(June 29, 2015 at 4:41 pm)Crossless1 Wrote: But behavior isn't really the bottom line, is it? It is not a great stretch to imagine a theistic Buddhist or a Hindu exhibiting precisely those qualities (or, for that matter, an atheist exhibiting each quality other than #1). Yet, according to most of the staunch Christians I've ever encountered, each person would nevertheless deserve damnation. Why? Because it's not about what you do or don't do; it's primarily about what you believe. And what do Christians believe? A train load of childish nonsense that should make a self-respecting, half bright child of twelve blush for shame. Believe you are unworthy by your very nature and deserving of an alleged god's eternal wrath; believe in vicarious redemption and in the blood sacrifice of Jesus to wash away humanity's alleged sin debt to this god; believe in Jesus' resurrection; believe he will return again (any day now, they've been bleating for two-thousand years) to institute this god's kingdom on Earth, etc. Oh, and let's not forget the great unspoken commandment: whatever you do, try really hard not to notice the complete lack of good evidence that this peculiar god even exists. Stick to the story no matter what -- even if that means corrupting your intellectual integrity with cheap sophistry to avoid admitting what is obvious: you're playing make-believe.
You are right, good people exhibit these qualities.
Why do you think that 2+ billion people believe what would make a "half bright child of twelve blush for shame?" Is it that you understand it better than they do and see the error of their way or is it that you don't understand it as well as you think you do? The biggest problem is that you start with the premise there is no God. What if there is? Would Christianity be the same "childish nonsense" you think it is?
