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Because religion is like a penis. It's fine to have one, fine to enjoy it in private, but don't walk down the street waving it around and touching people with it, and for goodness sakes, keep it away from our schools and children.
In the most vulgar sense, I think you're right. Religion expansionism is certainly tied to the male ego. The need to conquer. In the sense that religion often brings out the worst in people, it is a sword (phallus?) that doesn't know when to remain in the sheath. Holy wars as we know them are fuelled by testosterone and religious zeal in equal amounts.
Then ALL people better start worshipping ALL Gods, not just one they picked and chose to, or from the religion they were born into.
Vanity arises not because of which gods we worship, but because of who we are. It's not tied to religion at all. Human nature is more basic than religion or non-religion.
I appreciate your candor, Seeker, but I am not your judge. It's not up to me to decide what kind of man you are.
I appreciate that, I hope you can see that this garbage that we are are sinners is you being made a victim of something you really should not feel any guilt/deficient over.
Were I a twit that beat my wife/kids, there are laws to deal with that. There are also rehabilitation methods that would address both the victim and perp, for the perp that is jail.
If I was an alcoholic and drove my car and was stopped. Buh bye licence and hefty fine and possible jail time and suspension for at least 5 years before I get to drive again. Programs to help alcoholics.
There are consequences to our actions and as a society, we are usually aware of them. The reality is that in the xian circles, they do not appear to have ANY one ups on unbelievers and I am talking of those claiming born again status and filled with the hs.
So at the end of the day all you have is extra guilt and the vain hope of one day being able to be a better person like after you are dead. In the meantime you wrestle against what you perceive to be your shortcomings and unless I am very lucky, it simply boils down to, I never needed "god" before or after my conversion and deconversion.
Am I perfect? No. Could I be better? yes. Who can make the change? Only ME. There is no magic formula.
ETA: Yes friends can help you, community can help you. That is about all the church can offer but usually they simply have no answers and just pile on the guilt.
OK? I am probably even more of a sinner than either one of them. What's your point? Unless we realize we are sinful people we won't see a need for someone to save us from the judgment for that sin.
What B-S! What's it like going through life carrying around the guilt on your shoulders that you were technically born an evil person full of all sorts of bad things?
The entire concept of this guilt trip is to play on other people's consciences to get them to think like you do. It has absolutely nothing to do with reality and those dictates don't come from anything resembling a fair and loving God but a congenial, vanity obsessed, ego-maniacal dictator who says that unless you believe in him he'll just cast you into eternal torment.
Most people who don't live in the Stone Age have realized that the world is full of opportunities to make us feel guilty about the things we've done. I can see the look on someone's face if I've harmed them or hurt them. I can detect the results of my actions if they're good or bad and I can gauge the level of guilt with which to respond and how to respond.
This whole practice of "Jesus forgives my sons" is almost getting to the point of being morally unacceptable. It is almost parallel to committing a crime and then running to the local District Attorney to ask for forgiveness. Rather than making peace with the victim, it's all about appeasing the overly judgmental and highly critical District Attorney so YOU don't end up in trouble - despite what you've done to someone else.
Vanity arises not because of which gods we worship, but because of who we are. It's not tied to religion at all. Human nature is more basic than religion or non-religion.
Well, thank you for making the point an atheist would. So, why are we discussing it in this thread again?
Anyone who's known of Christopher Hitchens isn't surprised at his volatile rhetoric. He was a contrarian and a polemicist. He had a very strong mind and a powerful, funny, confrontational, and charismatic voice to express it. So whatever topic he tackled it was going to be guns blazing, including his atheism. That was just Christopher Hitchens.
By the same metaphor, I will remember him more as a rather odious war hawk. But that's for another forum.
He certainly was in favor of killing as many religious extremists as possible in Bush's War on Terror. Many peace-loving fans seem to forget that aspect of him - his conservatism.
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