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  1. #81
    Quote Originally Posted by ag666 View Post
    On War and religion.

    Wars are started by individuals or small groups of individuals. Religion may or may not play its part in that (mostly it's greed and macho ambitions), but you have to remember that wars are not fought by those who start them. They are fought by OTHER people. And it takes religion (belief in god/money or patriotism - which is a form of religion too) to make OTHER people fight your war. Without people who are willing to fight for you - there will be NO WARS. That is why religion (all forms) should go. As it is THE tool to make wars happen.
    So remove societal dependence. Good luck with changing human nature. That is not the definition of religion, and specificity exists for a reason.

    OT: Make technology advance quicker.
    Last edited by Caiada; 2012-02-08 at 10:42 AM.

  2. #82
    Deleted
    Ban all the ponies!

  3. #83
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by Dendrek View Post
    I laughed.

    It's unavoidable that it would be biased, but I was actually trying to be as objective as I am able. I know I came across as being very cynical, and perhaps I am, but I can't help observing that even some of the nicest religious people I know are capable of some horrible declarations or actions of intolerance and bigotry and feel fully justified because of their beliefs.
    Yeah, that's understandable. Alot of the points you make are good ones, too. But one thing that struck me when reading was when you said "religion almost represents everything horrible about humans", which I think we could simply say "religion almost represents everything about humans". So while your post isnt essentially incorrect, I could see how it's possible to make almost exactly the same post, just opposite (without lying) making religion sound great.

    Again, hate is a constant of human nature, but hate when possessed by a religious person is, in my opinion, especially dangerous because to them it is completely and unarguably justified
    Good pont. However, I think the core problem here is irrationality, ignorance and the notion of dogma rather than religion itself. In a world without religion there is still propaganda, people can still be "brainwashed", so to speak.

    I really think some form of religion has it's place in modern society, for various reasons. People often compare it to science as if that could replace it, but science is not about emotional coherence/passionate commitment. At various times religious teaching has incorporated the best available understanding of nature and there is no reason I can see for that agreement not to be restored, but it must be accompanied by the ability to revise and change. The problem is authoritarian dogma and irrational belief, things that are not exlusively religious.
    Last edited by mmoc23f1c456d3; 2012-02-08 at 11:11 AM.

  4. #84
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    Quote Originally Posted by smokii View Post
    a universal language. 1 language for all mankind so we can all communicate and understand each other properly - it'll happen eventually, but it will take hundreds if not thousands of years.

    or we all need to be granted telekenetic powers and the power to read minds - superpowers will save us all!
    The day when we've got 1 universal language is the day that our culture is dead.

  5. #85
    I am Murloc! Mister K's Avatar
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    Magic can only make it save our world in 1 change.

    On more serious note, there won't be a change by reforming 1 thing, there will be many.

    First of All we would need to reform the Governments considering 90% of Worlds Government is corrupt whether you like it or not, has been hiding themself behind propaganda and mainstream media news. Once we have a "better" Government where Big Corporations can no longer dictate it and the Government actually listens to people we can start with the rest of changes.

    We will need to start educating people in wider spectrum then what we do these days. Many teachers don't even know how to work with Children, they are either too strict or too soft. Watch Zeitgeist and interviews with Jacque Fresco they pickup on social behaviour that effects humans (our environment effects us in many ways).

    From there, start ignoring money and look at things with more scientific and knowledgeable view. Help the poor by providing for them and educating them, poverty can be fixed today but not without the Rich since money is the true leader of the world at this day and age. Building schools, medical centres and self sustaining food farms in 3rd world countries because we have the known how to do so and resources but due to our economic systems no one really wants to do it unless it relies on Donations.

    Once Government, Education System, Working away from Money or Working more sensibly without being greedy we can fix the world in many ways.

    Also dumping oil and coal, working with geothermal, solar, wind, wave and other energy productions and focusing development on that will make the world even more better. Eventually if the money is still present, the energy cane VERY cheap because we have plenty of it.

    People say Water is an issue. We live on a planet which water occupies 70% of the World, we have water although most of it Salt water we have system to easily solve that issue and if it is not enough, can always focus development on it.

    Plenty of more solutions, ideas.

