Satanist has excellent insight on religion

[Howard]

You realize I just manipulated you.

And he just manipulated you. So on, so forth.

 

[justoh]

That's just not true. There's no mainstream religion that teaches you to do bad things. It's people who teach other people to do those things, religious or not.

Sounds like something an egotist would say.

 

[PowerEngineer]

There are a ton of material out there arguing this very topic. There is a lot more in common between Catholics and protestants than there are differences.

Perhaps they do have "a lot more in common" when compared against the non-Christian religions around the world. This doesn't, however, answer my question about each side's absolute faith (certainty) that they must be on the right side of the "giant split" between the two religions. Why are believers so sure that it's those other believers who have it wrong?

Most Christians I know follow the religion not because of the fine print of the scripture and the practices/traditions, nor to, say, wage war against the gays, but because it brings happiness and comfort to their lives, it teaches them to be nicer and kinder to people around them, and teaches them not to be greedy and selfish. Atheism doesn't provide those things to them.

Even if they are a minority as you claim, there are many so-called Christians who cite bible verses as absolute literal truth, shun others for not following religious practices, and wage war on others based on their religious beliefs. The world might be a better place if it had only your type of Christians in it.

It also seems to me that the first question should be whether or not a particular belief is apparently true. You seem to be suggesting that Christian belief is justified (regardless of its accuracy) because it is beneficial to believers and to the society they live in. Not really that far removed from the view of religion as "the opiate of the masses". I can't get comfortable with that argument for belief; a beneficial "end" does not justify the "means" of false beliefs.