I've read through the thread. I see discussions and debates on specific things, which I think are irrelevant in the bigger issue that's obviously behind this entire discussion.
For instance: It's very true that religions of all sorts, including Christianity, have reaped economic favor of all kinds ..now and in the past, as Villain tried to show. But also, I was a raised Roman Catholic (and a very devout one at that), and I can attest to the fact that in general we weren't obligated to pay anything to belong. It was all voluntary and very little, like I believe hyena said at some point. I know of other religions that definitely pay much much more. Either way, some religions cost some or a lot of money sometimes, and sometimes not. Like many other aspects of life, religions have their good sides and their bad sides.
Take, for instance, a hallucinogenic drug.. They're very popular among populations worldwide (something that's evident by their market price anywhere), and it's pretty clear that the reason for this is their overall 'great feeling' and the satisfaction users get from their corresponding 'high', a high that's evidently worth the price. They'll even say that it's a wonderful experience and that it satisfies them in some deep way ..that it fills a void. But they have their bad side. Under the influence of certain drugs, one might find it much easier to jump out of a window ..or otherwise do something to cause real harm to oneself AND to OTHERS around.
In the same way, religions fill voids and make people, worldwide, feel good. They help many feel like they have a purpose in life. They help people cope with the fact that our life is finite. They feed the ever-present hope that the human species has for something 'more'.
And it certainly has its good, I have seen it myself.. conversion to religion fixing a known criminal to a better life; and I would say myself that it undoubtedly did the person good. It is also very true that it helps sick people recover, because the mind (whatever it believes) is very powerful, and it WILL have an effect on other biological processes in your body.
But religious belief certainly has its negative sides, as evident on the millions of shameful acts, losses, deaths, and wars that our history has seen and our present still sees; from the tortures and deaths of the inquisition, the crusades, and the warfare in Ireland by the Christians; to the 'martyr' suicides of Islamic 'terrorists'; to severe segregation and maltreatment of the lower castes of Hinduism; to the unbelievable mass suicides of some modern 'cults', who truly and innocently believed what their minds were persuaded to believe.
Eitherway.. things like "how much money they bring in or not" say nothing about the actual validity of it all.
I absolutely love life. Human emotions really do control our psyche and they are very powerful. So I can say that this "love" for life has driven me to understand every aspect of it as much as is possible. I have sought to know everything there is to know about things like Physiology, Neuroscience, Cognitive Psychology, Consciousness, Evolutionary Biology, Sociology, and Philosophy; and I also have highly advanced information on Chemistry, Physics, and Thermodynamics,..everything that "makes the world go-round" that I painfully acquired in college. And I can tell you that, while there still remain a lot of questions and a lot to be discovered, I more or less am a very lucky person to have the question "who am I, and what am I doing here?" satisfactorily answered.
What people don't know, and don't realize, is how much information there actually IS about these subjects. And it is all out there for the taking, for anyone and everyone who is interested.
So hyena, to answer your question, I do find it a bit "silly" when someone confronts me with certain "deeply religious" beliefs, which make absolutely no logical sense. But I try not to show it.. I'm also not a religion-fighter. I try to be, above all, a respectful and understanding individual.
Forgive me for saying so.. (I don't mean to offend)
But I do know you somewhat. I don't know you personally, but I did know you for a while in this forum, and I have always thought you were indeed a smart individual. And I know that your world has surrounded finances and the like, and not certain other things. And based on what I think I know of you, and on what you've posted in this very thread, I think you are someone who would turn into an Atheist in no-time, if you were exposed to some information...
