Because those things work, for the most part. I never argued with that. This thread has really gone a long way around :). I do not see the things that John wanted us to imagine gone as bad things. But I have no trouble imagining a world where they were unneccesary.. as unrealistic as that is. But, we're "imagining", remember?
Freedom, Justice, Capitalism and personal/societal responsibility are built upon an idea of Society balancing Liberty and Morality. The world of Imagine cannot support that balance.
Agreed.
This is not intended as a barb or taunt of any kind. I have a genuine question for you, offered in friendship. Maybe you've already explained this elsewhere on FR, but what was the nature of your bad experience (alluded to by your TbL handle) with people in the Christian church?
I ask because I see a world where Christianity is unnecessary as a pretty dreary place. Like dreaming of a world where music was unnecessary, or where breathtaking sunsets were unnecessary, or where physical intimacy with members of the opposite sex was unnecessary. I see Christianity as adding so much depth, beauty and richness to my experience of life that I shudder to think of a world in which it is no longer "necessary". But you have obviously not had that experience and I am left curious.