cash_longfellow
Member
Nuclear weapons…it is what will inevitably destroy us if natural events don’t get us first, ie asteroid impact or something of that nature.
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What is mankind's worst invention?
- Thread starter IDKFA
- Start date
StreetsofBeige
Member
We can agree to disagree. I dont believe in religion either.
But what is a no doubter is that religion is a one way street. If a religious person wants to push through culture and religion at work, most places will say yes. Government will too.
If someone pushed Atheism at work or a group does a parade down the street as their own anti-religious message (which is their own kind of religion of not being religious), everyone knows that would be struck down asap.
IDKFA
Member
Do you have any examples of people trying to force region on others in the work place and the employer/Gov accepting this? General religious tolerance doesn't count.
How would somebody "push" atheism at work? What does that even mean?
People protest against region all the time and still do in a lot of western nations.
StreetsofBeige
Member
Sikh Marine recruits can keep their turbans and beards throughout training, court rules | CNN
A federal appeals court ruled on December 23 that three Sikh men should be allowed to go through US Marine Corps recruit training with their turbans and beards intact.
Easy to push Athesim. While other people might pull out a carpet and pray for 10 minutes in their cubicle (Ive seen it many times), another person can say they arent religious and post a message on their door.
One is tolerated, one isnt.
IDKFA
Member
Sikh Marine recruits can keep their turbans and beards throughout training, court rules | CNN
A federal appeals court ruled on December 23 that three Sikh men should be allowed to go through US Marine Corps recruit training with their turbans and beards intact.www.cnn.com
Easy to push Athesim. While other people might pull out a carpet and pray for 10 minutes in their cubicle (Ive seen it many times), another person can say they arent religious and post a message on their door.
One is tolerated, one isnt.
The two articles you posted are examples of religious tolerance. This is something successful multicultural societies have had for thousands of years.
Atheism is tolerated. You can be atheist at work, but you can't tell people not to wear a turban because your an atheist because that goes against religious tolerance.
Rest
All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
StreetsofBeige
Member
You've probably never worked with old Muslim women before at an office.
FunkMiller
Member
All I’ll say in response to this is that I think it’s very sad that someone has filled your head with this nonsense about who and what atheists are. I’m not surprised about it, but I do find it disappointing that there are people in this world who actually think this, and propagate it to others. I’d love you to understand what atheism actually is, but I don't think you’re ever likely to accept it, given how you’ve been taught.
R6Rider
Member
ZehDon
Member
We'd just have more poll options in this thread.
MrSinoox
Neo Member
Would we have a functioning and thriving soceity without religion? Religion can hold back progress, but it is responsible for culture and community. I mean you can hate religion and at the same time recognize its useful functions.
Sorry for the double post.
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The Fartist
Member
Hyperborean
Member
Shirts.
People have far too many kids - the planet is fucked because of a population crisis, not because of the availability of food.
We should enforce a hard limit of 2-3 children per family.
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IDKFA
Member
Farming? Without agriculture we'd still be hunter gather tribes. We wouldn't have advanced at all.
I initially was going to say this but wihout the threat of a higher power I think we'd be overall worse as a society. Despite the atrocities religion introduced morals to a lot of people.
nkarafo
Member
Religion was the reason humanity stopped evolving for many centuries during the dark ages. It's also one most effective ways to brainwash commoners into wars. So it's the worst overall.
Other than that, social media is the cancer of any modern, secular, peaceful society. No positives, just bad influence, horrible role models, peak narcissism and egomania from everyone involved.
Other than that, social media is the cancer of any modern, secular, peaceful society. No positives, just bad influence, horrible role models, peak narcissism and egomania from everyone involved.
IDKFA
Member
I need to push back on this. The Romans, Greeks and Egyptians were advanced civilisations and all of them religious. And let's also throw in the huge advances made in mathematics during the Golden Age of Islam during the 9th and 10th centuries.
The dark ages is an outdated term for what I'm assuming you're referring to as the early mediaeval period. In some ways civilization in Europe wasn't as advanced during this period because of the collapse of the Western Roman Empire. However, it wasn't as backwards as some believe, and certainly wasn't due to religion.
Fugitive Sex
Member
Whilst your defence is appreciated, and it would take a lot more to discuss the topic in detail, it is extremely dubious to claim an Islamic 'golden age', when the majority of their 'accomplishments' were due to works looted from Greeks and their cities in the east; it paints a highly inaccurate picture.
I find it interesting that you bear an image of Marcus Aurelius, yet also have no trouble claiming that the Roman collapse and subsequent dark ages were not contributed by religion. Backwards as many believe, no, but vastly degenerated.
We need only look at subsequent Islamic invasions onto formerly civilised lands to see further regression.
It may, perhaps, be more accurate to say that Abrahamic religions are up there with the worst of human creations.
VAVA Mk2
Member
So 4Chan?
IDKFA
Member
While it is true Indian a Greek mathematical systems were used as a foundation, it resulted in advancements such as the first systematised study of algebra and the Tusi couple.
