I have nothing really smart to add to this, but I'm glad you posted it. I too like angel80's link with consumerism. Most obvious in the huckster fundie churches (or the Catholic juggernaut of tithing) that link gifts to ministers or the church with "holy acts."
Which is perhaps my greatest peeve: I inherently distrust anyone who has to rely upon a book of fairy tales to remind them that it's a good idea to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, take care of the poor and the sick and the dispossessed. Seriously: If you can't figure that shit out on your own, I really don't trust you. Which isn't to say that there are no Christian or other religious groups that do marvelous work with poor, elderly, sick, hungry etc. people. But why can't we do it just to do it, instead of to feel right with some idea of God?
(Which, if I wanted to be insufferable, is why I would suggest that it's the atheists who do those things who are morally superior. We don't believe we're racking up brownie points toward a perfect life in the Great Unknown Beyond.)
no subject
Which is perhaps my greatest peeve: I inherently distrust anyone who has to rely upon a book of fairy tales to remind them that it's a good idea to clothe the naked, feed the hungry, take care of the poor and the sick and the dispossessed. Seriously: If you can't figure that shit out on your own, I really don't trust you. Which isn't to say that there are no Christian or other religious groups that do marvelous work with poor, elderly, sick, hungry etc. people. But why can't we do it just to do it, instead of to feel right with some idea of God?
(Which, if I wanted to be insufferable, is why I would suggest that it's the atheists who do those things who are morally superior. We don't believe we're racking up brownie points toward a perfect life in the Great Unknown Beyond.)