The Root Of All Evil?

[Oneironaut]

Here is a wonderful documentary by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins on the dangers of religion:

http://throwawayyourtv.com/2006/06/root-of-all-evil-full-documentary.html

Note that Dawkins did not choose the title. He wanted it to be called something else, since obviously nothing is the root of all evil, but the producers wouldn't budge. The only concession to his disagreement was the addition of a question mark. Nevertheless, it is a good exposé of the significant amount of evil posed by irrational faith in ancient scriptures and unproven gods.

[PureEvil760]

Watched some of it, its pretty good. There is a difference between religion and reality.

[Shelbay]

money,money,money....and sex.

[Garden Knowm]

I went to a speaking engagement in san francisco and listened to this old chap... a genuine man indeed...


let it be known... there is no such thing as evil... there is only man's desire to label and understand... let that go and you can actually witness the power/love that manifests all..

iloveyou

[graymatter]

I watched most of it and liked it. One problem, he's agruing against religion from a different source of authority, reason and empiracism, which makes it a polorizing, intellectual argument. This plays to about a zero audience of fundamentalists, much the way Pat Robertson might play to graduate students in evolutionary biology.

Another problem with the film is the tone of intellectual superiority. Discrediting religion from an intellectual perspective is playing into the "persecution" trap. Apologists use it to make followers feel warm, fuzzy and "down homey" about being ignorant and deferring emotional complexity to god.

All in all, it was a great presentation and I agree with the message 100%. Too bad he comes across like a wimpy sort of antagonist, someone with a reserved rage. I like my fellow atheists with strong, opposable thumbs. :thumbsup:

[Oneironaut]

It would be naive to think that the fundamentalists aren't a powerful influence in our society, and even more moderate religious beliefs still end up promoting fundamentalism. Even if you don't believe that crap about stoning gays and people working on the Sabbath, as long as you continue to publish it and tell your children that those books are holy and that faith is some kind of virtue, you are preserving an environment in which fundamentalism can flourish.

[graymatter]

I don't think there's a lot of naiveté about the power of fundamentalism and the moderates' fueling of fundamentalist dogma. I just think people are too caught up in the day to give it much attention. Still, purely intellectual approaches to combating it doesn't work. Zealots are content to blow things up, deny human liberty, or attack the judicial branch of government (i.e., the branch of government that protects rights, regardless of what the majority thinks they should be).

Not to come across as cockey, but I'd have to take the fight, physically, to that pastor if he threatened me in a parking lot...:cool: Peace!

[bulletz144]

dangers of religion?


was it not a danger when evolutionists killed aboriginals to put their skulls in museums, believing they were inferior and could be killed?

was it not a danger when hitler killed the jews because they were an "inferior species".


Evolution is a danger, even the columbine killing can be blamed on evolution.

[graymatter]

dangers of religion?


was it not a danger when evolutionists killed aboriginals to put their skulls in museums, believing they were inferior and could be killed?

was it not a danger when hitler killed the jews because they were an "inferior species".


Evolution is a danger, even the columbine killing can be blamed on evolution.

Hey, bulletz, there's been more killing done on behalf of God than for any other reason.

Look up the crusades.

And Hitler was dangerous for a lot of reasons unrelated to the Jews, who he also blamed for killing Jesus... Peace!

[TMBGoofball]

was it not a danger when evolutionists killed aboriginals to put their skulls in museums, believing they were inferior and could be killed?

was it not a danger when hitler killed the jews because they were an "inferior species".

Was it not a danger when Christians stoned homosexuals to death in a way much foreshadowing Hitler's own treatment of them?

[Shelbay]

When did Christians stone homosexuals? Jesus said those without sin to cast the first stone & the Christians I know couldn't throw a pebble myself included but there is misinformation here..I know prostitutes,adulterers etc were stoned but never heard of homosexuals being stoned..it was the women that were stoned...did this happen or just another statement against Christians in general?

[bigsmokin]

I went to a speaking engagement in san francisco and listened to this old chap... a genuine man indeed...


let it be known... there is no such thing as evil... there is only man's desire to label and understand... let that go and you can actually witness the power/love that manifests all..

iloveyou

I truly appreciate your perspective, but I tell you the truth, evil is a realism. Anything that distracts from notions of love... notions of God... could be considered evil. Look at oil. Oil is evil. It bubbles up black from the earth to destroy, inflict mayhem, and harden the heart. It's entirely uunnecessary too. Every diesel engine in the country could be modified to run vegetable oil for about the cost of a tank of diesel. What about the economy? The people who would benefit the greatest from such an advancement would be some of those hardest hit when the economy goes south and oil gets expensive: Farmers. Think about it.

In the spiritual sense, oil is symbolicly evil.

[graymatter]

When did Christians stone homosexuals? Jesus said those without sin to cast the first stone & the Christians I know couldn't throw a pebble myself included but there is misinformation here..I know prostitutes,adulterers etc were stoned but never heard of homosexuals being stoned..it was the women that were stoned...did this happen or just another statement against Christians in general?

True, Shelbay, it's the old versus new testament practices... and if they were so good at casting stones why can't they field a good baseball team?

[Garden Knowm]

Hi BIG... : )

If you look at OIL with out "you".. then you will see that OIL is LOVE.. OIL is GOD..

iloveyou


to look without "you" requires "NON REACTION" ...
NON REACTION taken to the ultimate extreme (neither reation to the inner or the outter) is where one gets a glimpse beyond the illusions of GOOD and EVIL...

VIPASSANA

[Hamlet]

hhmm, interesting documentary. ...unfortunately you could tell the author was just as polarized and dogmatic about his own religion-science, as any of the crazies he interviewed.

They say we're emotionally hardwired for religion. It's a part of us and we'll never get away from it. That documentary made me think it's probably true. If all the old faiths were to fall away in a thousand years the mathematicians will probably be killing the biologists at Darwin's tomb.

[Euphoric]

hhmm, interesting documentary. ...unfortunately you could tell the author was just as polarized and dogmatic about his own religion-science, as any of the crazies he interviewed.

They say we're emotionally hardwired for religion. It's a part of us and we'll never get away from it. That documentary made me think it's probably true. If all the old faiths were to fall away in a thousand years the mathematicians will probably be killing the biologists at Darwin's tomb.

lol

[Euphoric]

:) :)

[Hamlet]

lol..Old thread but remember this guy from the doctumentary?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15536263/

[Baska]

Lennon said that years before this jackass

the sad fact is people everyone needs something to belief in to get inner strength and god is a refuge to many people no matter how shitty your life can be. The world would be much better without religion but thats how it is people are naturally curious

[Garden Knowm]

The world would be much better

LOL

iloveyou

the world is perfect the way it is.. SEE
SEEE
SEEE
SE
SEE

love