Evil is what one doesn't like. It is no more than that. Tsunamis, wolves, Hitler, economic downturns and other manifestations have caused great human suffering. Inanimate nature, animate beings and societal interaction cause suffering. Hitler's followers and Hitler himself did not think of Hitler as evil. If Hitler's forces had won his birthday would be celebrated, and the excesses would be regretted as we regret the slaughter of indigenous populations. Evil is a theological classification.

According to the Bible God wiped out all the population of the earth except for those on the ark. According to the Bible Joshua 6:21: And they utterly destroyed all that was in the city, both man and woman, young and old, and ox, and sheep, and ass, with the edge of the sword. The foregoing was an example of great suffering both of humans and domestic animals caused by humans supposedly following the will of God. In the New Testament a psychopathic God condemns his own son to a horrible death. If causing human suffering makes one evil God is evil. Supposedly God created all. Therefore he created Hitler. Hitler was the choice of God. How can a creation of God be evil?

Christian, Jewish and Muslim clerics blame natural disasters on God. He must have flooded New Orleans or Sumatra or did the dirty in some other places because he is punishing humans for doing wrong. In our court system we punish people for criminal activities. However, only the criminal is punished. God isn't as circumspect. He murders whole populations including babies, oxen and sheep. Some people get excited about abortion. However, when God decides on mass murder he murders pregnant women together with their fetuses.

I am reading “Blood and Soil: A World History of Genocide from Sparta to Darfur” by Ben Kiernan. Religion has justified and supported the genocide of the indigenous population of the Americas, the English slaughter of the Irish, the Buddhist slaughter of the Hindu Tamils, the Nazi genocide, the Turkish genocide of the Christian Armenians etc. If we call causing human suffering evil then religion is evil.

a few basic errors david...religions arnt about god...its about mankind...

just because..men claim a thing..
dosnt mean they claim correctly

wether its in a science/book...or a religious/book...we are expected to filter the info...sort the true from the faulse...sort the wheat from the tares..for..[ourselves]...

we get into serious troubles accepting others...opinions/hopes/fears/delusions..as true

take the current debate..about evolution...where mindless..faith in science..sees retards claiming brains..lol..simply by claiming evolution...despite..not even knowing the basics...

that any thesus needs a beginning...no beginning..[ambiogensus..first life]...then no evolving of it into nothing..science claims one decent family tree..but has no first[seed/...thus has no root]

what may hold true..for xtians may not hold true for buddists...thus lumping..all belief..into one anti/faith...athiest belief..is attractive..to those..afraid of the god..described into words..in so called holy texts

i have much against..both religion...as well as science...each having their followers...unthinklingly/..unquestioningly following the thiest/or anti thiest line

jesus revealed..none is without sin..or without error..only one is perfect..and this one..[god..]..can be known without science..[and without religions/churches..without even faith

but..lol..science claims science fact..but the fact..they quote is evil..it says species evolve out of genus...but the science..thus far revealed..clearly keeps evolution..within its genus..

thus genus/species..cant evolve from its parernal/maternal/genus..but ignorants accepting one..to validate the other..[in ignorance]..thus they get decieved

miss..seeing..the god behind the forrest..

claiming individual..[distinct..genopmic/trees..are a whole forrest in and of themselves...its the blind leading the blind...but as you point..

But its our own free choice to call it..good or bad..true/false...good/bad

clearly we see good..in many things...and judge bad..in others...i long studied science....till i realised its a scam..[a new religion..that calls trees forrests...

that claims all the trees..in its single tree...that joins all the religions..into one athiest godlessness

anyhow a god topic..[as is usual from your hand...

it will be interestin.. watching the justification for vile...many may chose to reveal/revile/blame or recuse..[and excuse]...

but we can expect to learn...only..by not judging any-of us...

lest we be judged of the same measure..without the full info/..without knowing the full facts..without knowing..the one true good

David,

Religion itself is not evil, however, it is a powerful force for division, and in doing so creates conflict.

I.e. Us (Catholics, protestants, muslims, hindus etc) are the true believers, therefore the heathens (Catholics, protestants, muslims, hindus etc) are teaching heresy and all doomed to go to hell.

To protect ourselves we must (kill / convert / drive out) the (Catholics, protestants, muslims, hindus etc) in order to protect our children from the evils of (....).

Sound familiar?

and of course blaming others for evil prevents you from looking at your own heart. Those that blame God for evil all have one thing in common. They refuse to acknowledge the devil and the corruption of their own heart. The self righteous rants of many who want to put themselves in the chair of God is really quite pathetic. Many of them opening support killing unborn babies and have no clue at all when it comes to righteousness except their own (which is atrocious). Often those protesting for peace are the most violent. Dream on guys, yes man is a pinnacle of morality and Christ immorality. How deceived can one be?

Although I basically agree that religion is frequently used to justify mindless atrocities, david f, I have to take issue with one of your supporting propositions.

I presume that when you mention as genocide "the English slaughter of the Irish", you are referring to Cromwell's nastiness in the seventeenth century.

It is true that some historians paint this as an entirely religion-based atrocity. Robin Lane Fox, for example, asserted that Cromwell's troops used "Joshua’s massacres of the Canaanites, as ordered by the Lord, as a divine justification for what they were doing".

But given the historical background, this is far more likely to be a conscience-easing post-justification, than an example of religious fervour driving genocidal acts.

For one, the alliance between Charles II in exile, and the Confederation of Kilkenny was a clear threat to the New Commonwealth. There was also a revenge element, for the atrocities to settlers during the 1641 Uprising. Plus the existence of privateers using Irish ports as their base, from which they attacked and plundered English shipping - a sort of seventeenth-century Somalia.

In those days, these together would have acted as perfectly sufficient justification for war and subjugation of a people, without the added religious element.

So yes, Cromwell was a Puritan, and considered all Catholics to be heretics. But it is drawing a rather long bow, I feel, to label the entire misadventure religion-justified genocide.

You may have a corrupted heart, runner, but you can't speak for anyone else.

Unless you have seen the light of Allah, you are doomed to burn for eternity.