Religion was developed to control people and perhaps it's actually serving its purpose. Perhaps society needs religion to thrive. Perhaps some of you wouldn't be able to get a lick of work done were you not taught certain actions are taboo; certain actions that, when performed in moderation, are not harmful to anyone.
If I am addicted to shopping, perhaps a good strategy in attempting to stay out of the poorhouse is convincing myself purchasing multiple outfits is a horrific sin. "More than one dress is excessive. Clothes are only needed to retain modesty and warmth. Striving to look fashionable is only done to feed the selfish ego."
The problem is that everyone doesn't share every vice. While you may need to refrain completely from a certain activity in order to lead a productive life, I'm able to moderate.
Stick with whatever contributes to your personal success, but everyone believing harmless acts are sinful is not necessary for society to prosper.
Seeing as how we're confident no punishment awaits us, why don't atheists go through life committing horrific deed after horrific deed? The reason we refrain from harming others, or putting our fellow man in danger, is simply because we're strong enough to do the right thing, i.e., we don't need a support group telling us we should refrain from a single drink because it will lead to the consumption of twenty in twenty-minutes, followed by the shouting of, "road trip!"
Many religious persons are similar to members of the military who only thrive with extreme structure. I'm talking about individuals that wouldn't bother putting on pants were a superior not perennially in their grill. In the armed forces, failing to perform 1,000 jumping jacks before breakfast may be considered sinful, and therefore necessary for some persons, while a nice cup of coffee shortly after waking helps me produce for the remainder of the day.
If you're addicted to pornography, you need to equate the viewing of erotic images as sinful, and completely refrain, or else your life will consist of little else.
Because I lead a productive life without following instructions listed between the covers of the book in which you've chosen to believe, please don't attack me verbally or portray me as "evil" when I haven't an evil bone in my body.
If it keeps you from waking up drunk every morning, by all means study your holy book daily. When you're finished, however, please don't say, "You know who'd also benefit from the words I just read: everyone."
If the church helped you prosper after you'd given up hope, then, by all means, stick with it, but please remember that not all of us have hit rock bottom and therefore aren't interested in hearing about what motivates you to remain on the straight and narrow.
Dance with who brung ya. If anyone asks who brung ya, provide them a biography. If people don't ask, it means you don't need to replace who brung 'em with your partner.
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