Viewing Thread:
"Oh FFS..."

The last 5 items on the news:

- White kid killed in racially motivated murder.
- 1 in 19 workers in Britain comes from outside the UK.
- Doctor speaks out about how muslim women should take their headwear off to fit in with society
- Police defend decision to allow a muslim woman not to guard the Israeli embassy.
- Underground religious radicals in universities.



Seriously, can they not find a single news headline that isn't based on racial fear, paranoia or hate? It's like the Daily Mail took over Radio 4.

Kawada wrote:
> He's actually a born-again Christian so that should tell you all
> you need to know

More like a born-yesterday one... :D

He's actually a born-again Christian so that should tell you all you need to know

It just saddens me that the most powerful person in the world, certainly on the surface anyway, appears to be as thick as two short planks.

Well, yes. He's using religion because he knows it stirs some of the deepest feelings in the people he wants on his side. I wouldn't be surprised if he wasn't religious at all in his private life, but deliberately appears that way to get the backing he needs.

His true motives, I believe, are greed and power.

Yeah probably ... I certainly believe George Dubya's policies on blowing up most of the countries in the middle east, is religious based. Seems to me more and more we're heading for another crusades ...

True, I would agree with that. But I also believe (hah!) that this is a form of manipulated religion for political or other selfish reasons.

So perhaps it's really politics that is the main cause of war, using religion as a tool?

pb wrote:


> And the comments about the afterlife are just personal opinion.
> I respect your opinion that nothing happens after death, but as
> both sides of this arguement have no way of physically proving
> or disproving the theory, it remains a matter of belief, and no
> religion is still a belief in it's own right.

Aye well I don't have a problem with people believing in the afterlife ... I'm still undecided myself ... it's when they strap bombs to themselves in order to get there quicker that things get out of hand.

You're right though, religion is just one of many excuses for war, but it's probably the leading one.

Hitler's religious belief was Christianity. His belief which led him to the decision to eradicate the non-Aryan races came in part from Social Darwinism and ideological politics as well as from his Christian background.

However, he was an intelligent man and his interpretation of the Bible was for self-confessed power of propaganda.

In fact, you are correct in the respect that the Christian teaching in Germany at the time had a great deal to do with the Anti-Jewish feeling, but this is more to do with the teachings of the priests than the religion itself.

The point I'm making is that Religion is just an 'excuse' that could be replaced with any number of other 'excuses' for war or violence (eg Politics). Don't you think that most normal Christian hold their heads in their hands when George Bush speaks about his Christian attitudes (which is actually not too dis-similar to the attitudes of Christian Germany pre-WWII).

And the comments about the afterlife are just personal opinion. I respect your opinion that nothing happens after death, but as both sides of this arguement have no way of physically proving or disproving the theory, it remains a matter of belief, and no religion is still a belief in it's own right.

...which is one of the reasons I chose to renounce religion years ago.

Aye but I think the leading reason we have wars in the first place, is because of peoples core religious beliefs ... the second world war wouldn't have took place if Hitler hadn't decided to wage war on the Jewish population of the world ... the atomic bomb came about because of the need to beat hitler ... etc.