Are religions divisive?
Contents
That is a qualified no.
Emotionally immature people, unable to reason, are tribal. This is the source of the divisiveness humanity sometimes encounters within civilization. Religion does not make emotionally immature people. Instead, they are born that way. Religion, in fact, exists to move people to conceptual thinking so that ‘perception’ of God (the creator) is possible. In this big-picture (humility before God’s truth) thinking, an understanding of others is possible, and various subjective truths can be reasonably reconciled. So far, a free secular civilization, per se, has not systematically produced that outcome. In fact, civilizational success likely exacerbates tribalism. Yet, with emotional maturity and, hopefully, later intellectual maturity, individuals come to see and understand the perspectives of others. Tribalism is thereby escaped, and societal freedom is further enabled and perpetuated. In the meantime, however, religion, for civilization’s sake, promotes a body of truth to the emotionally immature (the fallen) to foster good behavior for group harmony. Unfortunately, this body of truth, acquired and held fearfully by the fallen (under the threat of sin), makes the very definition of a tribe.
And that’s a problem.
Nevertheless, an atheistic or secular approach is necessarily doomed
Absolute truth is key
Atheists have concluded that because they do not evangelize for God, a God that none see, they are the rational ones. But they are tragically mistaken. Atheists are, by admission, not rational. They freely declare that there is no evidence for a creator. When theists suggest that objective reality (i.e., “absolute truth”) is evidence of a creator, atheists declare that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Yet, reason is definitively the pursuit of that absolute truth. But atheists cannot see it. Lacking free will (the capacity to halt the SELF’s thinking), atheists are trapped by their habitual thinking. And this is how tribes are made. This is how division arises.
United in thought is tribalism
This is what makes the embedded Adrian Roger’s quote so interesting (see the embedded post by “Brett” on the adjacent X post). Tribes unite in thinking and routinely in error. This is true because some tribal leaders benefit from error. Yet, this is what makes tribes, tribes: homogeneity of thought, no matter what it is.
Adrian Rogers (Pastor) full quote:
“It is better to be divided by truth than to be united in error. It is better to speak the truth that hurts and then heals, than falsehood that comforts and then kills.”
Adrian Rogers
Again, X user “Godelss Liz” errs because she concludes that she knows the truth. Accordingly, she lacks free will. She cannot halt her SELF’s thinking. This is dysrationality. Atheists, because they reject the premise of absolute truth, are pathologically (always) irrational.
Atheism (postmodernism) is dysrationality.
Dysrationality makes people divided. You will know it as “identity politics,” Marxism, leftism, atheism, et al.
At the time of the Roman Empire’s founding, Rome was divided and disintegrating. The Catholic Church was established to unify and save it. The action of Emperor Constantine initiated this.
Once, the Church had awesome philosopher-theologians who helped the people think. This appears to be no longer true. I attribute this decline to Calvinism. So, Christianity, in part, has also succumbed to tribalism.
However, this was never its goal. For harmony, we must share the same process and skill for finding truth. Enforcing “truth” is the definition of tribalism.
An open mind means tribal truths, that is, emotionally held truths, are not controlling
The war on faith
Unfortunately, there is a war on Christianity.
Maybe you are not particularly religious. That’s fine. But (Western) civilization is built upon it. Without Christianity, Western Civilization would fall.
You will recognize the beginning of the collapse because our civilization will become more tribal. Identity (our tribe) will define us.
Free thought denies tribalism
Once the leap to reason has been taken (via free will), the mode of belief testing has changed. In reason, a person disproves. Whereas in habit, a person proves. In “habit” (the pursuit of the necessary condition), there is room for only ONE truth. In reason (the pursuit of the sufficient condition), many subjective truths are welcome and desired.
A rational society tolerates subjective truths but endeavors to reconcile them rationally for a single objective truth
For Calvinists, truth does not work this way. Truth is Biblical. Biblical thinking, when absolute, unfortunately, is tribal. Adrian Rogers offers a solution—faith in the process of pursuing truth.
“A faith that hasn’t been tested can’t be trusted.”
Adrian Rogers
This is reason, AKA Grace, which is also Biblical. Access to Grace is through free will. Free will, the escape from tribalism, is God’s gift to us all.
Between blocks B and C:
Critically, however, because of the UNKNOWN hypothesis (God alone can claim absolute truth), the earch for absolute truth is a FREE WILL enabling indeterminate process (thus, God himself grants free will) —
