Debate: Is belief in God for the GREATER GOOD?
Side: No, for the greater good.

Science tells us accurately about the effects of certain actions. E.g. smoking, drugs, alcohol, homosexuality, unprotected sex.... etc. But people are still free to make decisions. So sometimes, you have the contradictory cases of doctors who know how harmful it is to smoke, but still do it to themselves. In religion, you run into the same contradictions all the time, especially in cases that in my opinion are more delicate in terms of morality because they are more fragile. The difference is, that religious people have no way to argue for why they should do right, other than to "praise god", and then they try to impose it. Christianity is not the only religion. Contrary to your view, there are many gods out there and many types of followers. And the main thing they seem to care about is to argue that their god is the right one, in order to justify why they are following such absurd laws without really thinking them through. In this scenario , how is it that belief in god is for the greater good? which god? Because of religion we are always focused on some sort of afterlife and soul saving exercises that take our attention from establishing a better society for all of us. I think it is an unnecessary distraction, all this god talk. Now going back to science. People are still free to do whatever they want to their bodies, because they own them. However they are not free to do whatever they want to their neighbors body. Thus, it would be absurd to say that a doctor who is smoking in his bedroom is breaking a law. It would be absurd to impose that on him. Same with drinking. Only religion imposes some sort of virtual punishment to these people (here or in the afterlife) taking away their personal freedoms. However, when we are talking about society, we have to make laws based on factual evidence, not subjective feelings about things. Yes people make a "moral" choice about things, but this choice doesnt necessarily have to be based on fairy tales. It can be based on scientific evidence. However, what if the doctor was smoking in a public place? In Japan they are already passing laws against smoking in public places (train stations for example). Why? Because we know that second-hand smoke is harmful, and so it makes sense to sanction those who want to harm others with their behavior. Murderers also do things that are harmful to others and should go to jail. Drug dealers, the only reason they are doing something wrong is because it entails an economic transaction outside of government regulation. In Amsterdam, marijuana is legalized, based on the scientific study of the effects, and no one is prosecuting the owners of coffee houses for selling it to costumers. A lot of moral laws of religion overlap with common sense (at least in the christian religion) but a lot do not, and they lead to hatred and discrimination based on nothing more than subjective claims that "god doesn't like it". Why is homosexuality wrong? Belief in god entails faith, and faith is the ability to believe in something without evidence. Once you believe in god you start to believe whatever else anyone tells you (including the voices in your head - which are not always good) , and then we are steps away from becoming sheep. Science on the other hand teaches us to question. It gives us facts and then we can know what effects it will have for society. Of course science can say how drug abuse affects a country! Im talking about the scientific method of reasoning. Social sciences based on statistics and other forms of study deal with these problems everyday in every university. I think you are underestimating the value of inquiry and critical thinking. Maybe you are just trying to hold on to your subjective believe that you need god to know what is good or bad for you. In my opinion belief in god does nothing for society. NOTHING. Religion puts a focus on things out of this world in order to give people a drive. Is this good? It is, on a very personal level. The problem is that people assume that it was meant for society. Thats where the Jewish had it right in wanting a messiah who would come and liberate them from the political oppression. And they got rightfully pissed off when they realized that this great Jesus did not give a damn about the world here. He cared about souls. Jesus did not accept the temptation of satan when he offered all the kingdoms of the world. remember that story? What does that tell you? that the world belongs to someone other than god. that god's laws do not apply to this world. that this world is better run without religious beliefs. I also grew up in a christian environment and i feel i know the religion pretty well. But I really find religion and faith lacking in ways to help society improve. They help people be happy, find reasons to live, thank god in the midst of trouble... but leave it there. Denying homosexuals of the right to marry because god sees it as wrong, is bullshit. It is called discrimination. Denying women the right to abort because the fetus has a soul, is another bullshit that we cannot prove. Saying you cant smoke a joint because god wouldn't like it, is retarded. Saying that you shouldn't smoke it cause it kills brain cells is a different kind of choice. Use the bible for yourself. or the Koran. Or buddhist texts. Stop eating meat if god tells you. Cover your women. Tithe 10% of your salary to the church. go ahead, but dont say these things make society better. because eventually what religious followers have to be concerned with is to know and prove others that their god is the right one. that the bible is the word of god. not the koran. argh. The example of a pastor is an extreme one, amongst many of the same nature (but not of the same level) of how people interpret their god given missions differently. sure the bible may not say that. but the bible doesnt say a lot of things either and people read into it. also it happens to say a lot of other stuff that makes no sense but people believe it blindly. i mean, have you ever seen a soul? honestly?? why do you blame that pastor? if religion teaches us to connect to some being outside of us and obey? i think all believers in god are deluded in different degrees. the killer pastor, just another one. anyway. im tired of arguing because it clearly seems to me that you already have your faith based point of view, wanting to see that god's laws indeed apply to this world just because sometimes they overlap. the fact that they do is not enough to continue with such fairy tales. we know have evidence about many things, so we can use our reasoning to value whether or not we should take the blue or the red pill.