• Blum0108@lemmy.world
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      19 days ago

      All religions steal from prior religions, it’s all about who makes up the best story. The best religious memes survive and spread.

      • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nzOP
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        19 days ago

        An all-loving god sentencing sinners to eternal damnation is bad writing. Plus it ethically justifies ANY atrocity if the atrocity is done in service of converting ONE sinner. One person going to hell is worse than a million holocausts. A Christian who believes in hell can justify doing anything to “save souls”. Conversion therapy, witch burnings, crusades… If it keeps one person out of hell, it was worth it. That’s not a good mindset.

        • Blum0108@lemmy.world
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          18 days ago

          It’s about conversion, control, and propagation of religious ideas. It isn’t about making the nicest fairytale.

        • WammKD@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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          17 days ago

          As a Catholic, it’s slightly grating for most criticisms regarding Christianity to just be reactions to the most obnoxious Protestants.

          (for reference,

          • not being a Christian isn’t a sin
          • while it is required to believe a Hell exists, there is no requirement to believe anyone is there
          • free choice/will is paramount
            • we break sins into veneal and mortal
              • mortal sins are the ones that send you to Hell
            • you cannot commit a mortal sin without full knowledge that what you’re doing is wrong and choosing so anyway
            • we may not necessary be clear on the hows/whys/details but it follows that anyone in Hell is there because of deliberate choice on their part
            • again, not believing isn’t a sin
            • see previous point about the possibility no one is there

          Not to say that Catholicism doesn’t have things it can be criticized for (Lord knows) but I know the type of Christians your taking about and it’s just so far and beyond removed from our actual theology)

          • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nzOP
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            17 days ago

            Is emitting carbon a mortal sin? Helping end all life on earth seems like some major grade heresy to drag, and a sixth commandment violation. If you know climate change is real and caused by humans, is driving a car a mortal sin?

            • WammKD@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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              17 days ago

              I mean, they’re good questions. I don’t know if knowing the answer is simple, though.

              I would say that I’d think any conception of a Just or Good god would take into account one’s level of power in a system, though.

              A CEO who has access to the data and the power to do something? I expect you could make the argument yes.

              I think the average person who has to use a car because it’s the only way to get to the job which feeds their family is probably not committing a mortal sin.

              And I think it’s fair to consider cases where a person may be aware of the data (and able to transfer away from a car by making changes in their life) but not fully register how they contribute to it to be cases where we might argue that they aren’t fully aware that they’re doing wrong or harm.

              • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nzOP
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                16 days ago

                So you can know all the facts and do the wrong thing, but it’s okay if you haven’t thought about the ethics very hard? That seems like a troublesome system. Doesn’t it incentivise people to avoid reasoning about their own actions?

                • WammKD@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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                  16 days ago

                  I mean, (at least at this point in time) Catholicism doesn’t claim to know exactly on that specific issue.

                  That would be my position, I think; I might think you may be being too black and white about how people process information and how easy that is or isn’t.

                  But, if that’s too lenient for you, I’m sure you could find other Catholics who take a more concrete or defined stance. There simply isn’t any definive dogma, yet, promulgated by the church on exactly where the line is on how much your struggling with an issue is sufficient enough for God.

                  Perhaps I’m too lenient but I do think that most people don’t decide to do things because they think it’ll make the world worse; that’s just me, though.

                  • Dragon Rider (drag)@lemmy.nzOP
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                    16 days ago

                    Drag is very disappointed in most people because they don’t think very hard about the consequences of their actions. They do bad stuff like driving cars, voting Republican, eating meat. Drag always wondered where people picked up this nasty habit.

                    Christianity says that people eating the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil is sin. In other words, knowing right from wrong is bad. Do you think Christianity is responsible for people today being so unwilling to think about the consequences of their actions?

      • vzq@lemmy.world
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        19 days ago

        This is so true! There was a true Cambrian explosion of holy men and mystics in the first century in the eastern Roman Empire. Christianity was the one that out-competed them all. The best brain worm. The two thousand year meme.