I don't think religion is the problem... I think people are the problem, and some people see religion, God, and religious texts as weapons they can use in their own misguided crusades.
Religion is not inherently good or inherently evil. It simply exists. For example, I've seen Christianity do a whole lot of good for some people (reforming felons, for example), and a whole lot of bad (a homosexual student at my school who killed himself because his parents told him he was evil and that they were good Christians and could never accept him as gay).
Religion is something that can be a very positive thing, if its used to foster understanding rather than intolerance, and acceptance rather than judgement. When people come up to my gay friends and tell them "The Bible says you're going to Hell!" (happens more often than you think), we just look at them and ask "Have you actually read it?" More often than not, the answer is "no." They're parroting what they've heard from parents and preachers, and they've memorized a few quotes to keep in their arsenal. The Bible, overall, is a message of peace and tolerance. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." "Love thy neighbor as yourself." "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers..." etc... (and I'm aware that I'm editing here, but its impossible to post the entire text of the Bible here. LOL)
The problem with books like the Bible, Torah, and Qu'oran is that they are so long, that you can make them say whatever you want them to say based on selective editing. You can take a bible quote, and I can guarantee that somewhere, you can find something in the bible that directly contradicts the original quote. For example... "Judge not, lest ye be judged..." and "An eye for an eye." the latter quote seems like judgement to me...? If someone's judging you, its "Judge not..." but if you want to judge someone who's wronged you, its "an eye for an eye" rather than "turn the other cheek." People use the little quotes instead of looking at the big picture, because the little quotes support their actions, while the big picture is a resounding "Don't Do That!" With religious texts, you have to look at the overall picture, not just the little snippets.
Many of the people who are fanatics don't actually follow the religion's overall message of peace and tolerance. Ten bucks says Bin Laden isn't on his knees toward Mecca five times a day.
If you want to share your religion, do so first by living it, because leading by example is the best way.
Respectfully,
-N-
Religion is not inherently good or inherently evil. It simply exists. For example, I've seen Christianity do a whole lot of good for some people (reforming felons, for example), and a whole lot of bad (a homosexual student at my school who killed himself because his parents told him he was evil and that they were good Christians and could never accept him as gay).
Religion is something that can be a very positive thing, if its used to foster understanding rather than intolerance, and acceptance rather than judgement. When people come up to my gay friends and tell them "The Bible says you're going to Hell!" (happens more often than you think), we just look at them and ask "Have you actually read it?" More often than not, the answer is "no." They're parroting what they've heard from parents and preachers, and they've memorized a few quotes to keep in their arsenal. The Bible, overall, is a message of peace and tolerance. "Judge not, lest ye be judged." "Love thy neighbor as yourself." "Whatever you do to the least of my brothers..." etc... (and I'm aware that I'm editing here, but its impossible to post the entire text of the Bible here. LOL)
The problem with books like the Bible, Torah, and Qu'oran is that they are so long, that you can make them say whatever you want them to say based on selective editing. You can take a bible quote, and I can guarantee that somewhere, you can find something in the bible that directly contradicts the original quote. For example... "Judge not, lest ye be judged..." and "An eye for an eye." the latter quote seems like judgement to me...? If someone's judging you, its "Judge not..." but if you want to judge someone who's wronged you, its "an eye for an eye" rather than "turn the other cheek." People use the little quotes instead of looking at the big picture, because the little quotes support their actions, while the big picture is a resounding "Don't Do That!" With religious texts, you have to look at the overall picture, not just the little snippets.
Many of the people who are fanatics don't actually follow the religion's overall message of peace and tolerance. Ten bucks says Bin Laden isn't on his knees toward Mecca five times a day.
If you want to share your religion, do so first by living it, because leading by example is the best way.
Respectfully,
-N-