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SMBC on Religion v. Reason

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Fnord
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20 Jan 2014, 8:23 am

Link to today's Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereal toon: SMBC for 2014-01-19.

A metaphorical illustration of how religion destroys reason.

Thanks, Zach!



TallyMan
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20 Jan 2014, 9:34 am

Also, throw in the good old... no good deed goes unpunished... and you get the example of someone in the UK who found a mobile (cell) phone laying on the street and took it to a police station whereupon they were arrested and charged with theft and held in a police cell for several hours.
This was a few years ago, but the event was widely reported at the time. The police used a strange phrase which equated "finding" to "theft".

Just found an article about it. Here


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Last edited by TallyMan on 20 Jan 2014, 9:38 am, edited 1 time in total.

Moviefan2k4
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20 Jan 2014, 9:37 am

Religion and rational thinking aren't mutually exclusive.


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Fnord
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20 Jan 2014, 11:00 am

Moviefan2k4 wrote:
Religion and rational thinking aren't mutually exclusive.

If that is true, then neither are sin and righteousness.



wowiexist
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20 Jan 2014, 11:15 am

Sometimes sin and righteousness might not be. You may commit what would be considered a sin but you do it for a good reason. Like you may lie about something but maybe you do it out of the best interest for the parties involved. Or you may do something good but only do it for attention.



Fnord
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20 Jan 2014, 11:18 am

wowiexist wrote:
Sometimes sin and righteousness might not be. You may commit what would be considered a sin but you do it for a good reason ...

Steven Weinberg wrote:
Religion is an insult to human dignity ... With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion ... Many people do simply awful things out of sincere religious belief, not using religion as a cover the way that Saddam Hussein may have done, but really because they believe that this is what God wants them to do ...


How much more irrational can a man be than to engage in mass slaughter for no other reason than hearing a disembodied voice identifying itself as "God" that tells him to pick up a weapon and use it to kill as many people as he can?



wowiexist
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20 Jan 2014, 11:33 am

I don't think very many people put God over humanity. Many religious people volunteer and give money to charity. Also many churches give money to other community organizations.



Fnord
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20 Jan 2014, 11:44 am

wowiexist wrote:
I don't think very many people put God over humanity...

Taliban attack on restaurant

Quote:
On Friday evening ... at 7 p.m., a Taliban suicide bomber detonated his explosives outside the front gate ... and two gunmen shot their way inside, raking the dining room with gunfire. By the time Afghan security forces stormed the premises and shot the assailants, at least 21 people were dead ...

Those people died because someone else's religion prohibits the consumption of alcohol.

Boko Haram attacks on communities
Quote:
“We had to flee for our dear lives because the gunmen came in troops and there was no security personnel in our locality. We ran across the borders into villages in Niger Republic but seven of our fellow villagers were shot dead and over 60 houses and shops were also burnt down completely. It happened on Thursday at about 7pm, some gunmem invaded our town driving three vehicles and many motorcycles, and drove straight to the market area and began shooting and setting shops ablaze."

Those people were attacked because someone else's religion prohibits the teaching of anything but Islam.

More?



wowiexist
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20 Jan 2014, 11:52 am

You only make an assumption that those things were done because of religion and not for power, or hatred, or anything else.



Fnord
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20 Jan 2014, 12:01 pm

wowiexist wrote:
You only make an assumption...

Oh, really?

Taliban attack Kabul resort, citing 'illicit fun' and alcohol

Tom A. Peter wrote:
The Taliban claimed responsibility for Friday’s attack, saying that Afghan government officials and foreigners frequent the restaurant and hotel and drink alcohol there.

"The mujahideen entered a small hotel and attacked a neighboring hotel that was used by foreigners for their illicit fun and having parties. It was a special hotel for Afghan government officials and foreigners," says Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban.


Who are Nigeria's Boko Haram Islamists?

Farouk Chothia wrote:
Its followers are influenced by the Koranic phrase which says: "Anyone who is not governed by what Allah has revealed is among the transgressors". Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society. This includes voting in elections, wearing shirts and trousers or receiving a secular education. Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, even when the country had a Muslim president.

See? Us westerners aren't as ignorant as the Taliban and the Boko Haram would like for you to believe.



wowiexist
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20 Jan 2014, 12:28 pm

All of those groups are just trying to gain power for their own group. If they saw one guy in his home drinking alcohol they probably would not care about that. They targeted the restaurant so they could kill many people and show how powerful they are. I believe the other groups are the same.