It is clear to me that much of belief is simply existing in some space between thesis and antithesis.
You live your faith and that brings people in, but the faith is hierarchical. You want to get the atheists and the “others,” but you always wanted to *get* them, and they know it and aren’t into it. It’s all about love but it is concerned with tamping out hedonism.
Western capitalist society also instills neuroticism and retentiveness, and teaches us they are valuable. All the while isolating us.
Religion does the same thing. The religious just get it twice, so they feel special. It’s like having two people regularly rape you, rather than just one.
Religion is valuable though. Religion holds the origin legends, myths, and stories of how different people came to be. That’s important and valuable.
>Western capitalist society also instills neuroticism and retentiveness, and teaches us they are valuable. All the while isolating us.
Well yeah… the entire organized aspect of Christianity was created and subverted by Paul, who’s story is basically if Elon Musk became a white nationalist tomorrow and then 2000 years from now everyone called him a hero. There’s a reason every christian sect claims to be the “right version.”
You make an assumption and a category mistake. Your assumption is that “religion” is automatically an univocal term for theism. It isn’t. Religious beliefs encompass a huge range of views, from the literalist fundamentalist theist to the No theism and beyond of progressive streams.
You make a category mistake: you state all religions seek to convert the other (to “get” atheists, etc). Again, that is an error. For instance, Judaism is distinctly non-proselytising, and one may be a faithful Jew and an atheist.
Lastly, your suggestion that all religion seeks to “deliver” something. You then claim that religion fails to do that. You make a huge assumption that religion actually is intended to “deliver” rather than be an experiential form of existence.
Religion is a man-made mechanism that ultimately serves himself as god and atheism is no different of a mechanism.
> Religion delivers you nothing
I’m an atheist, but I can see that religion “delivers” **some** things to believers:
– a like-minded community
– a list of rules for living your life, no need to think through all the tough questions yourself
– a doctrine about how the universe works, no need to try to discover for yourself
– comforting stories, such as “death is not the end” and “you’ll be rewarded”
– threats to keep you on the approved/safe path, such as “you could go to hell”
Any or all of these could be of benefit to believers.
>You want to get the atheists and the “others,” but you always wanted to get them, and they know it and aren’t into it.
Evangelism is definitely a part of a couple of Religious systems but not a universal quality of Religion.
>Western capitalist society also instills neuroticism and retentiveness, and teaches us they are valuable. All the while isolating us.
>Religion does the same thing. The religious just get it twice, so they feel special. It’s like having two people regularly rape you, rather than just one.
I guess if you’re talking about Evangelism here then I won’t offer a counterargument, but I would suggest that’s a very limited strain of religious thought.
>You live your faith
So does everyone.
>that brings people in,
What people? I’m solitary.
>You want to get the atheists and the “others,”
In the end the only thing i care about is if you mean me or what I love harm, atheist or otherwise.
>It’s all about love
What? I certainly do not love my enemy for instance.
>tamping out hedonism.
Hedonism is great in moderation.
Do you like living in a world without chattel slavery? Go look up which people were abolitionists and ran things like the underground railroad.
I’d say that’s something valuable.
You’ve made very little sense but I understand since I isn’t often make much sense.
Firstly though your premise is entirely incorrect. Religion is extremely valuable, you can know this simply by observing the faithful in prayer.