Christianity

I thought about what he had said about religion as a tool of domination. I could see that in the earlier pre-christian religions, and certainly the old testament, was all about social control, but Jesus preached things differently, and his teachings were the basis of Christianity. I decided to try to continue our conversation. So, I asked him, “Doesn’t Christianity preach against self interest?”
“Ah yes, you see, that’s the beauty of the religion. Since it has been continuously refined over time, and combining many other religions into one, the bible is packed with conflicting stories and morals. Each sect can pick and choose the parts which they follow. It allows us to separate those who believe in compassion, and those who promote self interest. By tying Christianity to capitalism, we have created a conduit for people who are self interested to dominate religion. The religious sects separate themselves purely based on how the religion is taught. It acts as a filter which the market can use to promote or demote people.”
“For example, the old testament god is a self interested god. A patriarchal role model. This sets forth the goodness of self interest, for god is infallible. The new testament god, which Jesus preached, is a compassionate god. A god for the slaves. Different sects emphasized different aspects of the bible, some focus on Jesus, some prioritize the god of the old testament. Much of what is currently taught and believed as Christianity isn’t even in the Bible. Furthermore, Christians can choose to emphasize parts of Jesus’ teachings over others. Some focus on his humility and obedience, rather than his defiance to markets and domination.”
When I thought about it later, I realized, that the whole war between good and evil is laid out in the biblical stories. Self interest is obviously evil throughout Jesus’ teachings and much of the old testament. Revaluations refers to a final showdown between self interested factions, and altruistic believers in Christ. It states that at the time of revelations, most Christians will be followers the Antichrist.
When I asked about good and evil in the bible, he said “That is one of the ways our kind come to know the bible is just a story, and understand how it functions in society. The wealthy know that we are not evil, because we’re superior. God favors us. The story exists to separate the weak from the strong. The weak gather around it because they believe that they will win in the end. Only wealth and power win the game.”
So he believes that self interest is good and altruism is evil. I wonder how much of social conflict centers around this reversal. Two societies believing in opposite forces of good and evil, intertwined into one society, forced into cultural roles of dominance and submission.