...... unless their beliefs correspond to reality they are merely deluding themselves in order to create meaning......
Whose reality? as an atheist (oh boy, i really don't want to derail this thread) I can still see a believer's POV. They have their belief, their standard of morals and ethics and if they have children, they want to raise those children with the same values. As I've said before, I think life is meaningless myself, but that doesn't mean you can't make it meaningful. Meaningful for you and and I will be different to someone else.
...... when people with religious beliefs demand others follow the rules of their said religion (such as abortion or gay marriage to name just a few) it becomes extremely problematic. The same goes for threatening vulnerable children with threats of hell and enternal damnation if they do not comply. Along with attempting to create meaning, this is another reason that religions were created-as instruments of control and domination.
Well, again talking from a POV of understanding, when you have a "club" there are rules (whether it's book club, religious faith or society in general with its laws) to follow, and if you don't like those rules, you can leave the "club" or petition for a change. It's true that children, unfortunately in some situations, have to abide by what their parents/guardians/leaders say, until they're old enough to make a decision to leave. "Hell and eternal damnation" is not something promoted by all religions, as you would know, and of course some religions can appear more unscrupulous than others. I don't want to get into my opinion of religions here, that's not what this thread is about.
Back to my "whose reality" question, some would argue that submissive men (did I assume correctly regarding your name, or does it refer to your height? apologies if I'm mistaken) are delusional, or everyone trying to live a non-heterosexual life, or everyone with fetishes, etc etc. You get my point. It's all about perspective and making your life meaningful for you. As for making demands on others, the same can be said for many movements today.
I don't think life is meaningless even though in the end we'll all be dead. I have a very complex thought about this but basically our life isn't just about us. It's part of a continuation of millennia of sacrifices to the future. There was a time, tens of thousands of years ago, when our ancestors left the safety of the caves. I believe there were probably huge debates - why leave the caves? It is safer here than outside of it. But others might have said they once left the caves briefly and saw the promise of perhaps even better life though it would be true, the risks to life would be greater. We are the offspring of those who left the caves not the ones who stayed. Many of them must have died being easy prey to animals but our survival is due to the sacrifice they made. Similarly, during World War 2, there were so many who laid down their life not for their own benefit but for those of the future, weather it was their own loved ones or the hopes for the future. They could have just hid away and waited the war out but they didn't and we benefit today from all of those sacrifices. So, your question could be rephrased as what do we today owe the future generations?
Interesting thought. I would argue that people didn't live in caves 24/7 though. They went out and foraged and hunted etc and would've gotten to know their surroundings pretty well, learning where was and wasn't safe, and it was only (I believe) when they learned to sew crops that they stayed in one area for long periods of time and began building their own domiciles and communities.
There are many people who would argue that we aren't benefiting from all the sacrifices made by those that fought, and that those who did sacrifice would be turning in their graves now. I don't know if you can "owe" someone who hasn't given anything to you, like even your children, you don't owe them a good life, you just try to give them a good life, a better life than what you had, or at least a chance at a successful happy life, but that's not "owing" them in my opinion. We could rephrase your question to something like, "What selfless deed can we do so our descendants have a better world?" I guess, and maybe you should start a thread asking such a question Kar