Worship
Posted on: June 29, 2007 - 4:05pm
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Worship
I think we lay too much of the blame for religion on the believer. I am convinced that most believers can’t comprehend gods so they either worship through someone who makes their living selling a god fantasy, or they actually worship these people. Either way the god sellers receive the perks of one who is worshiped. Religion is driven by people who desire to be worshiped
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That's an interesting theory.
I'll bet that xian church leaders would quote some scripture and then tell you how humble they are.
However, I'll also bet that they just love being the "go to guy" when it comes to questions about faith.
It's almost a shame that you posted this in the Freethinker's forum because I'll bet the theists would have plenty to say about this.
Please note that I said "almost".
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I have asked a couple Christians if they ever do things they wouldn’t do if their pastor or priest was present. When they said yes, I asked them, if you really believe that an all-seeing, judgmental god is watching your every move, why would you worry about what some human sees?
Have you read Atheist Menifesto by Michel Onfray? He has a very similar viewpoint that it is the god peddlers that need to be delt with, not the every day dim-wit.
The status of the dim-wit following around their religious leaders was set up during the very creation of xianity (actually with Judeism and Muslim if I'm not mistaken). It was forbidden (and still is in the case of Muslim) for anyone but a priest to even look at the gospels. It had to be 'interpereted' by the holy papas. Wonder why they might insist upon that?
Noel - I understand what you are saying, but I think that Christianity for the most part escapes these claims. Why? Because most pastors, clergy, reverands, etc. actually believe what they are teaching.
No. Religion is driven by people who desire to lead. Leading your congregation, interpreting the Bible, helping people with their problems - that is what these men do. They lead. They are not worshiped - except for the pope, but thats a different story entirely.
I hope that when the world comes to an end I can breathe a sigh of relief, because there will be so much to look forward to.
I actually think it's something in between, but I should add that I've thought about this for exactly as long as it took to read through the thread.
Anyway, I do think that maybe 90% of pastors really believe everything they preach. There are definitely hucksters, but I think most of them can be identified easily because they tend to be on the inside of TV sets.
However, I think that there's still room for a great deal of personal ambition, even when they truly believe. I've known plenty of theists who will happily admit that they have a "problem of pride" with their ministry. I suspect their admission is true, but most likely they're understating things... they don't just have a "problem of pride" -- they're driven by it and controlled by it.
Once again, I am going to recommend "The Authoritarian Specter" by Robert Altmeyer. In giving a detailed psychological description of the authoritarian personality, he is also giving a detailed working model of the typical preacher.
Atheism isn't a lot like religion at all. Unless by "religion" you mean "not religion". --Ciarin
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I haven’t read it.
Weather we are dealing with the god peddlers or the every day dimwit, or the educated intelligent fool, I think the atheist activists will be more effective if we understand how the scam works. I’m convinced that the god peddlers are the villains responsible for keeping religion going with their anything goes sales approach.
Xamination: From my point of view, it seems obvious that theists worship their church leaders, and that the church leaders like it and take advantage of it.
I agree
As much as I think this is accurate, I also think it's only one piece of a bigger puzzle.
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