But for good people to do bad things, that takes religion.
This is not a true saying. Although religion can make good people do bad things, it is not the ONLY thing that can do so.
If a good person loves someone (anyone) with all their heart - and that unworthy someone chooses to use that love to their own selfish ends - then a good person can be manipulated into doing a bad thing.
Tammy
I think it depends on what you define as bad too. I've heard people say that they have morals, just not the same morals as that of another individual.
An example may be Mother Teresa. Everyone thinks highly of her. Very generous, charitable woman. On the other hand, she was against contraception, and considering the demographic of peoples that she assisted, it wasn't a beneficial stance on her part. The last thing poorer people need to do is have a baby. It doesn't benefit society, the parent(s), or the baby they brought into the world. I'm not suggesting we should limit reproductive rights or anything, just saying its not the brightest thing in the world to promote anti-contraception to those who can barely take care of themselves. To me its a case of good people with nobel intentions who are promoting something immoral, and something not solidly supported by scripture. I kind of feel the Catholic's views on contraception are similar to the WT's views on birthdays and blood transfusions. These are two groups of people trying to live moral lives, but again only as what they define are good morals. They do bad when forcing their views of morals upon people who don't share their beliefs, or in the WT's case shunning when a person no longer agrees with them.
An age without God, thats hard to imagine. One of my favorite bands, Queens of the Stone Age's last album was called Era Vulgaris which means in Latin, the godless age. If an age without god results in some good music, that might not be a bad thing. Seriously speaking though, the world today is without God. I don't believe God has been much of a factor for much of mankind's history. Religion on the other hand, has been too much of a factor. I'm starting to reach the point I simply hate religion. I hate religious leaders. To think, my contempt for religion is largely in part due to my JW upbringing and viewing all nonWT/JW religions as part of Babylon the Great. Now I view the WT as part of Babylon the Great too. A world without the WT or organized religion in general, would be, or at least would have the potential of being a paradise.