Let me go on a diversion, about Christianity. In my opinion, the emphasis on belief in the Jesus story, or even in God, loses out to a modern educated disinterest. Christianity as a way of life-- avoiding deleterious behaviors, fostering love as a way of life, constant self-reflection and so on, are really the things that matter.
The difference is that you could probably find lots of evidence of Bible reading and contemplation improving people's lives. I'd start in prison for an easy example, or to those who find community after loss of a loved one. That stuff still matters. Trying to get people to believe the testimony of sand dwellers of thousands of years ago, who didn't share our world view and skepticism, is just not a path to utility.
My position is if there's a God, and he wants more than just basic human decency, then he will understand that it must come in new modern garb-- not expect good people to accept ancient mythologies without any really compelling reason to do so.
The difference is that you could probably find lots of evidence of Bible reading and contemplation improving people's lives. I'd start in prison for an easy example, or to those who find community after loss of a loved one. That stuff still matters. Trying to get people to believe the testimony of sand dwellers of thousands of years ago, who didn't share our world view and skepticism, is just not a path to utility.
My position is if there's a God, and he wants more than just basic human decency, then he will understand that it must come in new modern garb-- not expect good people to accept ancient mythologies without any really compelling reason to do so.
