[Canadaka]

I've kind of been on a documentary binge this weekend, I just finished watchedan excellent 2 part documentary called "The Root of All Evil?". The title doens't really reflect the content, it was the publishers forced title to invoke controversy.

The doc is written and presented by Richard Dawkins, in which he argues that the world would be better off without religion.

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Part 1
The God Delusion explores the unproven beliefs that are treated as factual by many religions and the extremes to which some followers have taken them. Dawkins opens the programme by describing the "would-be murderers . . . who want to kill you and me, and themselves, because they're motivated by what they think is the highest ideal." Dawkins argues that "the process of non-thinking called faith" is not a way of understanding the world, but instead stands in fundamental opposition to modern science and the scientific method, and is divisive and dangerous.

Lourdes
Faith versus science
Colorado Springs
Jerusalem
Russell's teapot

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Part 2
In The Virus of Faith, Dawkins opines that the moral framework of religions is warped, and argues against the religious indoctrination of children. The title of this episode comes from The Selfish Gene, in which Dawkins discussed the concept of memes.

Sectarian education
Religion as a virus
Biblical morality
Secular morality

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Root_of_All_Evil%3F
http://www.channel4.com/culture/microsi ... fevil.html
Torrent Download

If you are religous you probably won't like this documentary, but it would still be interesting.

[RUEZ]

Canadaka wrote:

The doc is written and presented by Richard Dawkins, in which he argues that the world would be better off without religion.

I'm not really a practising christian, but I was when I was younger. And in that time I have never seen anything at my church or from fellow christians that would harm the world or anyone in it. I support peoples right to not be religious and not have it forced on them, so It dismays me when I see people advocating the forced removal of religion. I personally think the world would be better off without illicit drugs.

[Canadaka]

he is not advocating forcing of anything, you should watch if if you don't understand how Christianity can be evil.

Irrationality, intellectual confinements, dogmatism, eschatologically irresponsible, moral deficiency, narcissism, authoritarian, racism, homophobia, religious wars. To name a few points.

My favorite part is the 2nd part when he talks about morals, and how many in the scientific world belive they are something that has evolved from our beginings as well. Not something that we do to not be punished by a god, or to avoid a hell.

Quote:

Next, Dawkins questions whether the Bible really does provide a suitable moral framework, and contends that the texts are of dubious origin and veracity, are internally contradictory and, examined closely, describe a system of morals that any civilised person should find poisonous.

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Finally, Dawkins searches for an explanation of morality based upon evolutionary biology, which he considers more hopeful than ancient texts. Together with the evolutionary psychologist Oliver Curry, he discusses the primordial morality to be found among chimpanzees. Curry explains his view that we don't need religion to explain morality and if anything it simply gets in the way. Instead, he claims, a more convincing explanation is to be found in the concepts of reciprocal altruism and kin selection.

I found that very interesting, and was something i had never really thought about or heard mucha bout before.

[RUEZ]

Canadaka wrote:

Irrationality, intellectual confinements, dogmatism, eschatologically irresponsible, moral deficiency, narcissism, authoritarian, racism, homophobia, religious wars. To name a few points.

You just described society. I've witnessed much of that coming from non religious people, well all but the religious wars. I think if people feel religion makes them better who are we to take that away from them.

[spikecomix]

Even if the title (root of all evil) was a forced thesis, I still didn't agree with the overall premise of the movie: that the single act of removing religion will somehow "cure" society.

He himself stated a quote along the lines of ' without religion there will be good people doing good and evil doing people doing evil, but only with religion can there by good people doing evil.'

He even comes out and says that there will still be evil people doing evil!!

I'll be the first to agree that religious fanatics are dangerous, but fanatics of ANYTHING are dangerous. It's the fanaticism, not the faith, that is REALLY bad. In fact the guy kind of struck me as an aethiest fanatic.