The era also saw advancements in astronomy, physics, biology and much more that it could be considered a golden age for science and discovery.
Religion didn't prevent Rome from becoming one of the greatest Empires in history, and also wasn't responsible for the collapse of Western Roman Empire (The Eastern Empire survived until the 15th century)
The so-called dark ages were also not a result of religion and it's not a claim I've heard before in all my years studying history. I'd also stress that the term 'dark ages' is outdated because there were advances made in this period.
It would appear you're suggesting that the Umayyad Caliphate was less civilised than say, the Visigothic Kingdom. What makes you suggest that?
When people say religion in this thread, they're really referring to Christianity, Islam and Jewdaism. They're not referring to the polytheistic religions of ancient Greece, Rome or Egypt because clearly religion didn't hold back these civilizations.
Therefore, can we truly say that religion is the worst invention?
Rest
All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.
The Greeks started really developing what would become the scientific method and objective, empirical thought when their philosophers and thinkers started rejecting their religion as literal and their creation myth entirely.
IDKFA
Member
Yet, their city states were still religious. Religion didn't hold them back. Aristotle was not held back for not believing in the traditional stories of Gods as being real beings.
Also, not all the great thinkers of this age rejected their religious beliefs.
winjer
Member
But they were also very constrained by their religious beliefs.
An example if that ancient Greeks would not accept the concept of zero, because of religious beliefs, severely limiting their abilities to innovate in math.
killatopak
Member
I could see benefits with every single one of them except cigarette. I say this as a smoker myself.
IDKFA
Member
I'm surprised I haven't see war mentioned yet.
If you think about, war is easily the worst invention of humanity. For thousands of years, pointless wars have been fought for mostly nonsensical reasons. It has killed millions upon millions of people, takes up an incredible amount of resources/money and has not only has held us back in the past but is still holding us back now.
War has done and is doing far more damage than religion ever could. Therefore, I'd have to say war is the worst invention in human history.
If you think about, war is easily the worst invention of humanity. For thousands of years, pointless wars have been fought for mostly nonsensical reasons. It has killed millions upon millions of people, takes up an incredible amount of resources/money and has not only has held us back in the past but is still holding us back now.
War has done and is doing far more damage than religion ever could. Therefore, I'd have to say war is the worst invention in human history.
GardenOfAbbylon
Member
I'm not going to get into semantics, but honestly, I think the concept of unchecked capitalism and the stock market was the worst thing to be invented.
Claus Grimhildyr
Vincit qui se vincit
It has also, at times, pushed scientific advancement and helped billions of individuals. Religion is both good and evil.
Social Media on the other hand is *only* evil.
Azurro
Member
Worst invention ever?
Religion. The religions of the world have done so much to stifle human advancement, it's absolutely horrifying and upsetting to think about how much further we could have advanced by now without religion holding us back. High fashion is pretty bad too.
If you want a tangible invention, the Snuggie;
I used to think religion was holding us back. However, what the last couple of decades have proven is that man made god in his image, and when man abandons god, he will make a new one.
The decline in religious fervor, instead of bringing about the greatest tech revolutions
in history, what it has brought is people not knowing what is a woman and society pushing for racism as long as it's the "right" type of racism.
winjer
Member
Religion is not some safe guard against the extreme left refusing basic Biology concepts.
The reality is that Biology is scientific field, under attack by propaganda. And it's not the first time we have seen science being attacked like this.
One thing is to be open to accept people with different views on their sexuality, but the far left has gone way past this point, and is actively denying reality.
Today, we have scientists in several fields, being censured because of political extremism.
Using religion to fight this gender propaganda, is just trading one delusion for another.
Azurro
Member
It kind of is though, you have to admit religion provides a very useful moral framework, kind of like a McDonald's version of morality, nowhere near perfect but it's pre packaged and ready to be used. It also helps with people's notions of group identity.
The total abandonment of it has lead to the current zeitgeist, or at least significantly contributed to it, the repudiation of reality. This new way of looking at the world is like when Homer Simpson was put in charge of deciding a new car and came up with this retarded monstrosity.
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NeoIkaruGAF
Member
Social media proved that societies were much more organized and productive under a few tenets propagated by central authority. The problem with social media is, everyone has a voice and everyone can listen to it and find merit in it. Yes, in the past a lot of good ideas were silenced, censored and repressed without any other reason that the people in power didn’t like them. But we had much more social stability, even if sometimes this came at the cost of living under a de facto tyranny. While I love the democratic nature of the internet, I don’t see how social media made societies richer, more stable, more productive, and less prone to abuse from above. Big companies and governments must absolutely love the social divides sparked by and through social media, and whoever thinks they repress some voices because those aren’t true is delusional.
Not true at all.
If you’re referring to Christianity and Islam, well, then it’s much more than 400 years.
