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.
Nice speculation. Explain why people like me become Christians in their 20s, 30s and 50s. I have several friends who were agnostic and atheist, who became Christian in mid-life.
There are exceptions, of course. If you believe in Christianity then you very possibly are still driven by the fear of eternal damnation. Adults can still be infused with fear, though not as readily as children. There are others who enjoy the social aspects of a religious belief and may not technically be theists, though they may claim to be in a religion. The vast majority of theists are given their particular religious belief by their parents in childhood. There is a lesser percentage that acquire their beliefs through piers as adults. I am an ex-Christian and the notion of eternal damnation is still in the back of my mind as a remnant of my religious indoctrination. But the lack of logic in Christianity, including the dogma, and other elements, made it impossible for me to continue believing.
There are exceptions, of course. If you believe in Christianity then you very possibly are still driven by the fear of eternal damnation. Adults can still be infused with fear, though not as readily as children. There are others who enjoy the social aspects of a religious belief and may not technically be theists, though they may claim to be in a religion. The vast majority of theists are given their particular religious belief by their parents in childhood. There is a lesser percentage that acquire their beliefs through piers as adults. I am an ex-Christian and the notion of eternal damnation is still in the back of my mind as a remnant of my religious indoctrination. But the lack of logic in Christianity, including the dogma, and other elements, made it impossible for me to continue believing.
Honestly, I don't know a single Christian "driven by the fear of eternal damnation".
Not only do I not know any, but I don't know any mainstream Christian church that would teach this or promote this as a reason to believe.
Folks may have been led by this kind of fear in generations past - but certainly not in the modern church of the last 50 or so years.
You're right, OP. I don't get it, either. And I say that as a former Bible-thumping Textus Receptus devotee, young earth creationist, literalist, and inerrantist. I studied doctrine and theology, and then I discovered actual, useful, pertinent information that took me down the rabbit hole. Having studied Biblical hermeneutics, Church ecclesiology, Hebrew theology, 1st century history, comparative literature, theology, and ANE religions, it all led to a snap in cognitive dissonance. It was freeing, enlightening and very transformative, and it was the best decision I ever made in my life
Thank Zeus!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Griffis
Which god? Yahweh? I really like the part in Kings II where he sends two she-bears to maul 42 children to death for making fun of Elijah's bald head.
Then, of course, there's the bit where Yahweh has to destroy nearly every living thing on the planet. Guess he didn't see that coming!
So, if Yahweh (one-time god of some sects of ancient Hebrews who eventually became god of Jews, Christians and Muslims) isn't perfect and incapable of flaws, then which god is?
Odin? Zeus? Ra? Vishnu? Any of the thousands of others dreamt up and worshiped by us humans?
Thor! Wait, no. Odin. After all, there are no longer ice giants around. Ahura Mazda is good, too. He, too, (Gathas and Avesta) played a very big role in the shaping of the Abrahamic traditions.
Which god? Yahweh? I really like the part in Kings II where he sends two she-bears to maul 42 children to death for making fun of Elijah's bald head.
Then, of course, there's the bit where Yahweh has to destroy nearly every living thing on the planet. Guess he didn't see that coming!
So, if Yahweh (one-time god of some sects of ancient Hebrews who eventually became god of Jews, Christians and Muslims) isn't perfect and incapable of flaws, then which god is?
Odin? Zeus? Ra? Vishnu? Any of the thousands of others dreamt up and worshiped by us humans?
We are discussing Christians, reread the original post.
Thor! Wait, no. Odin. After all, there are no longer ice giants around. Ahura Mazda is good, too. He, too, (Gathas and Avesta) played a very big role in the shaping of the Abrahamic traditions.
Indeed. I am struggling with The Eternal Question: Zoroastrianism or Follower of Cthulhu...
We are discussing Christians, reread the original post.
In the Christian faith there is one true God.
And yet in the Judaic faith, from which Christianity and Islam both derive, there are many gods.
There are also other monotheistic religions, some older than Judaism.
You claim to be a follower of a specific god and not a follower of religion. Yet the invisible supernatural being you happen to believe in is nothing BUT the product of man-made religion, just as are all the others.
For the fact is, there is absolutely, inarguably, no more reason to claim the Christian god is real than there is to say the same of Thor, or Zeus, or Vishnu, or Ra, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster for that matter.
None whatsoever.
It could be that in some ultimate, overarching sense, in some supra-reality, there IS some kind of godhead and that all gods ever devised by humans are some kind of reflection of this reality. But this too is mere supposition with nothing substantive on which to base such a notion.
In other words, to cling to the god or gods of one specific religion, or to claim that the "biography" of some god can be read in the holy texts of any culture, is baseless nonsense. It is, in fact, the very definition of "religion" and adherence TO that religion.
And yet in the Judaic faith, from which Christianity and Islam both derive, there are many gods.
There are also other monotheistic religions, some older than Judaism.
You claim to be a follower of a specific god and not a follower of religion. Yet the invisible supernatural being you happen to believe in is nothing BUT the product of man-made religion, just as are all the others.
For the fact is, there is absolutely, inarguably, no more reason to claim the Christian god is real than there is to say the same of Thor, or Zeus, or Vishnu, or Ra, or the Flying Spaghetti Monster for that matter.
None whatsoever.
It could be that in some ultimate, overarching sense, in some supra-reality, there IS some kind of godhead and that all gods ever devised by humans are some kind of reflection of this reality. But this too is mere supposition with nothing substantive on which to base such a notion.
In other words, to cling to the god or gods of one specific religion, or to claim that the "biography" of some god can be read in the holy texts of any culture, is baseless nonsense. It is, in fact, the very definition of "religion" and adherence TO that religion.
Am I not free to voice my thoughts here?
Moderator cut: delete
Last edited by Miss Blue; 01-31-2014 at 10:15 AM..
Reason: personal and rude
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.
