What he (Karl Marx) actually said: “Religion is the sigh of the oppressed creature, the heart of a heartless world and the soul of soulless conditions. It is the opium of the people."His observation was dead-on. I mean, when you think about it, drugs regularly make otherwise fine upstanding law abiding citizens do some really dumb things, and religion is exactly the way; the Ft. Hood shooting and the recent abortion physician killings in cold blood are perfect examples.
extremism doesn't prove that religion is the opium of the people for a couple of reasons. first of all, marx's point wasn't about extremism at all, but rather it was about his belief that religion is a central lie in society to keep the masses subdued.
ReplyDeletebut let me engage your point about religious extremism nonetheless. i could make the same case against atheism and say that columbine is the perfect example of the fruit of godlessness. in fact, let's move it away from extremism. i could say there are countless crimes in this country committed by ungodly and unchurched nerdowells, because they have no moral compass by which to orient themselves. it's not an argument i would typically make (although there is some truth in it), but i wanted you to see that it's of the same substance as your argument.
Columbine had no theist nor non-theist component; the kids were simply picked on, and felt their only choice was to take "revenge".
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree that there are countless crimes that religion is no factor at all.
Just because someone is religious and commits a crime, does not mean religion had anything to do with it.
I am just focusing on the cases where they victims would have been better off, if the perpetrator was not religious.
Did you hear about that new Mexican drug cartel, which has tentacles extending into the U.S.??? They are indeed a Christian group, and use it to justify their violence.