#zounds

why religion is good, but it doesn't matter which one

I'm Jewish. I myself functionally have one religion. The ritual and beliefs I use in my day to day life are, when religious, Jewish. But I still get a lot out of reading scripture from other religions.

A lot of atheists say stuff like this: "Why would I need a religion to tell me that murder is wrong? I already know that, it's obvious. I don't need religion to tell me that." And this is accurate, a particular belief in the supernatural is not necessary to know that killing is bad.

But there are far more life lessons beyond the basics. How do we prevent harming others? How do we protect the people we care about? What actions do we do that hurt other human beings? Why should we want to not cause harm to others? How do we help others overcome their struggles? How do we overcome our own struggles?

I don't think younger atheists have the answers to these questions because they have cut themselves off from the ability to learn from the way the human race keeps track of wisdom. That's what religion's greatest function is: a way to keep track of wisdom. Many atheists cut themselves off from the wisdom present within a religion just because it is from a religion.

I have gone to several Christian Sunday services (like maybe seven?), all Presbyterian. I've always left them a wiser person. I'm not Christian, and the scripture they discuss means very little to me on a spiritual level, but the wisdom is meaningful.

For example, once the chaplain talked about how Thomas doubted Jesus Christ's resurrection until he could feel the zounds (his crucifixion wounds) themselves. Really, this story isn't just about blindly following Jesus. It's about trusting friends. Thomas was a close friend of Jesus's, and he didn't trust his friend when he should have. He didn't realize how meaningful his trust would have been to Jesus when he withheld it. He didn't realize that his skepticism directed at his friend was hurting him.

John 20:29 KJV - Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, "because thou hast seem me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they who have not seen, and yet have believed.

In other words, blessed are those who trust their friends.

After that service, I was a wiser person, for I had learned that my friends value my trust in them, and that the words "I trust you" hold great power. This isn't nearly as obvious as "don't kill people." This kind of wisdom is sitting for us in religious scripture, no matter what the religion actually is. There's even a genre called "wisdom poetry." It's not even universally religious. I'm sure there's secular wisdom poetry. But:

Atheists need a good source of wisdom. Even if they don't believe in the divine, the writings of those who do would do them well to read.

Zounds

it will beat you up soooo much bro