Understanding religious delusion

[Brettongarcia]

103. Xtom: religious extremists and destructive people are empowered by your liberal religion

You suggest, like a typical religious liberal, that we should just respect other's religion or myths. And that would solve everything. But it does not.

Unfortunately, some myths are destructive.

1) How about those demanding human adult sacrifice? Here we might ask such people to respect and not interfere with others. But they might not.

2) Even your non-interference religion, ends up interfering after all. Consider those who demand we teach Creationism, to respect their myths? This takes up our class time and tax dollars.

3) Or consider this belief, which would seem to totally passive, not interfering with others at all: what if their belief is that only "faith" is good, and science and reason are bad? What about say, the person who hates reason and science (and supports only "faith&quot . This person does not impose his beliefs on others. But he, having little reason, must be physically taken care of by others; or else he expires. Or he, having little reason, is a dangerous driver, and a dangerous cook, say.

Is the liberal Christian prescription really workable? Is it really possible to leave others to their myths, everyone not effecting others? Such persons can often end up being destructive to themselves and others, usually, one way or another. Indirectly.

Should we respect everyone and their religion, their myth? Your solution doesn't really solve some problems. The main problem of your typical liberal theology is that often, even a religion that does not force its myths at all on others directly, would do so indirectly: such people vote their preferences after all, consciously or unconsciously. Or their beliefs infect their interactions with others. Sometimes in a very destructive way.

It is a pleasant UU liberal fantasy that we can allow all religions, all myths. Or especially we can, if we specify that no one imposes their own beliefs on others. But as a practical matter the UU liberal religion does not work. Because as a practical matter, people's beliefs often affect their behavior. In ways that often impose negatively on others around them.

So your typical Universal libertarian liberal religious apologetic, does not work. It is not true that if everyone just respected other's religions, and did not try to impose their religion on others, everything would be just fine.