Nick_A wrote: ↑Mon Aug 15, 2022 11:14 pm
After 400 posts we still don't know the purpose of Christianity. For those attracted to the intellectual truths of Christianity, it requires contemplating two questions: what is Man and what is God? We don't know so prefer to argue over what we don't know about both questions.
If we don't know what man is, how can we know what in him has a cosmic religious feeling which can transcend both fear and the morality of a man made personal God?
This is why I raised this thread:
"Know Thyself" What does that Entail?
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35481
What is God?
God is an Impossibility [to be Real]
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=24704
Rather, the unreal God is driven by an existential crisis;
God as a Psychological Derivative
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=35084
As Einstein stated, religion started from fear;
The development from a religion of fear ... that primitive religions are based purely on fear ... the truth is that all religions are a varying blend of both types, with this differentiation: that on the higher levels of social life the religion of morality predominates.
I shall call it cosmic religious feeling .. there is no anthropomorphic conception of God corresponding to it.
Buddhism, as we have learned especially from the wonderful writings of Schopenhauer, contains a much stronger element of this.
-- Albert Einstein, Religion and Science, NY Times, November 9, 1930.
Regardless that religion is related to a
cosmic religious feeling, it is fundamentally driven by 'fears' due to cognitive dissonances arising from an
inherent existential crisis.
I believe Christianity with its overriding pacifist maxims is the most optimal [effective] religion for theists given the current phase of the majority's spiritual-religio-psychological state.
The most evil religious ideological is MALSI [
read backward] as evident with the attempted murder of Salman Rushdie and all the terrible evil and violent throughout its history to the present.
Whilst Buddhism is praised by Einstein is more preferable [which I agree], Buddhism-proper is too advanced for the majority in our present phase of spiritual evolution, thus will have to be considered for the future.
In the future, we need to wean off all religions, i.e. we merely have to incorporate Buddhist fundamentals with other positive spiritual elements without any need for a specific religion.