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A classroom of preschool children might laugh at an adult sometimes. That doesn't mean they know more than the adult. When it comes to the Bible, I see atheists discussing it as a group of children at play.
Well, once again Ozzy, you don't know what you are talking about, and you seem to forget everything that is said to you. Please remember this:
A significant percentage of the regular members posting in this forum were once devout Christians. At some point in their lives as Christians, they began to have doubts about the beliefs their churches taught. In order to dispel those doubts, they started reading their Bibles, reading over and over, from front to back, trying as hard as they could to dispel those doubts. It's a pretty serious thing to begin to have doubts about the eternal salvation you have been taught since infancy, so they studied the Bible intently to prove to themselves that it was true and their doubts could go away.
For those regulars I'm talking about here, it did not work. The more they studied their Bibles, the more they learned that what they had been taught in church failed to make sense to them and great portions of the Bible were overlooked. Gradually, they came to disbelieve what their churches taught and they became atheists.
Please remember this. Most of these people in this forum know the Bible better than you do, and better than most of the regular posters in the Christianity sub-forum as well.
You don't have to take my word for this. First, go search for the threads here that have discussed the topic. (It has come up several times.) Second, pay attention to what they post, and believe what they tell you. Third, ask them, pay attention to what they tell you, and remember what they say.
Please remember this. This is the truth for a large number of the regulars in this forum.
Incidentally, this is also an answer to the questions asked in the OP.
1. Yes. The vast majority of christians in the U.S. get their christianity taught through attending church. Period. I have known very few who do any extensive reading...maybe the bible...but rarely anything beyond that. If that level of christian knowledge is good enough to lead to a decision to "accept" christ, then it's also good enough to make a decision to reject christ.
It seems to me someone who understands what the bible is suppose to be saying as well as a good understanding of science and then rejects religion is a much more thoughtful person than just someone whose entire understanding of the world comes from attending church once a week.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phetaroi
2. When I was teaching evolution in earth science in high school, far too many parents came in and said -- literally -- "I don't want my son to think".
I know really devout Christians that believe independent thinking allows the devil to control your thoughts.
Originally Posted by OzzyRules It is possible to know the textual content without having any understanding of it's meaning. If you can't even explain why the stories have endured and been believed for so long, then you have no real understanding. The understanding is only superficial, and most of the atheist views on the Bible that I've seen would be laughed out of a high school religious studies class.
Perfect Ozzy, here is your chance with an atheist audience to explain the context and meaning of these enduring stories....do you need someone to pick one? Pick one you can explain...regarding murder, stoning, flooding, raping, smashing babies against rocks...pick
any that you believe a child could laugh at as superficial understanding.
What a perfect platform! I am not mocking you...this is a good platform to explain.
I don't get it...some are out and out scholars it seems!
Whassup with that? And you know who you are.
For the record, I know very little. That's probably because I wasn't raised Christian. I'm assuming lots of the people who know so much about it know so much about it because they began questioning their Christian views and extensively researching the Bible to verify or refute those views.
I'm sure someone else has mentioned that on this thread somewhere or other by now.
I grew up attending CCD classes and went to a catholic HS. Bible study was just a regular thing. During high school I frequently got assigned various books and/or verses and had to write papers on them.
A lot of that critical thinking over the bible is ultimately what convinced me to become atheist.
1. Yes. The vast majority of christians in the U.S. get their christianity taught through attending church. Period. I have known very few who do any extensive reading...maybe the bible...but rarely anything beyond that. If that level of christian knowledge is good enough to lead to a decision to "accept" christ, then it's also good enough to make a decision to reject christ.
2. When I was teaching evolution in earth science in high school, far too many parents came in and said -- literally -- "I don't want my son to think".
During an attack on evolution and science in one of his televised sermons, and Jimmy Swaggart once thanked God for not making him intelligent. Given his subsequent defrocking for his ongoing penchant for getting caught with prostitutes it was an unprecedented bit of insight on Swaggart's part.
It is possible to know the textual content without having any understanding of it's meaning. If you can't even explain why the stories have endured and been believed for so long, then you have no real understanding. The understanding is only superficial, and most of the atheist views on the Bible that I've seen would be laughed out of a high school religious studies class.
Oh, I think we have a very good understanding of why these stories endure. Young children are told over and over that the Bible is true, and the majority will go through their lives accepting that it is so.
A classroom of preschool children might laugh at an adult sometimes. That doesn't mean they know more than the adult. When it comes to the Bible, I see atheists discussing it as a group of children at play.
I see you as someone who puts forth many claims with no evidence whatsoever. Oh look, here is yet another one.
I grew up attending CCD classes and went to a catholic HS. Bible study was just a regular thing. During high school I frequently got assigned various books and/or verses and had to write papers on them.
A lot of that critical thinking over the bible is ultimately what convinced me to become atheist.
George Carlin said that at the Catholic school he attended, the Priests went out of their way to encourage critical thinking. The result was that Carlin and many of the other students became atheists.
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