Christianity

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Lean negative. Simply because of the effect it has had on people that I care about.

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At the sacrifice of being cliche, the story of Jesus that speaks to me pretty deeply in a way that none of the other world religions' stories do. Buddhism is probably a close second.

One is evidently more narcissistic.

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The question I ask myself is this; 'what is it for?'. Is Christianity anything more than an exercise in collective superstition or does it endow people with something 'good'? Because that would be a useful tool in both evaluating whether Christianity as something that is positive; i.e something not detrimental and would also go someway to evaluating whether it's claims are true.

Has Christianity, collectively, been a force of good for women? Has it been at the forefront of the emancipation of women and championing their equality? Has it broken down patriarchal structures? Has it championed women's choice over their own bodies? Has Christianity been at the forefront of LGBT rights. Does it see dignity in these people, with no judgement made about their sexual orientation? Does it champion their equality, their normality. Their love? That's about 60% of the world in those two groupings and I think the answer, the honest answer, would be no.

Now of course, the same charge can be levied at other religions. It can be levied at secular ethics with the same weight. What is equally true of Christian ethics, with respect to the abhorrent treatment of human 'difference' throughout history, is also true of other ethical systems. I could not deny that.

Of course, it will be argued that sometimes some Christians are at the forefront of change. Examples can easily be found and evaluated. This is of course exactly the same as saying that sometimes some non-Christians are at the forefront of change. As a statement it doesn't mean anything.

Now you might be wondering at what I'm getting at. It is simply this; what is Christianity actually for? If it feigns ignorance or appeals to 'well society didn't know any better, so neither did we' then what is it for? What values does it have, what insight does it provide on the human experience that other beliefs or non belief lack? What 'truth' can there be to the faith if it doesn't reach the truth ahead of or independently of general human progress?

[afleitch]

Now you might be wondering at what I'm getting at. It is simply this; what is Christianity actually for?

Measuring something's value by its utility is such a disgustingly 20th-21st century concept. Oscar Wilde correctly said "All art is quite useless," and the sentiment applies to everything of any real worth in life.

That's exactly my point. As an 'art'; a philosophy, it is quite useless

[afleitch]

Now you might be wondering at what I'm getting at. It is simply this; what is Christianity actually for?

Measuring something's value by its utility is such a disgustingly 20th-21st century concept. Oscar Wilde correctly said "All art is quite useless," and the sentiment applies to everything of any real worth in life.

That's exactly my point. As an 'art'; a philosophy, it is quite useless

Absolutely, and that's its beauty and why it's good. Any ideology or belief system that claims utility is...perhaps not inherently worthy of hostility, but certainly arouses my skepticism. Scientific and "practical" philosophies top the list. Christianity is so metaphysical and interested in a second, spiritual life that its few suggestions as to how to live a just life end up evaporating into "believe in Christ" and doesn't have much if any actual requirements for behavior beyond "splash some water on your face."

However, Christianity does claim utility. It says it is the way, the truth, the life. So much so, it claims utility over many other competing or even complimentary philosophies.