John, why can't you just be rabid instead of reasoning? It's too difficult to ignore reasonable arguments.
As you said, you can't prove a negative; similarly I don't choose to believe in no God. I just believe in what I think is. Anything outside that is something I might investigate. Like my Dog theory. But it isn't a belief until I start acting on it as though it is real. Even if I act on faith, as I do in owning shares.
People take to the opium of religion for many reasons. Certainly my father was not domineering, but I know my mother had a vehement opposition to religion and her father was quite domineering and she resisted dominance. Effectively too I might add. And I'm here to carry on. Religions have historically been and still are based on grotesque force against dissidents. There is a human antipathy to force - I think that is the basis of JC's egalitarianism. Universal love and all that stuff. Completely hijacked, distorted. But if he also thought he was the litteral son of Dog, then I have to question his honesty or our translation skills.
The burning of witches causes opposition to religions on the guilt by association principle. By leading people astry into superstitious beliefs, like poor jfred now believes in the fantasy of free will, you lead them to actions that are mad. By inducing people to believe in talking in tongues, exorcism and all sorts of mad rituals, they then become subject to their own vagaries, including schizophrenia, voices in their heads telling them to kill somebody. All sorts of crazy things.
Of course I agree with you that Mr JC wouldn't have approved burning of people, or the catholic church or other church wealth, power, suppression, greed. Greed. The very tenet of Christianity, manifest in itself. Visit Pisa. What is the biggest, flashest amazing collection of human effort - yep a beautiful cathedral. Quite majestic. I'm not saying that is wrong - I actually like cooperative achievement, but it doesn't represent to me the commonly espoused Christian virtues.
Saint Maurice [is actually a little town in Switzerlan, just thought you might like to know that] |
