What is the worst thing invented by mankind?

[syntax]

Nuclear weaponry.

.............................

Agreed. An invention of mankind that may be the end of mankind.

 

[Ram]

The aggressively strict, unhealthy definition of human beauty.

 

[Narcissism is fun]

Sweets

Dammit I'm only 20 I can't be gaining weight so soon!

 

[voyager1994]

working 5 days a week...

then complaining there's not enough time for other things.

 

[Pushover]

Yeah, goshdarnit! Religions aren't supposed to save people, they're supposed to kill them. They'd better get it right! Ignoring, of course, that very few wars were started by religion in the first place. Then again, given the chance, it's interesting that atheists did their damnedest to catch up in Russia and China.


We know that atheists would never try to manipulate anyone into thinking the same way as them...Even the Catholic Church at its worst allowed some freedom of thought, especially compared to Communist Russia and China. Oh sorry; I keep forgetting that they were such Heavens on Earth that I'm not supposed to use them as examples of what atheism can do when it's given a chance.


Except that...The Spanish Inquisition almost caused a split with Rome, showed why torture, and ended up causing problems with the local churches.

The missionaries "ruining" local cultures is a debatable call; the missionaries usually added to the cultures in tangible ways (better health care, improved irrigation, better farming techniques), and usually to groups that were about to be bulldozed anyway. The missionaries actually saved the groups from being forced into the surrounding culture as undesirables and allowed them to keep their personal respect.

And the molestation argument is so fraught with fallacy it's very scary ground. I appreciate that we'll never have any of the true figures, but the same issues apply to anyone placed in authority. Basically, if you're going to slam priests for "uncounted 'possible' molestations", then you need to slam everyone for that, including coaches and scout masters. And there is absolutely no way that you're going to convince anyone that only priests have done all of the molesting out there, especially with all of the stories, real and otherwise, out there. And that's ignoring non-religious organizations that purposely molest boys, acting as if it were correct behavior.

No offense, but you're assuming that all governments, groups, and people in general have all bowed before the local religion, and that just isn't the case. We've had plenty of eras, sometimes lasting centuries, where the local religion was either ignored or just ceremonial, and sometimes when it was actually treated with disdain. Too bad you're not selling anything of any value....

RG

The sarcasm is disgustedly noted. I said nothing about atheists being saints, you just decided to add that, being a good little christian mind slave.

Nobody said governments were bowing to religion. The churches, temples, and sects have always had their eyes and ears all over the place, and you know it. There's mountains of evidence on their interference if you look for it in the history books. All it takes is a little poking and prodding and religion has it's grips around people.

Anyone can molest children. But I don't see businessmen or others getting payed off by the Vatican to sit idly somewhere so that the public doesn't see you after you've had your perverted fun. It's not just a sin, it's a felony.

No offense, but you can continue with your little-black-book-thumping on the primitive natives that will listen to your garbage. Then, you can ruin their cultures because it's not desirable and compatible with your doctrines, or likewise swallow it up and poop it out so that it looks nothing like it was originally. There is hard proof of several cultures and nations of people that no longer exist because of the missionaries. I vaguely remember a documentary about some culture in south east Asia that's no longer there after the missionaries arrived.

I've said it before; religion created atheism, and once you're gone, we will be, too. Until then, keep it to yourselves, and so will I. And, since religion has no intention of keeping it to themselves, I won't either.

So, let's just agree to disagree, hm?

 

[piano1]

Voice mail.

 

[Pushover]

Bagpipes? ..........

Hey, bagpipes are cool!

 

[RobinGoodfellow]

The sarcasm is disgustedly noted. I said nothing about atheists being saints, you just decided to add that, being a good little christian mind slave.

At least my programming is more extensive than:

if post by Christian? then flame

Nobody said governments were bowing to religion.

Actually, it was said pretty much explicitly. I hate asking an atheist to be logical D), but if if governments are said to do whatever religion tells them to, isn't that pretty much what bowing is?

