Religion has been a source of great human good, a deep reservoir of hope and grace. But we should face up to the dark side as well. Religion is being used for profoundly evil purposes. Bad religion is making our world more dangerous--from Tehran to Norway to Gaza, people are maiming and killing and plotting evil deeds in the name of God and Allah and Yahweh. The killing fields of devout believers are ablaze.
Read full transcript...I grew up in churches that had all the answers. Heaven was up, hell was down, and we knew who was going in which direction. God created the world in six days--one hundred and forty-four hours. The Red Sea parted just like in the movie. The whale swallowed Jonah. If the Bible said that Jonah swallowed the whale, we would have made that a test of faith. We reduced the mystery of the Unknowable God to Four Spiritual Laws that would fit on a post card and still leave room for "The Bible says it. I believe it. That settles it." We didn't have room for questions, because we were certain of everything.
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