(March 13, 2019 at 2:03 pm)Gae Bolga Wrote:(March 13, 2019 at 1:59 pm)wyzas Wrote: They often wait decades for this thrill of mental masturbation. Who in their right mind would take that away?
IKR, think of what they'd be up to otherwise. Locking them all into a room and away from children for a few days is worth it.
Brian, all that the term was used to refer to was the difference between the leader of a country and the officials of the church. Yes, the church was very powerful, in it's own way (sometimes)..and it was precisely because of this that earthly despots who were not popes sought to leverage the institutions weight for their own aims. The church was parasitic, itself, sure..always has been...but it was also the case that a bunch of assholes were making a bad thing worse. As you've gone to lengths to point out, the secular authorities of the time weren't exactly operating on the notion of secularism we have in the present. Think of it like this, one group of assholes was concerned that another group of assholes had too much influence in their shared assholing market...and, I'm sure, some of them were very fine people.
I got it.
Look I am not beyond admitting there have always been religious individuals, and even individual rulers whom had good intent. I am saying long term, throughout the world, most humans view their societies and politics through a religious bent, a more sectarian bent.
I am saying our modern world, at least the pluralism in the west, came about in spite of religion, not because of it.
The further back in time you go, the more literal humans took their holy writings. England's Royal family today is not anything close to the superstitious literalists as when the first kings came about in England and Europe.
Even on an individual level. You cant view Malala's interpretation of the Koran as being the same as how other Muslims like Bin Laden view that same book. But both Saudi Arabia and Iran view their respective politics through a religious lens. America is certainly far more secular, but even today, you can't get a Baptist Trump voting evangelical to agree with a Obama voting black Baptist.
In antiquity it wasn't just that the church was powerful, it was seen by the majority as being the guiding principle of the local rulers. It wasn't always the case that the clergy had absolute power, but more in that more often than not, a ruling family saw their power as being handed down to them through a religious agent.
Even today, outside the age of kings, it is also why a pro sports star will point to the sky after making a score. It is the human false perception that your good fortune has a magic source.
