Ok, i’ll admit, religion did do those two things
Let me make a list of things that people acting because of their Catholic religious beliefs have done. Bertrand Russel seems to have forgotten a couple things religion has done.
-Protected Latin and Greek transcripts from the Barbarian invasions of the early middle ages.
-Designed the map of Europe through Benedictine Monasteries.
-Protected Europe from the Muslims who were advancing into Europe through the Crusades.
-Rescued Christian and pre-christian literature during those Crusades.
- Spread agricultural and animal husbandry knowledge
- Started and protected universities-Saved people who were condemned as heretics by Feudal Lords during the Spanish inquisition.
- Sponsored and supported science and medicine
- Developed the modern theory of genetics, Mendel
- A group of Franciscan friars freed Squanto leading to the survival of the English colonists at Plymouth rock.
- Created International Law theory
- Developed and sponsored modern economic theory-Invented charity as we know it
- Developed the Big Bang theory, Lemaitre
- Codified, expanded, and improved Western Law
- Developed Western Morality
-Lord Baltimore founded the colony of Maryland, and the Jesuits there were instrumental in writing the one of the first precursors of the first amendment right of the freedom of religion.
- Sponsored and influenced art and architecture
- Developed the concept of inalienable rights- Pope Pius XII hid and defended Jews in the Vatican during the holocaust.
- The Catholic Church prevented Italy from falling to Communism in the aftermath of the war.
- Catholics in Poland were among the most active freedom fighters against the U.S.S.R.
Currently:
- The Catholic Church is the world’s largest charity.
- It is extremely active in social justice issues like stopping sex trafficking and promoting ways to prevent AIDS.
- The Catholic Church is actively fighting for an end to the oppression in the Middle East against Coptic Christians.
- The Catholic Church vocally opposes China’s human rights violations.
So next time someone tells you that religion is a force for evil. Show them this list.
should i laugh at this list or cry?
And you know, people obviously need to have religion to make good, moral decisions. People obviously need the promise of eternal bliss and the fear of eternal torture to make good decisions. Anyone who doesn’t believe in these things obviously can’t do anything good for society.
I know religious people have done many good things. But there are three main points here I want to bring up:
- You know the part of your brain that tells you what parts of The Bible or whatever holy book you read are morally wrong? The little voice in your head that tells you to say that these horrible things are “just metaphors” (though never really stating what for)? Unbelievers have the same exact innate sense. Just FYI. We all have the same basic biology.
- If you are doing something solely for fear of hell/promise of heaven, you’re doing morality wrong.
- The good done by religion does not outweigh the bad. Things like The Crusades, The Holocaust, The Inquisitions, The Muslim Conquest of Spain, The Spanish Conquest of the Americas, the Aztec human sacrifices, etc. would have been nigh impossible without religion poisoning these people’s minds. Most religions have a long trail of blood behind them, and considering that our natural survival instinct is to work together for the common good, that’s not a coincidence.
I think everyone has the right to believe what they wish, so don’t get me wrong here. But I also think/hope that religion will eventually fade out of the human psyche. For all the good it does for some people, sometimes even on a grand scale like Pius XII’s actions against Hitler, there is no deed good enough to hide the trail of blood and suffering behind most, if not all, religions.
(via amodernmanifesto)
