Religious Extremists.

[V15U4L_3RR0R]

What is your veiw on Religion and religious extremists?

The most common example would be Muslims. Well I say common in the sense that it's the one we probably all know about given recent events and so on. I ma by no means saying that all Muslims are gonna go and blow you up and so on.

Have you found yourself thinking "What if that person has a bomb strapped on them?" Or other such things? Do you worry about things like that more that you used to? Why?

Disscuss how you feel about it here.


My personal view is that not every middle eastern person you see is going to blow us up or conspiring against us. The things that a minority of Islamic extremists are doing is no different from the Christian crusades and the Catholic/Protestant feud that had gone on through the ages. Religion has more to balls up the world and society than anything else but I do find it very interesting to study and look at. I find it interesting that ones religious beliefs can so heavily influence their daily decisions and how they see the world. I hate the fact that their are fights and wars fought in (insert your deity of choice)'s name.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Religion is fine. It's interesting. It's just a set of ideas and beliefs.

Religion extremists vary from being irritating to dangerous. They're different from being religious or spiritual, IMO.

 

[Shimmer]

Fundamentalists of any type are scary.


Just most of them don't blow shit up for the sake of...whatever rewards their text offers.

 

[user79]

I don't like religion. It tends to manifest itself in bigotry, narrow-mindedness, ignorance, predjudice, fanaticism and violence.

Honestly, I don't see what good religion does at all.

 

[flowerhead]

I agree with MissChievous about religion in general.
Religious Extremists petrify me, I get the London tube most days and wonder if someone has a bomb attatched to them sometimes :S I would take buses but of course they were bombed too, and I refuse to let them stop me living my daily life...Unfortunately a lot of the religious extremists in the news recently have been Muslims, so a lot of people have formed prejeduces against them. People seem to forget the IRA, but at least they gave warnings.

 

[Shimmer]

You've probably never had a church lady who doesn't really know you very well help you out when you really needed it, because there was no one there. Or had to beg for food and clothes for yourself and your children because your husband was laid off and you were laid off two weeks later. Or been unable to make a car payment and facing repossession, so the church helps you catch up and gives you a box or two of food out of the general fund.
You've probably never had an elderly relative that you can't check on as much as you would like to because you're working fulltime and you live an hour away, and the church in his area knows this, so the preacher and his wife or a deacon or a deacon's wife or a Bible study teacher pops in every other day and keeps him company while cleaning his house and preparing him a couple of days worth of meals he just has to heat up.
Or gone out of town for deployment/a trip/whatever and needed someone to mow your yard, feed your animals, and take in your mail.

I know women who make it a point to go around their community and be compassionate, honest, helpful, and charitable to those in need. They don't ask that the person be a member of the church, they don't ask the person to sit and talk religion, or defend their point of views. All they ask is that the person say thank you.


No. Religion doesn't do people ANY good AT ALL.

Quote:

Honestly, I don't see what good religion does at all.

This statement is every BIT as closed minded as the religions you say you dislike so much.

 

[flowerhead]

You can be kind, compassionate and generous without having to restrain yourself to a set of ridiculously judgemental rules.

 

[Shimmer]

The two are not mutually inclusive. You can be one without the other, or both. Again, that's a narrow minded viewpoint...and not a religious one. Some of the most compassionate and generous people you'll meet are also some of the most judgmental. I'm by no stretch saying religious people don't have their own standards of living, but the quiet ___________'s (fill in the blank, Christians, Muslims, Catholics, Lutherans, whatever) living in the world generally ARE NOT what you're describing as the typically religious individual.


On the whole, it's a fair statement to make that the people going around the communities assisting the elderly, poor, and needy are affiliated with some type of church or another, while those not affiliated with a church or charitable organization are continuing about their own business.

 

[angeliquea~+]

I think religion is fine. It's the individual's interpretations of the relevant text/teachings that is more often than not the problem. I agree with MissChievous in the sense that often religious nutjobs use religion as a tool to discriminate and persecute whichever group/minority they have an agenda against.

I remember watching some TV show when I was young where a white supremacist was trying to justify her stance on non-white people. She talked about the story of creation and Adam and Eve, and basically went on to say that the name 'Adam' refers to the pink hue people get in their cheeks when they blush, however (according to her) Black people don't blush and therefore are inferior to whites. (WTF!?)

