The Humanities Trump Absolutists (Part 1)

(My Achilles heel.  Source.)

So I'm innocently eating nachos at a public eating area, and suddenly a religious person attempts to convert me.

I talk to Christian converters if I'm in the mood.  I listened to Christopher Hitchens over Youtube, so I decided debate.  Here's roughly the dialogue:

"So what's your exposure to Christianity?"

I don't like the influence of Christianity on culture because it's a presumed basis for Judeo-Christian culture.  I felt my public school education was heavily influenced by Christian values  (I don't say "under God" for the pledge of allegiance). Once I studied Chinese culture, I saw how religion can manipulate for political gain.

I'm skeptical of societies that base the premise of power and good on some monotheistic being.  Stepping aside from Christianity for a second, the Mandate of Heaven 天命 justifies the power of the emperor, and all of his subjects must "obey" (I use find quotes in my conversations).

Having moral authority can easily leverage political power.  If we look at the initial relationship between the East and West, specifically the 18th century when the industrial revolution begins in the world.  When the British Empire sends Lord McCartney to Emperor Qianlong's court, we see the clash of cultural titans.  McCartney refuses to kowtow because he believes divine authority is King George III, while Qianlong thinks he himself is a divine being.

As time passes, Britain jams its foot into China like a cheap salesman.  The British attempt to claim moral authority by depicting the Chinese as immoral heathens.

Before The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck, Chinese Characteristics by Arthur Smith was the most popular book about China sold to the West.   It's written by a Protestant minister attempting to generalize Chinese culture.  Both books are horrendously biased, racist, and left an indelible impression about Chinese people.

"Yes.  I agree that immoral people use the word of God for immoral gain.  That's why we have Adam and Eve.  Because they ate the forbidden fruit, they've sinned and need to repent.  All of us sinned, so we need to move closer to God again.   Real experiences with God requires the individual to interpret the Bible themselves."

Are you familiar with Christopher Hitchens?  He calls himself an "anti-theist" because he's against any form of religion.

I agree with his argument with original sin because it has certain glaring contradictions.  The bible claims that all people have sinned and need to repent, yet the same God has a predestined plan for these beings and expect total subservience, or else said being will receive eternal damnation.  Humans only have a book written by someone else at earliest 100 years after Jesus' death to be the true word of God.  Humans can't even agree what happened yesterday, let alone something 100 years ago.  Why would God want flawed beings to serve Him?

"But it's only through the experience of God that one can be truly good."

So you're saying that only a superior being has absolute moral authority?  And everyone else who isn't divine is completely clueless?  What makes God different from the Emperor of China?

Here's what I think about goodness...