RE: Why religion should not vanish
June 13, 2014 at 5:43 pm
(This post was last modified: June 13, 2014 at 5:50 pm by Vox.)
(June 13, 2014 at 5:26 pm)Chad32 Wrote: 1: charity has little to do with religion
I agree, and it takes place apart from it but we cannot deny religion is a big motivator for people. The Catholic Church is the single biggest provider of healthcare for AIDS sufferers in the world, just as it practically single-handedly supports the education system in Ireland, Portugal and most of Latin America.
I find myself unsure who would be moved to take up this task should Catholicism vanish.
(June 13, 2014 at 5:26 pm)Chad32 Wrote: 2: pedophile priests and laws preventing equality kind of negate the "crime prevention" aspect. The eternal judgement is far removed from any just system anyway. at least as far as christianity goes.
I agree there are exceptions, but for the average lay believer it has a powerful impact upon their behavior. My great grandmother for instance would recoil at the thought of eating meat on a friday, just as my grandmother was mortified by the idea of pre marital sex. Neither of them would have ever dreamed of taking part in either of those activities or any others forbidden by the Catholic Church at that time.
(June 13, 2014 at 5:26 pm)Chad32 Wrote: 3: most, if not all, the good ethics listed in the bible are older than the religion itsself. The golden rule being a good example.
Indeed, but again the religion itself is a tried and tested vehicle for instilling this code of ethics into the beliver. I don't see many Catholic schoolchildren sat with copies of Plato's republic or Aristotelian commentaries but they get a good big old dose of Platonism every time they go to a Catechism class.
(June 13, 2014 at 5:26 pm)Chad32 Wrote: 4: common cause is better suited to things that aren't blatantly devisive.
Exactly what I am suggesting, as eccentric as they are the moonies are a prime example of this. Clearly, I don't suspect they ever have any chance of achieving their aims what with the scandals within or since the death of their founder but they strive to unite all religions and nations under one banner, that of God and a sense of shared humanity. That seems quite constructive to me.
(June 13, 2014 at 5:26 pm)Chad32 Wrote: I know your description just says theist, and not christian, but christianity is the religion I know best, so I comment in regards to that.
Absolutely fine, this could be applied to any religion really (short of parodies like LaVey Satanism or something).