Can't say I agree with religion doing no good at all. When my Dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer he turned to religion and managed to hold out for 13 months, as opposed to the original 3 month sentence the doctors gave him. For the type of cancer he had, surviving 13 months is extremely rare and I'd say the strength and sustenance his faith gave him was a huge factor in his survival.

I think religious teachings have their place in society, as much of the religious teachings offer simple, commonsense advice (i.e be kind to your fellow man etc etc) that all too often gets forgotten, especially in today's hectic, hedonistic world. One example I often think of is the rationale given for Muslim women wearing headscarfs, basically (aside from modesty) one of the reasons is so that people get to know the woman by traits such as her personality, intelligence, etc rather than just her looks and outer veneer. So much pressure is placed on girls/women these days to look good to the point where many females feel that their looks is the only currency they have to offer the world, but this idea of appeciatating women for more than their looks is something I'd like to see more of. That's just one example though.

I'll get off my

now! Sorry about the essay!

 

[spectrolite]

I have no problem with religion as a concept. If people want to believe in something or have faith in a greater power then that is perfectly fine. I do have a problem when people try and force their views on me (or others) or suggest that I might need to take up their religion. I cannot stand being assaulted by Jehovah's Witnesses and even Hari Krishna's lol... Just leave me alone please! If I were interested I would go to them.

I have no religion myself but my family are Muslims who are not necessarily extreme in a way that they want to blow things up but they are extreme when it comes with sticking to their interpretation of their religion. The put their faith before anything, and that includes me. I'm not a Muslim any longer (wasn't really my thing!) so they don't want anything to do with me unless I repent etc... It's been 12 years since I've seen them and I probably won't see them again because they consider me to be some kind of hell spawn. It's really unfortunate that they are so extremely closed minded and I feel sorry for them and anyone else who puts a book before love of family and your fellow (wo)man. The concept of Universal Love just does not compute with their simple android brains.

I just want to add that I really respect the "gentle" religions/philosophies like Buddhism, Tao, Bahai etc.. They seem to have something good going on with their non-violent, peace loving middle paths

 

[Trunkmonkey]

Organized religion is such an interesting thing. So let's take a brief look at some of the larger ones.

Catholocism - These lovely people gave us an mans interpretated version of the Bible, The Inquisition, and the crusades. Good thing they didn't have C4 or passenger planes back then or it would be a real mess.

Protestants - We don't like your interpretation of the Bible pope so we're going to go over here and do it our way. But everybody that doesn't do it our way is going to hell.

Mormonism - HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA you got your commandments from a guy who read rocks out of a hat? Sorry folks you're just a cult. A well meaning and generally helpful cult but a cult nonetheless.

Islam - Ahh yes Mohammed the prophet. It must give you great comfort that your prophet was a pedophile and encourages the killing of anybody that does not submit to Islamic rule. I'd be so proud to be a member of a religion that condones stoning people to death as a normal punishment for sinning.

All of that said every religion has their extremists and their moderates. You can find good people with intelligence enough to look at the extreme examples in their religion and just try to do the right thing, live their lives, and take care of their families.

Being a believer in intelligent design I do believe in a higher power we'll call it God but you can put your own name to it if you choose. I believe Jesus was his son sent here to show us the path that we should take. And I believe that if I live life the way I think Jesus would have wanted me to then, when I die, I'll end up in heaven. That said I'm going to be really angry if, when that happens, I find out that it would have been okay to have as much sex as possible with as many different partners as possible and that part got edited out by some bishop 600 years ago I am NOT going to be happy.

 

[Shimmer]

Interesting link.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Quote:

Honestly, I don't see what good religion does at all.

While there are indeed other ways to get the same results (but isn't that true about a lot of things in life?), people do get some good things out of religion. They include:

-Hope in a crisis situation (praying makes them feel better)
-A sense of community (it also makes moving around easier for some, because they can find like-minded people)
-Get constant guidance and reminders to be a good person

I don't believe religion is the only place to get any and all of these, but it fulfills that for a lot of people. I also realize some of them are negatives, as well. However, if it gives my 89 year old great aunt joy to go to church and hear a sermon, that's cool. If it helps an alcoholic not be one, victims get through their crises, etc., I don't mind religion. I mind how people sometimes use it; when I said annoying before with religious extremists, I meant people who think God controls every aspect of their lives and are asking God and other people to pray for every minute detail to go right. No, I'm not going to pray that you get an A on a quiz, if I prayed; I don't pray against it, but it seems a little extreme IMO.

