Organized Religion, Good or Bad?

[Sklaventreiber]

And it's very dangerous to have a Middle-Eastern accent in the United States and that has nothing to do with religion. Prejudice will always have a place with those who are afraid; religious or not.

Besides Tojo didn't say to follow the precepts; he said the ideals. Very different things. If everyone could manage to follow the ideals laid down by various faiths the world couldn't help but get better.

Maybe, maybe...but I doubt it.

Because it's too big of an IF...

[poboy789]

What a deep topic. Because of my beliefs, I'm certainly bias. However, I believe that a belief in God or some other higher force is a good thing. It gives people something to believe in and something to live for. From a personal standpoint, things I have done and experienced in my life have lead me to believe that there is a God. Within the framework of a belief in God, organized religion serves a purpose. Now, organized religion has never done a lot for me personally. Certainly, there have been instances where people, in the name of religion, have done terrible things. However, in a lot of these cases, if you look hard, you will find that religion is not the basis for the action, but some politician's or other leader's personal agenda is the basis for the action. The politiian or leader manipulates and uses religion as a basis so people will follow the agenda. Regardess, focusing on the negative aspects of religion igones the good things that organized religions do. I know of no other organizations that provide more charitable contributions, both on a local, national and global level to our society. That's just how I see it, but everyone's entitled to an opinion.