[mightyham]

Thank you for the added context about his beliefs, as I am not too familiar with his works and was going off of what I read in the article.

I do not share his disdain though for the "dour, guilt-ridden, or militantly proselytizing" aspects of Christianity. This isn't really as much of an argument as it is a personal outlook: those attributes are what makes Christianity compelling to me, and why some eastern or agnostic forms of spiritualism feel hollow.

[mech422]

The "dour, guilt-ridden, or militantly proselytizing" are what make Christianity compelling for you? The first 2 I could see as personal choice but isn't "militantly" anything sorta anti-christian? (I'm an agnostic, so what do I know...)

Just seems to be an odd thing to find compelling?

[tourmalinetaco]

Proselytizing, which is to say converting, in Christianity is seen as a positive, and to be “militantly proselytizing” is not meant as a literal “militant” but as “vigorous and active”. Christianity believes very much in exposing (and thus saving) as many souls to God as possible in a (naturally) non-violent way.

And the main way to proselytize in modern churches is via helping the less fortunate in local communities and with mission trips to third-world countries, which is certainly compelling.

[mech422]

Ahh - that's a unique usage of 'militantly' - I've never seen it before.

[kennyloginz]

Kind of a bad mix of priorities. Please keep away from the Sentinelese.

[subpixel]

I would appreciate you expounding on how those traits generate interest on your part. I think many people might find those rather off-putting - whether in an institution, a group, or a person.

[kennyloginz]

It’s a symptom of an inflated ego. Nat geo has a recent documentary about a missionary that might help explain the reasoning behind this religious conquistador mindset. “The Mission” https://www.nationalgeographic.com/tv/movies-and-specials/th...