Guilt is associated strongly with Christianity.
"You've displeased god. You must repent, and follow our rules if you want to get into heaven. You want to go to heaven, don't you?"
Of course nobody says what Heaven is like, and why there's all these rules. Eating crackers that are the body of Christ, getting your head dunked under water by a priest, and whatever you do all sex except for procreation is wrong. Thoughts about sex are impure. You have to turn toward god, or you will go to hell for your thoughts. (Apparently God is big on thought crime)
But guilt overall doesn't get conversions. No, it's fear. The idea of being stung by scorpions for years upon years, being in hell for all eternity. When you tie fear and force guilt for being human you get people afraid of god being real, so they serve someone they believe are real because they are told he is. They are told he is all loving and merciful, and they are shown how cruel and horrible he can be. But they fail to see the contradiction. They think god is above humanity, and thus his cruelty is just. As if Cruelty can ever be just. They think they deserve it, and that might just be the saddest thing of all.
Guilt won't convert someone who doesn't really believe, because the fear isn't there. A non-believer no more fears hell than they fear Cthulhu. But someone who is open to belief will be scared of the darkness they're told about. They will feel guilty for being human, and feel they must be fixed. And only one religion will cure that feeling. That guilt. The promise of being forgiven, and a chance to avoid your punishment. No matter the doubts, that fear will sustain the belief of many.
"You've displeased god. You must repent, and follow our rules if you want to get into heaven. You want to go to heaven, don't you?"
Of course nobody says what Heaven is like, and why there's all these rules. Eating crackers that are the body of Christ, getting your head dunked under water by a priest, and whatever you do all sex except for procreation is wrong. Thoughts about sex are impure. You have to turn toward god, or you will go to hell for your thoughts. (Apparently God is big on thought crime)
But guilt overall doesn't get conversions. No, it's fear. The idea of being stung by scorpions for years upon years, being in hell for all eternity. When you tie fear and force guilt for being human you get people afraid of god being real, so they serve someone they believe are real because they are told he is. They are told he is all loving and merciful, and they are shown how cruel and horrible he can be. But they fail to see the contradiction. They think god is above humanity, and thus his cruelty is just. As if Cruelty can ever be just. They think they deserve it, and that might just be the saddest thing of all.
Guilt won't convert someone who doesn't really believe, because the fear isn't there. A non-believer no more fears hell than they fear Cthulhu. But someone who is open to belief will be scared of the darkness they're told about. They will feel guilty for being human, and feel they must be fixed. And only one religion will cure that feeling. That guilt. The promise of being forgiven, and a chance to avoid your punishment. No matter the doubts, that fear will sustain the belief of many.
