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Religious reasoning in a nutshell:

“There are things that humans cannot explain or understand so my chosen God must exist.”

In other words:

“I cannot understand or explain certain things, but I am sure that the reason behind everything I cannot understand or explain is my chosen God.”

Ergo, they can magically explain everything after all!

They call this “faith”.

I call this narcissistic idiocy.

#grownostr

#thinkdangerously

David Härer 2y ago

To me religion is not about magical beliefs. It's not the alternative to science when understanding falls short. It's also not about corrupt / criminal institutions.

To me religion is about community, moral guidance and helping others in need. I don't take the bibel literally (not any more). I know that it was written by various human authors, that it has to be read in the context of history.

To the question of god, I don't have any certainty. But I feel comfortable living with doubt. Sometimes I think there is a god independent of humanity, often I can't believe it's possible for god to exist independent of humanity in any meaningful way (i.e. god can interact with us). But I always know, that god exists in the shared faith of religious people. Just like countries, corporations or stories depend on people believing in their existence and authority.

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Discussion

Not my name 2y ago

I’m curious about the moral guidance, community, and helping others aspect you raise.

Do you feel your chosen religion emphasizes those things? Do you feel you would not be a moral person, help others, or have a community without religion?

How do you know that religion, and not you as just a decent human being, is responsible for acting morally, helping others, and maintaining community?

This is one of the biggest lies that religion spreads. It tells people “see how great religion has made you?!” when in fact, good people will be good with or without religion, while bad people will be bad with or without religion. It takes credit for the good that already exists and blames the bad on people who “lack faith”.

Religion is completely pointless but fools people into thinking they’d be lost without it. And often for someone else’s gain.

No thanks.

#grownostr

#thinkdangerously

David Härer 2y ago

After becoming an atheist, this was one of my main critics. I wanted to make a point that I don't need to be christian to be a good person. And this is possible, no question about it. Also, it's entirely possible to be a bad person and christian.

By now I've somewhat found my way back to religion. It's a welcoming community, emphasizes morale and does a lot of charity work. It has a lot of facets, and there are lots of things to criticize. But for me, in my location, the good outweighs the bad by far.