If your religion is more one of orthodoxy rather than orthopraxy, then:
The worst believer is better than the best nonbeliever.
Because your relationship with God is infinitely more important that your relationship with anyone or anything else, it follows that even a wicked believer is better before God than the most virtuous person who rejects God.
(A Christian might object that you can't hate your visible brother and still love the invisible God--which brings in a bit of orthopraxy.)
The principle applies in many religions--including only-formally-secular state worshipping religions like Communism. And do you recall how many women jumped to Clinton's defence--even excusing him? Clinton was orthodox in his support of abortion, and that mattered more than taking advantage of interns. He was a believer.
You can classify these as instances of AVI's tribes, and fruitfully examine them that way, but I think looking at things from a religious standpoint makes it easier to see how some of the extreme positions can get their self-righteous power.
2 comments:
If all you got is belief in your invisible deity, you got zip. That its simply a device to exercise control, could not be plainer.
Last time I checked, justice was invisible too.
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