If Christianity is man made, why does everything about it go against man’s desires? Does Christianity go against man’s desires? If so, is that evidence for Christianity? I answer this question, discussing the history of Christianity, the cognitive science of religion, Buddhism, Jainism, Islam, and more.
The whole “atheists can’t answer this question” and “atheists can’t explain this” thing is really getting old.
“Thou shall not kill” - God
“What!? But that goes against my base desires!” - A “christian”
Most people have no trouble following Christianitys rules, and if you struggle without Sky Daddy watching your every move, maybe your a bad person.
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Christianity specifically was also an amalgamation of a lot of other popular myths and religions of the time, as well as the appropriation of various popular pagan rituals like Saturnalia (Xmas), Samhain (Halloween), and Oestara (Easter). Many of the saints fall under this too.
Social control + wrangling popular myths/legends/etc = the most perfectly profitable control mechanism for roughly 2000 years
If all stds were cured, would there still be such a stigma attached to sexual promiscuity? Religion has always suggested getting a sexual disease is gods punishment for debaucherous behaviour.
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STD and unwanted pregnancy
Religion has definitely been coopted for control, but the 10 commandments, and most of Jesus teachings are not really controversial or controlling (The arent progressive in todays terms, but for their time I think they are very reasonable).
The layers of bullshit that has been built on top certainly is controlling.
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I am concerned you don’t know the 10 commandments if you think they’re not controversial or controlling.
To name a few most forgotten:
Honor the sabbath day. Only worship yhwh. Don’t make any idols. Don’t take yhwv’s name in vain. And a lesser thought-crime: Don’t covet.
Sure, the rest are societally beneficial. But these that are often forgotten are about control and nothing else.
Edit: It’s hardly ever brought up that monotheism in Judaism wasn’t a thing until much later. So, again, these forgotten rules are about controlling who and even how to worship.
Fair, those three arent the best, but they are also open to interpretation. Honor the sabbath doesnt have to mean hide in a cave all day, could just be treated as take some time to rest. One god, the lords name and idols dont really impact anyone (as most.christians dont follow it anyway, and most athiests dont care either)
And while those may cause a minor impact to someones life, its nothing compared to the control being exerted via abortion bans and other modern religeous bullshit.
It seems like you’re just being passive to avoid addressing the fact that these are extremely restrictive.
There is no doubt that the 10 commandments are exclusionary and intended to place any followers under the control of local religious authority.
This is like saying “Oh, we just pick and choose what to follow.”
So, if that’s the case, what’s the point of following any of it? Jesus’ words were very specific on that part. “I come not to abolish the law, but to fulfill the law and the prophets.”
It’s not a pick and choose kind of religion, even the christian-addendum.
That may be your interpretation, but its not mine. I am not christian and have no trouble following them, because they are so general and open to interpretation.
And yet there are hundreds of denominations that do exactly pick and choose. It seems you are the one insisting that you cannot pick and choose. (And obviously church leaders would prefer you dont pick and choose, but usually they do as well).
The overall vibe from my Christian religious education was that as long as you are striving to be a good person, you have a place in Heaven. To err is human, and Jesus died on the cross to absolve mankind of their sins. This made atheism an obvious choice, because I do strive to be a good person, so no need to go to church and have someone else tell me what to do.
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If your gonna take the rules listed in the bible strictly, then sure. But your definition of Christian values is then far more strict than almost everyone elses interpretation, that its basically a “no true scotsman” kinda deal.
If you want to insist that the only true Christian is someone who follows scripture verbatim and never strays, fine, they are super controlled and oppressed.
As someone who grew up in the bible belt, who had too many questions for the Lutheran church and was asked to leave.
I could not reconcile the Church’s desire to HARM people that weren’t a part of it. Jesus was a love all hippy from THEIR scriptures.
Supply Side Jesus is anathema to actual christian practice.
Hence, I parted from the church, and found my own way. It took more effort than listening to a pontificating asshole to achieve, but I’m comfortable with my beliefs. The struggle, the pain, the blood, the tears. All worth it.
For reference, I am a Hecatean witch because Trivia visited me on three occasions. More than Jebus has done.
It takes some insane levels of mental gymnastics to go from “Love thy neighbour” to “Let them die if they are poor or brown”.
If more people took your path (spending the time to analyse their own beliefs) the world would be in a lot better place. I was never part of a church, so I didnt have to take the same path, but I appreciate it cant have been easy.
I dont know much about Hecatean or Trivia, but it is refreshing the the “Cult” section on wikipedia doesnt end with “and then they all killed themselves” 😄. From a quick skim (which probably over simplifies it), but it seems fairly chill 🙂.
You mean they have no problem following those rules that are not specific to a religion and are (in some form or another) necessary for a civilized society. But the rules that define Christianity are more or less meaningless to someone not following it, and a lot of Christians are pretty loose about them as well. “No idols”? “No other gods”? “Keep the sabbath holy”? “Don’t use god’s name in vain”?
The “trick” about religions is that they are part necessary rules and customs that keep society going, and then they mix in their own, and that conglomerate keeps people bound to a religion and religions around even in “enlightened” times when people should be aware that those rules are not anything divine.
Essentially yes. The general rules are easy to follow, the more esoteric ones that actual Christians often ignore are also very easy to ignore.
No arguments on your second point either, churches absolutely use the baseline values as a gateway to get people in the door, and then begin layering more control one you are in. Eg. Evangelicals, properity gospels, scientology.
Sex besides and before marriage and same sex partners are not avoidable desires like killing
The fall