    PS:

    I am still at College, I get my information through forums and the independent news outlets as well as documentaries so my knowledge and solutions aren't amazing but at least something.

    Take a look at this site.
    http://www.wesolveforx.com/

    Solve for X is a place to hear and discuss radical technology ideas for solving global problems. Radical in the sense that the solutions could help billions of people. Radical in the sense that the audaciousness of the proposals makes them sound like science fiction. And radical in the sense that there is some real technology breakthrough on the horizon to give us all hope that these ideas could really be brought to life.

    -K

  6. #86
    The Unstoppable Force Elim Garak's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomatketchup View Post
    The day when we've got 1 universal language is the day that our culture is dead.
    And good riddance!

  7. #87
    I am Murloc! Mister K's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Tomatketchup View Post
    The day when we've got 1 universal language is the day that our culture is dead.
    While 1 Language may seem like the Culture is dead that is totally untrue. Is American, Australian, British, Canadian etc... culture dead? They all speak English and there are many other examples. I believe that eventually the less spoken languages will get phased out as English. Mandarin and possibly German and French will be the main language people speak.

    The language will evolve and Culture which ever way you define it will stay, just going to be interpreted in a different way.
    -K

  8. #88
    Quote Originally Posted by Fresh View Post
    Nuke the United States. Done.
    Fixed that for you, sir :P

  9. #89
    What am I saving the world from?
    Last edited by Niku; 2012-02-08 at 12:33 PM.

  10. #90
    The Lightbringer Shakadam's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Seegtease View Post
    Riiiight, because people only fight, murder, starve, steal, and lie for reasons other than religion about .1% of the time. Atheists are automatically the most perfect people on the planet, since they don't have a religion, right? Oh wait, that makes no sense whatsoever.

    Most religions bring moral codes that society follows that if it were all suddenly gone, we'd live in a very cutthroat society.

    People are just going to be nice just because they don't believe in a diety. They're still going to kill other people and take their stuff. I'd wager that people, on an individual level, would be much, much worse. Religion gets a bad rap in many cases because it's a group thing. People tend to behave very differently in a group than when alone.

    I don't know about you, but an "every man for himself" society sounds terrible. And without religion, there would be a lot less community and a lot more self-serving individuality.

    Of course, all of this is moot, because telling someone what they can and cannot believe is fucking terrible, and we all know it. Telling someone they can't believe in what they want is as bad as telling someone they must believe in a god. Would you want that? No, of course not. So don't think forcing people to change their beliefs will cause anything but more problems.

    Nations that have had religions bans are, historically speaking, really awful.
    You misunderstand me. I don't mean to ban "free thought", people are free to believe whatever the hell they want, but they can do so PRIVATELY.

    Using religion to "justify" certain actions or thoughts or morals in public.... THAT'S what I want banned. Because it has never led to anything good.

  11. #91
    Evolution has programmed us (and all lifeforms) to be warlike and compete with each other. Its how we evolve. Now, give such a species weapons powerful enough to destroy the planet, and you clearly see the problem. The only solution, therefore, is to somehow alter our programming to make us no longer warlike, no longer interested in endless competition. That would require some pretty advanced bio-engineering though. Another radical solution is to go "the Matrix" route and put the entire human race in suspended animation. Let them make war and compete in a virtual reality, so they don't actually destroy the planet. The trouble is, it'd have to be everyone. Just one person outside the system would wreck it.

  12. #92
    Quote Originally Posted by Grummgug View Post
    Evolution has programmed us (and all lifeforms) to be warlike and compete with each other. Its how we evolve. Now, give such a species weapons powerful enough to destroy the planet, and you clearly see the problem. The only solution, therefore, is to somehow alter our programming to make us no longer warlike, no longer interested in endless competition. That would require some pretty advanced bio-engineering though. Another radical solution is to go "the Matrix" route and put the entire human race in suspended animation. Let them make war and compete in a virtual reality, so they don't actually destroy the planet. The trouble is, it'd have to be everyone. Just one person outside the system would wreck it.
    Wouldn't video games suffice for the last part?

