RE: Another reason why Christians go to church
April 24, 2018 at 3:31 am
(This post was last modified: April 24, 2018 at 3:33 am by Fake Messiah.)
Remember, humans are social primates so as an organization with codified moral rules, with a hierarchical structure it suits people's primal feelings. It all started back when bands and tribes gave way to chiefdoms and states, religion developed as the principal social institution to facilitate cooperation.
So in essence going to temples comes down to: "If I see you every week in church, mosque, or synagogue, consistently participating in our religion's activities and following the prescribed rituals and customs, it is a positive indication that you can be trusted and you are a reliable member of our group that I can count on."
The divinity evolved along a parallel track. Animistic spirits gave way to anthropomorphic and polytheistic gods, and in the eastern Mediterranean the anthropomorphic gods of the pastoral people there lost out to the monotheistic God of Abraham.
So in essence going to temples comes down to: "If I see you every week in church, mosque, or synagogue, consistently participating in our religion's activities and following the prescribed rituals and customs, it is a positive indication that you can be trusted and you are a reliable member of our group that I can count on."
The divinity evolved along a parallel track. Animistic spirits gave way to anthropomorphic and polytheistic gods, and in the eastern Mediterranean the anthropomorphic gods of the pastoral people there lost out to the monotheistic God of Abraham.
teachings of the Bible are so muddled and self-contradictory that it was possible for Christians to happily burn heretics alive for five long centuries. It was even possible for the most venerated patriarchs of the Church, like St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas, to conclude that heretics should be tortured (Augustine) or killed outright (Aquinas). Martin Luther and John Calvin advocated the wholesale murder of heretics, apostates, Jews, and witches. - Sam Harris, "Letter To A Christian Nation"
