Which religion....

[salvadevinemasse]

I'd say christianity but islam is getting very close

and to the communism comment... hahaha
first off communism is not neccesarrilly inherently athiest. the real world communist examples just have been. secondly communism killed maybey 30 million poeple? maybey more im not sure how many died in china
now think about any religion
Ill use christianity as an example
witch hunts
crusades
terrorism
the destruction of the new world (i know it's a stretch, but religeos pretenses were used to cover many actions.)
the Inquisition
religeos persecutions
etc etc the list can go on and on

I'm with you on this one!!

[MR. Nate]

All of those are probably the most damaging in history. I don't think Islam isn't that damaging because many people just accepted Islam when it took over that area, like North Africa.

So . . . the fact that Islam spread mostly through conquering said areas is not at all included in that equation?

Although I understand the sentiments of the people who voted Christian, don't you think that looking at the underlying philosophy of the religion is important as well? For instance, Buddhism & Christianity have texts that explicitly promote peace, on both national and personal levels. So those who claim "God told me to fight" have to have a decent reason why said texts don't apply in this instance. Islam, on the other hand has a text that allows (if not encourages) "conversion by the sword."

Also, how do you count wars between religions as specifically against one religion rather than the other? Shouldn't the Muslims fighting the Christians in Turkey & Spain be a wash? It's blood on the hands of both sides, not just one.

[Norse]

So those who claim "God told me to fight" have to have a decent reason why said texts don't apply in this instance. Islam, on the other hand has a text that allows (if not encourages) "conversion by the sword."

hmmm, the frankish dominance and forced christianisation of the germanic people "by the sword" springs to mind.

Subsequently, the bastardisation of previous pagan gods and symbols.

One example of many that springs to mind.

Whether or not it is written in the bible, this has been practised, and practised more often than any other religion. How else would a pseudo-jewish, middle eastern religion have been spread so widely? Out of sheer curiosity?

pfft...

Looking at the bigger picture though, you're slaves. I have free will, and decide what is correct by my own judgement.

[flashleg8]

Which religion, in your humble opinions, has caused the most damage historically to the world?...

Vague, I know, but use your imaginations!

Norse

All that rape and pillaging in Europe set back the development of literacy and science for centuries.

[Norse]

Which religion, in your humble opinions, has caused the most damage historically to the world?...

Vague, I know, but use your imaginations!

Norse

All that rape and pillaging in Europe set back the development of literacy and science for centuries.

hehe, there is possibly some truth in this, when you mix it with the ottoman invasions as well....an age of ignorance, or as I like to see it, an age where people just got drunk and walked about.

What times they must have been *heart*

[Caleb the Cruel]

Ill use christianity as an example
crusades
the Inquisition

Alright, I have to hit on these two specifically. The Crusades were not started by Christianity. The Catholics only began fighting the Muslims after the Islamic fighters were starting to attack Christian Europe. It was self-defense.

The Inquisition was done by the corrupt Catholic Church of the Dark Ages which was not all that Christian at the time. That's where Martin Luther and the Reformation comes in and saves Christianity.

[Neutrino]

Ill use christianity as an example
crusades
the Inquisition

Alright, I have to hit on these two specifically. The Crusades were not started by Christianity. The Catholics only began fighting the Muslims after the Islamic fighters were starting to attack Christian Europe. It was self-defense.

"It was self defence."
Possibly the worst excuse the world over for the Crusades.

Was it 'self defence' when Christians invaded their territory repetedly?

Before reading this I thought there was some upper limit to human stupidity. You, sir, have robbed me of that illusion.

[edwinissweet]

there is no such thing as damaging religions. everything done by a religious organization was for a reason... nazy christians killed 6 millions jews.. so? they killed jesus. but it was all for a reason. but if someone is to blame is us catholics... we got so thirsty for power that people revolted and then a bunch of little poser religions sprouted out of it

[Avron]

there is no such thing as damaging religions. everything done by a religious organization was for a reason... nazy christians killed 6 millions jews.. so? they killed jesus. but it was all for a reason. but if someone is to blame is us catholics... we got so thirsty for power that people revolted and then a bunch of little poser religions sprouted out of it

WHAT?

