“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”
― H.L. Mencken
I agree with an exception. Historically the teachings were brought about because they work on keeping a healthy society. Teaching that is not a problem. Adopting things that degrade society are counter productive.
There will always be narrow minded people. There are in the new LGBTQ+ religion.
When Donald Trump said to protest “peacefully”, he meant violence.
When he told protesters to “go home”, he meant stay for an insurrection.
And when he told Brad Raffensperger to implement “whatever the correct legal remedy is”, he meant fraud.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
"I believe there are more instances of the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and silent encroachments by those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations." -- James Madison
If those things that arguably promote a healthy society are presented or advertised as coming directly from God, that is a problem. Were a religious leader to arise today with a list of sins and requirements for people to follow - a list based on what he or she felt promoted a "healthy society" - what sort of items do you suppose that list might contain, and how might that individual's personal views about what does or does not "promote a healthy society" influence the content of that list?
It's even more of a problem when those who have violated the "sacred" prohibitive laws are subjected to legal punishments that may, even today in some parts of the world, include the death penalty, and in the U.S. up until fairly recently, fines and imprisonment.
Far fewer people in the U.S. and the world feel that way about same-sex relationships - that they "degrade society" - than they did even fifty years ago, let alone 3,000. To the extent that a religious Faith continues to teach what the average person knows from their own observation and interactions with others is demonstratively false, it renders itself to be irrelevant and out of touch with reality.
Absolutely there are - no question.
“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.” - Robert E. Howard
"Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas and not eat a chicken fried steak." - Larry McMurtry
I think Christians sometimes get the relationship between moral laws and God backwards.
People throughout history discovered roughly the same basic moral laws. The societies that strayed from these tend to go away or be less prosperous.
To me, that's evidence for God, instead of God being evidence for morality. Chicken and egg.
The societies that value lies, murder, theft, laziness, hedonism, etc., seem to fade
“The notion that a radical is one who hates his country is naïve and usually idiotic. He is, more likely, one who likes his country more than the rest of us, and is thus more disturbed than the rest of us when he sees it debauched. He is not a bad citizen turning to crime; he is a good citizen driven to despair.”
― H.L. Mencken
The problem with your argument, removing the politics of government, in my opinion is dismissing a greater power than man. That leaves the vagarity of power to man and often only one man. That has led to some of the greatest atrocities known to mankind. There is a reason for the higher power concept embedded in almost all religions and the reason is that it works.
Last edited by Hoosier8; 12-13-2022 at 01:33 PM.
When Donald Trump said to protest “peacefully”, he meant violence.
When he told protesters to “go home”, he meant stay for an insurrection.
And when he told Brad Raffensperger to implement “whatever the correct legal remedy is”, he meant fraud.
War is peace.
Freedom is slavery.
Ignorance is strength.
Don't you believe that it "works" primarily because the rules, requirements and punishments are being represented as coming directly from a Supreme Being with power over the individual's fate, even after death?
(You mentioned "some of the greatest atrocities known to mankind" as resulting from the teaching or authority of "only one man"; others were inspired by one or more men having, in effect, hijacked the name of God for their own purposes, and the victims of those programs and crusades are no less dead.)
From the promise of "spending eternity in the presence of God", to drinking mead with Odin and other warriors who have fallen in battle, to being met in Paradise by 72 virgins, the inducements offered by a "higher power" for faith and obedience are absolutely a factor - something no mortal man or men are in a position to offer.
“Civilized men are more discourteous than savages because they know they can be impolite without having their skulls split, as a general thing.” - Robert E. Howard
"Only a rank degenerate would drive 1,500 miles across Texas and not eat a chicken fried steak." - Larry McMurtry
Religion is going downhill. Kids don't like it. I have not been in a church for some time, but like Xmas concerts. Last one I went to was 3 years ago. I went this year. Same churches lost 40% of the people from 3 years ago. And the ones there are almost all old people. Kids don't like god/s, they like homosexuality, transgenderism and dope.