If I were a Christian (or any devotee of one of the Abrahamic religions), I don't think I'd be able to get out of bed in the mornings. For 1200 years, the Catholic church ruled Europe with snipe and subversion and torture and repression until the first awakenings of the Renaissance in the 1500s.
In that time, people believed they knew everything there was to know. They thought the Earth was at the centre of the solar system - and possibly the universe - until the Copernican revolution; they thought the Sun and planets and stars orbited the Earth in 'spheres' and perfect circles (hence the expression: 'music of the spheres'); they thought the stars had a bearing on destiny; they thought mental illness was caused by demonic possession (the usual 'cure' was to drill a hole in the afflicted's head through which the demon would pass); they thought that comets were portents highlighting God's wrath at the sinful multitudes (or possibly highlighting the imminent downfall of certain kings - as happened in 1066); they believed they were made in God's image out of dust; they believed women were inferior and infidels should be held as slaves and chattel.
I don't think I could get up in the mornings with the knowledge that some deity might hold a definite plan for my life. I don't think I could get up if I thought that everything was known and that there were no more triumphs to be had. I don't see how Christians can get up in the mornings with their short-sighted, stunted views on reality.
I don't see how Christians can assume to have definite knowledge on the cosmos and its origin, and the origin of man. I don't think I could get up assuming the world is 6,013 years old and that the Renaissance was a bad thing. I don't think I could get up if I were to believe that women are subordinate and that certain peoples can rightly and justifiably be held as slaves. I don't think I could get up if I were a Christian. My current awe at the beauty of nature would be expunged and replaced with a numbing, dogmatic nothingness. The beauty of evolution and its tangible and delicate dancings through time would be gone. If I were a Christian, there would be nothing more to live for. If I were a Christian, I would follow the teachings of Christ.
Welcome to my blog. It's a hotch-potch of bits and bobs, some of which are reviews; others of which are political stories, poems, original ideas and other random pieces - I must stress that there isn't a theme to my blog. I try to write with conviction - insofar as my weak sense of conviction allows. I try to promote reason, in general, through discussions on religion and such things as environmentalism. I promote atheism and a healthy skepticism. I hope you enjoy what you read; please comment.
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