Grad student seeking atheist to interview

[Abaddon_ire]

HappySkeptic - I don't believe in a "young Earth" either. I believe the scientific record on age of the earth, universe, etc. Do you think Genesis teaches a literal 6 day creation? I am curious if any of you have found Genesis to be a cause for unbelief because the scientific record seems to contradict what is taught in Genesis?

Of course not.  If it weren't from some wrong order of some events, some Christians could believe that Genesis is talking of the Big Bang and the evolution of Earth.

But Genesis does talk about a fall of Man and corruption of the Earth.  It is the reason for Jesus, and the reason why the Earth has to be destroyed in Revelation.  So, if it is all "just a story", then Christianity is false as well.

Still, I find that most Christians DO consider Genesis to be "just a story", and they skip over the OT and jump right to Baby Jesus.  They realize they aren't perfect, and take the promise of "remission of sins" to get into heaven as too good a possibility to pass up, even if they don't buy most of the theology.

No, it isn't that kind of Pascal's Wager. Most people are religious because they were raised religious. Buddhist parents have Buddhist children. Muslim parents have Muslim children. Christian parents have christian children. It is the single greatest influence. I was raised RCC and I was RCC as a kid. That lasted up until I was maybe 12. And had that "Wait just a minute" moment. I am a cliche. Having carelessly lost belief belief in Santa a year or two previous, I suddenly made that connection. My child reasoning was that "Santa and God are almost identical, so if my parents lied outright about Santa, and God is almost identical to Santa, what's the chances that God is also fake?" 

Christians generally don't like that comparison. It trivialises God, they say. God is real and Santa is fake, they say. Well...

Who can be everywhere at once? God or Santa?
Who knows if you have been good or bad and watches you all the time? God or Santa?
Who rewards or punishes you on the basis of spying on your every waking moment? God or Santa?
Who has an army of slaves to do his bidding in the background? God or Santa?

And so on.

Nevertheless, here I am some 40 years later and I still have moments where that indoctrination pops up. Why? Because it was beaten into me all my early life. Sometimes literally.