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Notes -
There’s no reason to believe that religions which perished in the past are going to be as competitive as new and evolving religions. It’s a theological survival of the fittest; you wouldn’t think business practices in 1600 were better than today, right?
Why not? The environment has been changing as well, maybe Bogomilism or Sevener Shi'a will flourish after being introduced to the 21st century US.
You are welcome to practice Bogomilism, but because the movement already died out it’s improbable that it contains beneficial features that haven’t already been incorporated by mainstream orthodoxy. With tradition, what is beneficial is kept and what is harmful is culled over generations. Whichever group utilizes the best traditions is the group that has the healthiest families, the best social order, and the most industrious members. It’s for this reason that atheism is an infertile abnormality in the history of mankind, why a great atheist nation never developed, and why the cultures that went full atheism inevitably rediscover religion (France, Buddhism). Instead of the humble acknowldgement that “my eyes are not raised too high; I do not occupy myself with things too great and too marvelous for me”, the atheist believes that all he should believe is all that he knows. Illogical, given the limitations of the human mind.
But anyway, I think atheists should be allowed to spend their school credits however they wish. They should be happy about that — wouldn’t they get an advantage from 8 extra secular non-religious credits?
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