Quote:
Originally Posted by LoveWisdom
"Perfect" is hard to define. For example, in my description, a perfect person would not lose his temper, would not act on jealousy, wouldn't be vengeful. But maybe I got this expectation of perfection from the Bible? Although God IS all those things and yet considered to be perfect. So...it doesn't make sense.
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Yeah, tell me about it.
Ultimately all religions have what we might call "disciplines" which they impose on their believers. These exist as part of the value proposition of the religion. These rituals and practices always have difficult or esoteric components to them which you then need religious doctrine / understanding / insight in order to deal with. If there was no "discipline" or requirements then what would keep you coming back to belong to the group, participate in it, give time and money to it, etc.? Try to imagine a religion that says you're okay as you are, your'e doing great, just keep on doing what your'e doing. People come to religions because they feel they can / should do better. Religion's whole purpose for existence is to tap into that discontent and fear and sell some sort of solution. All gods have demands that must be appeased.
I am not suggesting that it is 100% BS. There is a grain of truth in every error. As humans we have developed moral codes and agreements and obligations and responsibilities that require us to rise above many of our natural inclinations in order to cooperate effectively and accomplish collective goals. Self denial, following rules, developing good habits, are all good things, and all structure in society is not just a bunch of random oppression. But all these things have to be reality-based and directed, not at fulfilling the imagined requirements of the gods or the demands of dogma, but at facilitating beneficial human endeavor.
As you point out, being even-tempered, non-envious, and merciful are all things we should strive to be. The question is, are we striving to be those things because of god's command and to avoid god's punishment -- or because we actually have decided we want to and own that and take personal responsibility for it because we believe it is right and best?
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