I think many people often forget how demanding and humbling the experience of diligently and faithfully believing and practicing Christianity is, especially for those who are in positions of wealth and prestige. It is not a comfortable or enjoyable experience for many people to be constantly reminded "no, you are not perfect, you are not the center of everything, your actions and thoughts are rightfully and constantly being judged by a more powerful and moral being, you will be held to account for your failings and must humbly seek forgiveness and try to make amends for your weaknesses". Let's face it - that isn't what anyone wants to hear, or think about themselves, especially because deep down in our messy little souls, we know it to be true.
Nein, i don't feel judged by an omnipotent moral being all the time.
At best the bible God (old testament, the "true" original one) is a big "sadist", that have fun with his armies of ants, for he is unknowable, he does not care about egyptian children [there is an interesting theory], drowning the world and else. We are his creations, his things and he very much like to be obeyed, while engineering knowingly a chosen people of "tight neck" aka disobedient.
Deity is fundamentally inhumane, incomprehensible and alien to our ability to comprehend or even perceive it, the attempt of making God a humane being (Jesus worship) is very reeking half baked messianic idolatry for me (odour greekish), double with the natural righteousness of Monotheism.
That is why Hell and heaven, soulmate, or the virgin mary (smile), are so important to christian. Imported paganism. And I have nothing against pagans, given that i should not believe in universal salvation (the few chosen and the...unchosen, to put it kindly). Their beliefs are irrelevant is none universalist monotheism.
But that maybe my jewish leaning.
But unlike some, i never though that judaism was part of the western civilization, not really, partly perhaps.
Skepticism and the rational though, is owed clearly to either the ancient Greek or the jews, not the christian part.
A faith that allow Thomas Aquinas as a holy man, is obviously barbaric and without potential redemption. At best a sham of cunning priest at worst a hellish sectarian group.
"In order that the happiness of the saints may be more delightful to them [by comparison] and that they may render more copious thanks to God for it, they are allowed to see perfectly the sufferings of the damned."
"[Because the damned are without hope for correction,] therefore the blessed in glory will have no pity on the damned."
"The Divine justice and their own deliverance will be the direct cause of the joy of the blessed: while the punishment of the damned will cause it indirectly.""
It is so petty.