What attracts serial killers to church?

[Flint]

Originally Posted by Clodfobble

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But the kid is smart and figured out that if he screws up on Monday, the rest of the week is irrelevant, so he stops trying as soon as he gets one "red day."

Many bad people on this planet think they've already got their red day and are beyond redemption. The only chance of getting them to even try being good is to convince them they can start over at any time.
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I guess I keep making the mistake of perceptively framing the system as if it was intended to benefit thinking, reasoning adults--I forget how stupid and childish many people are and/or I don't want to assume this, and/or that this is the only thing which makes sense of the system.

I do this because I'm trying to counteract my known selection bias towards religion--infomred by my personal experiences, i.e. the religious people I have known have been stupid, childish, or former drug addicts who require an external force to control them, or manipulative sociopaths who seek a convenient forum for preying on the weak.



However, when confronted by churchgoers who do not fit these categories, I am mystified. In this way: I wish to ask, is there a meta-system within the main system (designed for childish idiots, as described above)--do the intelligent members of the church do a lot of winking and nodding while the rest of the drooling zombies nod and agree with whatever the guy with the loudest megaphone is saying?

I don't ask this from a place of complete naivete. I've spent many hours in church services and Bible studies, as a result of my playing in church bands. I've taken a lot of notes, and been fascinated with this for a long time.

I've just never been able to start an intelligent conversation with any of the people at any of the churches I've been to. It's basically impossible to converse with someone who has pre-defined areas which are not okay to talk about, and pre-defined opinions which are not okay to even entertain.



Maybe, Clodfobble, you can explain this to me? How can intelligent people stomach religion?