What is the worst religion in existence?

[Belacqua]

Dr. Cornel West:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DEbcjXLj7k&t=5s


To me this sounds neither transactional nor barbaric. Quite the opposite.

Reminded me of the hymn lyric, "Nothing in my hand I bring / Only to the Cross I cling."...and wondering what it means to have the Man of Sorrows as the central image of worship.

I've always thought that this is one of the main reasons Christianity has been so successful. The idea that God shares an individual's suffering seems very powerful to me, and must be very meaningful for a lot of people.

Cornel West is a fortunate individual, but he knows what it means to be black in America. I suspect that God as Man of Sorrows is particularly powerful among those groups who have been oppressed. I remember seeing very bloody Jesus statues in Mexico, for example. Probably the poorer the village the bloodier the Jesus. 

I've been reading about medieval saints who intentionally increased their suffering, as a religious devotion. Of course it seems insane to modern Americans. It goes against everything we know, to think that suffering is a kind of victory, and what the world calls failure is better than success. It's been an interesting challenge to imagine these people's mindset -- something so different from what we normally hear that it's fascinating to learn. 

The idea of kenosis is unique to Christianity, I think. Though the value of sacrificing certain goods for a higher goal is surely a key point of most religions. It makes "prosperity gospel" impossible, though.