You can't love something you don't understand.  We fill the gaps in our knowledge with xenophobia, and everything we are unfamiliar with becomes sinister. Which is why Islam is a towering spectre from the East threatening to engulf our civilisation, and why Wiccans worship the Devil, and why atheists are evil deceivers.

When you learn about people you notice that ultimately they're just people and we all act in pretty much the same way and the new kid with a headscarf can be your friend too and it's all just a liberal wet dream of multicultural harmony. Or something along those lines.
Unconditional love doesn't apply to only thing you understand. If children thought religion is just a mix of thoughts and ideas, and really is not significant and shouldn't be taken as seriously as it is, how can they be afraid of different religions? What you're suggesting is more like telling Christians that gays can't help that they are gay. Who cares if they can help it or not? No one has any right to think someone should be more like them. Instead, skip that step and go straight to the root(not religion, actually but in this case).

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PM me and we can have a chat.

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How would you know, we've never tried anything else.

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Unconditional love doesn't apply to only thing you understand. If children thought religion is just a mix of thoughts and ideas, and really is not significant and shouldn't be taken as seriously as it is, how can they be afraid of different religions? What you're suggesting is more like telling Christians that gays can't help that they are gay. Who cares if they can help it or not? No one has any right to think someone should be more like them. Instead, skip that step and go straight to the root(not religion, actually but in this case).

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Not human nature, human behavior. And that is completely variable depending on the system being applied to society. And most bad ideas come from the system itself. By the system, I am referring to our mix of institutions, including religious, political, educational, monetary, etc.

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There is also a strong imperative to look to the interests of one's own tribe, rather than sharing with all and sundry.

We're fundamentally suspicious, scheming and selfish animals. Evidenced by the fact that we're sitting here on nice shiny computers while adorable African orphans are dying of thirst with flies in their eyes.

There is also a strong imperative to look to the interests of one's own tribe, rather than sharing with all and sundry.
It's worked fine for us hasn't it? In a world where thousands and tens of thousands die of starvation every day, where billions live on less than two dollars a day, and you support such a world? Disgusting.

We're fundamentally suspicious, scheming and selfish animals. Evidenced by the fact that we're sitting here on nice shiny computers while adorable African orphans are dying of thirst with flies in their eyes.
Just because it's how it is, doesn't make it any less wrong. Like I said, this is only in our current system.

Post edited at 1:17 pm on Oct. 24, 2008 by Aimforthehead

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PM me and we can have a chat.

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How mature.

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It's worked fine for us hasn't it? In a world where thousands and tens of thousands die of starvation every day, where billions live on less than two dollars a day, and you support such a world? Disgusting.

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My personal feelings towards it were never expressed.

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Just because it's how it is, doesn't make it any less wrong. Like I said, this is only in our current system.

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Quote: from justin1990rm at 12:50 pm on Oct. 20, 2008

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also in the fifties and before we had religion in schools, blacks didnt have as many rights as whites

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What does this have to do with religion in schools?

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see pirates v global temperature on the first page

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Electronic music on your computer?    

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Quote: from Aimforthehead at 9:06 pm on Oct. 24, 2008

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How mature.

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Excuse me?

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It's worked fine for us hasn't it? In a world where thousands and tens of thousands die of starvation every day, where billions live on less than two dollars a day, and you support such a world? Disgusting.

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I said such a world is in alignment with human nature, which is why it exists in the first place.

My personal feelings towards it were never expressed.

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Just because it's how it is, doesn't make it any less wrong. Like I said, this is only in our current system.

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We're not talking about what is right or wrong. And it is, undeniably, how every system in history has worked. We form societies and mutually beneficial relationships within them. Everyone else is feared, exploited or ignored.

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Why did you bother saying anything then? I know how the system works, if you just wanted to repeat how it works you wasted your time...And I said how mature because you were basically saying fear things that are different from you because some things are dangerous.

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..?

And sorry I thought you were supporting how things were.

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PM me and we can have a chat.

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in the fifties and before when we had religion in schools we didn't have as many drug users, alchoholics, teen pregnancies,etc. that's why.

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I don't know about the alcohol and drug rates but I don't think you're basing that on anything more than hearsay either.

Post edited at 5:22 am on Oct. 25, 2008 by Its Bearsy Bitch

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It's a face, what did you think it was?

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Quote: from switchfoot52 at 12:46 pm on Oct. 20, 2008

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in the fifties and before when we had religion in schools we didn't have as many drug users, alchoholics, teen pregnancies,etc. that's why.

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Wrong, teen pregnancy rates were considerably higher back then.

I don't know about the alcohol and drug rates but I don't think you're basing that on anything more than hearsay either.

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Source? For either, really.

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Let yourself be enchanted,
You just might break through
To ever ever after

http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/tgr/05/1/gr050107.html

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It's a face, what did you think it was?