Quote:Some of humanity’s technological innovations are things we would have been better off without: the medieval rack, the atomic bomb and powdered lead potions come to mind. Religions tend to invent ideas or concepts rather than technologies, but like every other creative human enterprise, they produce some really bad ones along with the good.
I’ve previously highlighted some of humanity’s best moral and spiritual concepts, our shared moral core. Here, by way of contrast, are some of the worst. These twelve dubious concepts promote conflict, cruelty, suffering and death rather than love and peace. To paraphrase Christopher Hitchens, they belong in the dustbin of history just as soon as we can get them there.
Quote:1. Chosen People –The term “Chosen People†typically refers to the Hebrew Bible and the ugly idea that God has given certain tribes a Promised Land (even though it is already occupied by other people). But in reality many sects endorse some version of this concept. The New Testament identifies Christians as the chosen ones. Calvinists talk about “God’s elect,†believing that they themselves are the special few who were chosen before the beginning of time. Jehovah’s witnesses believe that 144,000 souls will get a special place in the afterlife. In many cultures certain privileged and powerful bloodlines were thought to be descended directly from gods (in contrast to everyone else).
Religious sects are inherently tribal and divisive because they compete by making mutually exclusive truth claims and by promising blessings or afterlife rewards that no competing sect can offer. “Gang symbols†like special haircuts, attire, hand signals and jargon differentiate insiders from outsiders and subtly (or not so subtly) convey to both that insiders are inherently superior.
Maps, I'll give you one of the most wicked, vile, immoral ideas religion has unleashed and imposed on the world: Vicarious Redemption.
What is vicarious redemption you may ask? It is the central teaching of Christianity. Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, and Christopher Hitchens have all written about it but I think Hitchen's was able to distill it best and most neatly. Vicarious redemption is the idea that you can throw all your sins upon another who will take the responsibility for you. It's scapegoating. In bronze age times there was a practice among the desert dwellers in the Middle East whereby a goat would be captured to take part in a ritual. The ritual would entail that a person who had committed an evil or sinful thing and who wanted to be purged of the guilt would throw all his/her sins upon the goat. The sin laden goat would then be taken to the desert and abandoned. The former sinner's slate was wiped cleaned, his sins abolished and he was redeemed.
This is the exact same disgusting and hideous concept behind the central doctrine of Christianity. It can be said that if I love you enough I can repay a financial debt for you. I may even volunteer to serve prison time for your crimes. But what I cannot ever do is to take moral responsibility for your actions. This would be immoral and disgusting. The idea of vicarious redemption, or vicarious forgiveness, is this very same disgusting idea that a person can abdicate their moral responsibilities for their actions simply in believing that Jesus Christ is the son of god, he died for my sins, was resurrected to the heavens, and will return again. I can wipe the slate clean again if I do this, my sins have been abolished and I'm redeemed.
I ask you Maps. Have you ever heard of something more repugnant than this?
[quote author=ketchim link=topic=95947.msg620174#msg620174 date=1424374076]
You dont have proper Info , so come trying to influence peddle bullshyte on Mapster :
Goats and middle east,. my brown ass
[/quote]
You have the intellect of a fly.
I addressed the question to Maps. But you seem to take quite the offense to what I wrote. The truth does very often tend to hurt.
And while you're losing mind over all of this can you do us all a favour and actually articulate your childish thoughts in a proper, cogent, and coherent manner? Surely, you're at the very least capable of this.
[quote author=ketchim link=topic=95947.msg620180#msg620180 date=1424374464]
stewwpppss : what is a Mahapatar ?
how long has the concept of sin bearers been arung ?
Look man , cut de shyte and get some bloody Education !
[/quote]
Instead of bursting a blood vessel over what I wrote on the topic of vicarious redemption why don't you explain to all and sundry here why you think it is not a disgusting and immoral religious precept.
Come on, put that big brain of yours on display. 8)
