Again the anti-religious attach the worlds history of violence to religion while omitting the direct influence of politics. Human violence supersedes any organised religion as we know it today. Monotheism or otherwise. It isn't Islam that created the Islamist. It is the negative politicalisation of Islam by a few demagogues that exploit the weak of mind. It doesn't hurt that these killers infest areas of poor employment and spread sedition and vilify a prosperous 'west'. It's much easier to blame another more successful society for your not having such a successful society than blame your own society. Not just easier. A hell of a lot safer to boot. Shoot your mouth off in Iran and see what happens to you. God may be great by Ayatollah Khomeini can make your every breath the utmost painful experience. Death becomes welcome, hoped for, desired, a prayed for event.

The idea that 'Violence and Monotheism' are connected by default is

a) Intellectually shallow.
b) Plain wrong.
c) Dangerous.
d) Vilifies all believers in God.

The only connected between violence and man is his fallen state of being.

VIOLENCE comes from:

Matth 15:18

"But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these make a man 'unclean.'
19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.
20 These are what make a man 'unclean' "

Don't argue with me.. argue with the One who said this, -Jesus.

It does not take "MonoTheism" for the above to exist..they are ALWAYS part of us to some degree.

TRUE Monotheism calls men BACK from corrupt behaviour.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Amos, Hosea, Micah..etc etc etc.

NONE of the above prophets EVER forced anyone to obey their message, how could they ? they were just voices- No army, no gang, just...a voice.

They simply said:

Do this and that...and this WILL happen.....and..it did. Israel was warned... and warned...and warned...AND warned..then God saw fit to bring a pagan nation against them, yet always kept a remnant.

I take your point, Boaz, but you mis-read the statement.

>>The link between monotheism and violence has now been established... Monotheism and violence are both part of a positive feedback loop. Monotheism feeds off violence and in return escalates it.<<

...is not the same thing as:

>>'Violence and Monotheism' are connected by default<<

Not by default, Boaz. There is no intrinsic reason why two people cannot worship entirely different gods, and be at peace with each other. You and Fellow Human would be an obvious case in point.

But they are most certainly connected by individuals who use their adherence to a particular creed as a weapon against people who follow a different one. Have you not noticed this?

If I had stated that "'Violence and Monotheism' are connected by default", I would indeed be seen as intellectually shallow, plain wrong, dangerous and to vilify all believers in God. But that is not what happened here, is it?

You have yourself used your religion in this fashion, praising its good bits and contrasting then with what you consider as the bad bits of someone else's beliefs.

Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

Nevertheless, if guns didn't exist, there would be a significant reduction in people admitted to hospital with a bullet in their head.

'My point is not that religion is the motivation for wars, murders and terrorist attacks, but that religion is the principal LABEL, and the most dangerous one, by which a 'they' as opposed to a 'we' can be identified at all'....

Richard Dawkins, 'A Devils Chaplain' p187

In the 21 st century there is no need to cling to the old devisive labels of religion. Indeed Judaism, Christianity and Islam have become pointless exercises. Cosmology, Evolution by Natural Selection and Pro-Human Philosophies have surpassed them, and now replaced them.

Monotheism and its bloody warriors are now redundant. And they need to be told so - loudly.

Your absolutely right TR.
The Nazi party is responsible for some 45 million deaths and all for racial purity and living room. Didn't need religion as an excuse. The Japanese slaughtered the Chinese by the gross and never once spoke of religion. From 1937 - 1945 some 3.2 million Chinese soldiers died in combat and some 9 million Chinese civilians murdered. Nobody said word one about religion. Stalin murdered 20 odd million of his own people in a couple of years, hells bells, he murder 100,000 one day and never used religion as the excuse. It's just pure intellectual laziness to point at religion and say God made me do it. The Khmer Rouge managed to murder near 3 million people in a matter of four years and never needed to hold religion responsible. Mao didn't need religion to slaughter some 80 million of his own people to establish and maintain his communist regime. No folks it's not necessary to blame religion or excuse your actions by claiming God made you do it. BUT. It sure is convenient for the anti religionists to have an out. Another crowd that's never responsible for anything.

Keep up aqvarivs.

If had read the previous posts properly you would have realised that no one is claiming that religion is the absolute cause of any particular conflict.

Rather that religion intensifies and perpetuates conflict. If you think about it all of the atrocities which you mentioned above have more-or-less resolved themselves.

However, if you compare the wars of religion they seem to go on, and on, and on, and on. It's been 1400 hundred years since the Battle of Karbala yet Sunnis and Shia still hate and kill eachother in Iraq. What are the odds of the Palestinians and Jews ending their slaughter anytime in our life-time? Answer, zip. Muslims in the Middle East still have the absurd idea that the American incursion into Iraq has something to do with the Middle Age Crusades. And so the Muslim-Christian hatred goes on........

I suggest that you read posts properly aqvarivs before passing on tired old comments.