>>As to your civilization/war examples: you omitted one critical element: the spirit and will of the people fighting. Even if every religion and all things supernatural are hokum, the spirit and will of the people is critical for a civilization’s survival. Agreed?
Yes, absolutely. But we really need to define “spirit”. Your example here is the result of inspiring leadership, strategically adept leadership, tactically savvy leadership, training, more training, and a cause that is truly worthy. This has little to do with the religious sense of “spirit”. But elan alone won’t capture the enemy flag. You need experience at skirmishing, flanking, signals, timing, good maps, decoys...in short: operational readiness. Any fighting force with certainty that its leadership will not waste lives, will be dangerous.
Agreed. I was using your version of the word “spirit” the entire time, too. But even from a purely secular point of view, any good military historian knows that faith in something larger is critical to a civilization maintaining its “spirit” over the long haul. After all, no truly secular aka Godless or godless civilization survives for long. They just don’t. See where Europe and the inner urban hives in America are heading if you doubt me.
Some could argue that faith in the Constitution could take the place of religious faith. The Founding Fathers would disagree. Also, the failure of Faith in God in this nation is being matched by a failure in faith of the worth of the Constituion by far too many. Cause and effect? God’s hand? Or just an inevitable result of a general lack of faith in anything but secular wants and needs?
Now, I believe that God really is part of this. But your belief in God or lack thereof is irrelevant to the above point.
PS I find this discussion truly interesting and really am respectfully interested in your response.