Not sure if there is an atheist thread anywhere & would really like some other thoughts on this.
My background is that I went to a Church of England primary school where I learned the Bible stories & doctrine. I've been an atheist since I was about 10 years old when I found that the Bible stories made no sense & that Christianity just left me cold, it didn't touch me, I felt nothing & when I decided to not believe I learned that nothing changed.
My question is: You can become a Christian by yourself by inviting Jesus into your heart. You can communicate with the holy trinity by prayer & they will hear you. So what is the point of priests/vicars?
Most religions have some kind of male middleman between the believer & the god. Is it to make money? Is it to dominate & control believers & maintain the religion (in this day & age!)? Is it to have a point of contact where said holy man can punish you & whatever you did has magically vanished? Is it for help so that if you are struggling there is a person above you who is morally better than you & can help? Is it just a need to come together & be recognised as part of the tribe?
If a religion had no houses of worship & no holy middlemen then would the religion still flourish or does a believer need to be accountable to another (flawed) human?
Genuinely interested in what you think... :)