Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Christians are an interesting bunch of human beings, their personalitys range from a to z within their religion, and their individual explinations of their doctrines has just as much range. This is just one of many reasons I never did take fully to the Religion during my youth. Yet Christianity is a very large Religion, it has millions of members.
I recently visted a dating site, and at least 90% of the Females listed there, say they were Christian, and were looking for a Christian man. Simply amazing, these numerical realitys, even in simple dating sites. The influence of Christianity is very widespread, very deeply ingrained in our societys, familys and even polictical levels have their influence.
I have always wondered to myself just how eye opening the old statement," Well everyone can't be Wrong", can be a stunning reality in some surprising places of being. I have examined certain groups who grew in numbers, believed in their purpose with all their hearts, but had a perplexing set of beliefs, and actually thought they were right. And had public support in their citys. Some were cults, some were not, but they all had one arcane thing in common; Their minds were uniquely seduced into believing what they believed.
In my view, there is no example of this that is as strong and prevalent in our society, than the Seduction of the Christian Mind. Its stunning to observe that many Christians feel that they, and they alone, represent God on earth. That theirs is the only true Religion, Moderator cut: deleted per Sticky And they believe this with all their hearts, and their fears. They think Christ was beaten to death, in order that all of unbelieving humanity can be beaten throughout all of Eternity, a stunning seduction of the believing Mind.
But first I wanted to examine the actual seduction of the Human Mind, how it seems to occur so much in Religion , and how it can become so widespread, and yet so accepted in soceity.
Moderator cut: Referece to other member there is more than " One Reason" they believe, or multiple seductions occuring at the same time. The person is often " Flooded with seemingly normal events in life", but they have been seduced beyond normalcy. The Sun comming up that morning could have been " Their personal sign" that their beliefs are now legit.
Anyhow, I want to examine this unique Seduction of the Christian Mind.
I would suggest you do a bit more a) research ....and b) living before you make such sophmoric assumptions and generalities on a subject that is vast and ancient.
If you think you don't have a 'religion' just because it isn't called 'religion', you're mistaken.
You do.
It's either the 'religion' of science or the 'religion' of self (what "I" want and deem true). The problem with both these 'religions' is that they have lots that is true but they can only reach out as far as the senses go...and a human being is FAR larger than just the senses.
Those who participate in a faith based religion are participating in and on far more levels of life than the two that are not commonly called 'religion'.
There is no 'religion' more seductive to the human mind than mainstream science and mainstream worldly values (or lack of).
Those are the seductions that most Christians are painfully relinquishing in favor of something True and Simple, which is present in the most basic level of human consciousness.
We are hardwired for faith in something. We evolved with it for some reason. I personally believe this is because their is a God. However, there could be a scientific reason for it, haven't heard a good one yet.
If one reads the Gospels, for example, and sees what has become of religion since, does that say that the Gospels are faulty or erroneous or fiction?
Nope.
It shows what humans are like and what they do to everything...even higher help.
It shows how true the Gospels are by our agelong thick and selfish human natures. It shows that we are, in fact, all that it says we are.
There is a saying;" Its a thin line between reality and fantasy." What the human mind believes and desires can be absolutely real to that mind, and this is defintely so in Religion. Whatever other tools the human has, including books and churchs, its the Mind which is the Heart of belief. Both the conscious and subconscious mind hold all of our inlets and outlets of thinking. I would think then that if a human is to be seduced by any power of seduction, then it must get into their Mind. From there will flow their belief. Make their mind believe.
One classic example of this is the relation between a Pimp and a Prostitue, he must persuade her Mind in order to enslave her belief, which thus leads to her performing for him. She will give her body because she is convinced. Then give to him in this unusual way of life.
There are simularities in Religion, where a believer will continually give to an evangelist or church, because they are convinced that this is what " God Wants." Give their Lives, their substance and Time and money, because they ultimately believe its what God wants. And many preachers are really " Pimps" who survive on these people who committ to them because they " Believe so strongly." Prosperity ministries have made a killing from giving people hope that if they give " God money through them", then God will in turn give them more. Whats God going to do with money? Is God a bank that only gives people intrest on their own money? Incredible, but many Christian Minds are under this very Powerful seduction, and some all of their lives. They give the church more money than anythingelse, as if God is an accountant and will tabulate this in the end.
But they " Believe Money to be this important to God." And feel like they will be " Cursed" if they do not Give. I have asked several over the years, just " What would the Curse be?" But Fear of lost or curses, even fear of not being saved, are also very strong componants of the Seduction of the Christian Mind.
I think the reason that all religions continues to perpetuate themselves is because parents and society pass it along to their children, simple as that. I really believe that if religion could simply skip a generation that it would largely die out. Parents have a tremendous influence on their children and religious parents make a strong effort to ingrain their religious beliefs into their minds. My brother and his wife who are very religious are instilling the Christian faith into their children while my sister and her husband who are both atheists didn't do that. Their two sons are grown up and in their twenties and neither of them are religious. My brother's kids are still very young but I have no doubt that they will grow up to be Christians.
If a child grew up and had never been exposed to religion at all and then in their twenties they happened to read the Bible for the first time in their lives I don't believe that even a fraction of a percent of them would take it seriously.
The most seductive thing about any religion is its appeal to your survival instinct. Everyone wants to believe you will somehow exist forever, and religion provides soothing avenue to satisfy that desire. Additionally, with at least some Christians, they have not only that carrot, but the stick to, in that they believe that you will be tortured forever if you aren't part of their religion. So there are powerful incentives to joining and disincentives to rejecting.
The most seductive thing about any religion is its appeal to your survival instinct. Everyone wants to believe you will somehow exist forever, and religion provides soothing avenue to satisfy that desire. Additionally, with at least some Christians, they have not only that carrot, but the stick to, in that they believe that you will be tortured forever if you aren't part of their religion. So there are powerful incentives to joining and disincentives to rejecting.
I agree with this and what Montanaguy wrote. I want to believe in a God and eternal Life as his free gift, but I am more and more convinced that religion, contaminated by human belief, is just not the way to find out if God is real.
Seduction keeps your desire and stable feet of belief off of the ground, then you float along the worn path of human deception, which is seduction turned inside out.
Yet, it is all most humans have, a seductive picture and Hope of God.
So there is another way to this missing link in knowledge.
I think the reason that all religions continues to perpetuate themselves is because parents and society pass it along to their children, simple as that. I really believe that if religion could simply skip a generation that it would largely die out. Parents have a tremendous influence on their children and religious parents make a strong effort to ingrain their religious beliefs into their minds. My brother and his wife who are very religious are instilling the Christian faith into their children while my sister and her husband who are both atheists didn't do that. Their two sons are grown up and in their twenties and neither of them are religious. My brother's kids are still very young but I have no doubt that they will grow up to be Christians.
If a child grew up and had never been exposed to religion at all and then in their twenties they happened to read the Bible for the first time in their lives I don't believe that even a fraction of a percent of them would take it seriously.
I think there is some truth in what you said,yet many people end up in religions,or at least denominations,different from their parents.Many people I know who grew up in 'very'religious families spurn religion completely,while many I know who grew up in 'nominally' religious families have sought later in life a religion,often different than the one their parents 'somewhat' followed.People who grew up identifiying with some branch of christianity do tend to remain somewhere under the christian umbrella though .
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
), than to believe in the God that many Christians and Muslims believe in...
