I've been thinking a lot about this issue lately.
Yes, I absolutely believe that religions are factually false. Whatever else someone may think of dogmas, I have not found sufficient evidence to convince me that any of their beliefs are true. That being said, I've been forced to acknowledge that there can also be good aspects to religions.
Case in point, I've been homeless before and there are a lot of homeless services, from food to shelter, that come from religious services. Some preach to you, some do so in a more subtle ways and others you can't even tell that churches are funding them unless you do some research.
I've also heard about my boyfriend's past. Growing up, he also had some serious financial hardship. Most families wouldn't have been able to function, but he got by because the Mormon church is so responsive to the needs of its followers. They have huge warehouses of food and basic household supplies that they gie out to church members in need. His family survived on these for quite a while when finances were tight. This got especially difficult for him to deal with as he got older and realized he's queer. The LDS church is one of the most homophobic churches out there and they donated the lion's share of the money into the campaign for Proposition 8 in California.
So it makes me uncomfortable, especially that last one. I can acknowledge that churches do good things, but I also acknowledge that they do bad things.
Yes, I absolutely believe that religions are factually false. Whatever else someone may think of dogmas, I have not found sufficient evidence to convince me that any of their beliefs are true. That being said, I've been forced to acknowledge that there can also be good aspects to religions.
Case in point, I've been homeless before and there are a lot of homeless services, from food to shelter, that come from religious services. Some preach to you, some do so in a more subtle ways and others you can't even tell that churches are funding them unless you do some research.
I've also heard about my boyfriend's past. Growing up, he also had some serious financial hardship. Most families wouldn't have been able to function, but he got by because the Mormon church is so responsive to the needs of its followers. They have huge warehouses of food and basic household supplies that they gie out to church members in need. His family survived on these for quite a while when finances were tight. This got especially difficult for him to deal with as he got older and realized he's queer. The LDS church is one of the most homophobic churches out there and they donated the lion's share of the money into the campaign for Proposition 8 in California.
So it makes me uncomfortable, especially that last one. I can acknowledge that churches do good things, but I also acknowledge that they do bad things.
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"If you cling to something as the absolute truth and you are caught in it, when the truth comes in person to knock on your door you will refuse to let it in." ~ Siddhartha Gautama
"If you cling to something as the absolute truth and you are caught in it, when the truth comes in person to knock on your door you will refuse to let it in." ~ Siddhartha Gautama
