Alright, like I said this is a tough thing to explain so I needed a while to collect my thoughts before continuing.
These people are stupid, regardless of what their religion is. Their belief, that everyone who they suspect is like John and thus deserves some form of judgment/punishment, is messed up. No, I'm not saying Religion/science/whatever messed them up, that's just another way to throw that weight all over the place. It's just the way that the person was brought up, the collective of all the specific situations that the person has been through that makes him/her that way. When you think about it, religion in these cases is itself a victim, being used by some to promote their will onto others.
I'll pick up where we left off and give you a fine example of how religion is used to fuel wars and feuds. Take, for example, terrorists. They "say" they follow a specific religion, and they "say" that the only way to fulfill their god's will is to kill themselves and as many other innocents as possible. What about the people that follow that very same religion but never get around actually doing that? It's probably because the beliefs of those terrorists are different from the beliefs of those other people, but they still follow the same religion. Terrorists are fine examples of religious Extremists. Being devoted to a religion is not a bad thing, far from it, religion has a host of positive effects on any individual.
But, there's a limit, and that's when you mix your own fabricated beliefs with religion, and then make that your new one-and-only truth. You will believe you are never wrong of course, I mean you just shook hands with an entire religion! You'll keep sowing your own will into that religion until you are ready to go to an extreme to make that will happen, in the name of said religion. This is what an extremist does, and this is how they use religion to promote their own beliefs.
Now you might be wondering by now, what exactly religion is? Whether it's right or wrong? This brings me to an important point as I derail this a bit.
Everyone knows about the balance known as Ying and Yang right? You cannot have only one side of a coin. In other words, EVERYTHING in the universe has a down side, and an up side. Therefore, what of science and religion? Well, Science has the up-side of providing humanity with technology, ease of life, protection against the elements, and new techniques of physical sustenance. The down sides? Higher technology plunges us deeper into a world of stress, delivers the ever growing pressure of change, to a point where humanity may destroy itself. Religion, on the other hand, deals less with the physical and much more with the spiritual. Followers of a religion have a firm ground on which they can stand, reinforce their beliefs, and find a state of peace. But, religion leaves humankind vulnerable, as it does not offer any physical protection, nor does it fulfill humankind's thirst for new knowledge.
I hope you noticed something in the above description of science and religion: They complete themselves. Science offers knowledge of the physical world, while religion offers peace of mind. If one is absent, then we are left with a dangerous gap. Think for a second, without science we would be vulnerable in this harsh world. Without religion we would annihilate ourselves out of despair. I for one, being a man of science, would never want to live in a world without religion. That kind of life condition would simply not be humane anymore.
That being said, what about the truth? Is religion fact or fiction? This is a question that will haunt everyone at some time in their life. I will give you an answer. Religion is neither right nor wrong.
It cannot be right because religion is recounted to man by man himself, and mankind cannot be completely right.
Religion cannot be wrong either, because it is counted to man by man himself, and mankind cannot be completely wrong.
What does science say? Well, science is a fabrication of man, so it suffers the same problem. Science has yet to produce any proof that says "Religion is fake" or "Religion is real". No matter how you look at it, you will not be able to prove religion as right or wrong.
If some of you are still thinking "Well, religion says Adam and Eve blah blah says evolution is a lie when it isn't blah blah", well I'll let you take a look at religion from a different angle. Religion is composed of stories, when you read a story you will imagine it with your own set of colors, dimensions, etc. right? You will do the very same thing with stories of religion. Religion itself is not "exact". It is a metaphor, it expresses many different stories that may mean completely different things from what you might have imagined while reading it. This is both a blessing and a curse, as religion is a wonderful read that teaches anyone limitless moral, but it can also be heavily misinterpreted. I don't remember reading in the bible, word for word "Evolution didn't happen". That estimate is made by those who have failed to interpret the meaning of the bible. It's ironic that some devote their entire lives and go to extremes only to come short of gaining the true value of religion.
I'll let you guys think about this, maybe I should start using colors to make these walls of text seem less bland.
