“The test of any religion is whether cultures believing it tend to thrive and improve the quality of their lives or not.”
Um, I’m pretty sure the test of a religion is whether or not the model of reality proposed by that religion corresponds with actual reality or not (sorry I’m not sure how to phrase this in terms of a “test”, without assuming the validity of sensory input).
This is particularly noticeable in the case of religions which claim afterlives, where any impact of earthly actions on our afterlife utterly outweigh any impact that a religion has on earthly conditions. The very idea of debating whether a religion improves our quality of life on earth only makes sense from an Atheist or Agnostic viewpoint, considering whether that religion can be used as a practical tool regardless of it’s truth.
“The test of any religion is whether cultures believing it tend to thrive and improve the quality of their lives or not.”
Um, I’m pretty sure the test of a religion is whether or not the model of reality proposed by that religion corresponds with actual reality or not (sorry I’m not sure how to phrase this in terms of a “test”, without assuming the validity of sensory input). This is particularly noticeable in the case of religions which claim afterlives, where any impact of earthly actions on our afterlife utterly outweigh any impact that a religion has on earthly conditions. The very idea of debating whether a religion improves our quality of life on earth only makes sense from an Atheist or Agnostic viewpoint, considering whether that religion can be used as a practical tool regardless of it’s truth.