Welcome to the forum.
There are some beautiful or positive things I can conjure up in my mind thinking about Christianity:
- The example you give is a commonly heard testimony with variations on the theme. People who are suicidal, they had an addiction, their life was a mess, etc and then found Jesus and got their acts together. To what extent these stories can be believed and whether another structure would have provided the grounding they needed is a good question to ask but we can be glad they did turn things around.
- A rousing Gospel choir or an inspired performance of Handel's Messiah etc.
- The little old lady who lights a candle in a Cathedral for her dearly departed husband and dreams of their reunion in "Heaven". Sure it's all fantasy but it provides her some comfort.
- Charity organizations with people who feel inspired by Jesus' love to take action. To what extent Jesus has anything to do with their charitable nature is a good thing to question and there are secular charities as well but we can still appreciate charity whatever the cause may be.
- Community and social support.
If it all stopped there, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
It's all the bad and the potential for worse that outweighs the good.
I also wonder if secular communities could provide all the good listed above (with the exception of the fantasy one) without the dangerous dogma. I think we've discussed the idea of an atheist church in another thread that could provide the same community and support.
There are some beautiful or positive things I can conjure up in my mind thinking about Christianity:
- The example you give is a commonly heard testimony with variations on the theme. People who are suicidal, they had an addiction, their life was a mess, etc and then found Jesus and got their acts together. To what extent these stories can be believed and whether another structure would have provided the grounding they needed is a good question to ask but we can be glad they did turn things around.
- A rousing Gospel choir or an inspired performance of Handel's Messiah etc.
- The little old lady who lights a candle in a Cathedral for her dearly departed husband and dreams of their reunion in "Heaven". Sure it's all fantasy but it provides her some comfort.
- Charity organizations with people who feel inspired by Jesus' love to take action. To what extent Jesus has anything to do with their charitable nature is a good thing to question and there are secular charities as well but we can still appreciate charity whatever the cause may be.
- Community and social support.
If it all stopped there, I wouldn't have a problem with it.
It's all the bad and the potential for worse that outweighs the good.
I also wonder if secular communities could provide all the good listed above (with the exception of the fantasy one) without the dangerous dogma. I think we've discussed the idea of an atheist church in another thread that could provide the same community and support.
Atheist Forums Hall of Shame:
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
"The trinity can be equated to having your cake and eating it too."
... -Lucent, trying to defend the Trinity concept
"(Yahweh's) actions are good because (Yahweh) is the ultimate standard of goodness. That’s not begging the question"
... -Statler Waldorf, Christian apologist
