What a waste

[Zzyzx]

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Ancient cultures devoted large amounts of time and resources to worshiping their "gods", sacrificed food and animals (even people), built palaces and temples of worship, etc. It would seem as though using that time and the resources to better the lot of common people would have been more appropriate.

Are modern societies doing the same thing?

[McCulloch]

[Replying to post 1 by Zzyzx]

Less and less. Churches are being turned into pubs. A smaller percentage of the population is engaged in regular worship than even a few decades ago.

[otseng]

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Ancient cultures devoted large amounts of time and resources to worshiping their "gods", sacrificed food and animals (even people), built palaces and temples of worship, etc. It would seem as though using that time and the resources to better the lot of common people would have been more appropriate.

Are modern societies doing the same thing?

Modern people devote a large amount of time sitting in front of a box in their homes paying homage to it. Many have multiple such boxes in their homes. Many hours a day sitting in front of these boxes is typical for these people. When they are not at home, they gather with others in a large room to look at a very large box and pay their offering to do it. Many gather at massive arenas to cheer some people move an object back and forth over a large field. They are willing to spend a lot of time and money on watching this. Sometimes, viewers of such activities engage in violent acts against other viewers.

Modern societies are not exempt from waste.

[Zzyzx]

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Modern people devote a large amount of time sitting in front of a box in their homes paying homage to it. Many have multiple such boxes in their homes. Many hours a day sitting in front of these boxes is typical for these people. When they are not at home, they gather with others in a large room to look at a very large box and pay their offering to do it. Many gather at massive arenas to cheer some people move an object back and forth over a large field. They are willing to spend a lot of time and money on watching this. Sometimes, viewers of such activities engage in violent acts against other viewers.

I agree 100%. Perhaps you know from our previous communication that I abhor television, movies, commercialized sports / entertainment, and the emotionalism often attached.

Modern societies are not exempt from waste.

Does this not also include modern palaces of worship and related time and resources (especially those devoted to false gods -- whatever that may mean)?

[bluethread]

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Modern people devote a large amount of time sitting in front of a box in their homes paying homage to it. Many have multiple such boxes in their homes. Many hours a day sitting in front of these boxes is typical for these people. When they are not at home, they gather with others in a large room to look at a very large box and pay their offering to do it. Many gather at massive arenas to cheer some people move an object back and forth over a large field. They are willing to spend a lot of time and money on watching this. Sometimes, viewers of such activities engage in violent acts against other viewers.

I agree 100%. Perhaps you know from our previous communication that I abhor television, movies, commercialized sports / entertainment, and the emotionalism often attached.

Modern societies are not exempt from waste.

Does this not also include modern palaces of worship and related time and resources (especially those devoted to false gods -- whatever that may mean)?

Yes, the freedom tower is a waste, as is most of Washington DC.

[connermt]

[Replying to post 1 by Zzyzx]

It would seem as though using that time and the resources to better the lot of common people would have been more appropriate.

Hindsight is always 20/20, they say. Here, meaning it's easy to make that claim now. Many times, it's a safe bet that those doing the things you listed thought they were doing it for the common people.
Many times, though it's doubtful one could say 100% of the time.

[Zzyzx]

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]It would seem as though using that time and the resources to better the lot of common people would have been more appropriate.

Hindsight is always 20/20, they say. Here, meaning it's easy to make that claim now. Many times, it's a safe bet that those doing the things you listed thought they were doing it for the common people.

Perhaps we can use hindsight (history) to help us understand the present and to plan for the future.

Whether or not god worshipers of the past thought that what they did was for common good, the use of human time (and lives) and resources could have been more productively dedicated to more worthwhile endeavors and more intelligently used. Often the elite over-consumed the human capital for ego and self-aggrandizement (often using religion as their vehicle).

With that in mind, we can evaluate whether present social practices are similar -- and we can help plan a future that is more appropriate.

[alive]

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Ancient cultures devoted large amounts of time and resources to worshiping their "gods", sacrificed food and animals (even people), built palaces and temples of worship, etc. It would seem as though using that time and the resources to better the lot of common people would have been more appropriate.

Are modern societies doing the same thing?

Really nothing to do back in the day.... Besides War... They may of held back science do to fear of being killed for not letting God be the reason for everything...


Modern Societies have gone in reverse.... But still many Muslim and 3rd world types are probably in that thinking...

[otseng]

Does this not also include modern palaces of worship and related time and resources (especially those devoted to false gods -- whatever that may mean)?

Sure, but I don't think it's entirely a waste of time and money. Churches, temples, places of worship often do things to help others. It could be that most of it can be considered a waste of time (and money). But, my point is that wasting resources is not exclusive to religion. And it can probably be argued that modern people waste more resources now than any religious people in the past. I doubt the average person in ancient cultures spent hours each day actively worshiping their gods. Whereas now, people spend hours each day on mindless entertainment.

[connermt]

[Replying to post 7 by Zzyzx]

...the use of human time (and lives) and resources could have been more productively dedicated to more worthwhile endeavors and more intelligently used.

I won't disagree, but what can we do?

Often the elite over-consumed the human capital for ego and self-aggrandizement (often using religion as their vehicle).

AMEN!

With that in mind, we can evaluate whether present social practices are similar -- and we can help plan a future that is more appropriate.

That would be awesome. But I don't foresee it happening, unfortunately - at least when speaking of the religious side of thigns. What religion say is appropiate usually isn't in the real world.