BioShock Infinite's religious themes led dev to consider quitting

@banana23man @augmira @Nafe Maybe the expression, "Go to hell" has been misunderstood all this time. Who knew?

Okay, I'm really done this time. Bed calls. 'Night.

@augmira @banana23man @Nafe but he came back, so it's not really something to brag about. Besides, he's supposed to be godly so how do we know hell's torture even affect him. For all you know, it was like a vacation to the equator for him

@augmira @dkunit @Nafe The humble God-worshiper continues to enlighten me... this time with insults.

@dkunit @augmira @Nafe The hate continues... this time with pessimism!

@wowgrandpa You are either not looking hard enough or closing your eyes. And I feel sorry for you.

@Lord_OfThe_Sith @Darth_Ultima @banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe This incidentally is completely separate and apart from any argument over whether or not God exists.

@Lord_OfThe_Sith @Darth_Ultima @banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe Yes correct. People killed each other during the Crusades. Religion has been misused on all sides to support bloodshed. From the Crusades to 911 and surely into the future.

And atheistic states have also engaged in massive killing and oppression, from Stalin to Mao to Hitler to smaller despots in their smaller kingdoms like Pol Pot and Castro.

There is no winning a finger pointing argument on this score. The common denominator is that evil people will use whatever tactic they think best to accomplish their evil ends. If they think appealing to religion and twisting it will work, then that's the way they will go. If they think suppressing and stamping out religion will work, they'll go that way instead.

@wowgrandpa @augmira I'm not sure what you're trying to say but most Christians are not white ... or male.

@banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe No on can deny that, in addition to being a driving force behind charities worldwide, people have also misused religion to evil ends.

The common denominator in such evil, though is people, not religion.

An atheist, MAO TSE TUNG (he outlawed religion in China) murdered 100 million of his own people (see the book MAO by Jung Chang a survivor of the Cultural Revolution for detail on that)- the largest genocide in the history of mankind (more than ten Hitlers; and Hitler himself in addition to killing Jews intimidated Christians. It was his goal to wipe out all religion and replace it with pure Nationalism, no authority but the State).

So if you want to talk about evil, there is plenty to go around whether people are misusing religion to support their views or are atheists stamping out religion because they see it as a threat to their authority.

@Darth_Ultima @banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe Have you heard of a little thing called the Crusades?

@banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe But atheists have killed religious people. Look at the state sponsored suppression of religion in the Soviet Union if you don't believe it.

@augmira its not prejudice in my statement. it is fact. stereotypical, yes, but not untrue. i said "many" not "all".

is that insensitive of me? yeah, but maybe if the open-minded christians stood up and separated themselves from the asshats, then we wouldn't be accused of grouping all christians together.

human traits? sure, but what matters are the issues. look at all the political issues in america. not all of these traits are exclusive to white christian males, but when the political issues are so backwards, the traits are worth acknowledging as the problem.

be honest. its blasphemy for me to even challenge ignorant folks' beliefs, right? but ignorant folks are brainwashed into believing that "beliefs" are better than facts. thanks fox news. a sucker born every minute.

@banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe Right... I guess, but I will see an atheist kill another person for their own reasons, which is why most people kill other people. Religion is not the source of evil any more than guns are. People use guns and religion the same way sometimes, and it makes me sick.

@banana23man @augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe That would be really funny though... Just saying.

@augmira @wowgrandpa @Nafe but you will never see an atheist killing another atheist for not disbelieving enough.

@wowgrandpa @augmira @Nafe Those are human traits, not merely Christian ones. Take a look in the mirror and then play that last comment back. Religious people and non-religious people have a lot in common. That shouldn't be a surprise since we're all human first. There is prejudice in your last post.

@Lord_OfThe_Sith @Renunciation @petez34

Ah, thanks for passing the info along. I thought Code Pink (and the rest of the anti-war movement) died at the onset of the Obama administration in '08. Surprise, surprise!

@Lambentodo @Renunciation

Again, it is not my place as an agnostic to put "violent" or "non-violent" labels on any religion.

As someone who philosophically subscribes to Taoism, however, I appreciate your post about Jainism -- and I hope others do, too.

@Renunciation

It is certainly possible to label specific religions as violent or non-violent.

Jainism, for example, is a non-violent religion. Quite possibly the only non-violent religion in the history of religion.

Jains have such a reverence for life that the most devout among them filter their drinking water through cheesecloth so that they don't accidentally swallow a bug. They monitor every footfall carefully so that they don't step on an ant.

This is what a non-violent religion looks like.

@Lambentodo @Renunciation

Religion seeks to do "God's work" -- but who truly understands the mind of God? Mere mortals cannot hope to comprehend the mind of an all-knowing, all-powerful deity.

As a substitute for knowing or understanding the mind of God, followers are given various teachings and commandments. In regards to violence, "Thou shall not kill" applies the most to this topic, but violence and murder are different subjects. The Bible is full of violent and murderous examples, and they cannot all be attributed solely to those identified as God's enemies.