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I'm not sure what your trying to say, but with the people of countries/areas like PNG, the only real option is to replace their violent, torturous and inhumane

I'm not sure what your trying to say, but with the people of countries/areas like PNG, the only real option is to replace their violent, torturous and inhumane superstition with one that is, at it's core, focussed on something more positive. These people are very spiritual and evangelising atheism simply would not work in the short or medium term. > "seem to fix the immediate problem" But the thing is, it is a fix to the immediate problem. Those people that were praying with her were praying. Not torturing and physically abusing. Even if you think it will just lead to issues down the road, we need to stop this torture and abuse in whatever way possible. In my opinion, the best way to do that without restructuring the government and pouring in money to cut down on corruption seems to be evangelising. But, what I'm more interested in knowing is why you're face-palming hard enough to leave marks. Yes, humans will do things that are horrible no matter what the religion, but what's so terrible about teaching them to follow doctrines that forbid what they're doing rather than ones that compound the problem?

vacri 13y ago
Catholicism has sin, shame, and guilt at its core. It's not 'focussed on something more positive' at all. Not to mention that Catholicism's upper echelons still believe in possession and exorcism - something which isn't going to particularly stop people who currently believe in 'black magic' - they'll just change the underlying story and still 'exorcise demons', but in their own way. Magic is still a significant tenet of Catholicism - transubstatiation is the very core of their doctrines. "Don't murder people because your black magic is not real, but this wafer and wine are literally flesh and blood"? Buddhism would be a better religion for this, if you were to choose one. Buddhism's basic goal is to get people to be happy with their lot in life, instead of Catholicism's angle that we're all sinners and only a magic man can cure you.
hughlomas 13y ago
It's not about "evangelizing atheism", it's about evangelizing knowledge. If someone in their community died, perform an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death and banish the specters of ignorance surrounding it. Create schools, encourage education. Praying is an empty gesture.

vacri 13y ago

Catholicism has sin, shame, and guilt at its core. It's not 'focussed on something more positive' at all. Not to mention that Catholicism's upper echelons still believe in possession and exorcism - something which isn't going to particularly stop people who currently believe in 'black magic' - they'll just change the underlying story and still 'exorcise demons', but in their own way. Magic is still a significant tenet of Catholicism - transubstatiation is the very core of their doctrines. "Don't murder people because your black magic is not real, but this wafer and wine are literally flesh and blood"? Buddhism would be a better religion for this, if you were to choose one. Buddhism's basic goal is to get people to be happy with their lot in life, instead of Catholicism's angle that we're all sinners and only a magic man can cure you.

hughlomas 13y ago

It's not about "evangelizing atheism", it's about evangelizing knowledge. If someone in their community died, perform an autopsy to determine the actual cause of death and banish the specters of ignorance surrounding it. Create schools, encourage education. Praying is an empty gesture.