Re: Religion and Atheism
I have never hidden the fact that I have never read the Bible and don't really intend to. I actually have probably read maybe 3 books total in the last 2 decades. My entire basis for discussion in these topics is what other people say and just personal observations. I totally grant you that my view of "most Christians" may be highly localized to the western US. I did live in Germany for a while and was exposed to the protestant/catholic divide there but I was far too young to make much of it.
Now regarding my "claims", most are at a fairly high level and on the fundamental basiseses of Christianity. As kind of a computery guy, I tend not to get bogged down when I don't really understand the big picture.
As I said there are 2 schools of thought: Those who think the bible is the literal word of God and those who do not. How did I not convey this in my post (there were 2 choices I presented to Kanadahye). So what you are telling me is that the Catholics and the Orthodoxes are of the non-literal category. Fine and dandy.
The FUNDAMENTAL issue still remains: In order to believe in God you have to have faith that the Bible is true (at least the parts that talk about God). I see no reason presented in the validity of the Biblbe other than it is some sort of holy book that is not to be questioned. THIS is the main problem I (and of course pretty much anyone that can think on his or her own) have with this entire premise of circular reinforcement logic (I made that phrase up since I also want to use big words)
Perhaps to some. To me, the behavior of the masses hasne't tended to be much proof of truth. We burned witches in the past. We shunned those that said the Earth was not at the center of the universe. It took us a long time to figure out the Earth is actually round ... there are still people that have trouble believing we actually went to the moon. So yah, with such a wide-spread mental disease (aka religion), I certainly won't be shocked to find out MANY MANY MANY have been hallucinating for a long long LOOOOONG time.
For the record, I am not "atheist". I am much more of a practicalist, agnostic, whaterver ... I am pretty certain at this point I have a good understanding how Christianity came to be 2000 years ago and I am pretty certain I will not be believing in that God but of course I have no clue about the real questions of existence, purpose, etc.
Originally posted by yerazhishda
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Now regarding my "claims", most are at a fairly high level and on the fundamental basiseses of Christianity. As kind of a computery guy, I tend not to get bogged down when I don't really understand the big picture.
NOW, both of these Christianities reject the idea of what you are talking about (sola scriptura). Sola Scriptura is the idea that the Bible is the inerrant word of God, literally. This is a new Protestant idea (think Reformation) and has been rejected by the ancient Churches, going back to the third, fourth, and fifth centuries. If you had any knowledge on the topic you purpose to be talking about, you would already know all this and I wouldn't have to explain it.
The FUNDAMENTAL issue still remains: In order to believe in God you have to have faith that the Bible is true (at least the parts that talk about God). I see no reason presented in the validity of the Biblbe other than it is some sort of holy book that is not to be questioned. THIS is the main problem I (and of course pretty much anyone that can think on his or her own) have with this entire premise of circular reinforcement logic (I made that phrase up since I also want to use big words)
By the way, the best proof for the Resurrection is the existence of the Church. Multitudes of people are not going to willingly be martyred for something that isn't real, and they ALL couldn't have been hallucinating.
For the record, I am not "atheist". I am much more of a practicalist, agnostic, whaterver ... I am pretty certain at this point I have a good understanding how Christianity came to be 2000 years ago and I am pretty certain I will not be believing in that God but of course I have no clue about the real questions of existence, purpose, etc.
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