Quote Originally Posted by Adam View Post
Wouldn't it be awesome if mankind evolved passed all this? Where people didn't judge each other on their beliefs? I think religion is manipulated at times to control people or sanction dastardly deeds. While I am religious I do not believe more then going to church on Sunday and doing a daily prayer. Now I ask ou this what about the Bible and Koran were these made up? Who could spend so much time making these up? The Bible and Koran have many great moral teachings and is the guide for billions. Are the characters described in these books made up? Ask your self these questions first and please do not worship false gods a grave sin indeed.
Well, it depends on what you mean.

These holy books are the product of multiple authors, re-written, edited and "interpreted" countless times over hundreds, even thousands of years. The original authors were primitive people living in primitive times and had a superstitious, "magical thinking" way of looking at and interpreting the world around them. If the sun went away in the evening, only fervent prayer could assure its return the next day. Etc.

Most of it is story-telling, no different than Aesop's fables - only the religious expect their fables to be taken as literally true.

But the fact that "it is written" no more makes it true (let alone "holy") than my saying "just because."

In fact, both amount to the same thing.

This is self-evident to me; a simple deduction based on the facts at hand. People - millions of them, unfortunately - believe otherwise. Often fervently - and even violently.

But that doesn't make their belief any more respectable than the belief of the nut on the street who tells you Napoleon is whispering in his ear or that we should repent and shed our containers because the comet/mother ship is here to pick us up.

Right?

I absolutely believe it's ok to judge people on their beliefs - and am betting you do, too!

Or do you believe I shouldn't judge, say, a mass-murderer (or simply a local bully) on account of his beliefs?

Etc.