Religion & Sacrifice

[ChrisLindsay9]

It's been stated by some non-theists that if there was no religion and people knew that they only had one shot at this thing called life, then would people so willingly "sacrifice" themselves, in acts such as terrorism like 9/11? Well, to play devil's advocate for a moment, if we flip this around, one can ask that if there was no religion, then would people willingly sacrifice themselves to go into burning buildings and save a person? Or would law enforcement go into a situation in which there was risk to their own lives? Not only would this risk be to the firefighters and peacekeepers, but their risk could have an impact on their families as well. Does religion give a necessary and beneficial ignorance to society?

[abourque]

People sacrifice themselves for more than religion. Just as you say, people put themselves at risk and may end up "sacrificing" themselves for safety, or the "greater good". I think the idea of self-sacrifice is an altruistic ideal can be fairly myopic at times. A fireman running into a burning building to save a child is something we regard with hero worship. But again the fireman has knowledge and experience on his side. He knows where to go, where to not step and has his safety gear. Does this make him less of a hero? I think this makes him more of a hero. He knows the dangers even more than the general layman.

Now what if a civilian ran into the burning building? We've all wondered what we would do if the situation were in front of us. Most of us probably like to think that we would run into the building to save the infant or innocent. Should we? My knowledge of fire is limited to what I learned in Boy Scouts and the The Discovery Channel. I would have a much lower chance of rescuing anyone let alone surviving. Essentially the fireman now has two victims to rescue instead of one.

So you probably shouldn't run into burning buildings. We'll leave that to the professionals. But what can you do? Just as you shouldn't run into a burning building you shouldn't ignore it altogether. Not if there is help you can provide. If you know first aid, or are an off duty fire or police officer, you should help. If you don't have any skills you would be better off keeping a distance and letting professionals handle it. You would probably cause a distraction.

After my ranting, where do I stand on religion and sacrifice? Sacrifice and altruism CAN be good. Sacrifice through informed altruism IS good. I would venture to say jihadists and fundamentalists that blow themselves up probably fall onto the non-informed side. They are promised a reward that they will never receive. I guess the real question is: Do they do it for the reward?

[Nohands]

Sacrifice is more of a preservation and instinctual mechanism. In a family setting I think most people especially mothers will gladly run into a burning building as many times as necessary to preserve her family. Outside of the family I believe most humans would do the same thing knowing that it is another human being. Again I think this is an instinctual mode of preservation of species. However, I think that there is an innate marker in us that would also let someone die to preserve our own family gene. (strong survive) As for Religion, I think the idea of an after life will always motivate to possibly be a bit more risky to the point of not caring if anybody is injured by what ever act is committed.