the first thing that will happen follows thus: everyone reading this feels a wave of indignation and prepares to attack me for being closed-minded. i must remind everyone that closed-mindedness is defined by refusal to rethink beliefs, even when confronted with evidence to the contrary. i was taught respect and tolerance of religious differences just like every other child, but my views were forced to change. it is instead the rigid, unchanging religious doctrines that are closed-minded. anyone object? then please object in a logical, sensible argument.
that said, i will offer evidence that religious cultures, in particular the muslim doctrine that dominates middle eastern governments, is utterly backwards. last year, i was given a student version of the koran, the supposedly holy book of islam. the man that gave it to me was a tolerant, moderate man. and yet, it took only the first chapter of the student's version for the text to fill with rantings about fighting infidels forsaken by god, as well as tales of everlasting paradise for fighters of god's glory. now, some will claim that this in no way justifies suicide bombing and other acts of violence. and i will counter, find me a passage in the koran that decries suicide bombing, and i will believe you (for this would be evidence disproving my position). inevitably, someone will point to the passage that forbids destroying oneself. but in a deeply religious person's mind, bodily destruction means little compared to the soul, which would supposedly be saved when one fights for god. . . .
now, say that a devout, radical person believes dying for his god will gain eternal happiness for him and his family, he will not be afraid to die. it was this fear of annihilation that kept russia and the u.s. from nuclear warfare. yet, if one has no fear of bodily annihilation, one will not hesitate to blow oneself into oblivion. . . possibly taking the world down too. in a world where nuclear weaponry has become so powerful, religion has suddenly become a danger to human survival.
inevitably, someone will now claim, it is the fanatics and not religion that endangers the world. but notice that these fanatics are driven by and justify themselves by their religion. and because of religious tolerance, anyone who challenges another's religious beliefs is branded intolerant, closed-minded, etc. . . look at all the nice people you are offending, all the bystanders scream. they live peaceful, tolerant lives, what right has anyone to offend them? yet it is because of this taboo against questioning religion that fanatics are allowed to exist. their source cannot even be questioned; how can they ever be overturned?
yet it is not islam alone that will have to go. religion, by its nature, is backwards. if a child walked into elementary school thinking the sun circled the earth, teachers would not hesitate to correct the mistaken view. respecting the child's disproven beliefs about astronomy would be utterly foolish, as well as harmful to the child. now, if a doctor practiced medicine following a textbook written thousands of years earlier, the knowledge and methods would be tremendously outdated. no logical person would ever consider tolerating the doctor's mistaken beliefs, for they would harm everyone. now suppose a president or legislative member tried to implement laws written thousands of years earlier. how long would the american public stand for it?
yet that is exactly what happens when religion dominates government. since many religions have an infallibility of god clause, the religious text dictates that it itself cannot change. so books with laws, practices, and traditions written thousands of years ago are used to govern modern societies.
but now, humanity no longer needs religion. instead of declaring the nature of things to be as god wills it, we now have science to explain to us. religion has become obsolete. after all, every other book of knowledge and information has gone obsolete in the last few thousands years. why not religious texts too?
i dream of a world in which there is no more religion. instead of stories, there will be knowledge. instead of children being taught to have faith without question, they will be taught to think and analyze for themselves. instead of religious conflict, there will be peace. and instead of religion, there will be TRUTH.
arguments derived from and inspired by Sam Harris, author of The End of Faith.
life is good 
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