I’m a theist but I think salvation is a bad idea. Salvation schemes were the inevitable consequence of the world rejection that was ubiquitous during the inception period of the major world religions. This period was roughly the first millennium BCE, give or take a few centuries before and after. If this world (reality as a whole) is fundamentally flawed, there must be some “fix” available. So, salvation enters the picture. For several reasons, salvation is a bad idea. Here are some:

1. It’s based on a naïve and sentimental view about how life should be.
2. It says that humanity is intrinsically flawed and needs fixing as well.
3. It has requirements that must be met, or salvation won’t be attained. This creates the fear of losing out or even suffering negative consequences. In some situations, this can be personally damaging.
4. It can lead to unwavering dogmatism and denigration of those who have it wrong.
5. It provides the opportunity for religious institutions (and cults) to exert control over their adherents.
6. It can create a fatalism about this world that thwarts full engagement in making it a better place.
7. It creates an elite class of those who get the requirements right.
8. It casts a negative light on ultimate reality as the source of this reality and makes any fruits of that reality suspect. Theologically, God messed up.  Non-theologically, whatever is the source of this reality is either indifferent, evil, or incompetent.

Instead, we can affirm this reality as it fundamentally is and fully commit to doing whatever we can to make it a more loving, beautiful, and meaningful place for all creatures.