A recent article in our local news covered the deaths of a young couple who apparently hung themselves in a suicide pact! It went on to mention him majoring in psychology [huh?] and both were into Goth. I remember making a similar pact with an exgirlfriend but it lost its 'urgency' once we sobered up! I shudder now at the thought of what could have been![ Another reason I swore off the Blow!] It seems to be a current trend in Japan aswell. In a country where failure is frowned upon. Whats your opinion on the subject? 
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I don't even think the war being waged by Al Quaida is particurly faith based either. Doesn't it have more to do with the percieved threat to middle-eastern and Islamic cultural values that are being eroded by consumerism and capitalism, and a death cult? It is also worth remembering that it was Stalin and Hitler who took lives with the most abandon in the previous century. I hate those two for giving atheism and central European philosophy the bad corona that it has.
I personally believe that religion can be enriching and extremely motivational. In order to retify the present state of Africa there must be a great deal of consensus and even more motivation. Perhaps if the religions were less scared of ridicule they might act charitably publically and openly again and better yet in conjunction with secular organisations and each other. I don't see this as such a bad thing.
We atheists must not oppose religion, firstly because if we do we become dogmatic and fall into the trap left for us by those who claim that it is merely another guise of religion or theism; we make strides to chase faith underground where it is unaccountable even to the structures within itself and surely that is where cruelty begins. Instead, if we teach as closely to the truth as we can wherever we might be teaching people will be able to make up their own minds and hold opinions safely.
I do think that there is a debate in here about the role of parents in their childrens spiritual upbringing. Parents who force their beliefs upon their children (if this is actually possibly) or command them to adhere to religious values or simply brainwash their offspring... these kinds of things make me angry but it is commonly believed, at least in this country, that you cannot tell somebody how they can and cannot raise their children. Open minds are where it's at that's all I'm saying.
I used to be the most ferocious priest baiter around and I guess that this is my penance or repentance or something. Hmmm. Is there still a role for for religious language in a secular society? I wish I had engaged with all of this at college.
Please don't think that I am being prentious. I'm just writing this to try and establish what I think, as much as I am attempting to console myself and to respond to your comment. Thank you for the platform.
Vote Democrat people!