ebrown_p wrote:I meant more than that LittleK
The attack of September 11 was a religious act.
It was an example of how people can be motivated by faith to do barbaric acts. This is the problem with faith... it demands that you accept things that a rational human being wouldn't accept because it is the will of God.
This is why I no longer accept things simply because religious people or religious scriptures tell me to do. People need to wrestle with what is right and wrong and take responsibility. The most important part of this is to be able to question your own beliefs and action.
Too often religion-- by providing a narrow "truth" gets in the way. If you know "God's will" you don't need to question your actions. At times this has catastrophic results.
Faith is not the solution to the evil of September 11. Rather faith is a big part of the reason it happened.
ebrown I won't dispute what you said about faith motivating people to do barbaric things at times. However, it doesn't take "faith" to motivate someone to do something like that. There are hundreds of serial killers running around the US right now that aren't proclaiming "God" told them to rape and kill 11 year old little girls. There are hundreds of thiefs running around breaking into peoples homes, gas stations, or banks, stealing stuff, and killing who ever gets in the way of what they are doing. They aren't saying God told them to do it. There are hundreds of teenagers living on the streets with their gangs doing drive by shootings and killing innocent people as well as the ones they have a grudge against. They aren't saying God told them to do it.
You said: "This is the problem with faith... it demands that you accept things that a rational human being wouldn't accept because it is the will of God."
So first let me ask about those who commit heinous crimes not knowing or caring if it is the will of God... Are they some how less heinous because "faith" was not involved? Does that some how make it better or ok? Define rational for me. Do you honestly believe that the only rational people in the world are the one's who don't believe in "faith" or "God"? Don't get me wrong... I am by no means excusing those who do heinous things in "The name of their God". I am saying let's look at the bigger picture here. People who don't believe in "faith" or "God" are just as capable of having tunnel vision about certain things as those who do. It's not confined to a certain set of beliefs or ideals. It's human nature.
You said: "People need to wrestle with what is right and wrong and take responsibility. The most important part of this is to be able to question your own beliefs and action."
I agree 100%. ALL people need to do that whether they are involved in any sort of "faith" or not. Concerning "faith" and belief in "God" there is a shortcoming quite often in the area of questioning your own beliefs and actions. Though it's not limited to them only. Anyone can find an excuse to do something wrong. It just happens most often that people feel more "Justified" by saying "God told me to do it". After all, you can't argue with "God" right?
You said: Too often religion-- by providing a narrow "truth" gets in the way. If you know "God's will" you don't need to question your actions. At times this has catastrophic results.
Tunnel vision once again. It is a way to control people. For a mere human to convince others to fulfill THEIR personal agenda by disguising it as "God's will", or the "truth". "God" has no part in that. That doesn't mean it ever was the "truth", was in the "truth", or was "God's will". While I can agree that most "religion" seems to have an agenda of some sort, I cannot agree that all "belief" in "truth" is bad, because real "truth" and "faith" does involve questioning your personal actions and motives for doing things.
What happened on September 11 was tragedy. It is something that still makes my heart ache when I think about it. "Faith" or no "Faith" involved that it what is was. Someone twisted "faith" and "truth" to fit their personal agenda and managed to kill a whoooole bunch of americans in the process. And we came right back full tilt and have killed a whoooole bunch of innocent people because they did it to us first. Yet somehow it was ok for us because we didn't call it "faith", right? Blame God if you must. Blame "faith" if you must. That doesn't change the facts one bit. Someone hurt our pride because "We are Americans! You don't mess with the US!" But pride comes before a fall.
