01-07-2010, 07:20 PM
Quote: My statement was in reply to eppie's claim that the fall of Rome was due entirely to Christianity.
--Pete
Of course, my statement was more to start a discussion. Of cours my opinion is that christianity is to blame for far more than our history (the one we in the west are teached in schools) tells us.
Ashock.....you think in groups instead of in individuals. Of course christianity has had the enlightenment and Islam hasn't.......but first, this was due to a stronger influence of science and second, it doens't say anything about individual religious persons. The main reason we see this big difference between christianity and islam nowadays is that most islamic countries are poor (3rd and 2nd world) while most christian are rich.....(christianity in sudan, is not the same as it is in Nowneck, Virginia).
Another reason is that because of our socio economical system, science and technology are much too important in our societies to give religious freaks any influence.
Saying that it is easy to see that without the influence of atheists and scientists also in the west the christian freaks would loose their borders and start behaving like we see in many islamic countries.
Enlightenment or not, religious people everywhere are all just as stubborn and hard-headed.....it requires only one strong leader to stand up and they all start running behind him and commit hideous crimes like that have been doing always. (see former Yougoslavia for example).