We're now down to 'but there is too much enduring value in religion - ever to think of abandoning it cold.' Is there too much enduring value in human sacrifice

We're now down to 'but there is too much enduring value in religion - ever to think of abandoning it cold.' Is there too much enduring value in human sacrifice, to ever think of abandoning it cold? Or maybe slavery? What about cannibalism, can we abandon cannibalism cold? It's not even an argument, it's an opinion that's trying to sneak in 'enduring value' to justify its position. Guess what, I can sneak 'enduring value' into anything that's been done for long periods of time - there has to be something other than a historical narrative or personal preference, for us to make decisions regarding value collectively. > All three contemporary writers want to get rid of religion immediately and with no remainder. Why is it that I feel safe to bet a billion dollars that Sam Harris is well aware of the many positive aspects of religion and wouldn't want to get rid of them with 'no remainder'? Oh, maybe it's because he's said so verbatim, ad nauseum? I wish journalists would either do their job and actually contact the people whose stances they wish to portray to confirm that they're portraying them accurately, or simply stick to their usual tactics of cherry picking dead people's writings to prop up their agenda, which is what this author does with Freud. --- The gap of not being able to take religion seriously, and yet wanting to have a uniting narrative to guide us, is what Nietzshe has pointed out almost 150 years ago (God is dead). It has since been coined 'nihilism'. It's been almost 150 years and no one has come up and been able to popularize a post-religion narrative that would appeal across country borders. We've been stuck with nationalist dogma of Hitler, Lenin, Stalin, Mao and many others. I don't know if it's because only those seeking political power bother to articulate powerful narratives, or because we've simply hit upon a limit of the average human, or what the deal is. Could it be that a narrative of being respectful towards all races and creeds is only something people can tolerate, but not ever something they can rally behind and be energized about? I don't know, and nobody that I'm aware of has touched this subject - it would have to be somebody who is financially independent, highly intelligent and compassionate. If there is such a person, I'd like to know who it is because given that there are billions of us, I figure at least one of us has some compelling ideas on these topics.