liberalminded
Gilbert, AZ
age: 25
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Religion is an impulse to explain. A natural impulse that everyone has and everyone grapples with. It's an impulse that, sadly and ironically, has been exploited to convince people to take actions that defy and demean that impulse.The exploiters are the ruling elite of nearly every society, in every era, and ours is no exception.Its not hard to understand the false sense of comfort and security of faith that religion provides. Alot of us have been through and can understand how hard can be to shake the
grip of dogma. Religious dogma, wich is a set of rules, is a tool used by people in power
to keep other people powerless, and to coerce them into serving the interest of the powerful. History is flooded with examples of religion used to defend and promote most of humanity's dumbest moves. Like GENOCIDE: the holocaust and the annihilation of the indigenous populations.Like WAR: from the beginnings of" civilization" to the Gulf Wars and beyond. Like PREJUDICE: the continued sudjugation of women in all of the major religions. Like POVERTY: as a tool of capitalism, religion has taught the poor to accept injustice. Probably the worst effect religion has on us is its' ability to create divisions so remarkably deep that people will kill for them. Scratch at any major conflict in the world today and just beneath the skin of diplomacy and territorial demands you will find a fundamentalist, bloodthirsty form of one or more organized religion.Many "progessive" people involved in religion believe they can work within their religious institutions to change them for better. It's an understandable desire- we all work within institutions to some extent,but its kinda dumb in the same way that the Catholic Church's motivation for wanting to feed the hungry is kinda dumb: their writings and dogmas tell them to. Shouldn't they be motivated by simply knowing that feeding the hungry is the right thing to do? People indoctrinated in religions(including
the religion of ideology), seem to believe that moral code can not exist outside their institution. It can and it does. We have the ability(and the duty) to do the right thing without rehetoric of dogma, the theart of hierarchies or the fear of some old coot in a beard firing a lightning bolts at our sinful, hairy, zitty little asses. The saddest thing about religion is whats lost.Religion, or accurately, I suppose, the appropriators and exploiters of religion, have taken our purest impulses of solidarity, compassion, celebration of the wonder and mystery of our lives, and turned them agaist us.This, most of all, is why I reject religions: so that I can reclaim these impulses for the causes they deserve...Love and justice. This was written by Chris of the band PROPAGANDI
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liberalminded
Gilbert, AZ
age: 25
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I get what your saying about the music biz. I just like what
he wrote.The catholic chuch is preety crafty when it comes to recruting I'l givem that.
But I think he'd vote for himself.Hahahah
Really maybe he'd be a socialist.
[Edited 7/7/2007 11:11:14 AM]
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dolphins1973
Midlothian, VA
age: 34
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yeah they suckered my ass at birth lol damn those priests hehe
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