Alright this is going to be a bit of an indulgent bpersonal diatribe, but hear me out. Generally when I'm assessing the worth of religion I try to look at the cost/benefit of it existing, not really whether it's factually true or politically just. Catholicism definitely full of lies and its atrocities are really the same as any monarchist structure and equally indefensible. Also as you say, craven.
But here's what people within it at the very bottom are getting from the deal:
- an accountability system that puts physical personal cost on their choices
- a working historical account getting built onto and preserved as time goes on
- a system of quasi-electoral government that was a country at one time but now gets to act as a diplomatic power in the world
Just saying, those are the exact opposite of what Christianity takes from you as a person living within it
Agreed, though. That's kind of one of the things I appreciate about Judaism, the pluralism and the de-emphasis on Faith. I've been dipping my toes tentatively into some Gnostic histories, and proto Christian stuff. I'll look at the Gnostic Gospels next, then. Do you have a personal favorite little blorbo from cults of that period?