Now that's out of the way... It bugs me, sometimes, how much people seem to stereotype Christians. I own multiple Bibles; I've also read more books than I can ever remember --many of them written by non-Christians. I go to church every Sunday; I have also gone to other places of worship, to see what they are like. I believe Jesus is the only way to eternal life in Heaven; I also believe it is not my job to "throw the book" at people who do not believe.
It's nothing personal, but the simple fact is that in trying to cope with the dissonance between the modern world and ancient religion, some sects go the way of denial and isolation. And that they wish to impress those same things upon their children is obvious. People are very willing to seek out truth. Not indoctrinating them means them changing. Not necessarily into atheists, though that does happen, but not maintaining the exact beliefs of the sect.
And for a lot of those groups, there is little to no ecumenicism, and even other Christian sects are no more saved than atheists.
Their fears may be genuine to them, but it hurts society, and that can't be ignored.
I have known many people who believe science and religion cannot coexist --most of them have been atheists.
The average Christian, Muslim, or Jew is just as rational and intelligent as the average nonbeliever. We differ on philosophy, not on IQ points.
Yeah, I don't think they can coexist myself. Not in a stable fashion. One needs only to look how much both individual denominations have changed and how many have spawned since the Renaissance for proof.
It's not about intellect. It's about cognitive dissonance and how one deals with it. With the increasing availability of knowledge, not seeing the cracks in the walls is getting exponentially more difficult. And once the cracks have been seen, something has to be done about it. You can't just live with the contradiction. Sometimes the reaction is doctrinal reformation, sometimes it is hunkering down and opposing secular knowledge. And sometimes, the gap cannot be crossed, and the result is leaving the religion entirely.
What we know about the Universe greatly contradicts most religions, as well as making them seem very small. An incomprehensibly large universe, and the absolute truth of reality just so happens to be here on Earth? And about humanity? We're nobodies in nowhere, and at least for me, that was what ended it. Besides all the scientific knowledge, and the contradictions of the Bible, and the cruel treatment I received from other believers, it was scale that what solidified my departure from Christianity.
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Topic: Things that made you sad today thread. (Read 9706338 times)