The worst kind.
Also seems to have lasted longer than all the others to boot.

...that started early in childhood, because parents want their child to grow up to be a responsible adult. And the majority of society has used religion as a benchmark, on how to be a good person!

Ever have what you think might be an original comment, and then you scroll down and find someone who's already said exactly what you were thinking? Well, you're that guy! Couldn't agree more!

@Freedompath "Responsible" or Obedient "adults?"

The term 'conspiracy theory' is invariably used as a pejorative and generally connotes unfalsifiable circular reasoning in the absence of evidence. What conspiracy theories are you aware of that have been proven correct?

@p-nullifidian

When the Poles first started reporting to the Western Allies that the Nazis had set up death camps in conquered Polish territory, it was seen as a conspiracy theory, viewed as hyperbole and wild exaggeration to motivate the Allies to try harder to liberate Poland. When the Red Army arrived there, of course, that conspiracy theory turned out to be, unfortunately, true.

@RoboGraham The term 'conspiracy theory' is a relatively contemporary one, often involving government cover-ups, secret societies and the manipulation of world events. What you've described is a simple case of 'rumors' regarding the existence of Nazi death camps having later been verified. I will grant you that rumors, which have been with us since the dawn of our race, may sometimes be true. But rumors are not the same as a conspiracy theory.

@p-nullifidian

Things can exist before a term is created to describe them.

Conspiracy Theory- a theory that rejects the standard explanation for an event and instead credits a covert group or organization with carrying out a secret plot

The standard explanation was that those poor people were being resettled in labor camps. The conspiracy theorists rejected that explanation.

The Gestapo was not a covert group but they carried out their atrocities secretly and the group within the gestapo which was actually working in the death camps was kept covert and under the radar.

The government of the Third Reich was most definitely attempting to cover up the fact that they were committing the Holocaust.

@RoboGraham You are mixing apples and oranges, sir. The behavior of the Third Reich parallels most totalitarian systems, where propaganda, a powerful ruling elite (such as the SS) and hidden agendas are the norm. However, such systems do not fall into the category of 'conspiracy theory.' Apart from Hitler's Germany, perhaps you could provide more contemporary examples of conspiracy theories that were proven true?

@p-nullifidian

I'm not saying that the third reich and it's system of propaganda, the SS, and hidden agendas fall into the category of a conspiracy theory, I'm saying that when the Poles started telling people about the death camps, they thought of it as a conspiracy theory.

It doesn't happen often that they turn out to be true, point is, it is possible, unlike religion, which is always bullshit.

@K9Kohle789

This is too far out for me.

The consequences are well worth it. We arrive alone and leave the same way. Being a majority of one in native reasoning sometimes exacts a fair price of becoming closer to our amazing selves.

If you really know what proper science is, one cannot blindly follow it. That wouldn't be the real thing. Good science is properly done and then we impartially see wherever the evidence leads. So blindly following (real) science is a contradiction in terms.

Agreed! However these systems are not typically fasioned from whole cloth. They often take years to construct their latticework onto a superstructure. Which is to say, time is needed to come up with more lies and alibis to slap onto the original untruth. Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, most religions and conspiracy theories have, over the years, added new baloney into their sandwiches.

"[E]very religion has for its foundation a miracle -- that is to say, a violation of nature -- that is to say, a falsehood."
"A fact never went into partnership with a miracle. Truth scorns the assistance of wonders. A fact will fit every other fact in the universe, and that is how you can tell whether it is or is not a fact. A lie will not fit anything except another lie."
Robert Green Ingersoll