[OnlyAmbrose]

there is no such thing as damaging religions. everything done by a religious organization was for a reason... nazy christians killed 6 millions jews.. so? they killed jesus. but it was all for a reason. but if someone is to blame is us catholics... we got so thirsty for power that people revolted and then a bunch of little poser religions sprouted out of it

As a Catholic I'm going to have to give this post a

[muy_thaiguy]

there is no such thing as damaging religions. everything done by a religious organization was for a reason... nazy christians killed 6 millions jews.. so? they killed jesus. but it was all for a reason. but if someone is to blame is us catholics... we got so thirsty for power that people revolted and then a bunch of little poser religions sprouted out of it

As a Catholic I'm going to have to give this post a

No kidding! This guy also needs a to learn a little better too.

[Som General]

???? ya I didn't ge that eather...
I think what he was trying to say was that although many actions were destructive they were for a broader reason that led to less destruction...
though I'd never agree with that.

Alright, I have to hit on these two specifically. The Crusades were not started by Christianity. The Catholics only began fighting the Muslims after the Islamic fighters were starting to attack Christian Europe. It was self-defense.

The Inquisition was done by the corrupt Catholic Church of the Dark Ages which was not all that Christian at the time. That's where Martin Luther and the Reformation comes in and saves Christianity.

first off for the crusades. Nuetrino Said It right. and if you are calling the crusades an act of defence then why did the crusadors sack and divide the byzantine empire (the empire they were called in to defend against)
and for the Inquisition, just because they were corrupt doesn't mean it shouldn't count they did it in the name of religion

and don't worry norse I'm no slave
and who the f*ck voted for daoism hahaa

[Strife]

I have to say to any Idiot that said that Jew's caused damage needs Mental therapy... I Can't think of a single thing they have done. Also If the Jewish people did something as did the Christian cause It is based on the old testiment AKA The Torah or in comination with the New it is the Bible Ergo It's the Chritians Fault then (Disregaurd that last part) But its still Part of Christianity

To Sum it all Up Jews good Christians are jockers and Budhist and believers of the Shinto relgion are the originals... Wich brings me to the KamiKaze Shinto People... Anyway I'm Done...

[muy_thaiguy]

first off for the crusades. Nuetrino Said It right. and if you are calling the crusades an act of defence then why did the crusadors sack and divide the byzantine empire (the empire they were called in to defend against)

The reason why the Crusaders turned on the Byzantines was because the Byzantines tried to stab the Crusaders in the back multiple times throughout the Crusading era.

[Som General]

if you apply that logic then ask yourself why there was a fifth crusade?
if the person they were defending was not a true ally why did they go through crusades 2, 3, 4, and 5. Plus they did not sack Byzantium for that reason, they did it for greed it was one of the richest cities in the world.
plus they destroyed most of the churches in byzantium hmm kinda Ironic
when will poeple admit the crusades were a ploy for power.

[Hitman079]

before this discussion turns too serious:

Fucking Jews. They're the cause of all the wars in the world. Are you a Jew?

this is just a quote; it does not reflect my opinion on the Jewish peoples.

[Titanic]

if you apply that logic then ask yourself why there was a fifth crusade?
if the person they were defending was not a true ally why did they go through crusades 2, 3, 4, and 5. Plus they did not sack Byzantium for that reason, they did it for greed it was one of the richest cities in the world.
plus they destroyed most of the churches in byzantium hmm kinda Ironic
when will poeple admit the crusades were a ploy for power.

Yer, the Byzantine kings were too greedy. They made the crusaders declare that all gains from he crusades will fall into the Byzantine empire, and be no one elses, or otherwise the Byzatimes would refuse to feed or hospitalize them and also may attack them.

[beezer]

I voted for Christianity. These are the reasons:

From its beginnings Christianity has sought to impose kindness on others

Take a look at these passages from the Bible:
Deut. 10:17, Isaiah 1:17, Proverbs 19:17, Matthew 25:31-46

Indeed a hideous religion! But this Christian message doesn't stop within the pages of scripture. The people who follow & believe in it do awful things. Let's see what dastardly deeds they've performed throughout history.

Their insistence on contributing to music

George Handel, J.S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn (traitorous convert to Lutheranism), Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak, Igor Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Durufle, William Billings, Antonio Vivaldi, and Fanny Crosby.