Anyway, I don’t see how people fail to recognize that all human civilizations were mostly religious to a degree up to the end of the last century. It’s not possible to say that religion blocked advancement in any field of human skill, because all advancements happened in religious societies. So much of Ancient Egyptian writing, tech, art and architecture was about religion. Agricultural tools were invented and perfectioned in the “dark and ignorant” Middle Ages. The Bible was the first book printed with Gutenberg’s revolutionary printing method. Architecture thrived under Christianity, making incredible technical advances (that’s science too, you know). Maths, astronomy and medicine advanced under Islam, even more than under Christianity for a long while. The existence of the Church didn’t hinder Galileo’s curiosity, and couldn’t stop his discoveries from making the rounds and bringing about a scientific revolution - by the way, you can hardly argue that the major scientists in the 16th and 17th century, when so many scientific advancements were made, were all atheists. The idea of religion being a nefarious force comes from the Illuminists, and we all know that the French Revolution didn’t go that far in their project to secularize society.
Finally, the Christian Church is the main reason Roman culture and knowledge wasn’t wiped out completely after the structural and political fall of the western empire, and the Church was the main provider of education for rich and poor people equally for centuries. Catholic priests did more for the working masses in the industrial age than any government ever would or could.
Most wars weren’t fought because of religion. The Romans didn’t go to war because Jupiter wanted it, they just made rites to Jupiter before going to war because they believed that winning or losing was related to the gods’ favor. There was basically no war made because “Deus vult” before the Crusades. Didn’t prevent ancient peoples from engaging in battles that left a hundred thousand men on the ground in a single day.
Were the two World Wars fought in the name of religion? No, ironically enough it’s mostly those wars that sparked the whole “if God exists, why would He allow this?” argument that made many people’s faith waver.
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winjer
Member
Religion has been forced to change it's morality, in the last couple of centuries, because of new secular ideals.
If you look at the whole of human existence, too many times, religion was on the wrong side of good morals and ethics. Of course it has also been on the right side.
It also ha been saying different things, depending on the type of religion and it's interpretation. For example, Hindus will have different morals to Christians, Muslims, Zoantharians, etc.
And even inside one religion, different sects will have different sets of morals. For example, inside Christianity, there are different interpretations. That is why we had so many schisms within Christianity.
And even just within one religion and one sect, there are different interpretations along time. One Catholic Pope from the X Century has very different morals from a Pope from the XX Century.
So what moral is right? If you cherry-pick, everyone is right and everyone is wrong.
Religion has been been constantly repudiating reality. Just because this time, it kind of is fighting another delusion, doesn't mean it suddenly becomes a descritor of the real world.
Many times, religion has been against science, denying reality and prosecuting scientists. Several times with violence.
Just because religion agrees with biology and anthropology, on one point, doesn't erase millennia of cases where religion denied reality.
K2D
Member
Anything that serves to hold back, regress (or in the case of massive polarization i.e extreme conservatism or liberalism), lobotomizing society as a whole. So certain religions, social media, the capitalist system that practically only rewards greed and profit, the current petroleum industry, mercury and lead polluting industries. 'off the top of my head..
Dr.Morris79
Member
Worst invention? Thats too tough.. I can think of hundreds, heres a few..
Traffic Wardens
James fat bastard
Womens Jumpsuits, fucking look at it!! Terrible
Car Tax
There are actually thousands of shit ideas/inventions.
Traffic Wardens
James fat bastard
Womens Jumpsuits, fucking look at it!! Terrible
Car Tax
There are actually thousands of shit ideas/inventions.
64bitmodels
Reverse groomer.
nuclear bombs
to the people saying they cause peace, there are many crazy world leaders out there who dont give a shit about the safety of their citizens, family or even themselves. Humans are irrational. VERY irrational. if you think that the threat of everyone in the world dying is going to stop some egomaniac fueled with power you're seriously naive. the only solution to this dilemma is to just not have them period. get rid of all of them and then there's no risk of anyone dying due to some president or prime minister who was in a shitty mood that day
to the people saying they cause peace, there are many crazy world leaders out there who dont give a shit about the safety of their citizens, family or even themselves. Humans are irrational. VERY irrational. if you think that the threat of everyone in the world dying is going to stop some egomaniac fueled with power you're seriously naive. the only solution to this dilemma is to just not have them period. get rid of all of them and then there's no risk of anyone dying due to some president or prime minister who was in a shitty mood that day
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Beastclaw Raider
Member
Out of these picks, I didnt select other, I'd have to select cigarettes.
Social media can be the worst if you dont know how to select your appropriate content. If you can, it's a wonderful tool being able to be part of hobby communities all around the world and staying in touch/not feeling alone in what you enjoy.
Cigarettes are killing around 500000 persons every year, and it's completely useless and has no benefits whatsoever
Social media can be the worst if you dont know how to select your appropriate content. If you can, it's a wonderful tool being able to be part of hobby communities all around the world and staying in touch/not feeling alone in what you enjoy.
Cigarettes are killing around 500000 persons every year, and it's completely useless and has no benefits whatsoever
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