Anyone can molest children. But I don't see businessmen or others getting payed off by the Vatican to sit idly somewhere so that the public doesn't see you after you've had your perverted fun. It's not just a sin, it's a felony.

Nah. A businessman would pay them off pretty quickly, or get the person to surrender up the kid gladly. By the same logic, of course. Straight up: Don't you think that they could have the priest sent to jail if they wanted to, instead of reaching a financial arrangement that punishes the institution that allowed it to happen in the first place?

There is hard proof of several cultures and nations of people that no longer exist because of the missionaries.

Yeah; mainly because of the diseases that the missionaries brought. Yes, missionaries caused the extinction/absorption of a lot of small cultures, but overall they've allowed for a number of them to thrive as well. I'm not saying that missionaries aren't there to proselytize, but usually it's supposed to be by example not force. Only when the missionaries have been attacked has it led to violence being used.

I've said it before; religion created atheism, and once you're gone, we will be, too.

I'm missing something here. If religion was wiped out, then wouldn't everyone remaining be atheists, pretty much by definition?

Until then, keep it to yourselves, and so will I. And, since religion has no intention of keeping it to themselves, I won't either.

Er...You may want to check things out a bit. This thread was started by the OP saying that religion was the worst thing ever invented. In fact, I think that it's a legitimate call to say that almost all the religious-themed threads in HT have been started pretty much the same way: Someone starts a thread pointing out how ignorant/hateful/whatever Christians are, and then people rally for both sides.

In essence, I think it's pretty much ignorant of the facts to say that us religious types have no intention of keeping to ourselves when we're constantly being fired upon. You want us to keep to ourselves? Stop writing anti-religious posts.

So, let's just agree to disagree, hm?

No problem here. Better yet: Don't attack my beliefs, show the basic respect due me as a human being, and you'll see fewer pro-religious posts. But I don't see that happening.

RG

 

[elra]

Crocs. Awful. Simply.. awful.

 

[irydion]

A few million children being fed and a few cures for diseases doesn't outweigh dozens of pointless and bloody wars (by ALL religions),

If there weren't religious wars, there would have been other. You name crusades, but you forget that in Europe, the church was actually fighting against the wars, as they would be wars between christians; that in Byzantium, even fighting against infidels and killing them was considered wrong by the church, despite emperors' pressure; that in many cases, religious aspect of the wars wasn't the only one.

thousands of years of bigotry and manipulating/brainwashing/guilt-tripping the populace,

There's atheist bigotry and brainwashing as well, and you're an example of it.

MASSIVE interference in world governments both past and present including the Spanish Inquisition and the Crusades,

Inquistition wasn't as bad as often claimed to be, and crusades fall into the religious wars cathegory.

the uncounted 'possible' molestations of alter boys,

Children most often fall victims to the members of their families. Should we blaim the institution of family for it?

not to mention the hundreds of Missionaries that ruined dozens of cultures across the world to name a few.

If You mean the fact that they were changing other cultures' ways of thinking and religion, I ask: what's wrong with that? Are you against religious freedom and possibility of conversion?
And if you mean something else, clarify it: missionaries weren't destroying local languages for example. The other way round, Bible was often the first thing written in some language and the start of some culture's literacy. Missionaries often created special alphabets for these languages. So, in fact, missionary activities made those cultures stronger, though, of course, changed them.
Missionaries didn't, at least not always, contribute to political pressure from european mights: take Paraguay as the most striking example.

The sarcasm is disgustedly noted. I said nothing about atheists being saints, you just decided to add that, being a good little christian mind slave.

If you claim that religion is responsible for something - all or most of it - you claim at the same time that without religion (--> atheism) it would've been better.

 

[Iorek]

Texting.

I'm lengthening this message to at least 10 characters so it could be posted.... "Texting" was not long enough

 

[Lpool101]

Either religion or guns.

 

[chillyboi]

stands worth repeating
cigarettes & cigars!

 

[NineOfClubs]

Pepsi and Coke.

 

[mydrew1]

WMDs probably

 

[voyager1994]

Smoking and machines that cause pollution and destruction.

 

[braex27]

Reality TV