Religious stuff

[Bob's Orange]

The boys' 'crime' - breaking religious laws by watching football - was read out on a loudspeaker before their executions. 

Isn't it about time religion was banned or something? Utterly ridiculous pie in the sky nonsense which causes more heartache and pain than it does good.

Sorry for those on here that are big into their faith but I just can't get my head around the whole concept of religion in this day and age.

[kerry red]

It's not about religion - it's about power.

Always has been, always will be.

[horlock07]

The boys' 'crime' - breaking religious laws by watching football - was read out on a loudspeaker before their executions. 

Isn't it about time religion was banned or something? Utterly ridiculous pie in the sky nonsense which causes more heartache and pain than it does good.

Sorry for those on here that are big into their faith but I just can't get my head around the whole concept of religion in this day and age.

Its got bugger all to do with religion, nutters are nutters and if they didn't have religion to align themselves with they would have something else.

[Flashheart]

Their doctrine specifically tells them to kill. Thankfully, though, the vast majority of Muslims cherry pick and don't follow the horrific stuff.

To say that it is not about religion is just plain false. Many of these characters are willing to kill themselves because they believe in 72 virgins and what not.

[Bob's Orange]

Uh oh a religion based discussion on an Internet forum, brace yourselves folks!

This is putting a right downer on the exploits of Mass and Yas.

Yeah should probably be moved to a separate topic really!

[Flashheart]

Hold on.

[reeves4england]

This is true...

To say that it is not about religion is just plain false. Many of these characters are willing to kill themselves because they believe in 72 virgins and what not.

But so is this...

nutters are nutters and if they didn't have religion to align themselves with they would have something else.

There will always be angry, disenfranchised young men. And there will always be people willing to manipulate them for their own agendas, whether through religious or secular political ideology.

[Flashheart]

Indeed. It does take somebody of a certain predisposition to follow the more violent interpretations of of doctrine. Other factors such as culture and education also have an impact. The abrahamic religions are all quite similar to each other yet you don't find many Christians in the west killing people for picking up sticks on a Sunday, for example. (Although there's still rather a lot of persecution of gays etc).

Muslims tend to grow up in an environment where their doctrine is preached literally and they are not allowed to question (whereas most religions people can apply allegory). In 13 Islamic states penalty for apostasy is death and this is widely supported by the population. When bought up to believe that it is right to kill people for not believing in a religion then that is bound to fuck with people's moral benchmark. The nutters that go about killing people actually believe that they are doing the right thing.

[Bob's Orange]

Indeed. It does take somebody of a certain predisposition to follow the more violent interpretations of of doctrine. Other factors such as culture and education also have an impact. The abrahamic religions are all quite similar to each other yet you don't find many Christians in the west killing people for picking up sticks on a Sunday, for example. (Although there's still rather a lot of persecution of gays etc).

Muslims tend to grow up in an environment where their doctrine is preached literally and they are not allowed to question (whereas most religions people can apply allegory). In 13 Islamic states penalty for apostasy is death and this is widely supported by the population. When bought up to believe that it is right to kill people for not believing in a religion then that is bound to fuck with people's moral benchmark. The nutters that go about killing people actually believe that they are doing the right thing.

Of course culture and education play a big part. The fact that these people believe that randomly butchering people to death is LESS of a sin than blasphemy, is just downright lunacy (in my eyes). Also, isn't education banned in some places (certainly for women), so that only the Quorn is taught?

[kerry red]

My stock response to those who believe that living in an Islamist country is best is

Then fuck off and go live in one

Whatever is going on now isn't going to stop or go away so you've got to think what the logical conclusion will be when it comes to non-Muslim countries

[Flashheart]

Also, isn't education banned in some places (certainly for women), so that only the Quorn is taught?

Think so, not sure exactly. Either way I wouldn't much like to teach evolution in a strict islamic state.

I don't know about teaching the Quorn though. I don't see much harm in teaching people about foodstuffs 

[Reg Smeeton]

My stock response

Veggie stock, in Bob's world.

[Bob's Orange]

Think so, not sure exactly. Either way I wouldn't much like to teach evolution in a strict islamic state.

I don't know about teaching the Quorn though. I don't see much harm in teaching people about foodstuffs 

Linda McCartney is the latest Profit Mohamed isn't she?

[Arriba]

Their doctrine specifically tells them to kill. Thankfully, though, the vast majority of Muslims cherry pick and don't follow the horrific stuff.

To say that it is not about religion is just plain false. Many of these characters are willing to kill themselves because they believe in 72 virgins and what not.

Think this is spot on.

Id go further though as it appears the majority of religious people across the board cherry pick the bits that can justify,in their minds their beliefs.
Continually changes as it becomes increasingly ridiculous to the rest of us.

[Ardiles]

Id go further though as it appears the majority of religious people across the board cherry pick the bits that can justify,in their minds their beliefs.
Continually changes as it becomes increasingly ridiculous to the rest of us.

I'd be careful not to dismiss the views of people with religious convictions quite so readily.  There are a lot of folk out there (better read than I am) who argue that current scientific thinking does not preclude the existence of a higher being or of intelligent design.

Science is very good at predicting phenomena in the world we live in and back in time, right up to a few nano-seconds after the Big Bang.  But science is completely useless at predicting what happened during the Big Bang itself, because the laws of science as they are currently known break down before that point.  And science is even less useful still in predicting phenomena before the Big Bang, or answering the question: 'What started the Big Bang in the first place?'

So unless you know the answer yourself - and I'd guess that, like everyone else, you don't - is it not reasonable to conclude that there is at least some possibility that the whole process that led to the creation of the universe was kicked off by a force or a being that we cannot understand?  If you agree with that, then you have to accept that the concept of religion may not be quite as 'ridiculous' as you had supposed.