Originally Posted by
Squeams
I don't know how organised religion could ever have a place in an advanced society. I'd be interested to hear your reasons why you think it could.
I agree with you about the New Testament - but it falls into line with what I was saying about religion being instigated as a system of governance. You want your population to stop eating measly pork and being generally unpleasant, but the problem is how are you going to tell them (they can't read), and how will you coerce them? Answer is shout it at them every Sunday/whatever heathen day it is for your chosen religion, and fabricate the concepts of heaven and hell. It's fantastic in its simplicity and effect. I don't know about you but I pretty much live by the ten commandments by choice now, not through fear of a pit full of fire, pointy sticks and Melanie Phillips raping me up the bum with a strap-on made of pure hatred. My dad said to me when I was little 'you don't have to believe Jesus was the son of God but if you follow his teachings you'll be alright', and I've tried to aim for that in as secular a way as I can.
I don't recall my parents ever mentioning the bible, in fact the realisation that the bible wasn't just a ridiculous piece of literature and that Jesus was a real chap with some good ideas only became apparent to me at about 23 or 24.
So. This is how I think it could work:
Brands are everything and like it or not, the church is a powerful brand which inspires trust in many people. No other charitable organisation is in a position to do as much good as the church is if only it was properly run.
I wouldn't have any problem at all with them continuing their sermons and offering spiritual advice to those that felt they needed it but how it could really fit in is if the spiritual side of it married properly with pragmatic assistance of a tangible sort to victims of our advanced society.
If the church branched out properly and provided, for example, rehabilitation for drug addicts or near to free childcare for single parents between nine and five or solace for battered wives or temporary accommodation for the homeless on a
large scale, then it could positively and enormously benefit the community
and the economy.
To do this its objectives would have to change considerably. It would have to be properly administered and it would need to report and be accountable to the local council initially and Downing Street as a national entity. I envisage tax payers partially funding these schemes after several years of managing to be self-sufficient. Due to it already being completely trusted as an entity by so many, the lion's share of the funding would come from a suggested donation level in return for use of its services. Some would abuse this but most would see the good it's doing and temper their financial reciprocation accordingly.
I could definitely write loads, but that would be akin to anaesthesia.
Suffice is to say that the church has the potential to be a veritable benevolent behemoth that would fit quite nicely into an advanced society and help sticking-plaster many of its inevitable wounds.
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