"Only explanation for existence of different churches or various Muslim or Jewish divisions is the power politics, and not a dispute about the existence or belief in God."
Massive, unjustified leap of logic here. There are many examples contra to your position like Luther and his 95 theses or the various approaches to Buddhism. How one ca…
"Only explanation for existence of different churches or various Muslim or Jewish divisions is the power politics, and not a dispute about the existence or belief in God."
Massive, unjustified leap of logic here. There are many examples contra to your position like Luther and his 95 theses or the various approaches to Buddhism. How one can claim that Zen Buddhism was born out of power politics is beyond me. Encouraged by the state at certain times? Sure, but the inception of its existence and difference was not remotely "power politics." Consider debugging your mind from historical materialism.
Granted, at the inception at least some of the major religions were not for power politics. However, there is ample historical and contemporaneous evidence to show that organized religions have directly or indirectly instigated unfathomable violence, murders, and destruction. Organized religion is involved in Hindus killing Muslims in India, Muslims killing Muslims in Pakistan, Israelis and Arabs killing each others and the list goes on.
In the US, religion is a powerful political force. Endorsement by a religious leader helped Donald Trump win Presidency and the decades long persistent efforts by organized religion finally nullified Roe v. Wade. Thank God all of this was done democratically without any violence. Nonetheless it shows the role religion plays in power politics.
How organized religion influences gullible individuals is fascinating and scary at the same time. I will conclude with this anecdote. During a C-SPAN show callers were asked to say why they would vote for George Bush or John Kerry. One caller said she would vote for George Bush. When asked why, she replied because he is Christian.
"organized religions have directly or indirectly instigated unfathomable violence"
So has organized politics, but we do not conclude that understanding organized politics as necessary to the healthy function of society is problematic.
"One caller said she would vote for George Bush. When asked why, she replied because he is Christian."
Taking issue with someone aligning their political choices with their values or cultural identity is paradoxical, and it is really a form of bigotry that only has the thin veneer of rationalism. Not voting in a way that is consistent with your religious values would suggest that they are not values at all, only aesthetic. The caller's statement is no different than someone admitting they would vote for Obama in 2008/2012 because they're gay or gay allies, which was certainly the primary political motivation for many people then as it is now. It's best to leave this attitude in the dustbin of embarrassing, late aughts online atheism.
Ultimately, there will always be religion, and people will always organize themselves alongside others who share their values, as well as culture/identity/aspirations. The goal of civilization should be to allow these communities to flourish in harmony without a factionalist political framework that requires each of them to pursue political domination over the other, lest their enemies do it first, in a race to the bottom. That's what America looks like to me today. It's what the "culture war" is. Each side tries to destroy their enemy's idols, profane what their enemy considers sacred, gatekeep institutions of power, and control the development of children. But one side is far, far more powerful than other.
"Only explanation for existence of different churches or various Muslim or Jewish divisions is the power politics, and not a dispute about the existence or belief in God."
Massive, unjustified leap of logic here. There are many examples contra to your position like Luther and his 95 theses or the various approaches to Buddhism. How one can claim that Zen Buddhism was born out of power politics is beyond me. Encouraged by the state at certain times? Sure, but the inception of its existence and difference was not remotely "power politics." Consider debugging your mind from historical materialism.
Granted, at the inception at least some of the major religions were not for power politics. However, there is ample historical and contemporaneous evidence to show that organized religions have directly or indirectly instigated unfathomable violence, murders, and destruction. Organized religion is involved in Hindus killing Muslims in India, Muslims killing Muslims in Pakistan, Israelis and Arabs killing each others and the list goes on.
In the US, religion is a powerful political force. Endorsement by a religious leader helped Donald Trump win Presidency and the decades long persistent efforts by organized religion finally nullified Roe v. Wade. Thank God all of this was done democratically without any violence. Nonetheless it shows the role religion plays in power politics.
How organized religion influences gullible individuals is fascinating and scary at the same time. I will conclude with this anecdote. During a C-SPAN show callers were asked to say why they would vote for George Bush or John Kerry. One caller said she would vote for George Bush. When asked why, she replied because he is Christian.
"organized religions have directly or indirectly instigated unfathomable violence"
So has organized politics, but we do not conclude that understanding organized politics as necessary to the healthy function of society is problematic.
"One caller said she would vote for George Bush. When asked why, she replied because he is Christian."
Taking issue with someone aligning their political choices with their values or cultural identity is paradoxical, and it is really a form of bigotry that only has the thin veneer of rationalism. Not voting in a way that is consistent with your religious values would suggest that they are not values at all, only aesthetic. The caller's statement is no different than someone admitting they would vote for Obama in 2008/2012 because they're gay or gay allies, which was certainly the primary political motivation for many people then as it is now. It's best to leave this attitude in the dustbin of embarrassing, late aughts online atheism.
Ultimately, there will always be religion, and people will always organize themselves alongside others who share their values, as well as culture/identity/aspirations. The goal of civilization should be to allow these communities to flourish in harmony without a factionalist political framework that requires each of them to pursue political domination over the other, lest their enemies do it first, in a race to the bottom. That's what America looks like to me today. It's what the "culture war" is. Each side tries to destroy their enemy's idols, profane what their enemy considers sacred, gatekeep institutions of power, and control the development of children. But one side is far, far more powerful than other.
Yes, is it organized religion that kills people or is it merely "organized politics" that does so?
I'd say violence is part of the human condition. It's pre-human even. War was waiting for us before we arrived.