>You don't really seem to think your religion's tenets are "ethereal and inconsequential". Surely I do. Religion deals with the tangible only indirectly. It is

>You don't really seem to think your religion's tenets are "ethereal and inconsequential". Surely I do. Religion deals with the tangible only indirectly. It is focused on the supernatural. Religious condemnation, to the extent it occurs, is not material in reality. If one truly believed they were doomed, they would want to live as long as possible and put off the anticipated divine punishment. >Then I encourage you to read more about the phenomenon. As you say, "shame is indeed what this is all about". The assumption that one is an ignoramus based on their disagreement with a popular belief is an attempt to humiliate people into silence. I know the argument well. They are always variations of "the Church told me not to do something that I wanted to do. I told them that I couldn't help it, so I was going to do it anyway, and they said, 'Sorry, it's still against the rules.' This caused me untold anxiety and has made me suicidal." I'm not ignorant to such arguments; I simply do not find them credible.