On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 18:32:07 GMT, "Jay Honeck"
wrote:

Jeez, I turn my attention away from this thread for a day or two, and look
what happens! Talk about bitter dissension!

Jay, it always comes to this when people start calling others' belief
systems delusional and amoral.

However, I believe some posters have been trying to state the obvious, which
is: Religion is a powerful force for both good and evil. Gullible people
can be misled easily with the whole "fear of eternal damnation" threat.

They can be misled more easily through the basic peer pressure of
"conform, or else we won't like you very much". Any middle school is a
breeding ground for that. So was Russian Communism, for that matter.

And it works the other way, too! Just look how many fools have been
recruited by the fundamentalist, radical "Islamo-Fascists" in the Middle
East! These dupes are lured into doing the ultimate evil, simply by having
"eternity in paradise" promised to them. How many more children and
innocents must be blown to smithereens so that this sick, parasitic version
of Islam can flourish?

Well, a couple of points of order: Islamofascism isn't flourishing;
all the people under its boot are doing rather poorly, including
(thanks in no small part to U.S. intervention) the leaders of the
movement.

I mean, think about it: Their hatred is so pure, that if they had the
means, they'd have attacked a second time. So far the best they can do
since 9/11/01 seems to be to sneak explosives in, disguised as
innocent civilian traffic, and detonate it.

Second, I don't think you'd have the suicide bombers without the
desparate poverty of the common people in those areas, especially
Palestine. But the same thugs who foment Islamofascism are largely
responsible for keeping those people impoverished anyway, precisely
because they take hopeless people and brainwash them with a very false
interpretation of an otherwise peaceful religious belief system.

Does anyone honestly think there would be suicide attacks WITHOUT religion
assuring them of "eternal life"?

Yes. A charismatic person reasoning under a humanistic belief system
could tell hopeless people that their sacrifices are for the "good of
Mankind", (or the "Good of the Fatherland", or "the Motherland") and
that they must spend their lives to ensure it.

Train 'em from age three or so, (heck, you could probably start at age
seven and still pull it off) and you'll have your warriors.

THAT is the evil side of religion, ladies
and gentlemen -- and it must be addressed in any serious discussion of
religion.

How many suicide attackers have come out of Catholicism, Shinto,
Buddhaism, any Protestant denomination, Sikh, Baha'i, Mormonism, any
pagan system, or Scientology?

I tell you three times: it's not the source of evil acts, even if it
is the excuse.

Anyhow, I only meant to comment on the rudeness of the religious zealots

Yeah, I know. Again, the best approach to those types is to a) ignore
them, or b) stand your ground and watch them make a public scene. The
crowd will sympathize with *you*.

It's sad that this thread -- probably the longest I've ever seen -- ended up
the way it did. I guess pilots are no different than the rest of the world
in this regard...

It's said of the military that it's composed of a proportional
sampling of all of America. I don't see why the private pilots in the
United States or anyplace else would have outlooks any different than
the rest of the population.

Rob