i think if you need to be threatened with hell or bribed with heaven to be a good person you should take a good look in the mirror and accept you're an awful person.
If it's about the comfort of knowing bad people will go to hell and good will be rewarded in regards to loved ones then there's much more flexible ways to believe in that without having to specifically believe in a diety who either doesn't exist or allows awful things to happen indiscriminately or just doesn't give a flying fuck about his creation anymore.
I'm an apatheist - I think the provable existence or non-existence of any deity or higher powers wouldn't affect how i live my life or treat people at all. That said I like religious holidays that centre around food.
I agree with Qukatt. I stopped going to church when I was 13.
I also feel anyone who would create a place as horrible as hell and send people
there just cause they don't kiss his sanctimonious ass is a psychopathic monster.
I do, however, think the whole 'you shouldn't need religion to be a good person' facet of criticism to be rather naive. Same with the 'why does God let bad things happen' line of thought.
I'm with you in disliking religion, but I do think it's more sophisticated than you describe.
Of course it's more sophisticated and you'd have to take an extensive dive into each's particular beliefs and as such there's not enough time and space in my life to do it justice. So above is a highly reductionist view on my main niggles that encompass most religions.
i think if you need to be threatened with hell or bribed with heaven to be a good person you should take a good look in the mirror and accept you're an awful person.
If it's about the comfort of knowing bad people will go to hell and good will be rewarded in regards to loved ones then there's much more flexible ways to believe in that without having to specifically believe in a diety who either doesn't exist or allows awful things to happen indiscriminately or just doesn't give a flying fuck about his creation anymore.
I'm an apatheist - I think the provable existence or non-existence of any deity or higher powers wouldn't affect how i live my life or treat people at all. That said I like religious holidays that centre around food.
I agree with Qukatt. I stopped going to church when I was 13. I also feel anyone who would create a place as horrible as hell and send people there just cause they don't kiss his sanctimonious ass is a psychopathic monster.
Common sentiments, and I completely understand.
I do, however, think the whole 'you shouldn't need religion to be a good person' facet of criticism to be rather naive. Same with the 'why does God let bad things happen' line of thought.
I'm with you in disliking religion, but I do think it's more sophisticated than you describe.
Of course it's more sophisticated and you'd have to take an extensive dive into each's particular beliefs and as such there's not enough time and space in my life to do it justice. So above is a highly reductionist view on my main niggles that encompass most religions.