Dr. Michael Shermer on losing his faith (Buddhists, Mormon, Muslims)
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"When you're in the Christian bubble, surrounded by fellow Christians, everything makes perfect sense and it's all internally coherent and logical and everything happens for a reason. But then, when you're not in the bubble, ...."
And if you accept their premises, for oneness Pentecostalism it would be that god did and is going to do exactly what he said in the bible, then what they say makes sense. It's the premises of Christianity that get messed up, not the logic that follows from those premises.
The guy's an atheist. His parents were Christian. Now he is not. He is now in an atheist/agnostic bubble. He said as much. Seems this fellow is not his own man, but is what surrounds him.
I was raised in an atheist bubble. And now I am not an atheist. I discovered God. Each of us must find his own path
So, according to your reasoning you are now in the god bubble...and not your own man.
University life is very much isolated from the real world. The Ivory Tower refers to that. Google the term. University folk are very much wrapped up in the small world of self same people who agree with themselves. Very much a bubble of back slapping opinion.
This is just propaganda from the anti-intellectual crowd (which I estimate to be a very big and loud majority in this country).
Academia isn't any more isolated from the "real world" than any other profession. All of the "upper echelon" professions like doctors and lawyers have their own fraternal "brotherhoods" and often hobnob together for various personal and professional reasons. They have their own agencies, their own hang-outs, and their own worldviews.
Academia is criticized for being an "ivory tower" simply because academia is the primary producer of knowledge, and that by itself can be contentious. Those who disagree with the knowledge produced will often make up reasons to dismiss it, and one of the most popular is the inane claim of, "Professors are book-smart but they don't have any common sense. They don't know how the REAL world works!"
It's an old and very well worn (and well debunked) argument.
As for there being an atheist bubble, that comes pretty close to being an oxymoron in a nation that is filled to bursting with religion. If you know four people, three of them will be Christians (statistically speaking). It's not easy to find atheists in one's local community - which is precisely why so many atheists have taken to the internet. Go figure, huh?
1. You may well be the first person I have noticed who used periods when using the term LA when describing a certain SoCal town. As a CA native I can assure you that it is LA. Not L, period A, period.
I'm native So Cal. (Yay, we so rock. ) I always use periods, especially on the internet where many people use LA to mean Louisiana. And because the Dodgers used the periods during the Koufax/Drysdale years when I was in elementary school learning how to do things like abbreviate.
Maybe you need to notice more.
The one thing Dr. Sherman was 100% correct on was saying L.A. was a jumble of people and beliefs. Alternative beliefs are as accepted as mainstream beliefs and exposure to either is as easy as walking out the front door.
Last edited by DewDropInn; 02-10-2014 at 11:41 AM..
Children who are homeschooled >>>>>>>>> Only allowed to associate with other children from the church their parents force them to attend >>>>>>>>>> Sent off to a Christian college for four years >>>>>>>>>> equals "BUBBLE".
Then they enter the real world when they become employed adults and one of two things happens.
1.) They wake up, take inventory of the world around them, and make the neccessary adjustments.
2.) They wonder why everyone else is so different than them, remain in the bubble and only associate with other churchgoers (of their faith only, of course), put a "Not of this world" bumper sticker on their car, and consider everyone who believes differently than they do to be "hellbound".
Children who are homeschooled >>>>>>>>> Only allowed to associate with other children from the church their parents force them to attend >>>>>>>>>> Sent off to a Christian college for four years >>>>>>>>>> equals "BUBBLE".
Then they enter the real world when they become employed adults and one of two things happens.
1.) They wake up, take inventory of the world around them, and make the neccessary adjustments.
2.) They wonder why everyone else is so different than them, remain in the bubble and only associate with other churchgoers (of their faith only, of course), put a "Not of this world" bumper sticker on their car, and consider everyone who believes differently than they do to be "hellbound".
That is so true. I chose option 1 about 2 years ago when I turned 18.
The guy's an atheist. His parents were Christian. Now he is not. He is now in an atheist/agnostic bubble. He said as much. Seems this fellow is not his own man, but is what surrounds him.
I was raised in an atheist bubble. And now I am not an atheist. I discovered God. Each of us must find his own path
Which god did you discover? Please say Ahura Mazda or Zeus!
As for the OP itself, I didn't "lose" faith. It wasn't misplaced. I voluntarily gave up belief in mythological deities.
Where's such ignorance? I refer to mythological characters, superheroes?, as "gods" or "deities" as that is what they are. Since the Abrahamic tradition is not actually monotheistic, consisting of El, Yahweh, Jesus and Holy Spirit, not to forget the rest of the Canaanite pantheon, I refer to its respective deities as, well, deities. Quite fascinating. El, Yahweh, Jesus and Holy Spirit are deity characters in ancient mythos, and since they're not my gods there's no reason to assign any formal title to them. Brahman, on the other hand... Ultimate Transcendence, the way in which he is described, gives me something to appreciate.
it's important to be reminded that Allah or Vishnu are just as real to their followers,
So the "which god" question is not an attempt to be coy or snide, it is an attempt to bring focus and awareness to how Christians frame their questions and to put in perspective the exceptionalism they reserve for their god.
And when was the last time you, or anyone argued (on this forum) with a Hindu or Muslim? Or the existence of Vishnu or Allah? (Cue the sound of Crickets)
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