When you ask that question many non-believers will answer yes!. Religion has caused many wars and killed many people but the believer will say no, it is the atheists such as Stalin, Mao, Hitler and Pol Pot who have caused more deaths, implying that the one with the most victims is therefor more guilty. That is like stating that a mass murderer who kills ten people is a better person than one who kills twenty. Comparisons, like the above, are called false equivalences or logical fallacies.
Instead of blaming religion or atheism for wars lets pause for a moment. Current human behavior is driven by the “territorial imperative”. Just like our prehistoric ancestors. We defend our title to our land or the sovereignty of our country for reasons no different than do animals. Territoriality is hard wired in our brains. There is actually only one human race left, using the biological definition of race. Our version has been so aggressive that we eliminated all other similar races from the earth, the Neanderthals being the last ones. According to Robert Ardey in “the Territorial Imperative” this is why property owners act when disputing a fence or how nations behave. Ardey, long before the war ended, predicted that because of the “Territorial Imperative” America would lose and North Vietnam would win. Many religious wars were basically territorial disputes. In prehistoric times, the God-emperors, would attack rival tribes when they grew beyond their boundaries and needed more “lebensraum”. The other tribe was ruled by the devil so most ancient wars were “religious” wars. Our “race” is particularly aggressive and murderous. Territorial conflicts can be as small as a seat, the space around your car when driving, causing road rage, fences, gang territory, or as large as a nation, when it needs resources such as food, minerals or oil. The bible is full of examples of “religious” wars, such when Moses, eliminated by genocide, many tribes in the “Holy” land because the land was needed to expand his tribe. This is morally justified in the bible’ so if we want to get rid of wars, it is not only religion we must get rid of, but we must recognize and overcome our hardwired territorial instincts which were so successful in the past and resulting of the human animal dominating the earth. It has become a liability in the modern world. We have the capacity for reasoning, which is lacking in non-human animals so let’s use it. We must develop a new set of morals (laws) benefitting every human on earth. If we fail to do so and cling to the ancient “morals” of the past which were a result of our territorial instincts, we are doomed.
Instead of blaming religion or atheism for wars lets pause for a moment. Current human behavior is driven by the “territorial imperative”. Just like our prehistoric ancestors. We defend our title to our land or the sovereignty of our country for reasons no different than do animals. Territoriality is hard wired in our brains. There is actually only one human race left, using the biological definition of race. Our version has been so aggressive that we eliminated all other similar races from the earth, the Neanderthals being the last ones. According to Robert Ardey in “the Territorial Imperative” this is why property owners act when disputing a fence or how nations behave. Ardey, long before the war ended, predicted that because of the “Territorial Imperative” America would lose and North Vietnam would win. Many religious wars were basically territorial disputes. In prehistoric times, the God-emperors, would attack rival tribes when they grew beyond their boundaries and needed more “lebensraum”. The other tribe was ruled by the devil so most ancient wars were “religious” wars. Our “race” is particularly aggressive and murderous. Territorial conflicts can be as small as a seat, the space around your car when driving, causing road rage, fences, gang territory, or as large as a nation, when it needs resources such as food, minerals or oil. The bible is full of examples of “religious” wars, such when Moses, eliminated by genocide, many tribes in the “Holy” land because the land was needed to expand his tribe. This is morally justified in the bible’ so if we want to get rid of wars, it is not only religion we must get rid of, but we must recognize and overcome our hardwired territorial instincts which were so successful in the past and resulting of the human animal dominating the earth. It has become a liability in the modern world. We have the capacity for reasoning, which is lacking in non-human animals so let’s use it. We must develop a new set of morals (laws) benefitting every human on earth. If we fail to do so and cling to the ancient “morals” of the past which were a result of our territorial instincts, we are doomed.
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