But I said "organized religion". Organized religion = MAN.

Unless you feel God created religion, in which case one would have to wonder why it was necessary for God to make so many of them and force us to choose the right one. Not only would that be unnecessary, but it would be sadistically deceitful.

Oh, by the way...

I'm sure you can, but you're missing the point.

I didn't make up a list of "awful things", I made a list of things that come as a DIRECT result of religion and religion's teachings. Keep in mind that when I use the word "religion", I'm not just talking about your particular religion or beliefs. There are a plethora of different religions.

i agree with you. but i am just saying not to blame the religion because some men have perverted it. In fact i have used your arguement with my father that is against me playing poker.

Although he does not have any biblical bases to say that it is wrong. He contends that gambling, even though we do not group poker with house games others do, has ruined peoples lives. which is true.

my response to him is that "religion" has probably destroyed more peoples lives than anything else ever has or ever will.

so my question to him is "are you going to blame poker and religion for mans perversion of it"

there are some religions that directly cause conflict. christianity does not. Mans perversion of christianity and the bible have certainly caused a lot of destruction.

i agree 100% with you on that.

you are right. religion=man. sometimes i use the term religion to talk about christianity or the belief in the bible, and that is really wrong. so it seems that i have misunderstood what you point was, and for that i am sorry.

as i have wrote in another thread, i do not like "religion" which is just a man made structure and it causes me great pain when i see people who pervert Gods Word for there own agenda.

that is why i keep saying not to fault the Bible or God because of what you have seen "religion" do, because the two of them can often be very different and sometimes opposite. Jesus was way more harsh on the "religious" people than anyone else, because they should know better.

Justin A--

I would like to point out that both of these are passages from the old testament. I asked for passages from the New Testament.