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<blockquote data-quote="squeak9798" data-source="post: 6016459" data-attributes="member: 555320">I perform a highly irrational ritual.....I smoke cigarettes.&nbsp; How stupid is that?&nbsp; I spend $15-$20/week on cigarettes, probably 1 hour per day (cumulative) smoking them, and it takes years off my life by doing so.&nbsp; I know I should quit.&nbsp; But after a stressful day at work or during a stressful time, that first puff is just such a reliever!&nbsp; Calms the nerves and gives you a chance to just step back and relax for a minute.&nbsp; I understand that the best thing I could do for myself is ween myself off cigarettes or attempt to stop cold turkey.&nbsp; There are all kinds of companies and organizations that tell me I should quit and try to persuade me into action.My irrational behavior has a scientific basis in the psychology of addictive habits, addictive chemicals in the cigarettes &amp;amp; the biochemical reactions to both by my body.Maybe we should view religion the same way?&nbsp; Religion to the religious is the cigarette to a smoker.&nbsp; It costs $15-$20/week in donations to the church, around an hour a day in praying (or performing other rituals) and reading the bible (or other religious book) and forces them to spend most of their life denying reality.&nbsp; After a stressful day or during a stressful time, reciting that prayer is just so relieving!&nbsp; It gives them a chance to calm their nerves. A chance to step back and relax, allows them to feel less alone in this world and hopeful for the next.&nbsp; So why is it wrong that we rally against this irrational behavior if it&#039;s encouraged to rally against mine?&nbsp; Yes, mine carries health risks, both for myself and potentially those inhaling my second-hand smoke.&nbsp; But theirs carries intellectual and logical consequences that affect society not just in the form of public discourse, but in the way it shapes public policy.&nbsp; Stem cell research, a pharmacists and doctors willingness and legal responsibility to provide certain pharmaceuticals to patients or perform certain procedures, abortion, wars between nations and ongoing terrorist attacks, rights of those in a same-*** relationships, etc etc.Why shouldn&#039;t we take such an antagonistic approach to religion when organizations such as whitelies takes such an antagonistic approach towards smokers?&nbsp; Why shouldn&#039;t we encourage the religious to ween themselves off religion with rational and logical thought and scientific explanations in the same way we encourage smokers to ween themselves off cigarettes?&nbsp; Or better yet, to stop &quot;cold turkey&quot;.&nbsp; Why shouldn&#039;t we attempt to persuade them into action?</blockquote>

[QUOTE="squeak9798, post: 6016459, member: 555320"] I perform a highly irrational ritual.....I smoke cigarettes. How stupid is that? I spend $15-$20/week on cigarettes, probably 1 hour per day (cumulative) smoking them, and it takes years off my life by doing so. I know I should quit. But after a stressful day at work or during a stressful time, that first puff is just such a reliever! Calms the nerves and gives you a chance to just step back and relax for a minute. I understand that the best thing I could do for myself is ween myself off cigarettes or attempt to stop cold turkey. There are all kinds of companies and organizations that tell me I should quit and try to persuade me into action. My irrational behavior has a scientific basis in the psychology of addictive habits, addictive chemicals in the cigarettes & the biochemical reactions to both by my body. Maybe we should view religion the same way? Religion to the religious is the cigarette to a smoker. It costs $15-$20/week in donations to the church, around an hour a day in praying (or performing other rituals) and reading the bible (or other religious book) and forces them to spend most of their life denying reality. After a stressful day or during a stressful time, reciting that prayer is just so relieving! It gives them a chance to calm their nerves. A chance to step back and relax, allows them to feel less alone in this world and hopeful for the next. So why is it wrong that we rally against this irrational behavior if it's encouraged to rally against mine? Yes, mine carries health risks, both for myself and potentially those inhaling my second-hand smoke. But theirs carries intellectual and logical consequences that affect society not just in the form of public discourse, but in the way it shapes public policy. Stem cell research, a pharmacists and doctors willingness and legal responsibility to provide certain pharmaceuticals to patients or perform certain procedures, abortion, wars between nations and ongoing terrorist attacks, rights of those in a same-*** relationships, etc etc. Why [I]shouldn't[/I] we take such an antagonistic approach to religion when organizations such as whitelies takes such an antagonistic approach towards smokers? Why shouldn't we encourage the religious to ween themselves off religion with rational and logical thought and scientific explanations in the same way we encourage smokers to ween themselves off cigarettes? Or better yet, to stop "cold turkey". Why shouldn't we attempt to persuade them into action? [/QUOTE]

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