Their insistence on contributing to literature

Hans Christian Anderson, Hrotsvit, T.S. Elliot, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, John Grisham, Lew Wallace, Anne Rice (another traitor!), George McDonald, Leo Tolstoy, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Their attempts at contributing to poetry

John Donne, Phyllis Wheatley, John Milton, Gerard Hopkins, Samuel Coleridge

Their insistence on contributing to art

Michelangelo, Fra Angelico, Albrecht Durer, Vincent Van Gogh, and Thomas Kinkade.

Their interference with slavery and exposing civil rights injustices

William Wilberforce, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Samuel Crowther, James Ramsay, Martin Luther King, Jr.

They keep inventing things or come up with innovations

Samuel Morse, William Wright, Orville Wright, Cyrus McCormack, Johannes Gutenberg, Joseph Lister, Louis Braille, David Brewster

Forcing us to understand more about the universe

John Couch Adams, George Biddle Airy, Jean Baptiste Biot, James Bradley, Johann Baptist Cysat, Eugenio Danti, Sir Arthur Eddington, John Flamsteed, Augustin-Jean Fresnel, Francesco Maria Grimaldi, John Herschel, William Huggins, Johan Von Lamont, John Philoponus, Christian Mayer, Nevil Maskelyne, Alexandre Guy Pingre, Schryrle de Rhetia, , Johan Stein, Godefroy Wendelen, Pierre Gassendi, John Dalton, Thomas Young

Forcing us to understand more within the fields of science

Robert Boyle, Copernicus, Francis Bacon, Johannes Kepler, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Gregor Mendel, Lord Kelvin, George Stokes, James Maxwell, Galileo Galilei, Arthur Eddington, Blaise Pascal, George Washington Carver, Thomas Hodgkin, Sir John Herschel, and Louis Pasteaur.

Shoving medical advancement down our throats

Crawford Long, James Simpson, James Dwight Dana, Josiah Willard Gibbs

Refusing to let people live shorter lives

Wilfred Grenfell, Nathan Smith, Hermann Boerhave, Walter Reed, Charles Bell, James Ramsay, John Flynn, Ida Scudder, James Durham, and Clara Swain.

Kidnapping orphans, poor people, and the disparaged. They then force these people to live with a roof over their heads and feed them!

George Mueller, Lilian Trasher, Emma Whitemore, The YMCA & the YWCA, The Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row, World Vision, and the Salvation Army

It's cool if this kind of behavior were just limited to the past, but these Christians just don't stop. They continue to do these things right in our faces today. Just take a look at what they engage in. I'm warning you, some of these pictures are extremely offensive.

(1) Feeding poor people and then PRAYING IN PUBLIC WITH THEM!
(2) Feeding victims of Hurricane Katrina
(3) Providing a place for orphans to grow up

This one is probably the most offensive. I'm warning you before looking at it. This woman constantly cared for orphans, the poor, the sick, and the dying. I think she went by the name of Theresa. Not once have we heard an apology for her schemes.

We have to mobilize people! We need to prevent the orphans from being exposed to orphanages. We need to stop Christians from founding new hospitals. We need to stop the hungry from being fed. Together we can do it! A society built on hedonism will prevail and guilt will be a thing of the past.

[ignotus]

People did crazy things in the name of religion, but for the most part they weren't focused entirely on religion's causes, but on there own.

Crusade is a good example for this thesis. Although the impulse came from the top of the church hierarchy, most of the things Christians made in Holy Land weren't Holy (killings of infidels, making Christian infidel-free states...).

Judaism, Islam and other religions also have greatest goal of fulfilling and preserving human life, but it didn't stop states in waging wars.

I think that, regardless of religion, the human belief in using justified force against others did most (if not all) crimes in history.

[super Mario 009]

Many religions have gone bad, and people go crazy with them, so many wars caused by fanatics, they all forget that religions were created to live a life of discipline, peace and to follow simple rules to be a better person.

If I had to choose to follow a religion,belief, or practise, it would be yoghism, buddhism or anything that's based on enlightment, control of body, peace and bonding with nature.

[duday53]

im going to have to say that religeon has caused the most damage. Differences in religeon set people apart weither in middle eastern countries or northern ireland....most violence revolves around religeon or at least have that as a basis.

Note: I am Catholic

[unriggable]

I've got to say Christianity. I mean, while they probably haven't started the most wars, they've been around to use the most sophisticated of technologies.

