| | I suppose someone should play the "Devil's" advocate }:D
...female circumcision in Islamic countries...is truly evil...true believers will do just about anything if it is the will of their deity
It can't be attributed primarily to religion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Female_circumcision
I read, in Genesis, about the willingness of Abraham to sacrifice his son, Isaac, when god asked him to do so. I wondered if this might happen to me - if it was the will of god. I hoped that my dad would defy god and protect me.
Did you remember reading how God miraculously made Abraham's wife fertile for him? How God tested Abrahms faith, and punished Sarah for laughing at the prophets who told her she would be pregnant? Isaac was a miracle from God, so its reasonable to assume Abraham knew God had a good reason to test him.
My feeling of security was diminished.
Both Abraham and Isaac's faith was increased - Isaac learned his father took God seriously, and that God could miraculously save even in hopeless circumstances.
I then learned about the Holocaust and was told by a rabbi that it was the will of god (whose motives are not always apparent).
There is God's preferential and permissive will:
http://www.bible.org/qa.asp?topic_id=15&qa_id=489
More insecurity! Perhaps god will do something bad to me. I asked a rabbi how god could let a small child die and was told that it might be a means of punishing the parents.
Rabbis do not have a monopoly on fear-mongering for self-interest. Bad government and doctors make their victims more dependent and sicker for money and power too. I suspect their are far more bad politicians and doctors than rabbis.
Oh boy!!! Therapists of the world rejoice. Religious teachings will keep you busy for years to come.
I suspect there are no small number of "therapy" victims, ritalin, anti-depressant and other toxic drug victims that will keep rabbis in business for a long while too!
(Turning off Devil-advocate mode)
Seriously, when I see weak arguments being made, I'll take the opposing case so you know what you might be up against.
Good arguments could be made on the arbitrary ability to abuse the bible by spinning context. I would make the case how religions rely on good interpretation to pick the appropriate allegories. No different than I-Ching, or fortune cookies, or chicken entrails. Well, perhaps a bit better and less ambiguous.
When you identify particular religious offenses which are found in other sectors - genital mutilation, destructive obedience to tradition, authority and consensus, fear-mongering, et, your objection to religion as the culprit falls flat.
Finally, advocate something - like how reason, rational morality and independence liberates and increases efficacy by allowing analysis, rather than resorting to prayer and search for an appropriate bible-metaphor to guide actions.
Scott
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