Contemporary cultures with no organized religion don't go to war the way we do.
They have enemies, but individuals in those cultures don't attack those enemies in a way that would likely result in their own death. In cultures with organized religion, a death in war fought on behalf of the state almost always guarantees a reward in the afterlife. When the afterlife is unknown or vague, people aren't willing to fight as recklessly as when sure milk and honey is waiting for them.
It's not that humans weren't violent before organized religion, it's that there was no way for the state to convince the people to throw away their own lives attempting to murder other people. Religion isn't the cause of war, it just makes war more monstrous.
Sir, you are a more astute student of de-esculation than the entire SPD, or atleast my auntie after one of those painful familiy revelations during Thanksgiving dinner.
On another level, it's satire on how most Christians view history-- Things were horrible, awful & everyone killed each other, then Magic Baby shows up and creates peace for his believers. If you weren't a believer, then you most likely deserved whatever happened to you.
Even more hysterical is how often, when one brings up the horrible atrocities of ages past, (non-Catholic) Christians will simply say that those things were done by Catholics.
I think it shows not anti-Christianity on your part, but self-awareness of how easily something you believe can turn into an extreme, ossified, position---in this case 'religion, and Christianity in particular, are responsible for all violence'.
That's just not true, and I speak as someone who believes that really believing in the Trinity is bad for your brain, and that really believing in eternal damnation disastrously bad for your morals.
You can be both anti-Christian and an astute student of history, Goldy. In fact, it's hard for me to rationalize having one of the positions without the other.
Funny how religion = Christianity. I guess in Family Guy world, there were no historical Jews, Buddhists, Druids, Zoroastrianists, Greeks, Romans, Native Americans, lesser known pagans and nature worshippers...
I think it is just plain mean to make fun of people who have embraced a more emotional outlook to make it through life. So, anti-religious? Who cares. Astute? Please. Asshole? Yes, absolutely.
Hilarious, yes, but sadly inaccurate. People found PLENTY of reasons to kill each other before they started using religion as an excuse. Ever read The Iliad? In many ways religion was an improvement over what had been before, because although it gave people a new excuse to get into wars, it delegitimized going to war just for the sake of taking your enemy's land and women. If you wanted to steal the land and women, you at least needed to come up with a cover story.
That isn't to say that religion is still needed today. My view is that with the advent of science and belief in human rights, religion has become socially obsolete. Once it represented progress; now progress is replacing it.
When will Gen X(erox) stop watching cartoons.
How astute of a student are you again?
So everyones wrong. Yay! Yay!
They have enemies, but individuals in those cultures don't attack those enemies in a way that would likely result in their own death. In cultures with organized religion, a death in war fought on behalf of the state almost always guarantees a reward in the afterlife. When the afterlife is unknown or vague, people aren't willing to fight as recklessly as when sure milk and honey is waiting for them.
It's not that humans weren't violent before organized religion, it's that there was no way for the state to convince the people to throw away their own lives attempting to murder other people. Religion isn't the cause of war, it just makes war more monstrous.
Even more hysterical is how often, when one brings up the horrible atrocities of ages past, (non-Catholic) Christians will simply say that those things were done by Catholics.
That's just not true, and I speak as someone who believes that really believing in the Trinity is bad for your brain, and that really believing in eternal damnation disastrously bad for your morals.
Remember Lindy's Worst Popes Ever feature? http://www.thestranger.com/seattle/worst…
So good.
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-epi…
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-epi…
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-epi…
http://www.southparkstudios.com/full-epi…
Come on, people now, smile on your brother, everybody get together and love one another right now.
The old saying, "It's funny because it's true," applies in no way to this clip.
That isn't to say that religion is still needed today. My view is that with the advent of science and belief in human rights, religion has become socially obsolete. Once it represented progress; now progress is replacing it.