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I would no longer conclude that the hyperbolic 30,000 denominations means different interpretations. I have attended many different Christian denominations, and they pretty much teach the same concepts. After some consideration (and exposure to different people over the summer), I would say that these different interpretations are simply different levels of understanding. Some people are more literal than others and some more flexible than others, etc.. The Bible is not something one learns linearily, where you learn everything there is to know in one book before you move to the next. Learning is cummulative, where a person learns a little bit at a time and then goes back to revisit to get a deeper understanding.
Where I see closed-mindedness is when religous people, and of course that means Christians because that is who I mostly know, think their answers are the only correct one. This is similar to a multiple choice question where only one choice is correct. However, most of the time, the choices should have been multi-select, with more than one correct answer, which may or may not include a religioius based choice.
Of course, there is a flip side to that where an atheist would not allow a religious based choice at all. Religous people will see that as closed-minded.
I would no longer conclude that the hyperbolic 30,000 denominations means different interpretations. I have attended many different Christian denominations, and they pretty much teach the same concepts. After some consideration (and exposure to different people over the summer), I would say that these different interpretations are simply different levels of understanding. Some people are more literal than others and some more flexible than others, etc.. The Bible is not something one learns linearily, where you learn everything there is to know in one book before you move to the next. Learning is cummulative, where a person learns a little bit at a time and then goes back to revisit to get a deeper understanding.
Where I see closed-mindedness is when religous people, and of course that means Christians because that is who I mostly know, think their answers are the only correct one. This is similar to a multiple choice question where only one choice is correct. However, most of the time, the choices should have been multi-select, with more than one correct answer, which may or may not include a religioius based choice.
Of course, there is a flip side to that where an atheist would not allow a religious based choice at all. Religous people will see that as closed-minded.
Good post.
When I lived in Colorado I occasionally would go to church...maybe 4 times a year. Usually Catholic or Methodist, but one time during the Christmas season I went to a Congregational Church. One of the things I kept thinking was...why all the separation.
When I lived in Colorado I occasionally would go to church...maybe 4 times a year. Usually Catholic or Methodist, but one time during the Christmas season I went to a Congregational Church. One of the things I kept thinking was...why all the separation.
Somebody has the answer but I am sure most of the congregants don't really have one that illuminates the reason.
Does it matter if there are thousands of Christian denominations vs only dozens or hundreds?
Lets say we make large groups. You still have:
Roman Catholic
RCC offshoots that prefer Latin mass.
2-6 versions of Orthodox Catholicism. (Greek, Eastern, Ukranian, Ethiopian...)
Protestant denominations, such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptists, Methodist...., each of which has 2-3 schismatic subgroups.
Anglicans and Episcopalians. I understand Church of Scotland has doctrinal differences from Church of England as well.
Later protestant groups such as the Anabaptists, which can be divided into the conservative and less conservative wings.
LDS, JW, Seventh Day Adventists and similar later Christian variants.
I think we could legitimately group different non-denominational churches into 6 or more distinctly different categories that all disagree with one another in some way.
That is just off the top of my head.
From my atheistic point of view, that is enough fragmentation for me to doubt any given statement of doctrine. I don't need to claim thousands of different denominations, a couple of dozen proves the point nicely.
Somebody has the answer but I am sure most of the congregants don't really have one that illuminates the reason.
But why don't they? Why don't they think about the general topic?
And to be fair, I see the same thing in Thailand. Although it happens fairly commonly, I'm thinking of one hamlet I was in where there were -- literally -- two temples right across the intersection from each other. I can understand a village where there are multiple temples in what would seem to be a small village...but you have to remember that most people in small villages don't have cars. Walking is how many of them get around. But still...why the separation?
Does it matter if there are thousands of Christian denominations vs only dozens or hundreds?
Lets say we make large groups. You still have:
Roman Catholic
RCC offshoots that prefer Latin mass.
2-6 versions of Orthodox Catholicism. (Greek, Eastern, Ukranian, Ethiopian...)
Protestant denominations, such as Lutheran, Presbyterian, Baptists, Methodist...., each of which has 2-3 schismatic subgroups.
Anglicans and Episcopalians. I understand Church of Scotland has doctrinal differences from Church of England as well.
Later protestant groups such as the Anabaptists, which can be divided into the conservative and less conservative wings.
LDS, JW, Seventh Day Adventists and similar later Christian variants.
I think we could legitimately group different non-denominational churches into 6 or more distinctly different categories that all disagree with one another in some way.
That is just off the top of my head.
From my atheistic point of view, that is enough fragmentation for me to doubt any given statement of doctrine. I don't need to claim thousands of different denominations, a couple of dozen proves the point nicely.
Thinking back of my hometown in the 1950s, a village of 3,000, and I would guess about a dozen christian churches. And I remember thinking, even as a kid, that our minister (Rev. Durham) that, "We are one in christ", and yet we were not one at all.
But why don't they? Why don't they think about the general topic?
And to be fair, I see the same thing in Thailand. Although it happens fairly commonly, I'm thinking of one hamlet I was in where there were -- literally -- two temples right across the intersection from each other. I can understand a village where there are multiple temples in what would seem to be a small village...but you have to remember that most people in small villages don't have cars. Walking is how many of them get around. But still...why the separation?
That question would require a multi-select option, rather than a multiple-choice option. Even then, the choices would be hypotheses, each one falsifiable after you research each member. That is what makes it so difficult to pin it down to one answer.
The attitude about slavery caused the Baptist church to completely split in two, creating the Southern Baptist Convention. We're seeing a similar thing happen now with the United Methodists, not over slavery, but over the issue of LGBT people marrying in the churches and serving as pastors.
That question would require a multi-select option, rather than a multiple-choice option. Even then, the choices would be hypotheses, each one falsifiable after you research each member. That is what makes it so difficult to pin it down to one answer.
But to be honest, since virtually all temples in Thailand are Theravada (there are some others), it usually just means they are picking and choosing which temple to go to based on who else goes there. And that's not the right thing to do.
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