this post was submitted on 22 Aug 2023
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Atheism

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[โ€“] NounsAndWords@lemmy.world 6 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago) (1 children)

I think this concept that religious people only don't kill people because of the fear of God (since, you know, they basically say exactly that) is a whole lot of bullshit to begin with. It's a "good" line if you don't think very deep at all into it, which is a skill religious people have in spades.

If the fear of hell was stopping them from doing whatever they want then there would be a whole lot less lying, cheating, stealing, child abuse, and (I guess ironically) murder in religious communities.

If anything, I think the idea that God will grant forgiveness for all of the terrible thing you do when you ask nicely would lead to people acting worse. And don't even get me started on the whole "the devil made me do it" grift.

[โ€“] MotoAsh@lemmy.world 13 points 2 years ago* (last edited 2 years ago)

I have heard it from religious' peoples' mouths WAY too often for it to not be true itself for many. Though you're right that there are other excuses religious people use to be awful.

This is just an excuse for them to assume others are just as awful as them, so of course the justification comes up less in conversation: It's merely a related facet of how they justify being garbage humans. A second-tier justification at that. It allows them to think they're still on the "good" side of humanity while being pieces of sh*t.