For me, spiritual beliefs are personal I try every day to be a good person, do what's right, etc. I don't believe my job in life is to interfere in other people's business, unless they're harming themselves or others (including animals). I do believe in some sort of creator(s) and that's about it. I wasn't raised by religious extremists or religious types in general, but I was raised by moral parents. If it feels wrong, I don't do it. I like to think that if people looked inside themselves and questioned their actions more fully, religious extremists would be non-existent.

 

[susannef]

To be honest I find it very degrading that people have to turn to the church and beg for food when they cant feed themselves and their kids. That's what we pay texes for. Social safety net <3

 

[blindpassion]

It's a matter of opinion and morals. You can't tell someone that their religion is wrong. They could turn around and say they think the way you dress is wrong, but its a matter of opinion... and that's ALL it is. I am not religious in any way, I choose not to be... my choice, my opinion. Just like they choose to be religious and believe in a higher power. It gives lots of people strength, more power to them as long as its a peaceful religion.

 

[Shimmer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by susannef To be honest I find it very degrading that people have to turn to the church and beg for food when they cant feed themselves and their kids. That's what we pay texes for. Social safety net <3

Yeah but not everyone lives in Sweden. That's what YOU pay taxes for. I do not like, nor do I want, my tax dollars being used as a social safety net.

 

[beth_w]

Quote:

Originally Posted by blindpassion It's a matter of opinion and morals. You can't tell someone that their religion is wrong. They could turn around and say they think the way you dress is wrong, but its a matter of opinion... and that's ALL it is. I am not religious in any way, I choose not to be... my choice, my opinion. Just like they choose to be religious and believe in a higher power. It gives lots of people strength, more power to them as long as its a peaceful religion.

I completely agree with you. I don't believe in organised religion, but who am I to say what you believe is wrong? I wouldn't like it if somebody told me what I believed was wrong just because they thought they knew me.

 

[blindpassion]

Quote:

Originally Posted by beth_w I completely agree with you. I don't believe in organised religion, but who am I to say what you believe is wrong? I wouldn't like it if somebody told me what I believed was wrong just because they thought they knew me.

Exactly, and I'm tired of hearing religious groups publically bash another religion... excuse me? you're bashing something THEY believe in... just because it isnt what you believe in? You have freedom to believe in what you want, so do they, so don't bash them saying they are in the wrong... nobodys in the wrong.

 

[Shimmer]

A religion that (for example) worships a goat and tells its followers to sacrifice first born daughters to the great window god whilst using first born sons for sexual gratification of its leaders is wrong, no matter who believes in it. That's a fictitious extreme example, but still, the point stands.
I don't think it's acceptable to bash another religion, but it is, I believe, acceptable to point out flaws within the belief system (i.e. Mormonism...I could go on for hours about the flaws inherent in that system).

 

[jillianjiggs]

lately, people who are anti-religious have become much more annoying than those who are very religious.

i feel there are more people out there now, at least that i have encountered, harassing people to STOP believing in religion, calling them names because they are religious, and hounding them to disprove religion and fighting with you about it.

whatever you believe is fine as long as you dont push it on others who do not welcome it. that goes both ways.

and like i said, i see more of the "why the eff do you believe in god? are you aware the bible is full of sh.it? how the hell can a virgin give birth?" than "come pray with me. you are a lost soul, jesus can save you." but maybe that is just my experience.

being atheist and not believing in religion is one thing, and it's fine, but being hateful and trying to bring others down is an unnecessary other thing.

one last thing: just because someone is a part of a certain religion, does not mean they believe in everything that that religion does. i know plenty of catholics who agree with gay marriage. i know MANY muslims (most of the muslim population feels this way too, obviously) who arent going to go fly planes into towers or blow up subways. if they arent out to do any harm, or dont have any more hateful thoughts about things than you and i, then why care if they get on their knees at night to pray, or read a bible, or go to church, or worship however they do?