What I wrote about religious violence and religious brainwashing.

"If an imaginary god keeps most people moral...is society better off believing the fantasy?"

The problem is the god-soaked have a very long history of violence and genocide.

Another problem is the brainwashing. This is child abuse. The victims learn how to be cowardly morons. There is nothing moral about abusing children.

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Somebody else from Australia answered the same question. It was very well done and I agree with it. Here it is:

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Morality is based on what is in the best interests of the society

It may be very comforting to fantasize there's a nice old man at the helm, with a pipe in his mouth, his sailors' cap set at a jaunty angle steering our lives into a beautiful sunset but....

How could the biblical authors, who were said to have been so close to God and what he knew, have been so ignorant?

Just think how insightful a book that actually came from a Creator would be...
Beautiful mathematics, comprehensive laws of physics, clear biology, consistent morality and ethics among other gems.

Instead we get a bizarre book on talking snakes, burning bushes, slaves, neolithic philosophy and a strange preoccupation with everyone's sex life.

Quite frankly, if you need the carrot and stick idea of heaven and hell to behave, then you're not a moral person at all; you're a sociopath leashed by fear and self-interest.

If the only thing keeping you from being a horrible person is religion you’re already a horrible person.

As an atheist, my morals are the only thing stopping me from becoming a pastor and exploiting your gullibility for profit.

-- Everard