(September 19, 2008 at 9:12 am)StewartP Wrote: When I was in church there were a fair number of damaged people.
Damaged emotionally and mentally.
The church made them feel welcome, wanted, useful and forgiven.
Does the church attract more than it's fair proportion of unstable people? And if it does, can it be argued that it is doing a useful thing in giving them a sense of purpose. Even if that purpose is false
I sort of have mixed feelings on this. I hate religion more than even the most ardent atheist, I think, but I don't know if I would go so far as to suggest they are damaged emotionally and mentally. Then again I only attended a congregation briefly and they seemed like average to above mental and emotional stability.
There was one guy who had been a big drug pusher when he was younger and now was a successful business owner, so there was an improvement there but is it worth the spiritual lobotomy religion tends to encourage? Didn't expect that, did you?
From an atheist perspective the importance would be placed on the purpose given to them? From a social perspective as far as getting the loonies off the street so they could be productive members of the contribution, er, uh . . . congregation and in the voting booths come election. The loonies have to have talking heads as well. Isn't really advantageous to the atheist, is it? Politically. In the long run I think that is the important thing.
