Assumptions
Religion is cultural, and every culture develops a worldview that contains assumptions about the Universe and the individual. In the Western worldview, the focus is on the individual, so God is personal, individuals are persons, and persons have selves and souls and free will.
These assumptions are inter-related, and if one of these assumptions is not an accurate depiction of reality, then the rest of them make less sense:
If God is not a person, then there would be no one to assess judgment, no one to extend justice or mercy, no way to distinguish between believers and sinners, and no point to living an eternal life.
If there is no afterlife, then there would be no point to judgment, no reason to extend justice or mercy, no punishment or reward for our behavior, and no distinction between believers and sinners.
If we do not have souls, then there would be no one to be judged, no one to accept justice or mercy, no one to accept punishment or reward, and no one or nothing to live an eternal life.
If we do not have free will, then there would be no point to judgment, no basis for extending justice or mercy, no point to punishment or reward, and no distinction between believers and sinners. (After all, a just and merciful god would not judge us for actions or thoughts that we do not control.)
We cannot know whether God is a person or whether there is an afterlife, but science suggests that the person is a construct, that the soul is a fiction, and that we do not have free will (or, at least, that we do not have as much free will as we think that we have.)
If you want to convert your non-Christian family and friends to "save" them from the flames of hell, then you are carrying a pretty heavy load. Not only do you have to convince them that hell is real, but you have to convince them that God is a person and that they have free will and souls.
In this day and age, there are a lot of people who question any and all of these assumptions (and some of them did the homework.) If they do not accept your assumptions, then they are probably not going to be persuaded to accept them just because the Bible said so or the Pope said so.
It seems to me that Christianity cannot be "fixed" until there is a serious re-examination of some of these assumptions and a major revision of the some of this doctrine. All theology is speculation, and the churches should not proclaim (explicity or implicitly) that their opinions are facts.
Can you think of any other art or science or profession that has not changed its assumptions or its opinions for over 1,600 years? Me neither.
These assumptions are inter-related, and if one of these assumptions is not an accurate depiction of reality, then the rest of them make less sense:
If God is not a person, then there would be no one to assess judgment, no one to extend justice or mercy, no way to distinguish between believers and sinners, and no point to living an eternal life.
If there is no afterlife, then there would be no point to judgment, no reason to extend justice or mercy, no punishment or reward for our behavior, and no distinction between believers and sinners.
If we do not have souls, then there would be no one to be judged, no one to accept justice or mercy, no one to accept punishment or reward, and no one or nothing to live an eternal life.
If we do not have free will, then there would be no point to judgment, no basis for extending justice or mercy, no point to punishment or reward, and no distinction between believers and sinners. (After all, a just and merciful god would not judge us for actions or thoughts that we do not control.)
We cannot know whether God is a person or whether there is an afterlife, but science suggests that the person is a construct, that the soul is a fiction, and that we do not have free will (or, at least, that we do not have as much free will as we think that we have.)
If you want to convert your non-Christian family and friends to "save" them from the flames of hell, then you are carrying a pretty heavy load. Not only do you have to convince them that hell is real, but you have to convince them that God is a person and that they have free will and souls.
In this day and age, there are a lot of people who question any and all of these assumptions (and some of them did the homework.) If they do not accept your assumptions, then they are probably not going to be persuaded to accept them just because the Bible said so or the Pope said so.
It seems to me that Christianity cannot be "fixed" until there is a serious re-examination of some of these assumptions and a major revision of the some of this doctrine. All theology is speculation, and the churches should not proclaim (explicity or implicitly) that their opinions are facts.
Can you think of any other art or science or profession that has not changed its assumptions or its opinions for over 1,600 years? Me neither.
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