A lot of harm has come in all eras from people attached to one view of 'spiritual' truth.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Religion has caused more harm than any other idea since the beginning of time. There's nothing good I can say about it. People use it as a crutch.
Sometimes people's spiritual ideas become fixed and they use them against those who don't share their beliefs - in effect, becoming fundamentalist. It's very dangerous - the finger of righteous indignation pointing at someone who is identified as bad or wrong.
The tension between the essence of spiritual teachings and the harmful fundamentalism that often arises in the name of religion is an issue that has engaged my mind practically as far back as I can remember.
I have increasingly, over the years, felt that religion today does our civilization more harm than good.
The Bible has done more harm than any other book in the world.
There the union of Church and State tends strongly to paralyze some of the members of the body of Christ. Here there is no such influence to destroy spiritual life and power.
Religion has caused more misery to all of mankind in every stage of human history than any other single idea.
Spiritual people don't float around all day on clouds of glory; they live in the real world and deal with real issues in real ways.
Half of the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm. But the harm does not interest them.
The gross heathenism of civilization has generally destroyed nature, and poetry, and all that is spiritual.