[Arakkis]

Originally Posted by Chrisb3

The rest of your post contradicts this. If prisoners are religious then obviously religion didn't stop them commiting crimes. Unless you mean that they are repenting, where it doesn't matter anyway because those kinda people are there for life. I don't think minor/non violent criminals are going to repent much.

At first I thought the same thing, but as I said, there are people in any society that for one reason or another will always violate the law. Usually it is due to mental illness of one sort or another. These folks are religious because they were born into it as a part of their culture, not because of any real belief.

People obey the law because they are inherantly good. Personally I'm not wanting to murder and rape all the time but held back by the fear of prison, I don't know about you maybe you do.

So what you are saying is that if last year the Olsen twins and Emma Watson were out clubbing together and happened to bump into you and decided they immediately needed to bang your brains out, you wouldn't do it? Let me make it easier, let's say someone beat up and raped your wife/girlfriend/mother. If the police were cool with it, wouldn't you want to take a bat to their knees for about a half hour? Now neither of these is really the behavior of a moral person, but I have to admit I would let Mary-Kate and Ashley have a turn with the bat while I fucked the hell out of them.

Unfortunatly there is a minority that is going to commit crime regardless of the puishment, the solution to that is probally down to culture and education. Parts of the USA for example are quite religious, have the death penalty and yet the USA has a high murder rate. So there is a double punishment of death and hell but violent crime still happens.

Good point, however many serial killers and school shooters come from relatively normal upbringings but still do things they are pretty sure they will be caught at and punished to the fullest extent of the law.

Religions need to get rid of the divine element and just preach the core philosophy while turning themselves more into a charity.
I was born a Catholic, so I want to see priests teach all the parables and things that Jesus said to children and try and help people lead better lives.
However I don't want to be told that he is the son of God because it doesn't really matter if his teachings are meaningful enough to follow anyway without the hell threat.
I also want them to use their money on helping old/sick/poor people and not on gold plating everything they own, they can go and physically help people also instead of chanting/singing in church. They should let women in and let them get married also, what kind of man wants to be celibate in this day and age? Secret Pedophiles that's who :/

Awesome point. However I don't think it would be religion without the spirituality. I would say that if people who claimed to be religious lived by the codes they claim to follow and actively recruit others into, they would be much better people.

Originally Posted by Grumath

If you honestly think that a large portion of a society living in fear and shame of their actions or potential actions is a positive, you have a fucked up world view. Doing good things for stupid or bad reasons isn't always a positive. The person who gives to charity to help their fellow man is far more noble and advanced than one who gives to charity to get brownie points with their celestial dictator that they live in constant fear of like an extradimensional Kim Jong Il.

It is better than a large portion of society living in fear because the government terrorizes them into behaving. No matter the personal motivation, if someone is contributing to society rather than trying to bring it down it is a good thing.

Originally Posted by Eomer

wow, just wow

Dude, don't tell me you actually agree with Gryeyes. Or if you think I don't understand what I am talking about, refute my claims and join back into the debate.