XPost: talk.atheism, alt.atheism, alt.agnosticism   
   From: prohumanist@gr8mail.com   
      
   - - -   
      
   Someone says you'll get 72 virgins along-   
   side a river of wine -if- you blow yourself   
   up for Allah, and kill scores of men, women,   
   children and even babies who either don't   
   follow Allah or who have some shortcomings   
   in their following of Allah.   
      
   Good?   
      
   No.   
      
   - - -   
      
   Someone says God condemns disbelief,   
   and tosses disbelievers into oblivion -or-   
   judges them and tosses them into a lake   
   of fire for short-term torment prior to ever-   
   lasting death -or- simply tortures them for-   
   ever. To avoid that and get the pleasant   
   immortality that we know you want, believe   
   God sent his only son to be tortured on a   
   cross, that only son dying and spending   
   3 days in hell and rising from the dead.   
      
   Good?   
      
   No.   
      
   - - -   
      
   In a previous post, I referenced heaven   
   as "The Ultimate Seduction", but when   
   you toss in the religious heaven seduc-   
   tions with their ally, religious threats, fear   
   is clearly seen as residing at the core of   
   the religious heaven/hell routine, fear   
   of death, fear of torment, fear of oblivion.   
      
   Good?   
      
   No.   
      
   - - -   
      
   Religious faith, both "The Ultimate Seduc-   
   tion" -and- "The Ultimate Threat".   
      
   Good?   
      
   No.   
      
   - - -   
      
   God, said by religions to eliminate or tor-   
   ture all who fail to believe or act in the 'right'   
   way, forever, no forgiveness or redemption   
   possible, ever.   
      
   Good?   
      
   No.   
      
   - - -   
      
   Certainly, religions, at least in the west,   
   generally tend to focus on "The Ultimate   
   Seduction", almost as if they're ashamed   
   of their "Ultimate Threat". However, many   
   religions, especially 'fundie' ones, tend   
   to promote the "Ultimate Threat" aspect   
   of their ancient myths.   
      
   The dominant theme of religions remains   
   "believe -or- else", and whether they cause   
   horrors to befall humans in this life, or teach/   
   believe that oblivion or horrors will befall   
   humans in an afterlife, their central focus   
   is on ...   
      
   ... US (the 'right' believers) versus ...   
      
   ... THEM (disbelievers, doubters, and   
   those who believe in the 'wrong' way,   
   or who believe in the 'wrong' religion,   
   or who believe in the 'wrong' God).   
      
   Good?   
      
   No.   
      
   - - -   
      
   ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤ - ¤   
      
   ~~~   
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    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)