ruby sparks
Contributor
Not that Politesse needs me to defend him, but I've never really understood it when atheists are critical of progressive versions of Christianity or versions that are different from the literalist point of view. There are so many different Christian sects and interpretations, and the more progressive versions are not all that different from secular humanism. That is why I've always enjoyed the concept of Unitarianism. You take a group of liberal believers, each with their own personal mythology and they combine to form a community dedicate to social justice. Even secular humanism is a bit mythical imo, because it's idealism is not realistic. This is why I've called myself a cherry picking humanist at times. I like most of the philosophy, but much of it is too idealistic, to be more than a myth, plus it doesn't address the other animals that share our habitat with us. I often feel like I love dogs more than I love humans, so there are things about humanism that don't exactly fit with me.
I see it this way. Mythology is a powerful part of human existence. Choose your mythology wisely. Embrace myths that influence you to be a better person, that help you feel unified with others, and that help you experience joy. In believing this way, I have no problem with a person who identifies as both an atheist and a Christian. Christianity is a large part of American culture. It can be seen in many different ways. One can cherry pick the worst elements, like believing that others are going to hell for eternity, or one can cherry pick the nicer parts, like helping the poor and welcoming the stranger. I would think that accepting both of these things would lead to cognitive dissonance in people, if they give it serious thought. It gave me severe cognitive dissonance by the time I was 18.
Unfortunately, these days, it appears as if the majority of white evangelicals have chosen the most rigid, harmful elements of the Christian belief system, while disregarding the rest.
I have a rather flexible world view. I try to be a good, non judgmental person above all else. I am highly skeptical of the concept of free will, as I think we are all products of our genetic heritage as well as our environmental influences. We can't change the genetic component, ( at least not yet) but sometimes we can influence the environmental aspects. Rejecting the concept of free will allows me to be less judgmental. Those are all parts of my worldview, but not all atheists have the same worldview. The same goes for Christians or any other religious group of people.
At a personal, cultural or social level, sure. Cherry pick the nice bits until the cows come home if it makes you and others happier, nicer, better people.
But Poli is saying that in the NT, the NT god is not supposed to be the source of suffering.
Poli is surely a nice person, possibly a nicer person than me in fact, who knows, but that's a claim about the NT, and is clearly just nonsense. Sorry, but it just is.
It'd be a bit like me watching Nightmare on Elm Street and then saying afterwards that in the film, the Freddie Krueger character didn't kill any other characters.
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