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Religion in general and Christianity in particular, thrives and flourishes on the soil of human fears, whether [originally] of unexplainable natural phenomena,

Religion in general and Christianity in particular, thrives and flourishes on the soil of human fears, whether [originally] of unexplainable natural phenomena, of ignorance or of gullibility. Given these premises, like secular empires of old, the Roman Catholic Church, already in the "winter" of its existence, is fated to die. A small percentage of educated Catholics (through birth) care about the medieval doctrines of old men in the Vatican, and very few live by them. The media frenzy about the forthcoming elections of a new CEO give the wrong impression that all this is a truly important occasion.

nnq 14y ago
> thrives and flourishes on the soil of human fears ...it doesn't have to be this way! Educated, healthy and secure individuals also need a form of "socialized spirituality", but there is no good product on the market for them. If traditional religions like Catholicism would start marketing themselves to the "educated, healthy and secure", I believe they could even have some success. Granted, their "product" is not for this market, but it might be more flexible than they think. Historically speaking, Christianity has been quite a flexible "religious product", they even had "soldier monks that killed for God" in the time of the crusades, and although this backfired a bit (ok, more than a bit...), it showed that the Christian faith is at its core very flexible and adaptable. (disclaimer: I'm not promoting any personal view here, I'm personally more in the market for "far eastern spiritual goods" than flavors of Christianity...)
- Udo 14y ago
  I think the fundamental misunderstanding here is not about replacing fear and suppression as a motivation for religion, but whether a belief in the supernatural (and a service structure that caters to it) is necessary in the first place. From my early childhood on, it's one of these things that made me doubt if I'm even part of the same species as most people. I remember a vivid discussion with the local priest about why I stopped coming to bible class (I had only been there once or twice because my parents thought I was missing out on something). The guy said the problem was not that I was rejecting his faith in particular, what made him think I was really sick and disturbed was the fact that I didn't see why anyone would have a religion at all.
  - whoreallyknows 14y ago
    At risk of posting something rather personal, I was led to believe in the existence of God by the tradition of ratiocination in works by Christian authors such as St. Augustine, as well as pre-Christian philosophers such as Plato and Confucius. That said, while I do not think your characterization of religion as anti-science really holds, I agree it is an accurate depiction of the way religion tends to play into contemporary American politics.
pfortuny 14y ago
You certainly have little knowledge of Christians personally, or the ones you know are a bit weird. On the other hand, if you read a little history, Crhistianity was prime for extincion much more than today in the first and second centuries (ever heard of Gnosticism? That ruled in those days, that was the 'real knowledge')... In any case, do not let other people's prejudices conform your thoughts. It is bad for your health.
bdunbar 14y ago
> Given these premises, Your premises are faulty. But that's a lengthy and tedious discussion, probably not suitable for this post. Instead, I invite you to visit your local parish with an open mind, celebrate Mass. I suggest you'll find not ignorance or fear but knowledge and joy. Also: coffee and donuts afterwards.
- qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
  Joy, I bet. Knowledge? That's rather subjective.
  - nivla 14y ago
    To nitpick: Why is Knowledge subjective? Knowledge just means familiarity with something. Now, whether it can be productive for you or not is subjective. For Example: Say, you visit an ancient Mayan temple, learn about their customs and how they performed their rituals. You may or may not be able to take something out of it and enhance your personal life but certainly knowing in detail about it gave you a better position to make that judgement.
    - qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
      You are right for nitpicking. If the term knowledge was meant to be literal and knowledge is not bound to be measurable or precise, of course I can find knowledge with a local parish. Or a local bum. Or a local check-out girl. Or a shaman along the amazon river. I was born into a strict catholic environment, so it's not solely prejudice when I judge Christianity.

nnq 14y ago

> thrives and flourishes on the soil of human fears ...it doesn't have to be this way! Educated, healthy and secure individuals also need a form of "socialized spirituality", but there is no good product on the market for them. If traditional religions like Catholicism would start marketing themselves to the "educated, healthy and secure", I believe they could even have some success. Granted, their "product" is not for this market, but it might be more flexible than they think. Historically speaking, Christianity has been quite a flexible "religious product", they even had "soldier monks that killed for God" in the time of the crusades, and although this backfired a bit (ok, more than a bit...), it showed that the Christian faith is at its core very flexible and adaptable. (disclaimer: I'm not promoting any personal view here, I'm personally more in the market for "far eastern spiritual goods" than flavors of Christianity...)

Udo 14y ago
I think the fundamental misunderstanding here is not about replacing fear and suppression as a motivation for religion, but whether a belief in the supernatural (and a service structure that caters to it) is necessary in the first place. From my early childhood on, it's one of these things that made me doubt if I'm even part of the same species as most people. I remember a vivid discussion with the local priest about why I stopped coming to bible class (I had only been there once or twice because my parents thought I was missing out on something). The guy said the problem was not that I was rejecting his faith in particular, what made him think I was really sick and disturbed was the fact that I didn't see why anyone would have a religion at all.
- whoreallyknows 14y ago
  At risk of posting something rather personal, I was led to believe in the existence of God by the tradition of ratiocination in works by Christian authors such as St. Augustine, as well as pre-Christian philosophers such as Plato and Confucius. That said, while I do not think your characterization of religion as anti-science really holds, I agree it is an accurate depiction of the way religion tends to play into contemporary American politics.

pfortuny 14y ago

You certainly have little knowledge of Christians personally, or the ones you know are a bit weird. On the other hand, if you read a little history, Crhistianity was prime for extincion much more than today in the first and second centuries (ever heard of Gnosticism? That ruled in those days, that was the 'real knowledge')... In any case, do not let other people's prejudices conform your thoughts. It is bad for your health.

bdunbar 14y ago

> Given these premises, Your premises are faulty. But that's a lengthy and tedious discussion, probably not suitable for this post. Instead, I invite you to visit your local parish with an open mind, celebrate Mass. I suggest you'll find not ignorance or fear but knowledge and joy. Also: coffee and donuts afterwards.

qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
Joy, I bet. Knowledge? That's rather subjective.
- nivla 14y ago
  To nitpick: Why is Knowledge subjective? Knowledge just means familiarity with something. Now, whether it can be productive for you or not is subjective. For Example: Say, you visit an ancient Mayan temple, learn about their customs and how they performed their rituals. You may or may not be able to take something out of it and enhance your personal life but certainly knowing in detail about it gave you a better position to make that judgement.
  - qwertzlcoatl 14y ago
    You are right for nitpicking. If the term knowledge was meant to be literal and knowledge is not bound to be measurable or precise, of course I can find knowledge with a local parish. Or a local bum. Or a local check-out girl. Or a shaman along the amazon river. I was born into a strict catholic environment, so it's not solely prejudice when I judge Christianity.