My mother said that "a thousand years is as a single day to God" to make the seven days of creation consistent with a million years of evolution.
But that makes the seven days consistent with seven thousand years; A day would need to be half a billion years to god for this claim to bring the timeline anywhere close to reality. She was off by a factor of 500,000, which is no small difference.
And having papered over that one tiny crack, we find that all the rest of the problems remain - the creation story isn’t just a bit off, it’s completely useless as a description of anything real,
even after you change it to say something it doesn’t say about timing.
Being nice to religious beliefs, because we don’t want to be nasty to people we love and respect, is utterly pernicious and corrosive to education.
People are not their beliefs; I am sure your parents were lovely human beings, but nevertheless they believed a bunch of stuff that was neither true nor useful (other than as a tribal marker, which is only useful as long as it is endemic, and even then only at the most selfish level).
Stories and myths are used to provide moral lessons, just like a lot of literature today. The notion of God instills a positive outlook on life, a faith that the world is a good place, at least it is if we all help to make it so. Mother would do a felt board telling of "Pilgrim's Progress", where we are introduced to virtues and vices as characters in the story. So, there is some value to be gained from a religious upbringing, regardless where you end up later in life. I sometimes worry that people who miss out on this experience may not feel as morally anchored. In any case, every person who professes a belief in morality is a possible ally of every other like-minded person. We can work together for the common good without settling on a common theology.
There may be some benefit to being brought up in a religious home in some cases, but that wasn't the case for me. Religion gave my father, who suffered from mental illness, an excuse to beat us. Religion denied me the right to engage in some of the things that children enjoy, like dancing, and playing card games. Religion made me wonder why a god was so cruel that he would send people to an eternal hell for the simple mistake of not recognizing him. Religion made me worry about my Catholic friends who I was told were going to hell. Religion robbed me of my childhood Sundays, as they were spent in church from morning to evening with only small breaks for meals. '
I raised my son without religion, while allowing him to be mildly exposed to his father's religion. I never told him what to believe, but I did. teach him what was right and what was wrong. He is a better personl than most Christians I've known. He's a wonderful father and supportive husband. He's never hurt anyone or hated anyone. I believe that most children benefit from not being overly exposed to religion, assuming they have good parents and positive influences in their lives.
I love my mother, who at 96 suffers from advanced dementia. I've forgiven her for forcing religion on me, as I see her as a victim of harsh indoctrination when she was in her 20s. She preached to my father until he also bought into the conservative Christian cult. So, while you may have felt that you benefitted from a childhood full of religious mythology, please don't project that on the rest of us.
I believe that my sister was harmed emotionally from religion, although she still clings to it, like a drug. Liberal versions of religion may be harmless, but sadly, there are too many harsh, conservative forms of religion that poison children, before they are old enough to think independently.
Sure, there are some morality tales in religion, but it's not necessary to learn morality via religion. All a parent has to do is set a good example, if they want to try and raise a morally sound child, assuming the child isn't predisposed with a brain disorder that leaves them unable to experience empathy.
Christianity teaches that all one has to do is ask forgiveness and magically their sins will be forgiven. I don't see that as a positive way of teaching moral values. One should take responsibility for their actions instead of simply asking the magical entity known as god to forgive them.
I do agree that people with similar values should unite and put aside their differences concerning their beliefs. Character and moral values are what's important.
