Quote:
Originally Posted by Barnet Flame
I volunteer at our local Foodbank. The accommodation and a material amount of the donations is provided by the Catholic Church and its community.
When founded, and to this day it was funded and supported by denominations across the Christian faiths.
Yet, it provides food, support and guidance on welfare to the wider community. We package up Kosher and Halal food parcels.
As an almost completely lapsed Catholic, I find many tenets of the faith abhorrent. This statement being one of those things.
But as others with critical thought, I reject the tenets I find abhorrent. I know some Priests that have done the same. I remember back in Calgary when my Dad, had terrible drinking problems and the violence that accompanied that, our Priest provided support to my Mom and after time had passed with no prospect of an end to the terror, he supported my Mom in filing for divorce.
These organisations, Catholic or otherwise, you don’t have to buy in it all. I don’t. But I do try to take active involvement in the aspects of it that are good and congruent with my moral compass.
I very much doubt there is a god, and am almost certain, there is no god that is anything like any man made religion (all of them). I don’t expect to be burning in hell as a consequence, but there are elements, I find helpful and I engage in them and have made wonderful friendships as a result and appreciate the support I got as a child when I needed it most.
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I think it's pretty valid that churches do a lot of good, but unfortunately the nature of their institutions make it difficult to separate from the harms done by othering everyone else.
Generally I would encourage people in your situation to try secular humanism out. A lot of organization attaching Atheism to to their name are often more focus on liberal rights, Humanist are generally more focus on community and service. If those are the things that interest you in religion you could probably do a lot of good by supporting those goals in organization that don't make it part of their mission to exclude and discriminate.