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HariSeldon

(541 posts)

24. And then, one Thursday...

Fri Mar 13, 2026, 04:08 AM

Mar 13

And then, one Thursday, nearly two thousand years after one man had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change, a girl sitting on her own in a small café in Rickmansworth suddenly realized what it was that had been going wrong all this time, and she finally knew how the world could be made a good and happy place. This time it was right, it would work, and no one would have to get nailed to anything.

- Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

(Of course, the Vogons destroyed the Earth before she could tell anyone.)

It's really amazing how institutions or traditions can twist the fundamental message. I mean, there might be a really appealing, original, central idea, but it seems that whoever is given authority to keep people pointed in that direction eventually goes power-mad.

Adams, himself, was an atheist; I've never been entirely sure whether he wrote this as an observation of the futility of trying to get people to be nice to one another, a recognition that Jesus (as related by the Bible) recommended a laudable position his followers failed to practice consistently, that he (Adams) didn't see the outcome of Jesus's ministry as necessary or likely consistent with Roman practices, or just black irony. But then, I somewhat enjoy this kind of ambiguity and generally love Adams's writing style.

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Religion is the embodiment of hate [View all] angrychair Mar 13 OP

Hate and division. SamKnause Mar 13 #1

War and Suffering walkingman Mar 13 #2

I'm special. I have a special friend. My special friend tells me I'm special for being RockRaven Mar 13 #3

Meh canetoad Mar 13 #4

Sky Daddy for everyone...yippee! wcmagumba Mar 13 #5

At it's most basic, I think religion is the embodiment of about 500M years of evolution AZJonnie Mar 13 #6

Interesting take. AZ8theist Mar 13 #17

I agree with what you posit in broad terms for sure AZJonnie Mar 13 #21

i think it's an evolutionary vestige of the big ape days. mopinko Mar 13 #20

Yes, a "God as Ultimate Alpha" DEFINITELY arose from our animal ancestors being tournament species AZJonnie Mar 13 #22

mostly but mopinko Mar 13 #23

Well, yeah, of course. Every living creature's purpose is passing their DNA packet. AZJonnie Mar 13 #25

However, said survival does not require BadgerKid Mar 13 #26

This message was self-deleted by its author PeaceWave Mar 13 #7

If religion were to disappear overnight peace on earth would be a real possibility yaesu Mar 13 #8

No, I doubt that very much - harumph Mar 13 #35

Psychological enslavement. John1956PA Mar 13 #9

Fiddlesticks, it's a human thing like anything else. Humans love stories. betsuni Mar 13 #10

In a mild private form jfz9580m Mar 13 #16

not all of us believe in nonsense Skittles Mar 13 #18

This message was self-deleted by its author PeaceWave Mar 13 #11

Looks like Christians are overrepresented. Not sure what the point is? Ilikepurple Mar 13 #12

it is sickening Skittles Mar 13 #13

It's Christians and Muslims that have a history of violence and forced conversions JI7 Mar 13 #14

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz Skittles Mar 13 #19

It is all about profits in the end jfz9580m Mar 13 #15

And then, one Thursday... HariSeldon Mar 13 #24

Hmmmmmmm malaise Mar 13 #27

No it isn't. QueerDuck Mar 13 #28

It can be, depending upon the believer. no_hypocrisy Mar 13 #29

it's a mass delusion... mike_c Mar 13 #30

I tend to believe people are. Torchlight Mar 13 #31

That is Okay. Atheist communists & Nazi's have killed many religious people. Jacson6 Mar 13 #32

Combining angrychair Mar 13 #34

That's not religion, it's people EdmondDantes_ Mar 13 #33

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. summer_in_TX Mar 14 #36