Religion is a bad thing

1. What? I do NOT take the Bible literally... I'm not even Christian!!! Don't assume things... You claim that many people commit violence in God's name. However, like I said in round one, just because they use God's name doesn't mean that they truly believe that they are doing it for religion. If they do truly believe it, then they are complete idiots because their religion actually directly contradicts killing people. 2. There is no further need to argue over this point, since you have already accepted it: religion helps people with their sense of morality and personal fulfillment. 3. Well, I was able to give a valid rebuttal to each of your "proofs", so that does indeed make them faulty until you can give further proof for your points -I do not understand why you are explaining the Big Bang theory to me. I already know what it is and how it works. The basis of the Big Bang is that everything started from that single dense "bubble". But where does that bubble come from? No one knows... Theists can say that God created the bubble, but then atheists can pose the question of where God comes from. The simple truth is that no one can answer such questions about the beginning of the Universe. Not yet, at least... -There are no valid statistics available for how many theists believe in science, but if you think about it logically, it becomes evident that most theists (in the US, at least) do. Roughly 80% of the US population is religious in some way. Most of them went to school in the United States, learning about purely secular biology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy. Very few of them rejected it in favor of Biblical "science". The logical conclusion to draw is that most of them were perfectly fine being religious and believing in science at the same time. -Once again, you are explaining a concept to me which I already understand. I know how protein synthesis within cells works. However, nothing in that explanation shows WHY mutations happen. How could such a perfect process mess up? Scientists say that it happens randomly. Theists say God did it, and there is no scientific evidence that can contradict the theistic theory. -You said "Forces are part of nature, and they can be explained" No. They cannot. Explain to me what causes gravity. The only theories that scientists have are pure speculation and are no more valid than the theory that gravity is a manifestation of God's presence. What about energy? Mass? All of these concepts are inexplicable in terms of science, and are the basis for all the other natural forces you mentioned (Kepler's law, Doppler Effect, etc.). Science has no better explanation for these fundamental forces than religion does. - Theists base their faith in God on spiritual experiences; experiences where a human becomes fortunate enough to feel God's love and grace. Atheists claim that spiritual experiences don't exist, and that they are mere confirmation bias or hallucinations. But how can they claim that when billions of people around the world and throughout history can collectively claim that they HAVE had such experiences? -I am not saying that there is no divide in Ireland between Protestants and Catholics; however, this divide is more of a nationalistic one as well. Ireland is traditionally Catholic, whereas their English conquerors are traditionally Protestant. The conflict stems not from their religious roots, but from their nationalistic roots. -Afghanistan was the primary example of women being degraded, so I used that. There is always an ulterior motive behind the degradation of women, and it is never religion, because religion preaches that all human beings are God's children. Just think back a few centuries to before the women's rights movement. Women weren't being degraded because of Christianity's teachings. They were being degraded because they were considered weak and therefore useless in agricultural/industrial work. If you believe that people are free to practice religion, then great. You're one step ahead of some atheists, who think that religion is a mental disorder. However, you believe that religion is bad for society, and that is what I intend to disprove through this debate. "It is wrong always, everywhere, and for anyone to believe anything upon insufficient evidence." I don't think you understand, that I'm not believing in God because I was taught to by my parents. My personal spiritual experiences have proved to me beyond a doubt that God exists. This is the same with billions of theists around the world and throughout history. You can't possibly understand such experiences without feeling them yourself, which is why you can so easily disclaim them. I have given a rebuttal to each of your "examples". None of them are valid. You haven't really proved that God can't exist or that Religion is bad for society. "Putting everything down to God is basically closing you mind... Everything happens for a reason... We create the situation we are in." We are not closing our minds by believing in God. We are still accepting science in its entirety, and by believing in God, we are also opening our eyes to an entire realm beyond the material world: the spiritual realm. Everything does happen for a reason, and we do create the situation we are in, but God's intervention is always part of the reason and he is the one who determines the situation, in the end. You seem to have accepted the first two points about "religious conflict" not being caused by religion and religion encouraging morality; you are now only concentrating on proving that belief in God makes you dumber. However, this is impossible because 1) It is impossible to prove or disprove the existence of God via the scientific method and/or logic. 2) Simply believing in God doesn't mean you can't believe in modern science and philosophy. You turn, Pro...