Religion on the whole benefits the human race.

\\\Religion on the human race include bringing people together with their God(s), giving them a feeling that they are one with their creator and the people with whom they are surrounding themselves in their place of worship./// Do you have proof that the creator even exists? \\\Many middle schools and high schools require community service. When you are through volunteering, you have a good feeling, which can be a result of many different things. This is like the feelings you walk away with after attending a service./// Evidence? How do you know that the child doesn't walk away from worship thinking "HOW BLIND ARE THESE PEOPLE" as I did as I walked away from witnessing mindless drones worship a nonexistent deity on Easter Sunday. \\\There are those people who cling to religion of some kind because they simply cannot think that this world was not made by a creator. It shakes their world to think that they have been placed here without a "safety net", so to speak./// It may be hard to grasp, but letting go of your childish beliefs is like letting go of Santa, you don't want to, but you know Santa isn't real. If these people cannot accept the fact that the fact that they are made of atoms that were shot out of a super-massive white hole 14 billion years ago, then those atoms clumped together to form stars and eventually us... and not hand sculpted by some white guy sitting in the sky who loves each and every one of us. Points: 1. Is illogical The conception of God that most people around the world have simply cannot exist. First, let me define what most people think of as God: An all-powerful being, who created the universe, who is all-good. Now, you would think that a universe created by such a being would be a wonderful place to live in. Of course, as we all know, this is not the case. Innocent children get raped by pedophiles. Criminal CEO's rob people of billions and get away with it. People in third world countries work their asses off and yet they live horrible lives. If God is both willing and capable of stopping these perversions of justice, then why doesn't he? The answer, of course, is that he doesn't exist. 2. Obstructs science. Science has proven more to us in the last 10 years than religion has for 3 Millennium. Who stopped Galileo from informing people that the Earth revolved around the Earth? THE CHURCH. Who Killed people who thought of new ideas? THE CHURCH. Who kept all the Greek, Roman, and Latin scientific texts and literature from the common public during the middle ages? THE CHURCH. Not to mention the only period in history the church was in complete power was the worst of all time. Refute this please. 3. Corrupts man Defined by urban dictionary: Allah Boom: 1. These two words mark the end of a suicide bomber's life. He or she will scream anything related to their god and detonate their bomb which is attached to their body, sacrificing themselves for religious reasons. It is believed that doing so will reward the bomber with 72 virgins in Heaven. ( Or so it is said ) Right now suicide bombers end their life in hope that they will go to paradise. Also right now, Christians say thanks in hope that they will go to heaven. One evil, the other pointless. 4. Examples 1) God does not cause evil, the Devil does. OK, this one is perhaps the stupidest one. If you believe the Devil is capable of subverting God's will and causing evil, then you believe that the Devil is as powerful as God, and you shouldn't call yourself a monotheist. Plus, if the Devil can do whatever he wishes despite God's will, then God is not all powerful. Therefore this argument doesn't fly, 2) God is all good, evil comes from man's free choice. I don't buy this one either. God created everything (according to the religious people). Therefore, he must have created both humans and free will. Now why would he create free will if he knew some men would choose evil? You might say that evil people turn away from God, so he has no responsibility towards them. Ok, fine. But what about the innocent, good people that are harmed by the evil people? Doesnt God care? Of course not, because he doesnt exist. 3) Evil exists in the world for reasons we don't and CAN'T understand. God's reasons are unknowable because we are mere puny humans. This is probably the best reason, but I still don't buy it. According to this statement, you are supposed to just accept evil because you trust that god has a reason for it. Now, I simply can't accept this. Why would God give us intelligence if we weren't meant to use it? If God simply intended for us to be herded around like sheep, why didn't he make us sheep? The answer, of course, is that God did not make us, because he does not exist.