Reply #5: The flaw in the argument [View All]

It's that religion, or any kind of spiritual perception, is the cause of problem.

In fact, there are many spiritual positions and creeds that do not rely on self-deceit and/or belief in judgmental all-powerful entities. There are religions, for example, that do not rely on belief in anything at all -- they are entirely ethically founded. Even early Christianity moved away from the superstitious aspects of Roman-era Judaism with its emphasis on grace and salvation.

You seem to have made a better case against militant Fundamentalism, and other "brands" of individuality-destroying, usually violent, religion. I would hasten to add that even in most of these cases, the religion has provided the "fertile field" in which the seeds of destructive behavior may grow.

I'm not keen on exonerating religion from its faults -- I just don't think that religious belief per se is the actively destructive element. The main part of the work that must be done to combat these movements is exposing and confronting the destructive parts of the creeds, and showing how they are evil, and usually opposed to the core tenets of the creeds they claim to advance.

--p!