Originally posted by Burning thought
was this supposed ot mock me or something? i got a aggresive vibe from ityour correct though, most wars are because of religion, the ridiculous madman behind 911 were apparently doing it over religion
I was being very sarcastic
most wars in history have been fought for nationalistic and economic reasons. Since for the majority of human history, the church has been the state, religion was always attached to nationalism.
you say 9-11, I say Palestine, Kashmir, and Chechnya, not to mention the Norther Waziristan region.
Also, if you go by numbers (and not the immediate impact on society) I would be willing to say that there are more good deeds done each day than evil ones in the name of religion. While 9-11 was a transforative moment that was fueled by religious extremism, it was only 1 event (or 4 if you REALLY want to stretch it) that had a major impact. Do you really think that there weren't 4 events of good done on that same day in the name of religion?
Is religion required for good will, no, and I would even say good will done through religion gets confused a lot between charity and theology. However, religion is a force for good in the world, and at the individual level has been shown to have very positive effects on a person.