Just curious. I get the feeling the majority of the users on this sub are either outright atheist, or 'support Christianity as a bedrock of Western Civilization, but don't really believe it' agnostic/atheist. Feel free not to answer if you don't want to reveal that about yourself, just a thought I had.
You're viewing a single comment thread. View all comments, or full comment thread.
Comments (96)
sorted by:
I don’t believe in god but Christian’s make the best civilizations.
This is where I am. Taking my child to church and holding my tongue because I can't deny that the spread of outcomes is better.
There are some really important lessons I learned from the bible that my parents should have taught me and did not.
The first of these is that the choice of partner is the most important decision I will ever make. Vastly more important than buying a house, which is a 30 year commitment in this market.
Another is that the purpose of marriage is so that children can have fathers. No more and no less. Without marriage kids don't have dads, and that is very, very bad for kids.
Third is that a good wife is a support system for her husband. She enables him to commit himself to his duties as a husband and father and optimize his behavior for productivity. This is often selfless and self sacrificing behavior for the wife, and it certainly isn't glamorous; but a wife's first priority should be the marriage and her second priority should be her husband. This is reciprocated. A good husband sacrifices for his family every single day.
None of this was in evidence with my family. None. My mother actively prevented me from learning the tells and behaviors of a high-quality woman, which turned out about how you would expect for me.
Kids do not understand the importance of relationships. The media etc. are constantly selling them the message that sex is meaningless. This really, really isn't true. Sex is terrifyingly powerful and should remain sacred for both men and women.
Thirded.
People who sincerely behave in the way that the Bible tells them to just seem to lead better lives than those who don't.
Some Eastern religions also seem to produce decent civilizations, but I'd never want to live there with the whole reincarnation cycle and strict caste and complete lack of value of "lower" human life.
Christian civilizations are the only civilizations atheists can live in without being murdered by the government, including atheist civilizations.
It honestly doesn't matter if God exists or not. I'll give you a case study.
There are two cars. One is fitted with Star Trek Shields and Inertial Dampeners etc. It is invulnerable to collisions. The other is wired with denotator switches and has a claymore mine mounted in the middle of the steering wheel. The slightest tap on another car will detonate the mine.
People will drive these cars differently.
People will also drive these cars differently if they believe the cars are so equipped. If the Star Trek stuff is fake and the Claymore mine is fake, the change in behavior will still occur as long as they remain convinced.
Christians believe in accountability. There is a man with a beard in the clouds writing down everything they do. At some point after they die they will have to face an account of their actions and decisions. Not only that, it is spelled out in very clearly what attitudes, behaviors, and actions are expected of them. They include: Submission to the Universe (the will of God), The practice of gratitude, honesty with all people, including self-honesty, forgiveness of the past rather than holding grudges, and to value sacrifice.
Even if there is no God or our understanding of god is wrong, Christianity is still the most useful belief matrix through which to view the world; especially from a community level.
I'll tell you something, women raised in a strong Christian tradition make much better wives. It isn't a magic cure for the flaws of women, but they are much more likely to be a virgin and to take their marriage seriously as a commitment made before god. That said, most western woman worship at the alter of feminism, no matter which church they attend, and so does their support group.
Christianity isn't perfect, but it is a quantum leap forward from the predecessor Judaism, which seems to be optimized for preserving tribal values and leads (fairly directly) to tribalism rather than integration.
Finally: Here is one for you.
Jews believe that religious practice is more important than faith. First you practice the ceremonies and values of Judaism, then as you grow older faith will follow. This is even more valid for Christians, especially if you are raising a family.