believing in god is not necessarily a waste of time, because i know plenty of believers who dont practice in any way. i think what it is is a false hope. like many false hopes, its not necessarily a bad thing, but it can prove to be one of the worst things there is.
Grigory said:
most wars ever fought have had some type of religious component
how true it is. one of many examples is the crusades, which cost thousands (im sure more, but i dont want to overestimate) of lives.
the islamic terrorist groups are examples as well. true, they are not the true representation of an islamic person, as it is a peaceful religion, but they are acting in the name of god (or allah) none the less.
ill leave with this thought.
while religion can be a very good thing, bringing joy, wonder, and meaning to people’s lives, and inspiring them to be good, honest people, it can also be a terrible thing, bringing pain and suffering, and inspiring mass slaughters, and countless “holy” wars. while you can see this as a regretful occurence, but think the benefits outweigh them, i think that religion of any kind, when practiced on any kind of large scale only leads to problems, and i think that belief in god is one thing, while religion is something truly different. if you choose to believe in god, that is all well and good, but it should be a private thing. if there truly is a god, i seriously doubt that it would require sacraments and rituals to be considered a “good, decent person” who belongs in heaven, or your belief equivalent. i think that religion should be abolished everywhere