A Must Read!

[denuseri]

I suppose because it's hard to separate faith and religion, especially among believers. There is a difference, though.

Aparently its hard for Atheists to seperate as well.


Something else we must agree to disagree on, darlin'.

Just one of many "honey buns".


You don't need support for something you don't have. And I, for one, have seen no atheist churches, no atheist temples, no atheist synagogues, not even an atheist coven.

Really?
http://www.acfnewsource.org/religion...st_church.html

Look they even have links at the bottom for all their other church and temple sites.

Look like any other religion to you yet?


I labeled no one! I said I would attack those who do those things, I did not say anyone specifically did. We all know there are those who do, however.

Youve been blaming the acts of different individuals throughtout history on the Religions and Faiths to which they belonged havent you? Painting any tenent of the respected faiths in question with the same brush.


I will agree that faith has been with mankind from the beginning. It's a part of our makeup. The foundations of religion, perhaps began early on, with the rise of shamans and healers. People who studied the world around them and learned to use what they found. Organized religions, however, I would venture to say didn't arise until the very beginnings of civilization, when leaders began to require some way of controlling people who were not directly under their control. That's the purpose of religion, after all. To unify people under a common belief system. Which has the advantage of helping to control them. After all, how better to control people than to control what they fear? People, especially those with little or no education, would sacrifice almost anything if you tell them it will keep them in the gods' favor. Because that's what you've told them to believe. That's why parents would allow their leaders to sacrifice their children to their gods. They believed.

There you go again...are you so sure thats why religion came into being? See when you take the idea of a benevolent god out of the picture everything is reduced to Machiavellian levels. I guess thats the Atheists way huh? Control and cruelty?

It was hardely required with the group dynamic of dominance hierarchial midsets allready well embedded in humanities social structures from the "familey".

Spiritualism didnt develope out of a need to control someone elses actions.

It developed out of humanities basic need to seek answers to the unknown!