I agree on the principle that we can’t “retvrn” to more satisfying practices, because it has nothing to do with time or change and everything to do with how much Protestantism sucks ass. America specifically has like 0 fucking collective practices that encourage people to interact outside of their nuclear family group and (Covid aside, because this is good in that context) honestly Christian norms are really boring and dominant. I have nothing against change, just Christian ideals of domination and, well, boringness. Being boring is good if you’re Christian. And regardless of what Reddit atheists tell you, they’re still Christian at heart. They still fear an all-powerful god and worship their supposedly infallible messengers, it’s just that they don’t logically believe the god itself exists (except when they do, see singularity nerds).
I think reddit atheists maintain a lot of the bad of religion in their mindset, but they importantly lack any sense of community or self-sacrificing. It is like american protestantism removing all the difficult and challenging parts of faith
That’s exactly what Protestantism did, except I would actually say it’s somewhat worse; It maintained a lot of the ideas of self-sacrifice, but divorced them entirely from their material and communal base, instead making self-sacrifice in and of itself righteous. Secular asceticism, done not out of an obligation to one’s community or even to serve a spiritual nourishment, but out of obligation to an invisible god that one often believes doesn’t even exist.
That's not Christianity, that's almost entirely capitalism post 2007. There was lots of shit to do back in the day. Like they still have fireworks wars between cathedrals in Greece or Turkey or somewhere over there. People dress up in wierd outfits for processions. There are literally saints days for every day of the year if you want to have feasts. There are flagellants who march through the streets whipping themselves bloody. There's Dia del muertes, there's santeria, like I cannot even begin to begin to begin to list all the weird funky shit Christians do in various parts of the world. Even in America.
America specifically has like 0 fucking collective practices that encourage people to interact outside of their nuclear family group
This is a really recent phenomena. Like 21st century. There's an old book called "Bowling Alone" from like 20 years ago that looks in to the decline of community in the late 20th century, and it's gotten much worse much much faster in the 21st century.
I think you might be conflating big picture Christianity with like Baptists and Mormons and Christian Fascists and idk, maybe Lutherans. Christianity as a whole is fucking nutty. Like Carnival, with all the beautiful people in the sequins and feathers, and the drinking and the dancing, all that? That's a Christian festival where people are basically getting it all out of their system before Lent starts.
Like back when I was a kid we'd all go to the local Catholic church and sing "traditional" Irish songs and folk music and rebel songs and shit while everyone go drunk.
There's an old Joke that Protestants are allowed to fuck but don't fuck, and Catholics aren't allowed to fuck but fuck all the time. Like Protestants tend to be boring Calvinist shits, but other denominations party.
I agree on the principle that we can’t “retvrn” to more satisfying practices, because it has nothing to do with time or change and everything to do with how much Protestantism sucks ass. America specifically has like 0 fucking collective practices that encourage people to interact outside of their nuclear family group and (Covid aside, because this is good in that context) honestly Christian norms are really boring and dominant. I have nothing against change, just Christian ideals of domination and, well, boringness. Being boring is good if you’re Christian. And regardless of what Reddit atheists tell you, they’re still Christian at heart. They still fear an all-powerful god and worship their supposedly infallible messengers, it’s just that they don’t logically believe the god itself exists (except when they do, see singularity nerds).
I think reddit atheists maintain a lot of the bad of religion in their mindset, but they importantly lack any sense of community or self-sacrificing. It is like american protestantism removing all the difficult and challenging parts of faith
Yeah reddit atheists are just secular Calvinists.
That’s exactly what Protestantism did, except I would actually say it’s somewhat worse; It maintained a lot of the ideas of self-sacrifice, but divorced them entirely from their material and communal base, instead making self-sacrifice in and of itself righteous. Secular asceticism, done not out of an obligation to one’s community or even to serve a spiritual nourishment, but out of obligation to an invisible god that one often believes doesn’t even exist.
What sucks is there is plenty of good social change pushed for by the pre-protestant reformationists. groups like the Anabaptists
That's not Christianity, that's almost entirely capitalism post 2007. There was lots of shit to do back in the day. Like they still have fireworks wars between cathedrals in Greece or Turkey or somewhere over there. People dress up in wierd outfits for processions. There are literally saints days for every day of the year if you want to have feasts. There are flagellants who march through the streets whipping themselves bloody. There's Dia del muertes, there's santeria, like I cannot even begin to begin to begin to list all the weird funky shit Christians do in various parts of the world. Even in America.
This is a really recent phenomena. Like 21st century. There's an old book called "Bowling Alone" from like 20 years ago that looks in to the decline of community in the late 20th century, and it's gotten much worse much much faster in the 21st century.
I think you might be conflating big picture Christianity with like Baptists and Mormons and Christian Fascists and idk, maybe Lutherans. Christianity as a whole is fucking nutty. Like Carnival, with all the beautiful people in the sequins and feathers, and the drinking and the dancing, all that? That's a Christian festival where people are basically getting it all out of their system before Lent starts.
Like back when I was a kid we'd all go to the local Catholic church and sing "traditional" Irish songs and folk music and rebel songs and shit while everyone go drunk.
There's an old Joke that Protestants are allowed to fuck but don't fuck, and Catholics aren't allowed to fuck but fuck all the time. Like Protestants tend to be boring Calvinist shits, but other denominations party.