Religions are fairy tales for adults. Should we encourage them to grow up?

[Gnostic Christian Bishop]

Religions are fairy tales for adults. Should we encourage them to grow up?

My mind set is close to Daniel Dennett as far as what religious people / theist should become after they grow up.

Personally, I like a lot of the social functions and appeasement of our need for fellowship, hivishness and tribalism offered by religious institutions.



So I do not want to kill all religions but just encourage them to be more moral, tolerant and give equality to women and gays.

Having said the above, People and recent trends to read scriptures literally have cause many to forget that religions were invented as theatre and myth and were never meant to be read or taken literally. They were designed to seek God, not to find one.

Bill Moyers Journal . Watch & Listen | PBS

Rabbi Hillel, the older contemporary of Jesus, said that when asked to sum up the whole of Jewish teaching, while he stood on one leg, said, "The Golden Rule. That which is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the Torah. And everything else is only commentary. Now, go and study it."

Please listen as to what is said about literal reading.

"Origen, the great second or third century Greek commentator on the Bible said that it is absolutely impossible to take these texts literally. You simply cannot do so. And he said, "God has put these sort of conundrums and paradoxes in so that we are forced to seek a deeper meaning."

As you can see from the following, religions and temples have always been about entertainment and fellowship.



If Christianity and Islam could return to the old way of seeking God instead of idol worshiping false Gods, perhaps jihadists and other fundamental believers might chill and get along the way they have at some points in our past history.

Religions are fairy tales for adults. If this is a truth, we should encourage Christianity and Islam as well as all other religions to grow up and return to their better past of seeking God instead of idol worshiping Yahweh and Allah. Both of them are mythical and manmade Gods.

Regards

DL

[Ted]

Maybe what we should do is show them that the Bible is still valid today if interpreted on that basis. ie. Jesus told us to look after the poor and oppressed. They still exist today. They could also learn that the cross is a symbol of God's love as I see it. They really should be taught about the post theistic view of God and reality. Why through the baby out with the bath water? All Christians do not necessarily read the Bible literally. That is simply not true. That is a failure to do some good research same as Richard Dawkins. Not all are fairy tales but good teachers can use any tale to present a truth just like the parables. Midrash.

[Gnostic Christian Bishop]

Ted;1485155 wrote: Maybe what we should do is show them that the Bible is still valid today if interpreted on that basis. ie. Jesus told us to look after the poor and oppressed. They still exist today. They could also learn that the cross is a symbol of God's love as I see it. They really should be taught about the post theistic view of God and reality. Why through the baby out with the bath water? All Christians do not necessarily read the Bible literally. That is simply not true. That is a failure to do some good research same as Richard Dawkins. Not all are fairy tales but good teachers can use any tale to present a truth just like the parables. Midrash.


As I stated in the O.P., I do not want to throw the baby out with the bath water.

I see many benefits to religions but the present mainstream religions are not worthy of respect as they produce homophobic and misogynous citizens who do not believe in the cornerstone of law, equality.

I agree that the bible, if read right is likely one of the most valuable books of wisdom we have. It was quite helpful in my own apotheosis.

Said of Gnostic Christian versus Christian bible reading practices.

“Both read the Bible day and night; but you read black where I read white.”

William Blake.

I would take this further and advise you to read any scriptures from as many POV as is within you. Question everything including yourself.

The bible, if read as a book of wisdom, does have much wisdom though.

You just have to read it the way Gnostics do and revers a lot of the Christian morals.

Christians call evil good while Gnostic Christians call evil, evil.

I E. Gnostic Christians think that bible God, the demiurge to us, is quite immoral for thinking that torturing King David's baby for 6 days before finally killing it is good justice. Gnostic Christians think that evil while Christians think that a good form of justice.

Which group do you think is right?

Regards

DL