn't a bad belief because if anything reality is crueller. If you are Born with a genetic condition, You can improve your lot for the next life with Karma, but you're just dead weight by Evolution.



Every other thing mankind has ever come in contact with has been a system (every single thing on earth is part of a system) it would be very very unlikely that there is not some sort of system behind it all. I think it is just that the Taoist idea of good/bad being a matter of perspective is what explains why it so hard to see the system as we ultimately only can view from our perspective.

Even Reincarnation is a System, just making Souls work like Water in the hydrologic cycle (weather system) just instead of 'Puddles' we have lives, instead of afterlife there is clouds (where water vapour exists when not water) and instead of birth there is precipitation and instead of death there is evaporation. Still follows the same basic cycle just flowing energy(Animus/Chi) instead of fluid/vapour.

Of course reincarnation is a system, one believed by many in Asia and connected totally with Karma.

The fact people don't like the idea of genetics being involved in predisposing people to certain diseases and conditions is not, I'm afraid, a reason to assert karma as a preferable (in the sense of accepting it as reality).

It may be cruel, but better than believing a good person got cancer is somehow justified in a 'workable' system because in a previous life (they dont even remember- the irony of the 'justice' in reincarnation) they were a bad person (or animal?).

Eilzel wrote:Of course reincarnation is a system, one believed by many in Asia and connected totally with Karma.

The fact people don't like the idea of genetics being involved in predisposing people to certain diseases and conditions is not, I'm afraid, a reason to assert karma as a preferable (in the sense of accepting it as reality).

It may be cruel, but better than believing a good person got cancer is somehow justified in a 'workable' system because in a previous life (they dont even remember- the irony of the 'justice' in reincarnation) they were a bad person (or animal?).

how is it actually better? that's what I'm asking.

It all well and good to Say it is not perfect but no one seems to have a better answer.. that is not also actually worse when adopted as an idea belief by humanity. (the OP claims it is bad, but if people of the past accepted 'reality' than there would be even less Charity and kindness to less fortunate, I don't think that can actually be called 'Bad' it might be incorrect, we'll debate that )

the reason why it is worse is because, in Karma Regardless of how the other got in the position they are in You have to be good to not join them. Genetics means that treating genetic conditions is a waste of resources. If everything is logic and reason than it is logical and reasonable to purge 'weakness' from our species (now more than ever due to high population)

Karma and reincarnation is still possibly valid under science because science has yet to work out what makes the difference between life less dust and a micro-organism with the same elemental make up. there is some factor that Science has yet to discover that make things alive (Animus is the philosophical name for it),


what if souls are not individual (your body isn't, we are a community cells working together)? all life being interconnected all going back to the same great cloud of Animus (energy that animates)
Are we so sure we do Not Remember?
these Ideas gets even more complex and possible when you consider the animus like a liquid the amount that is in our vessel(like a puddle) makes us currently but when we die it all just evaporates (our souls are broken up) and when it recombines on the other side of the cycle it is not necessarily incarnated back into the same body together (the same water molecules will be in different Puddles with different molecules next time it rains).
there is plenty that is unexplained like Phobias that could be due to concentrations of Animus with that 'memory'.