  13. #93
    Deleted
    "Shut up and smoke that. It's the law."
    - Bill Hicks

  14. #94
    Deleted
    Quote Originally Posted by NotoriousJesus View Post
    While 1 Language may seem like the Culture is dead that is totally untrue. Is American, Australian, British, Canadian etc... culture dead? They all speak English and there are many other examples. I believe that eventually the less spoken languages will get phased out as English. Mandarin and possibly German and French will be the main language people speak.

    The language will evolve and Culture which ever way you define it will stay, just going to be interpreted in a different way.
    The problem is that America, Britian, Canada and Australia have shared cultures in the form of British colonies. Languages have a lot more with culture to do than just being a language people speak. It defines the way persons communicate and how we intepret things, and also defines our own people (fika, lagom).

    This might be a horrible anagram, but think like this: Swedish are hardcore players. English are casuals. There are more casuals than hardcore, so while everyone talks the same language (does the same raids), that's nice, but the hardcore speaks the same language, albeit perhaps more different and some words thrown in (like heroic raids where you get the same bosses but with some other features thrown in to make it feel different from other languages).

  15. #95
    Make people incapable of commiting crimes (against each other or nature in general). it might not solve everything but would at least be a step in the right direction

  16. #96
    Deleted
    A zombie apocalypse because of this:


  17. #97
    Mandatory Military Service for 2-4 years. Regardless of wealth or athletic ability (who 99% of kids look up to), and barring any sort of legitimate physical conditions, everyone will serve one tour in the U.S. Military. It will breed out the laziness, irresponsibility, sense of entitlement, and general pussification that has becomes our country.

  18. #98
    http://www.southparkstudios.com/full...0e12-go-god-go

    Removing religion doesn't fix the problem, it just changes the nature of the problem. I wish I could find the quote about how science itself could become like a religion, all it takes is people picking and choosing the science they believe in.

    Quote Originally Posted by Shakadam View Post
    You misunderstand me. I don't mean to ban "free thought", people are free to believe whatever the hell they want, but they can do so PRIVATELY.

    Using religion to "justify" certain actions or thoughts or morals in public.... THAT'S what I want banned. Because it has never led to anything good.
    Not free thought, just free expression.
    “Logic: The art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding.”
    "Conservative, n: A statesman who is enamored of existing evils, as distinguished from the Liberal who wishes to replace them with others."
    Ambrose Bierce
    The Bird of Hermes Is My Name, Eating My Wings To Make Me Tame.

  19. #99
    Quote Originally Posted by Stickybuds View Post
    Yeah, that's understandable. Alot of the points you make are good ones, too. But one thing that struck me when reading was when you said "religion almost represents everything horrible about humans", which I think we could simply say "religion almost represents everything about humans". So while your post isnt essentially incorrect, I could see how it's possible to make almost exactly the same post, just opposite (without lying) making religion sound great.
    In my original post I point out some of the good qualities of religions. There may be more that I didn't consider. But as for making religion sound great: I'd be interested in seeing someone succeed at that. Religion is a lot like Communism in that it sounds great when you hear about the idealized theory of what it should be. But as soon as you see it in action, you begin to see that it is easily corrupted and impossible to make perfect.

    Good pont. However, I think the core problem here is irrationality, ignorance and the notion of dogma rather than religion itself. In a world without religion there is still propaganda, people can still be "brainwashed", so to speak.
    I tried to make this point in my previous posts. It is human beings that are the problem (which is why getting rid of religion isn't enough to stop all of the world's issues - it only stops the numerous issues that religions tend to perpetuate).

    I really think some form of religion has it's place in modern society, for various reasons. People often compare it to science as if that could replace it, but science is not about emotional coherence/passionate commitment. At various times religious teaching has incorporated the best available understanding of nature and there is no reason I can see for that agreement not to be restored, but it must be accompanied by the ability to revise and change. The problem is authoritarian dogma and irrational belief, things that are not exlusively religious.
    I agree with this point, but for a different reason than you imply. Human beings need hope. They need love. They need answers. They need guidance. They easily get all four from religion. It is possible to find these outside of religion, but it's not as easy and it's not as satisfying to a lot of people. So even if we could somehow get rid of all existing religions, more would inevitably appear. And that's not something that can be stopped unless we can stop the reason for their existence.

  20. #100

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