[Unit_2]

i am Atheist, if you don't know what that is here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist

[CrazyAnglican]

I voted for Christianity. These are the reasons:

From its beginnings Christianity has sought to impose kindness on others

Take a look at these passages from the Bible:
Deut. 10:17, Isaiah 1:17, Proverbs 19:17, Matthew 25:31-46

Indeed a hideous religion! But this Christian message doesn't stop within the pages of scripture. The people who follow & believe in it do awful things. Let's see what dastardly deeds they've performed throughout history.

Their insistence on contributing to music

George Handel, J.S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Felix Mendelssohn (traitorous convert to Lutheranism), Johannes Brahms, Antonin Dvorak, Igor Stravinsky, Olivier Messiaen, Maurice Durufle, William Billings, Antonio Vivaldi, and Fanny Crosby.

Their insistence on contributing to literature

Hans Christian Anderson, Hrotsvit, T.S. Elliot, C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, Charles Dickens, John Grisham, Lew Wallace, Anne Rice (another traitor!), George McDonald, Leo Tolstoy, and Fyodor Dostoevsky.

Their attempts at contributing to poetry

John Donne, Phyllis Wheatley, John Milton, Gerard Hopkins, Samuel Coleridge

Their insistence on contributing to art

Michelangelo, Fra Angelico, Albrecht Durer, Vincent Van Gogh, and Thomas Kinkade.

Their interference with slavery and exposing civil rights injustices

William Wilberforce, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, William Lloyd Garrison, Samuel Crowther, James Ramsay, Martin Luther King, Jr.

They keep inventing things or come up with innovations

Samuel Morse, William Wright, Orville Wright, Cyrus McCormack, Johannes Gutenberg, Joseph Lister, Louis Braille, David Brewster

Forcing us to understand more about the universe

John Couch Adams, George Biddle Airy, Jean Baptiste Biot, James Bradley, Johann Baptist Cysat, Eugenio Danti, Sir Arthur Eddington, John Flamsteed, Augustin-Jean Fresnel, Francesco Maria Grimaldi, John Herschel, William Huggins, Johan Von Lamont, John Philoponus, Christian Mayer, Nevil Maskelyne, Alexandre Guy Pingre, Schryrle de Rhetia, , Johan Stein, Godefroy Wendelen, Pierre Gassendi, John Dalton, Thomas Young

Forcing us to understand more within the fields of science

Robert Boyle, Copernicus, Francis Bacon, Johannes Kepler, Rene Descartes, Isaac Newton, Michael Faraday, Gregor Mendel, Lord Kelvin, George Stokes, James Maxwell, Galileo Galilei, Arthur Eddington, Blaise Pascal, George Washington Carver, Thomas Hodgkin, Sir John Herschel, and Louis Pasteaur.

Shoving medical advancement down our throats

Crawford Long, James Simpson, James Dwight Dana, Josiah Willard Gibbs

Refusing to let people live shorter lives

Wilfred Grenfell, Nathan Smith, Hermann Boerhave, Walter Reed, Charles Bell, James Ramsay, John Flynn, Ida Scudder, James Durham, and Clara Swain.

Kidnapping orphans, poor people, and the disparaged. They then force these people to live with a roof over their heads and feed them!

George Mueller, Lilian Trasher, Emma Whitemore, The YMCA & the YWCA, The Union Rescue Mission on Skid Row, World Vision, and the Salvation Army

It's cool if this kind of behavior were just limited to the past, but these Christians just don't stop. They continue to do these things right in our faces today. Just take a look at what they engage in. I'm warning you, some of these pictures are extremely offensive.

(1) Feeding poor people and then PRAYING IN PUBLIC WITH THEM!
(2) Feeding victims of Hurricane Katrina
(3) Providing a place for orphans to grow up

This one is probably the most offensive. I'm warning you before looking at it. This woman constantly cared for orphans, the poor, the sick, and the dying. I think she went by the name of Theresa. Not once have we heard an apology for her schemes.

We have to mobilize people! We need to prevent the orphans from being exposed to orphanages. We need to stop Christians from founding new hospitals. We need to stop the hungry from being fed. Together we can do it! A society built on hedonism will prevail and guilt will be a thing of the past.

You mean THAT'S going on!!??!!?? *rummages around for picket sign* Let's go put a stop to it!!!!!!

[luns101]

i am Atheist, if you don't know what that is here is a link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atheist

I still don't get it...just kidding