[stratos]

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explores the unproven beliefs that are treated as factual

That little bit from the line could be applied to evolution also. Science says that to prove something you must be able to recreate it. Yet they have not been able to recreate the beggining of life on earth useing the amino acids ect.. that they say were the start of life. In astronomy if something is calculated out to be 10 to the 6th power or higher it is considered to be next to impossiable to happen. When calculated out the odds for the proper astoroids/meteors to hit the earth and start life it was found to be 10 to the 99th power.

Science continualy uses only data that supports their theroys and refuses to acknowlage data that disproves it even though it uses the same scientific standards. Do not forget evolution is only a theroy that is tought as fact in public schools.

[Clogeroo]

I don’t think you can force people to not have a religion or only have one religion. People will believe what they want to believe and I don’t think anyone should stop that. I don’t think getting rid of religion would solve much. Religion can have a positive affect on people. I know people who used to break in your car or rob your house now have an honest job, volunteer, and have bettered themselves because of religion. 85% of Canadians have a religion so how would changing all these people would make this country better? You think there will be less murder, less gangs, and less crime? I find that doubtful and I could see it actually being worse rather than better.

[stratos]

you say 85% of all canadians have a religion, is there a stat you can show breaking this down into the diffrent religions? Not trying to blast you but its made me curious how that would break down.

[RUEZ]

From CIA world fact book.

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Roman Catholic 42.6%, Protestant 23.3% (including United Church 9.5%, Anglican 6.8%, Baptist 2.4%, Lutheran 2%), other Christian 4.4%, Muslim 1.9%, other and unspecified 11.8%, none 16% (2001 census)

[bossdog]

I'm downloading it - can you beleive it has more peers than the star wars holiday special?

[Clogeroo]

Quote:

you say 85% of all canadians have a religion, is there a stat you can show breaking this down into the diffrent religions? Not trying to blast you but its made me curious how that would break down.

I just got it from wikipedia.
77% are Christian and 6% are others. 16.2% have no religion. I guess it is 83% then I was just estimating.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Canada

[Newfy]

I don't see how removing religion from the world would be a good thing. If religions are followed the way they are meant to be then people would not have a problem with it. You just have to look at all the good things that come out of religion such as charity organisations. I'm not saying that all charities are based on religion but I would say that the vast majority of them are. The problem is that people like to focus more on the negative things that come out of religion such as the extremists, but it is not religion that is the problem, it is the individuals warped view that causes the problem. Some might say I am biased because my Dad is a minister in the Anglican Church and yes I was "forced" to go to church as a child, but I'm an adult now and can make my own decisions. I was not brainwashed and although I do consider myself to be a Christian,I don't go to church every Sunday and I do alot of things that many hardline Christians would consider to be against God's laws.

[Newfy]

Also, I know many scientists who are Christians, so to say that science and religion can't go hand in hand is wrong.

[BartSimpson]

Some scientists actually came to their faith through their understandings of science. They get to that point where they see an infinitely complex universe that operates under coherent laws and they see the hand of a creator in that.

Religion and politics are what people make of them. They are neither evil nor good in the absence of people who implement their tenets.

Naziism, for instance, isn't evil anymore because it isn't anything anymore. Just like Soviet Communism isn't anything anymore.

But to argue that a world absent faith would be better off also means that the world would have to do without the works that were inspired by faith.

Imagine a world without Handel's Messiah.

Imagine no great cathedrals to inspire young architects.

Imagine no Mother Teresa to bring attention to the suffering of the poor. One need only look at Darfur to see a place where such as she is needed to address the failures of secular politicians.

Belief is a powerful thing and it can be used for fantastic good and perverted for fantastic evil.

Like anything else, it is no better and no worse than we ourselves are.

[bootlegga]

I have to agree that religion is not the root of all evil, but it has caused a lot of grief for mankind over the centuries. On the other hand, it has also provided hope for a lot of people too. I know it helped my sister through some difficult times in her life.

My only complaint with religion in general is when they try to shove it down your throat (so to speak). For those who believe, you are welcome to it, just don't try and recruit me.