Brilliant article - good reading

[drfuzzy]

Debunking Christianity by John W. Loftus.  Brilliant. 

{snip}       Sorry, I posted a link when I joined and later learned that I'm too much of a newbie!   
It's in his 2014 07 archives.
"im-calling-for-end-to-philosophy-of"

He's calling for Colleges and Universities to stop offering degrees in Philosophy of Religion, because in most cases, these courses turn into 
Xtian "Theology" . . . which is basically people writing papers and getting degrees for making up stories about what they think they know.
How can you study something that doesn't exist?

I remember working at a summer college program, and one of the Theology students was completing his Master's.  I was assigned to help with his thesis.
He came in with 5 pages about a transcendent prayer experience. It was 5 pages of absolutely hideously-written incomprehensible drivel.  When I 
asked for his bibliography and review of literature, he didn't have either.  I had to argue with his committee head to get him to admit that maybe 
a THEOLOGY Thesis should at least meet the requirements for a decent high-school essay before they give someone a Master's Degree.  (And yes, they
did give that guy his Master's, and yes, the paper was still terrifyingly bad.)  Now, I know that many Theology programs have better standards, but 
so very many are built on the old premise of "nobody needs to be able to read to preach, they just need the call from g-d."  There is still a huge distrust 
of education in the Xtian community.     


I love this quote from the article: "What I seek is liberation from the very idea that any sacred text should be an authority for modem human existence."
Let's stop people from getting advanced degrees by studying their own fantasies! What do you guys think?

I think, since you made the claim there is no God to prove that statement and no I do not need to prove God to you or anyone else, it's you who made the claim there was no God and it's your responsibility to back up your claim.
Also I know a pastor with a nuclear engineering degree. If you say that it's not a requirement to read to be a pastor then how could they possibly teach something they can't read.

GC

Wow, GC. Well, this IS an atheist forum.  Yes, I believe that there is no god, and therefore theology students are studying . . . nothing. That's my opinion.  And I did not say that all pastors are illiterate.  I said that we have a history of illiterate preachers that still has some effect in today's world.  And perhaps I should not have shared my story, because I really intended to share an article that is better thought-out and more erudite than my post.  I hope you enjoyed reading it.