As yourself a simple question: which belief makes a person more humble - the belief that we evolved from monkeys, and that we are therefore no more special or different from every other living thing on the planet, or the belief that we were made by God, and that the entire universe was created specifically with you in mind?
Religious believers often insist that that only be believing that the most powerful God imaginable created the entire universe, can we be truly humble. Even though such a belief leads us to the conclusion that everything other living thing on the planet is ours to do with as we please. This belief that we humans are somehow special, because God gave only our species a soul, lead one writer to explain it this way:
To every other species on the planet, we are the Nazi's. And yet, somehow, our "benevolent" God, made it all for us anyway. Fuck the suffering of other animals - they're just animals after all. Sort of like how the Germans described the Jews as vermin, and the Hutus described the Tutsi's as "cockroaches" and Americans described the Japanese as monkeys, and how every race describes every other race in terms of some animal - that humans have generally always felt were less than they were.
I wonder if God had any idea how useful such a hierarchical structure of animal importance would become, to his most important animal of all, in getting different race of people to exterminate different other races of people? Maybe he should've thought that one out a little better.
Of course, believing in God also makes a person more advanced, more enlightened, more intelligent, and apparently more moral and just (according to many religious "believers" anyway). Believing in God makes a person so moral in fact, and NOT believing in God makes a person so immoral, that the former can even be required to muster the courage to actually KILL the latter, lest they loose their soul, or others fall into their wickedness. (NOTE: We are taught to abhor violence on the one hand, even though we are taught though everything around us that it takes the greatest courage of all to engage in violence, which is why we give people medals of honor.)
I do not know a single person addicted to drugs, or porn, or masturbation, or video games, virtually anything else, who has ever come to the conclusion that anyone who is not exactly like them should be punished, excommunicated, or even executed. But for those who are addicted to their religion, and who thus think that others should be addicted to it equally as well, history shows just how often they will resort to every degree of violence they think necessary to preserve their sacred beliefs.
Hence, to believe we are simply monkeys leads us to the conclusion that NONE of us is any more special than anyone else. But the belief in God leads us to conclude that SOME are MORE special, more "saintly," more "god-like" and thus BETTER than others, even as religion tries to counter such a belief by repeatedly assuring us "we are all equal in the eyes of God" (unless God is judging us on the last day, of course, where some get bigger rewards than others, and some get worse punishments than others - for eternity.
(NOTE: I've always though it odd that a person cannot increase their lot in eternity, no matter what - talk about pure hell!?)
Religious believers often insist that that only be believing that the most powerful God imaginable created the entire universe, can we be truly humble. Even though such a belief leads us to the conclusion that everything other living thing on the planet is ours to do with as we please. This belief that we humans are somehow special, because God gave only our species a soul, lead one writer to explain it this way:
To every other species on the planet, we are the Nazi's. And yet, somehow, our "benevolent" God, made it all for us anyway. Fuck the suffering of other animals - they're just animals after all. Sort of like how the Germans described the Jews as vermin, and the Hutus described the Tutsi's as "cockroaches" and Americans described the Japanese as monkeys, and how every race describes every other race in terms of some animal - that humans have generally always felt were less than they were.
I wonder if God had any idea how useful such a hierarchical structure of animal importance would become, to his most important animal of all, in getting different race of people to exterminate different other races of people? Maybe he should've thought that one out a little better.
Of course, believing in God also makes a person more advanced, more enlightened, more intelligent, and apparently more moral and just (according to many religious "believers" anyway). Believing in God makes a person so moral in fact, and NOT believing in God makes a person so immoral, that the former can even be required to muster the courage to actually KILL the latter, lest they loose their soul, or others fall into their wickedness. (NOTE: We are taught to abhor violence on the one hand, even though we are taught though everything around us that it takes the greatest courage of all to engage in violence, which is why we give people medals of honor.)
I do not know a single person addicted to drugs, or porn, or masturbation, or video games, virtually anything else, who has ever come to the conclusion that anyone who is not exactly like them should be punished, excommunicated, or even executed. But for those who are addicted to their religion, and who thus think that others should be addicted to it equally as well, history shows just how often they will resort to every degree of violence they think necessary to preserve their sacred beliefs.
Hence, to believe we are simply monkeys leads us to the conclusion that NONE of us is any more special than anyone else. But the belief in God leads us to conclude that SOME are MORE special, more "saintly," more "god-like" and thus BETTER than others, even as religion tries to counter such a belief by repeatedly assuring us "we are all equal in the eyes of God" (unless God is judging us on the last day, of course, where some get bigger rewards than others, and some get worse punishments than others - for eternity.
(NOTE: I've always though it odd that a person cannot increase their lot in eternity, no matter what - talk about pure hell!?)
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