I pretty much entirely agree but I don't think it started with Calvinism. At least if I'm understanding you correctly, Calvinism may have been an intensification of this in the West but this gameification of religion can be seen all over the place. Such as anywhere where there's a divine right of kings sort of situation and the subsequent hoarding of wealth and the hierarchies that necessitates. And that can be found not only in Catholicism going much farther back but religions all over the world.
Calvinism was a very important theoretical development in Christianity and western religion and western philosophy. It's really solidified the belief that good things happen to people because god loves them and bad things happen to people because they're sinners. Before that the dominating view was that everyone was a sinner together. Calvinism is fundamental to the development of Capitalism because it's when the predominant religious and philosophical belief came to be "Fuck you poors I got mine because god loved me". Wealth was no longer seen as a bad thing but in fact viewed as proof that you were literally chosen by god. And since you were chosen by god anything you did was by definition righteous, and your continued accumulation of wealth was proof. Not to say Europe didn't exploit a whole lot of horrors before Calvinism, but Calvinism was none the less a key change in how European society thought and functioned.
To me the difference is that Catholicism, for as fucked up as it had been, had a "good works" expectation and the saints, while gamified "winners," were nonetheless "good works" champions, and even tied to specific deeds for why they were sainted.
Calvinism on the other hand metagames the entire idea of salvation so much that the "elect" are just richer than the rabble and they are divinely favored because everything is according to divine plan and no mistakes can be possibly made. There are no "saints," only rich assholes that are comforted as a reward for being comfortable.
Saint and Calvanism are very different. You pray to saints so your ship doesn't sink or you find your shoes or your cows don't get sick. In Calvanism you pray because god predestined you to be wealthy and powerful and people who are chosen by god pray, so you pray to close that self-fulfilling loop.
I pretty much entirely agree but I don't think it started with Calvinism. At least if I'm understanding you correctly, Calvinism may have been an intensification of this in the West but this gameification of religion can be seen all over the place. Such as anywhere where there's a divine right of kings sort of situation and the subsequent hoarding of wealth and the hierarchies that necessitates. And that can be found not only in Catholicism going much farther back but religions all over the world.
Calvinism was a very important theoretical development in Christianity and western religion and western philosophy. It's really solidified the belief that good things happen to people because god loves them and bad things happen to people because they're sinners. Before that the dominating view was that everyone was a sinner together. Calvinism is fundamental to the development of Capitalism because it's when the predominant religious and philosophical belief came to be "Fuck you poors I got mine because god loved me". Wealth was no longer seen as a bad thing but in fact viewed as proof that you were literally chosen by god. And since you were chosen by god anything you did was by definition righteous, and your continued accumulation of wealth was proof. Not to say Europe didn't exploit a whole lot of horrors before Calvinism, but Calvinism was none the less a key change in how European society thought and functioned.
ok, good points.
Calvinism didn't start it but it streamlined the glorification of monsters.
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To me the difference is that Catholicism, for as fucked up as it had been, had a "good works" expectation and the saints, while gamified "winners," were nonetheless "good works" champions, and even tied to specific deeds for why they were sainted.
Calvinism on the other hand metagames the entire idea of salvation so much that the "elect" are just richer than the rabble and they are divinely favored because everything is according to divine plan and no mistakes can be possibly made. There are no "saints," only rich assholes that are comforted as a reward for being comfortable.
Saint and Calvanism are very different. You pray to saints so your ship doesn't sink or you find your shoes or your cows don't get sick. In Calvanism you pray because god predestined you to be wealthy and powerful and people who are chosen by god pray, so you pray to close that self-fulfilling loop.
ok, good points.