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Nonsense.Most Christians are motivated by what they are taught as kids,not some kind of personal experience.That is why most Christians stay Christian,Buddhists stay Buddhist,Moslems Moslem,Hindus Hindu.Very little critical reflection on whether what you have been taught is supportable by facts is ever done.
How would you explain rational, mature, educated adults becoming Christians?
How would you explain rational, mature, educated adults becoming Christians?
IMO, they aren't rational, they are slightly delusional.
People can function through life having mental illnesses, and this is one of them.
Education has nothing to do with it, there are many insane geniuses.
IMO, they aren't rational, they are slightly delusional.
People can function through life having mental illnesses, and this is one of them.
Education has nothing to do with it, there are many insane geniuses.
Exactly.
Those thoroughly indoctrinated as children are pretty much doomed to a life believing in the fantasy steeped in absurdities. A major part of their indoctrination is to accept absurdities without question.
Arriving in adulthood without being so programmed, then to willfully swallow the impossible indicates there are other flaws with their reasoning and logic.
i have faith that organized western religions teach incorrect facts, just like Greek and Roman mytholoigies do. I have faith that it's a very old, and factually wrong attempt at people trying to understand the world around them. So yes, in some context I do have faith.
Might I suggest that it's not faith you have, it's trust. That trust is based on the evidence that all past religions were factually wrong and are now regarded as mythology. That leads you to trust that all present Western organised religions will go the same way...based on the evidence that all past religions have now died out.
To have faith means that you have no evidence for what you believe but in fact there is masses of verifiable evidence for what you believe.
How would you explain rational, mature, educated adults becoming Christians?
It is their choice.Nothing I said precluded that happening.I simply said MOST Christians follow what they were taught as kids.
In addition,if an adult feels the need to appeal to a higher power for help with his life,is it reasonable to expect a person living in Christian America to seek out the Hindu god?Christianity pervades all of American culture.It is perfectly normal for someone seeking spiritual help to go to the predominant religion of the area.
Why do you think most Christians continue on in the brand of Christianity they were brought up in?If they are being led from some outside source,would not this source lead them all to the same thing,ie,all RCC, all Baptist,all Pentecostal,or all Eastern Orthodox?Why the mishmash,if they are being led by God?
Might I suggest that it's not faith you have, it's trust.
You can suggest it -- but the dictionary defines trust as "to have confidence or faith in."
If there's a difference in the meaning of the two words, I'm not clear on what it is.
Quote:
That trust is based on the evidence that all past religions were factually wrong and are now regarded as mythology.
That leads you to trust that all present Western organised religions will go the same way...based on the evidence that all past religions have now died out.
To have faith means that you have no evidence for what you believe but in fact there is masses of verifiable evidence for what you believe.
You don't seem to grasp what it is that I believe.
A simple explanation looks like this: Christianity states facts. (Say for example, that the world was created in 7 days.) A high school biology textbook also states facts. (Say, the world was created over 1 billion years. I'm not sure the actual number.) If the textbook's facts contradict those of Christianity, a choice must be made between the two sets of facts.
Since humans are not omniscient, whether you side with the textbook or the bible, some degree of faith is required.
IMO, they aren't rational, they are slightly delusional. People can function through life having mental illnesses, and this is one of them.
Education has nothing to do with it, there are many insane geniuses.
So, you're saying adults who choose to become Christians are mentally ill? Interesting...
It is their choice.Nothing I said precluded that happening.I simply said MOST Christians follow what they were taught as kids.
In addition,if an adult feels the need to appeal to a higher power for help with his life,is it reasonable to expect a person living in Christian America to seek out the Hindu god?Christianity pervades all of American culture.It is perfectly normal for someone seeking spiritual help to go to the predominant religion of the area.
Why do you think most Christians continue on in the brand of Christianity they were brought up in?If they are being led from some outside source,would not this source lead them all to the same thing,ie,all RCC, all Baptist,all Pentecostal,or all Eastern Orthodox?Why the mishmash,if they are being led by God?
Styles of worship, traditions, etc. The disagreements in doctrine are minor. We all agree Jesus is our Savior.
How would you explain rational, mature, educated adults becoming Christians?
Most of the time they are in a bad situation, alone or ill and are looking for something to cling to. A time of desperation. They are scared and the promise of some afterlife is tempting to those that need something. It is like they turn off the education, rational and objectivity for the promise of something after death.
Those thoroughly indoctrinated as children are pretty much doomed to a life believing in the fantasy steeped in absurdities. A major part of their indoctrination is to accept absurdities without question.
Arriving in adulthood without being so programmed, then to willfully swallow the impossible indicates there are other flaws with their reasoning and logic.
Maybe in certain denominations, but I've never experienced that. We study the Bible in depth, searching for the Truth. In my adult Bible study class, we actually debate doctrine. Of course, it doesn't get nasty like here on the R & P board.
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