Sins and the flaw argument

[Pennant]

As I see it, the major flaw that exists in the world of religion is the unjust proposition that God would create faulty human beings and then blame them for his mistakes. And in any event, did God not eradicate all the sinful people in the great flood, saving only the righteous Noah and his righteous family? Given that only righteous people survived the mass slaughter, then does that not indicate that the original sin was eradicated? Why should anyone therefore consider that they are in any way flawed or tainted by the original sin as suggested in religious dogma?

If I recall correctly, one of the Thomas Aquinus "proofs" for the existence of God was related to degrees of perfection. It went something like this. Because things differ from each other, Thomas Aquinas postulated that some things are better than others and inferred an ultimate standard of perfection. He called that ultimate standard God. But the argument is completely flawed as one could just as easily take any standard or point of comparison such as say the height of any being or creature. The tallest creature in the world would be the ultimate degree of perfection.

There is a line in the Desiderata which states:

If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain or bitter, for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.

That kind of sums up the idea of perfection for me because we might might be great in one aspect and miserable failures in another. No matter what we do there will always be those who are greater or lesser. Does that make us flawed? Certainly not! We are all unique. Isn't that in itself is a form of perfection?

[Trolldor]

Isn't that in itself is a form of perfection?

No. Perfection is state from which there is no escape, no change, no life, nothing but stasis.

[owtth]

What is perfection? Frankly, I think that perfection is just like god. Ill-defined an unattainable.

One man's perfection is another man's Lady Gaga

[Pennant]

Isn't that in itself is a form of perfection?

No. Perfection is state from which there is no escape, no change, no life, nothing but stasis.

If each of us is unique, then there are no points of comparison because we are not able to compare like with like. As the only example of the unique being that is you, then you are the perfect example, because you represent the only standard available. There are no greater or lesser versions of you. Hence uniqueness could be considered as a form of perfection. Even if you changed and became smarter, stronger, faster or bigger you would still be the unique being that you currently are.

[Trolldor]

We are not sufficiently unique. There are people with the same attitudes, ideas, extremes of emotions, desires, affinities, even appearences. Even when we have combined all those things together, there will still be those out there uncannily similar to ourselves.

[colubridae]

and there may even be some practically all agnostics and atheists would agree that humanity does have flaws.

Don't really know shit about atheists and agnostics do you?

[traditionaldrummer]

I have to give religion some credit in being able to snooker people into believing that there is both the superhuman notion of "perfection" that we somehow all fall short of, and that we commit "sins", a.k.a., behavior that religion is not particularly fond of. Apparently, a lot of people bought into those notions and at that point religions had excellent devices of control which would insure a lifetime of perpetual slavery to the temple. Neither of those notions are beneficial to the progress of humankind and sadly have spoiled millions of otherwise healthy minds.

[amused]

In The Case Against God, George H. Smith said, "In exchange for obedience, Christianity promises salvation in an afterlife; but in order to elicit obedience through this promise, Christianity must convince men that they need salvation, that there is something to be saved from. Christianity has nothing to offer a happy man living in a natural, intelligible universe. If Christianity is to gain a motivational foothold, it must declare war on earthly pleasure and happiness, and this, historically, has been its precise course of action. In the eyes of Christianity, man is sinful and helpless in the face of God, and is potential fuel for the flames of hell. Just as Christianity must destroy reason before it can introduce faith, so it must destroy happiness before it can introduce salvation."

Yep. The whole thing is a scam on a global scale now. You were not conscious before you were born, and you will not be conscious after you die, so make the best of the time you have in your life. Anyone selling the sin flaw is a thief.