It is a sadness to me that some people think that everybody is totally free to do anything.  It is a primitive assumption, thus, for example, to be found significantly in the right-wing USA; it is practically expeditious: if people are totally free to do anything, then, when they do wrong, there are no otherwise-troubling and difficult issues of mitigating circumstances to be considered; it’s black or white: the _person_ is either good or bad, so you really can ‘lock ‘em up and throw away the key’, much cheaper than trying to rehabilitate — help and treat their underlying problems, especially in a country where the ‘bottom line’ is the celebrated final arbiter of everything.

You’ve, obviously, been rather selective in your choice of books to read (perhaps there is some background, personal reason for this).

“It’s a debate to be had if history is guided by the inevitable forces of economics and technology, or if it’s kicked forwards in great screaming leaps and bounds by great men and women.”

I think it’s a little from column A, a little from column B. Yeah, the onward march of technology would, on its own, bring great stuff. But it helps to have people around who can take a step back and say “hey, wouldn’t it be good if…”; to look at the technology and to re-think how its used, to think about what new or better things we can do with it.

I mean, people have been trying to make smartphones and tablets that don’t suck for years. In part they were held back by technology; you probably couldn’t have made an iPhone in 1990, the technology just wasn’t there. But in part they were also held back by having the wrong vision of what a good smartphone or tablet would look like. I think that Apple (under Jobs’ influence) defocussed on the technology and went back to the question of “what should this thing actually do?”, and then designed the product which they felt best filled that brief.

FWIW, I’m not sure you and Mike Gist really do disagree. As far as I can tell, his statement that “any instruction manual of religion is what you want it to be, not something imposed by a higher intelligence” is pretty similar to your idea that “rules come from one’s religion, not one’s faith in God”.

Oh, and regarding the comment that atheists aren’t any better at finding answers: that’s because we know that often there aren’t any answers (or that in some cases, the question is wrong). Which is really quite profound, and – as I alluded in my initial comment – extremely liberating.

I would hold that I am a Christian, because I believe in God, and I believe Jesus was the Son of God. I have much left to think about. I suppose what I mean is that I have a faith in a benevolent God within a broadly Christian context, I believe that a lot of Christian moral teachings are broadly a good thing (although none of that stone-the-gays-and-no-sex-before-marriage stuff please – I’m talking about the ‘love thy neighbour, love thy God, love thyself’ bits, and the bit where Jesus made wine from water). It’s not a pick-and-choose view, to be honest. I try to read the Bible often and come to it with some understanding of hte historical/sociological context(s) in which it was written and that informs my moral compass. I also believe that Christianity is simply a lens on faith. I believe in the same God as pretty much every theist out there and we’re all doing our best to do good and make our way towards that God, whatever the context in which we happen to percieve him.

Put more simply, here’s another example: my boyfriend has a faith, in God, and if pushed he would say that his idea of God is ‘probably’ a broadly Christian one. But he does not hold with organised religion for almost exactly the reasons you just mentioned. That instruction manual you talk about doesn’t really come from God. I can’t imagine that God gives a stuff about whether I eat shellfish or what my clothes are made of or who sticks what in my vagina and when, quite frankly. So long as all of these things occur in my life in a way that is not designed to hurt anyone, so long as I treat my fellow people (and other living beings) with love and respect. Of course, I’m not great at that, but there we go.

So no, Mike Gist – I separate the ‘practical meaning of religion’ almost entirely from the God at its heart. Infinite suffering for finite sin is something we humans have made up. And to be honest, it’s not as if atheists are any better at finding the answers so far! We’re all as lost as each other and I suspect (though I could well be wrong) that to feel as if you have in any way found the instruction manual (either through your faith or your lack of it) is itself probably quite narrow-minded. Or brilliantly inspired. Le sigh.

As for religion, instructions and freedom, I don’t feel that I have rules imposed on me by my faith. ‘Love the Lord thy God, and love thy neighbour as thyself’ is the only set one. None of that nonsense about cloth made with two types of fibre, or stoning men who lie with other men, or anything. I don’t think it’s an intelligent approach to faith to see it as some kind of rule book and with the exception of faiths (though to be honest the only example I can think of is Judaism and it’s possible I’m wrong on that, because Jesus was Jewish and he said all those rules were a bit much/plain wrong) which say you MUST stick to certain rules (rules within other faiths are there by tradition rather than supposed God-given law), I don’t think instruction manuals are a problem with religion.

It’s notable that the more emotionally involving the event or decision, the less likely that it’ll go in a way that I’d expect. An interview is easy, I’ve already done the interview 100 times in my head so I’m not surprised by anything I get asked. Chatting up a fellow human is harder; you might as well discard any scenarios you’ve thought up because they won’t happen – relax and improvise :)

As you say, knowing your flaws doesn’t always help. What’s more important is that you are able to very quickly prepare for whatever life throws at you at short notice. 

Come to think of it, instructions and the constraints they impose are some of my main problems with religion. I can’t imagine how dissatisfying life would be if one had to stick to such things.