The atheist argument that religion causes crime and abuse -- sounds eerily similar to the gun control advocates' stance that guns kill people.
And now, it appears you wish to make the case that nobody on this green earth should be allowed to practice religion at all, lest they be tempted to blow up a world trade center.
Unfortunately, you appear to have succumbed to hysteria, paranoia, and fear-mongering. The actual percentage of religious people, especially Christians, that commit heinous crimes in the name of their adopted deity is vanishingly small.
As a demonstration, let us have a show of hands. Clemson University, located in South Carolina, is nestled comfortably in the heart of Dixie, almost. Let us look at the students studying any of the hard sciences-- biochemistry, engineering, computer science. Roughly equally distributed between women and men. How many of them attend church regularly? How many of them attend Hindu temple regularly? Answer: majority.
Are you atheists of the mind that people in general should not be allowed to choose for themselves how to conduct their own spiritual lives?
I personally feel that people should be able to do whatever they want with their spiritual beliefs. Bible study every weeknight, that's their prerogative. Jewish Torah chanting, reading from sheep vellum scrolls, fantastic. Thank the fairies in the vein of old-school Tori Amos, whatevs. Worship Haile Selassie and smoke ganja, if it works for you and comforts you, then great. Want to create your own amalgam hodgepodge mishmash of many different religions, have at it.
Only if and when a person shows documentable, definite signs that they might engage in an act of terrorism, does the police force need to act. If someone goes and buys a large drum of cyanide, then yeah sure, sic homeland security on their ass. If someone tries to kidnap a fourteen-year-old girl and claim the boogeyman made them do it, throw the sick f-- in jail and melt down the key.
Sam Harris, you, on the other hand good sir, are saying that people should be stopped from exploring any faith or belief systems at all. *Before* they have a chance to reject an act of terrorism. Now, here's the problem with that. That is called prior restraint. That is called enacting the thought police. And that is not okay. No govmit, no police force, no pop culture shock jock, no self-described renegade rebel atheist has any right whatsoever to tread on anyone's choice of spirituality.
Let us revisit the idea that religion makes people evil. We can start with the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. I am sure they knew they were not truly descended from deities. They did however have skilled land surveyors, meteorologists, calendar people who could follow the flood cycle, could chart the schedule, and could accurately predict when the next flood would occur, which was probably considered sorcery to most plain folks. With this privileged information, the royals managed to convince the poor, huddled, ignorant masses of their divine superiority. If I really wanted to get your goat, I could make the case that this was a fine example of *science* being used against a gullible, vulnerable, uneducated population.
The Waco Jeff Jeffs polygamous compound guy. He knew he was not receiving any directives to "marry" young underage girls, i.e. r-- them. He was just a sick r--- f---. King Henry the eighth did not receive any heavenly calling to brutally murder his wives. He was just a power hungry drunk abusive ahole that did it because he could.
You yourself even used the example of Kim Jong Il of North Korea, so basically you admitted that religion is not needed to enact a police state dictatorship. He was just a garden variety tyrant ahole.
People do not need religion to be a-holes. They are quite capable of committing heinous crimes without being egged on by a beastly spectre. Oh sure, it might allow them to construct a framework in which they do not have to take responsibility for their actions. The devil made me do it. God made me do it.
But if a person feels desperate enough, alone, ignored, unloved, full of rage enough, blah blah blah enough, they're going to want to blow up the world. They are quite capable of wanting to watch the world burn without religion goading them.
And now, it appears you wish to make the case that nobody on this green earth should be allowed to practice religion at all, lest they be tempted to blow up a world trade center.
Unfortunately, you appear to have succumbed to hysteria, paranoia, and fear-mongering. The actual percentage of religious people, especially Christians, that commit heinous crimes in the name of their adopted deity is vanishingly small.
As a demonstration, let us have a show of hands. Clemson University, located in South Carolina, is nestled comfortably in the heart of Dixie, almost. Let us look at the students studying any of the hard sciences-- biochemistry, engineering, computer science. Roughly equally distributed between women and men. How many of them attend church regularly? How many of them attend Hindu temple regularly? Answer: majority.
Are you atheists of the mind that people in general should not be allowed to choose for themselves how to conduct their own spiritual lives?
I personally feel that people should be able to do whatever they want with their spiritual beliefs. Bible study every weeknight, that's their prerogative. Jewish Torah chanting, reading from sheep vellum scrolls, fantastic. Thank the fairies in the vein of old-school Tori Amos, whatevs. Worship Haile Selassie and smoke ganja, if it works for you and comforts you, then great. Want to create your own amalgam hodgepodge mishmash of many different religions, have at it.
Only if and when a person shows documentable, definite signs that they might engage in an act of terrorism, does the police force need to act. If someone goes and buys a large drum of cyanide, then yeah sure, sic homeland security on their ass. If someone tries to kidnap a fourteen-year-old girl and claim the boogeyman made them do it, throw the sick f-- in jail and melt down the key.
Sam Harris, you, on the other hand good sir, are saying that people should be stopped from exploring any faith or belief systems at all. *Before* they have a chance to reject an act of terrorism. Now, here's the problem with that. That is called prior restraint. That is called enacting the thought police. And that is not okay. No govmit, no police force, no pop culture shock jock, no self-described renegade rebel atheist has any right whatsoever to tread on anyone's choice of spirituality.
Let us revisit the idea that religion makes people evil. We can start with the ancient Egyptian pharaohs. I am sure they knew they were not truly descended from deities. They did however have skilled land surveyors, meteorologists, calendar people who could follow the flood cycle, could chart the schedule, and could accurately predict when the next flood would occur, which was probably considered sorcery to most plain folks. With this privileged information, the royals managed to convince the poor, huddled, ignorant masses of their divine superiority. If I really wanted to get your goat, I could make the case that this was a fine example of *science* being used against a gullible, vulnerable, uneducated population.
The Waco Jeff Jeffs polygamous compound guy. He knew he was not receiving any directives to "marry" young underage girls, i.e. r-- them. He was just a sick r--- f---. King Henry the eighth did not receive any heavenly calling to brutally murder his wives. He was just a power hungry drunk abusive ahole that did it because he could.
You yourself even used the example of Kim Jong Il of North Korea, so basically you admitted that religion is not needed to enact a police state dictatorship. He was just a garden variety tyrant ahole.
People do not need religion to be a-holes. They are quite capable of committing heinous crimes without being egged on by a beastly spectre. Oh sure, it might allow them to construct a framework in which they do not have to take responsibility for their actions. The devil made me do it. God made me do it.
But if a person feels desperate enough, alone, ignored, unloved, full of rage enough, blah blah blah enough, they're going to want to blow up the world. They are quite capable of wanting to watch the world burn without religion goading them.