i'm sure i've expressed sentiment very similar to what is to follow here elsewhere in this blog, but it's certainly worth repeating. i think a if not the fundamental reason why the usa is such a regressive nation with things like very puritanical restrictive victimless crimes and very harsh and cruel punishments for violators has to do with the prevalence of 'conservative' christianity and it's fundamental idea that all humans are 'sinners' who deserve not only to die (the 'wages of sin') but to then face eternal torture in a place called hell, unless one is 'saved' by faith in the redemptive sacrifice of the crucifixion of christ.
the whole idea that for god to forgive 'sin' blood must be shed, and that god would require it to be the blood of an innocent, 'sinless' being is simply bizarre and barbaric in the extreme. in my view such a god is simply evil and cruel, and it makes bizarre sense that believers in and followers of such a god will tend to mimic 'his' cruelty and view all of humanity as worthy of cruelty. thus i believe my world would be a much nicer and better place without christianity as well as other religions that promote it's basic ideas of sin, divine judgment, and eternal punishment.
