In every instance, I hope, that when I have become aware that I was labouring under the burden of a belief I have tried to understand the ground of that belief. In fact it has been the occasion of some joy when finding that there was little to support the belief I have been able to release myself from its burden.
Let's take this and run with it, joy is a good goal.
The current belief burden you are carrying is the notion that the source of your views on religion is reason. Every piece of evidence you are providing in many hundreds of posts argues against the accuracy of this belief.
It's beyond question that you are very emotionally attached to a particular conclusion, which causes you to immediately reject any analysis or evidence which does not support your preferred conclusion. I doubt there is a single reader of this forum who doesn't see this. The process you are engaged in is
exactly the same as the passionate religious believer who clings desperately to their own preferred conclusion.
The solution is simple. Not easy, but simple.
Be loyal to your own chosen method, reason.
Not convert to anybody else's method, convert to your own chosen method.
Which raises a question central to any philosophy forum. What is reason?
Reason has no stake in the game. Reason doesn't care what conclusion the inquiry may lead to. Reason has no need to be emotional, because reason is not attached to any particular outcome. Reason welcomes challenges. Reason is not interested in victory or defeat, because reason is about the topic, not the investigator's ego.
If you were to convert to reason, in regards to your analysis of religion, you would experience a burden lifted. All this relentless negativity would no longer be needed. You could relax, kick back, smile, as you'd no longer be carrying the burden of a pointless holy war which convinces no one of anything.
And then, perhaps for the first time, you could begin to experience the joy of actually exploring religion, the largest cultural process in human history. It's a fascinating subject, when one is actually interested in it, and not just for or against it.
Not converting to religion, but trying to actually understand it. You'll never develop any further understanding of religion until you cure yourself of the
fantasy that you already understand it.
What's great about religion is that nobody fully understands it. That's what makes it such a rich subject for inquiry, there's no end to the journey.
The main challenge for many philosophers is that journey will necessarily take us beyond our head. There's no way to really explore this topic in a purely intellectual manner. Any analysis limited to abstractions will inevitably be shallow and incomplete.
One thing that we know for sure is that you are very sincerely interested in the subject of religion. Half your posts on this forum are on that topic, and have been for years. Given that level of interest, why not take a break from the endlessly repetitive rant war, which must be a bore even to you at this point, and try to actually learn something from all the energy you are investing?
I think in the end you'll find reason and learning much more joyful than mere emotional ranting.
