 Daemon wrote: |
| Religions have generally been used to legimate wars. That is to say, the use the religion to convince the people that the war really is acceptable. After all, with most people it takes some convincing to have them risk their to go out and kill a bunch of people they've never met.
Often this just requires selective quoting, re-interpreting key parts, and the like. Sometimes it actually involves changing the religion itself. For example, in WWII the Japanese government essentially created an entirely new variety of Shinto for the purpose. |
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Indeed! The ultimate tool of hypnotists, marketing men, and mad megalomaniacs (often combined)!
I think it should also be understood that religion rarely represents God/s. Indeed, many many scriptures are scathing in their criricism of religion. Religion unfairly gives God/s a bad name.