Fixing America In 500 Words Or Less Chapter 47 DOES BELIEF IN GOD CAUSE HUMAN OPPRESSION?        Is it really accurate, as some intellectuals claim today, to blame belief in God as the cause of war and other human oppression?  Is this any more correct than blaming science and education?  Isn't it more honest to instead, blame people who mis-use technology and belief in God for their own nefarious purposes?        Obviously, someone can aim the fickle finger of fate at war waged in the name of religion.  But, even before the invention of the wheel leading to ever-improved knife, spear, bow and chariot design, human science and education has been intricately entwined with waging war.  Military applications have long been interlaced with government-funded science, education and modern space exploration.        Consider the Manhattan Project, nuclear missiles and space-ray weapons.  And, the rise of oppressive imperialism alongside industrial age invention; the American, French, Russian and Chinese revolutions; WWI, WWII, Korea, Vietnam and Iraq.  Incalculable human oppression has been aided by science and technology and, waged in the name of nationalism, democracy, capitalism, communism, socialism, fascism, anarchism and other intellectual idealism and often, just plain old fashioned human greed and lust for gold.        Arguably because of their belief in God, billions of people have helped the sick, poor and oppressed masses throughout the ages.  Consider names like Isaiah, Socrates, Jesus, Gandhi, Albert Schweitzer, Harriet Tubman, Helen Keller, Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and, celebrities like Danny Thomas, Jerry Lewis and Martin Sheen. Consider the Union Rescue Mission and LA Mission on Skid Row in Los Angeles.  Throughout the European “dark” and Middle Ages, many individuals, including some popes, established public hospitals, housing and bread lines.        Consider modern electricity, medicine, surgery, global travel, computer technology and other marvels of a 21st Century age of science and wonder.  And to be fair, weigh this in the historical balances against WMDs, global mass pollution, depletion of fisheries, rain and other forests, fresh water pollution, mountains of garbage and cesspools of toxic waste left in the wake of the “Age of Enlightenment”.        Why is oppression waged in the name of Christianity, Islam and other religions any worse than that waged in the name of manifest destiny, communism and fascism?  Is human oppression a result of sincere belief in God?  Or, is it rather, a result of human beings wrongly using the sincere beliefs of others for their own devious purposes?        Isn't it more likely that we all contribute to the negative downside of human history, whenever we fail to treat other people as we ourselves, wish to be treated?  Isn't it more accurate, as Jesus pointed out and as Freud, Jung and modern behavioral science agree, to blame the “seething mass” of irrationality and frustration buried deep within individual human beings, as being the real cause of our problems?       If we are going to rationally and fairly blame something as being the “cause” of our problems, maybe it's wise to first take a good look in the mirror.  Does belief in God cause human oppression? ¹  You decide. ² { See Does Science Really Know What is True? for related information. } NOTES: 1. When studying the rather lengthy article in the Encyclopedia Britannica, "Human Sexuality" and various other articles on human behavioral science and the biographies of Freud, Jung and other key historical researchers in the field, one is struck by how much the modern evidence is in agreement, rather than contradiction, with the New Testament Romans.  There is overwhelming historical and scientific evidence that war and other human oppression emanates from within individual human beings, just as Jesus said.  While on the other hand, there is zero evidence that children are born "blank" with no innate pre-disposition to do either good or harm, as Freud assumed and many modern intellectuals continue to pretend today.  If this were true, then there would be no such thing as "morality and ethics" taught in public universities and there would be no necessity of rewarding children when they are "good" and punishing them when they are "bad". Think about it.  Why do we spend so much time trying to convince our children to be what we believe to be good, while they often do what we consider to be bad quite easily on their own, without any parental encouragement or reward?  Changing terminology from "sin" to "naughty" to "anti-social behavior", in no way, shape or form, changes the reality of the significant willful harm people continue to do to each other, even after more than 5000 years of education to the contrary. Some historians believe more people died in the 20th Century from war and other violence than in all previous centuries of recorded history combined. Even taking significant population increase into account, this is a most remarkable "sinful" "anti-social" achievement.  And, altering terminology does not change the reality of ongoing human slavery, hunger, disease, pain and death. 2. For related information, see Are Atheists Really Honest About What Causes War? also, Is Atheism Scientific? and Does Science Really Know What is True?. Click Here to Go Back to Contents Click Here to eMail the Author Copyright © December 10th, 2019 by Richard Aberdeen. Copyright © December 10th, 2019 by Freedom Tracks Records. ( including from several earlier copyrights ) No part of this material may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including printing, photocopying, recording or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher and signed by the author. For inquiries, please contact Freedom Tracks Records.  The essays entitled Revolution and Revolution ~ Side B are open copyright and may be reproduced and distributed as desired.