Glad to be here!

[zandurian]

Hello Zandurian. I'm sorry I missed this thread until just now. Welcome.  

What you said above is exactly why I'm here. I read a brilliant post by an atheist on the city-data forum which outlined your general points. I believe you (and her) are absolutely correct.

Someone countered that Osama Bin Laden is neither poor nor uneducated but I think they missed the point: One evil genius can exploit the fear and insecurity of people who live in the kind of ignorance and poverty and insecurity you describe. Nazi Germany is another example where a leader rose up and took advantage of people's fears and created a common enemy to blame all their woes on (the Jews) and look what happened.

By the same token (AISI) as long as Christians and Muslims blame the devil and infidels for our problems and as long as atheists blame religion and a belief in God for our problems - neither group is helping much. I do appreciate the practical myth busting power of reason AND the philosophical power of faith. But as long as an "us verses them" mentality prevails it seems we are hurting ourselves.

That said - I do recognize the divisive and destructive power of religious fundamentalism.