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[Phys-L] Re: god friendly science



I take exception to the claim that religion is the leading cause of d=
eath.

According to a 1997 World Heath Organization report, of the 52 millio=
n people who died that SINGLE year
* 17 million died of parasitic and infectious diseases
* 15 million died of diseases of the circulatory system
* 6 million died of cancer
* 4 million infant deaths

When is the last time religion killed millions in a single year?


Even among "ideologically inspired" deaths, I don't know that religio=
n would top the list. Greed, envy, social inequality and political d=
ifferences drive many wars and deaths. Perhaps above all these is un=
bridled personal ambition. WWII was hardly religiously inspired (eve=
n the holocaust was not really about Judaism) but it resultsed in 50 =
million deaths world-wide.

Of course these idological factors are interconnected, but to claim t=
hat religion itself is the cause seems overly simplistic.

Perhaps we should instead claim that religion has SAVED more lives th=
an any other cause because of all the charity - both large and small =
- done in the name of religion!


Tim Folkerts=20



-- Anthony Lapinski <anthony_lapinski@PDS.ORG> wrote:
No matter what you believe, the sad truth is that probably more=20
people in the world have died because of religion than any other=20
factor. Maybe it's a self-righteous thing. Remember Carl Sagan,=20
who said, "Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence."
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