Religion has been one of the worst violators and infringers on possible world peace. Extremist Muslims flew planes into the WTC, Romans captured Catholics and put them in the coliseum, Hitler slayed 6 million Jews.
FALSE RELIGION IS BEHIND THOSE ACTS. That is why people in the world hate religion, which is in turn why one day very soon, there will be no more false religion in this system.
Here is why there are so many religions in the world. Because the enemy of God wants to cloud man's judgment, so they cannot gain the life that was intended for them. It is a brilliant plan, and it has even worked for the majority of mankind. The more religions, and the more damage they do, the harder it is to find the truth, or would a man even want to? So even when one comes across the truth, they would have to really be searching for God to even make it their own.
I'll say this, in any of those cases you named, did Jehovah's witnesses have a part in them? Hmmm...
Think about all the people that kill and die in the name of God or Jesus or Jehovah or Yahweh or whomever. Religion, in theory is a great thing, but there are people out there (not world leaders though) that use religion as a way of blinding and getting the masses to kill those who do not believe their religious beliefs. Christian ministers are seen all the time on television saying they are excited to see non-Christians burn at Armageddon. People like Charles Manson and Jim Jones and David Koresch used religion to get the weak to buy into their outlandish theories and led them toward a path of destruction (Manson went so far as to claim he was the second coming of Jesus Christ).
I hear you, and feel exactly where you come from. All you have named is just a small mention of why people hate religion. Because if God was what the bible says he is, then he would not be behind these people, or organizations who do this, correct? Well, who says he is? The bible says God takes no delight in the death of the wicked. That means people who know the truth, and disobey anyway. He'd rather see the wicked one gain repentance, and life eternal. If he does not take delight in that, why would he take delight in a person burning in hell forever?
Is there even a fiery hell? If a fiery hell did exist, and it is supposed to be for people who don't obey God only, then someone intelligent will have to explain why God let Jesus go there for three days, when he lived and died perfectly obeying him. Does not add up.
This is why Jehovah has set up an earthly organization to help people learn the truth about him, and they don't do it by tv evangalizing, or the sort, they do it how Jesus did, discreetly, door to door, house to house. So no one will be missed. If you miss out, it will be because you chose to, not because God did not make sure you had a chance to hear the message.
That is not to say there are not benefits to religion, if it is used as a tool to teach people how to act, how to treat others and how to behave it can be a very very positive thing that can help people turn their lives toward good. But then there are hate mongers (within every religion) that use religion and zealots to kill, maim, destroy or otherwise hurt those around them.
I have been around Jehovah's witnesses a long time. I have never known a group to bear his name, and go off killing or destroying, or hurting. Now as with this incident that LJ4pointplay brought up, there are instances when an individual steps outside of the arrangement to do works opposite of the spirit. But as a whole, you will never see a JW Jihad, or mass destruction, or the sort. In fact, if you really think about it, you probably have not heard to many bad things about the way Jehovah's witnesses live at all. People may disagree on our beliefs, but as citizens, be hard pressed to find people who hate the way JW's live in society.
I hope you are right, that someday all of God's people can live in peace with one another, but the world is tainted with evils.
Well, this topic is about war, and this war is brought on in some way due to religion. If you hate religion and what it has stood for, imagine how God feels about it? It's really his name that is getting tainted by the whole thing! Regardless of what faith a person is, if they believe in God, whatever their conduct is, it will reflect him.
This is why JW's try so hard to live by God's laws and principles, to reflect him as best we can, and to show truly how God intended for man to live, in spiritualand physical peace and prosperity. This is why they bear the name Jehovah's witnesses, because they are the only people on earth who truly know him, and they show it by obeying him.
That is not to say that there are people of other faiths who don't know
of God, because most of the 7 million followers have come from other religions, to become witnesses. But they see the same things you do. That if God is backing those religions, who war, strife, and don't try to live a Goldly life, then religion is crap.
Jehovah hates false religion so much, that his word says he will put in the hearts of the kings of the earth to turn on it. Right now.. we live in that very time. We are literally a hop, skip and jump from seeing the day we all can't even fathom, really. When religion is killed. Even if you don't believe a word about what i'm saying, all the signs in the world point to religion being swallowed up. Churches are turning into night clubs, people could really care less about it. And those who do, are deemed radicals and fanatics, and most people blame them for the state of the world! You think the world leaders don't see how little religion is respected world wide? You don't think that they talk about banning it behind closed doors, to see if doing so would rid them of religious wars?
One day.. We're all gonna look up, and False religion is going to be gone.. And then people will say " Those stupid Jehovah's witnesses been preaching Jehovah is going to kill false religion for decades, and we scoffed, maybe there really is a Jehovah"
But then it will be too late.