What do you say to a person who thinks that the world would be better off without religion?

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callmeChris

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This question has been bothering me for a while. My cousin as well as many other people throughout the world just a see as religion as ‘ethics’, and rules to ‘keep people in line’. Other people just see religion as a scourge to mankind, and still others say that religion, and spirituality cant go together… I believe in the Catholic Church, I hold and acknowledge the faith. But it bothers me to know that there are people who just defame not just the One true Apostolic Church, but all faiths of the world. What is your reply to such a statement? What did saints have to say regarding this issue, or in a more broader field the importance of religion (mainly the Church)?
 
I’d say: “There are days I wonder.” And then tell him about the days I don’t.
 
Everyone has a deeply held set of beliefs about morality and world origins. Whether it is called a “religion,” “life stance” or “theory,” and whether or not God is involved, it is the same thing.

If an atheist gets in your face and says “Religion is a crutch and if you had a clue you would help get rid of all religion,” calmly remind him that without freedom of religion you could call the police and have him arrested for blasphemy.
 
Just explain to them that the rules of Christianity are the same and not outside of Natural Law. In other words, Christian law is no different than the laws set by nature…

“For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things contained in the law, these, although not having the law, are a law unto themselves, their conscience also bearing witness.”
 
Well probably what you say is best in prayer. Prayer for their conversion and for their eyes to be opened up to God. Their hardened hearts will remain that way and nothing what you say or do will change that…only God.

People who begin to look interiorly are the ones who find God through many questions. They finally look at someone/something bigger than themselves. Until then people who say such remarks will just belittle religion and proclaim their own truth, the only difference it is not the Truth of the Christ and His Church. When Our Lord was on trial for Roman crucifixion He said He came to bear witness to the truth. Pontius Pilate sneered at Jesus saying “what is truth?” There will always be people like Pilate my friend. Trust in Jesus and His Holy name and pray that others will also.
 
Cat_Herder said:
Everyone has a deeply held set of beliefs about morality and world origins. Whether it is called a “religion,” “life stance” or “theory,” and whether or not God is involved, it is the same thing.

If an atheist gets in your face and says “Religion is a crutch and if you had a clue you would help get rid of all religion,” calmly remind him that without freedom of religion you could call the police and have him arrested for blasphemy.
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Yes, that’s really showing him the love of God.
 
callmeChris said:
This question has been bothering me for a while. My cousin as well as many other people throughout the world just a see as religion as ‘ethics’, and rules to ‘keep people in line’. Other people just see religion as a scourge to mankind, and still others say that religion, and spirituality cant go together… I believe in the Catholic Church, I hold and acknowledge the faith. But it bothers me to know that there are people who just defame not just the One true Apostolic Church, but all faiths of the world. What is your reply to such a statement? What did saints have to say regarding this issue, or in a more broader field the importance of religion (mainly the Church)?
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Let’s see. Without religion we wouldn’t have the vast majority of the world’s great art and music for starters - most of it has been either produced for religious purposes or under the patronage of religious leaders.

We wouldn’t have the civil law system in use in most countries, which was hugely influenced by the legal processes and procedures developed by the Catholic church, which most secular European governments ended up adopting.

We wouldn’t have the western world’s university system, which was begun under the auspices of the church.

We wouldn’t have education in general, or medicine, as we know them in the Western world - right up until the last two hundred years the vast majority of hospitals and schools have been run by religious.

Most of the world’s charitable organisations wouldn’t exist, they are motivated by religious principles and/or run by religious.

And all that’s just off the top of my head.

Yup, real blight on the world religion has been.
 
Simply ask them to think about the world they live in. 🙂 LilyM made all the most important points regarding that subject. Atheists are usually very ignorant when it comes to the history of religion and society. They always assume that religion is a separate cabal of conspirators bent on imposing themselves on eternally-secular society. Naturally, one must realise that our ‘secular’ society exists entirely in the light of Christianity. Now, in my experience, atheists tend to be left-wingers of a cultural or economic sort… where did the left-wing begin, but in honest Christian will to charity? It may have become corrupted over time, but at least you can poke and prod the liberal atheist by showing him that all he holds dear comes from heroic Christians with conviction in Christ crucified… 😉

It is important simply to remember that all civil and common law stems from the words of our Blessed Lord.
 
I would challenege them to prove their position… I had someone challenege me with this (very typical from a secularist) “Religion has caused more violence in this world than anything else”…

Oh really? Care to prove this one?

Well I mean… Just pick up a history book?!?

I don’t profess to be an expert, but I did minor in history… So while I’m not an expert, I certainly have picked up a history book or two. Could your prove your point?

…Just pick up a history book?..

repeat…
 
My experience is that individual atheists are usually very good people with high personal moral standards, high educational achievement and developed in the habits of pondering principles and issues.

But what they almost always fail to do is recognize that these standards of excellence NEVER transfer to general culture when the decision to embrace atheism is cuturally made. Whether we talk Napolean, Stalin, Mao or many others, the big leaders of humanity that championed atheism as the cure for the ills of religion have universally made the suffering and inhumane aspects of the human condition WORSE instead of better.

So my challenge to such “evangelical atheists” is to look deeper and investigate if those “ills of religion” are actually caused by the religious beliefs people hold to or are they caused by an underlying flaw in the human condition. On the rare occasion, I’ve had the priviledge of having them acknowledge the deeper human flaw, I’ve enjoyed informing them that they’ve just discovered the effects of Original Sin.
 
The thing I think about is asking atheists, and Catholics who believe religion is mostly evil, Who were the Godless Communists dying for? It certainly wasn’t God. During the Korean War, American fighter pilots heard radio transmissions from Russians flying Russian MiGs. And during the Cuban Missile Crisis, Intermediate Range Nuclear Missiles were just a few miles away from Florida.

For all those years when the United States was threatened by Russian ICBMs, which God were they willing to annihilate the world for? Current nuclear arsenals will still destroy the world twice over as opposed to four times over.

God bless,
Ed
 
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