Everald, you need to address some of the more important questions in religion like...How many angles can dance on the end of a pin?

I use that question to illustrate that when it comes to religion you leave your critical thinking behind you. Religion can be whatever you want it to be.
They may have started as a way to explain the natural world and help hold together tribes with laws. Now they are just instruments of control, either of large groups, ie the king being the head of the church, or small the leader of a cult. Or even just at a personal level to make some feel special or superior.

In the end i think good people generally internalise their religious beliefs, to make themselves a better person. Bad people use it as an excuse to make you or the world a "better" place.

Nice sentiments, but as the writer says their success depends on everyone agreeing. I have always said that there is any number of belief systems (the fashionable term for political, philosophical or religious views) that would all work wonderfully if everyone could agree on just one. It wouldn't really matter which one. The key is universal agreement. But we should all know by now that universal agreement on anything is inconsistent with the human condition. And there are probably sound evolutionary reasons for that condition. Universal agreement is a metastable state, easily disrupted by a lone dissident. And disagreement is a precondition for progress. All in all, theory plus experiment tells us that, while “Peace depends on each one of us accepting the value and integrity of all with whom we live” etc. etc, might sound like a nice idea, it’s not going to happen and it wouldn’t work anyway. I am not for a moment condoning brutality in the name of religion -- especially in the name of religion; those fools should know better. I am simply saying that simplistic idealism is not the solution.

Everyone is born to die! And not all the gold in the world will buy so much as an additional minute longer; and something for which there is an appointed hour and an appointed way!

The greatest gift we are given is life itself, even with all the sham and dugey, life is the most valuable gift we have; and as some say, what you make it?

Some for whom nothing is ever good enough, can go through life making it as hard as they can for themselves and all those who come into contact with as miserable as possible. (Good samaritan? Bah Humbug)

Others may just get a patent bully's bang out of exercising power over of folks who have none; at least until the wheel of life rolls around to them and the are on the receiving end of someone else's patently malicious petty fogging?

Anyone who for whatever reason, [except self defense of us, ourselves, family and friends, the innocent,] takes/destroys a God given human life, be it through compassion or appointing yourself the right hand of God, one nonetheless circumvents God's will and may well become a very real Devil's advocate/disciple?!

And may even force the unsuspecting victim to go back and do it all over, replete with the unavoidable Karmic lessons we're supposed to learn while here?

The exceptions may be genuine regret and just never ever repeating that behaviour for whatever reason, and being prepared to accept any duly deserved lumps that are yours to cop it sweet?

State your pleasure, learn or accept and do? Can't do both at the same time, or just argue that it just aint so, merely because being so, is inconvenient or awkward?

Listen to your very own internal ring of truth (soul song) that knows and gives you all those revealing goosebumps, when you hear the unvarnished truth in any form, even if for the very first time!?
Rhrosty.

Every religion does not worship the same god. E.g Christians worship the the god of love; Muslims worship the god of kill your enemy; Bhuddists worship Bhudda. There are other small religions who worship the god of who-knows-what: some could still be on the sun god or a lump of rock. I've read enough of this fellow's product to know I don't need to go beyond the first silly sentence of this one.

another promoter of communism pretending to be normal.

Cobber the hound, Q, what about left wing religion? is left wing religion good or evil?

Tombee, if you have 70% to 90% of a nation on the same page then perhaps the dissidents should move to a nation with a culture they believe in. EG muslims should live in majority muslim nations, communists should live in majority communist nations. "if you don't love it, leave".

Rhosty, very well said. IMHO the simpler the words, the more likely they are true.

ttbn, too true, as soon as i see a strange sentence i flick through to the last few sentences of the conclusion & this guy is a closet communist.

imacentristmoderate, I don't think you understood what I said. You suggest that all problems experienced by a 70-90% majority of a population would be solved if the dissident minority departed. That would indeed be true IF EVERYONE (majority and minority) AGREED ON THE PROPOSITION, or, as I said, with any other such proposition. But they won't, and that's the heart of the problem. Your suggestion is futile, as is Compton's. I realise this line of argument is not very helpful but I think it is an essential step in arriving at any kind of optimal solution.