GTCharlie: More blood has been spilled with secular philosophies than with religious ideologies. It's silly to talk about religion in these ways. It's painting with too wide a brush. And when people use the word "religion" many mean something different. Without a defining of terms, people can't really be sure what is exactly being claimed.

Übergeek usually has well thought out posts but in this case, he has some problems with logic. He says the root cause of the problem is organized religion but he really hasn't defined what "problem" he's discussing. The burning of the Koran, he seems to be saying, is just a symptom of "the problem." He goes on to say simply that organized religion is this problem. But he then emphasizes the problems that arise when religious claims compete. This explains nothing. Political claims compete too. So what of that?

He states: "I am sorry to say that in most churches (or mosques, sinagogues, temples, etc.) that I have seen, people are herded like sheep, all because that sheep instinct allows them to overcome any doubts they might have about their own beliefs."

This is not an argument. It's an ad hominem. I go to church and I certainly don't get herded like a sheep. I know of no one in mainstream Christianity that behaves this way. We question our leaders, study on our own, and often disagree with minor points. When we disagree with major points, we usually leave that congregation. It happens. Some reasons are good, others not so much. But the point is that people do think for themselves far more than Ubergeek suggests. And referring to people as "sheep" is simply a way to marginalize their intelligence. It's an old trick.

Next Ubergeek over generalizes. It's "most people" this and "most people" that. Sure, he's done a study on this.
" Then most people believe blindly. Most people don't realize that the religion they follow might have been born centuries ago, but its current beliefs might have sprung only in the last 300 years because most current organized religious sects did not exist before the Renaissance and the Enlightenment."

This argument is old and boring.

"Everyone is trying to impose human limitations on an infinite God,"

Everyone? hmmm, well I know of no one in my circle of friends that does that. I've never EVER sat in on any teaching that did this. This is pure nonsense.

" and the belief that a single book can contain EVERYTHING that there is to know about God"

I know of NO ONE that believes this regarding the Bible. It's NOT taught. We know as Believers that what we can know about God is very limited. But that the Bible is HIS revealed word to us and it tells us "something" about the nature of God. But EVERYTHING? We never have believed that.

The rest of Ubergeeks post is an over mischaracterization of what is believed by orthodox Christianity. It's typical uninformed babble and has no useful place in an informed discussion. His last few sentences show rather well his antagonism toward religion in general and his negative view of those who regard FAITH as something real and true.

"And at the root cause of human stupidity sits organized religion and the sheep that follow it. They need their opium and they go and get their dose every weekend."

snobbery at its best