Religion and Evil

Thank you GeraldDavies for presenting this topic. I look forward to an interesting debate. I make only one request; that neither side forfeit since the system does not update to continue. I hope this is agreeable to you. The statement that religion is the source of evil is contrary to the basis of religion itself. A majority of concepts on what is good and evil are shared amongst religions, but may differ in perspective toward other faiths or branch groups of the same faith, e.g. Catholics and Protestants, Sunnis and Shiites. Granted, these differences have been used as an excuse for war or persecution but, most religious wars past and present also had geopolitical aims. Due to character limits and getting off topic I'll forgo additional explanation. Your idea for a solution is rather dystopian, as described in "1984" and "Brave New World." First, the creation of a new Quran is antithetical to its premise. I'm by no means a scholar on the subject or a person of this faith; but the Quran is seen by its believers as the word of Allah as dictated through the prophet Mohamed. The standards of exactitude in its reproduction are held in high regard and its religious truth is bound on the premise it is unchanged. To say that ISIS is evil is correct; to say Islam as a whole is evil is incorrect. Same can be said for the Westboro Baptist Church, but not Christianity. ISIS is a group of Salafists that wish to create a caliphate based on medieval interpretation and adherence to the Quran. Let's not let media fueled hysteria disparage 2.8 million of the world's population. Second, a religious document is not a government constitution. Democratization of the Quran, the Bible or any other religious text negates the premise of faith. The creation of a single international secular religion is a non-starter. No religion will find any kind of common ground on the creation theory, since there are multiple versions. And, the concept of a secular religion in essence means no religion at all. Furthermore, the concepts of equality differ from culture to culture. One cannot impose our system of democracy and equality into a culture where it does not fit, although the US has tried and failed many times; which swings us back to the geopolitical aims. Also, the UN"s purpose is not to fight or suppress religion but, to maintain peace and limit aggression. To eliminate the concept of religion is to also negate cultural differences. There are many religions of the world along with agnostics and atheist; despite their diversity organized religions do serve a societal purpose. It teaches morality, though not exclusively (debate for another time). It creates a sense of community of those of like minds, as well as provides some individuals purpose or meaningfulness to their existence. Humans cannot, and will not always be logical. What seems logical to one individual is illogical to another; I'll leave that bit for the philosophers. Religion is not evil. Radical interpretations of religious text certainly can result in evil actions. In general religions are peaceful in nature. Cherry picking of verse for the purpose of gaining power over others is where the problems begin. http://www.read-legends-and-myths.com... http://www.islamweb.net... http://www.un.org...