mattyrm wrote: I believe that any woman raised in a secular environment who turns to religion late in life, specifically in this case Islam, does so because of an emotional instability. If I had the money and the resources I bet I could prove it too.
Screw it, id say the same for men as well. Take a survey of 30,000 devoutly religious people between the age of 18-50 who would say they described themselves as non religious when they were in high school.
Ask them the number one reason they turned to their current religion, and see the results. Considering the overwhelming majority of devout people have the same religion as their parents, I'm willing to bet my house that the reason they turn to Allah or Jesus or whatever is because of general unhappiness, depression, insecurity, personal tragedy or all of the above. Hardly any will say "because I studied lots of religions and it made way more sense than the rest"
Ergo, I say fat honking women are far more likely to "find" Allah in adulthood than self confident, happy people
Simple.
I couldn't agree more, and I am glad in the post quoted above, mattyrm, that you included men as well in your thesis because in my limited life experience I have seen fear and hopelessness lead both sexes to religious devotion.
The video in your original post was upsetting because it crystallizes the irrational hate that I attribute to religious extremists and, as an atheist, saddens me on a daily basis. The negative influence that religion and the religious have had (and continue to exert) on my life and the world around me, leaves me endlessly frustrated at how impotent any rational thoughts or actions are in the face of unabashed rancor between said extremists. How does one counter the bile of the woman in that video without resorting to the same barbarism that she is advocating against the Jewish people?
Now, I understand that it is many different people from many different religions with extremist interpretations of their religions that are causing problems in the world. And of course those folks who have a less extreme view of religion aren't necessarily bad. However, I am of the opinion that if it weren't for religion in the first place the world would be a bit better off (because you couldn't have religious extremists without first having the religion, right?). But it doesn't take a suicide bomber or a hateful sign outside of a soldier's funeral to make me condemn religion, my opinion has formed after 28 years of living in a country that has religious views intertwined within the very fabric of society. It is in the laws I live under, the content of the media, and the moral lines that are drawn seemingly arbitrarily that leave me baffled at the behavior of those who cling so desperately to ideologies that make absolutely no sense to me. Now, those here who follow a religion I am not bashing you, it is just my opinion that religion does more harm than good and my comments are in no way intended to disparage your beliefs. No doubt the religious among this community hold beliefs that run counter to my own lifestyle and opinions and that is cool as long as we don't harbor the same venomous-hate for one another as the woman in that video.
Getting back on point that woman in the video is ugly. However, that ugliness has nothing to do with her appeal as a sexual object but instead resides in her view of the world and no doubt whatever pain and isolation she experienced in life has resulted in her embrace of a doctrine of ignorance and hatred.
