Are Christians Stupid Or Just Ignorant and Delusional?

[Bgood]

Bgood, you hurt my feelings. Ridiculous? On the surface, yes. As for me, I find the symbolism and allegories rich, complex and more profound than any other text I've known. When these guys rant and rail about how absurd it all sounds, it doesn't bother me one bit (okay maybe a little) because that's what it looks like from the perspective of those who can only recognize things that are physical. You and I know that there is an internal reality that informs the external. Even an atheist like Sartre understood that!

Hi Chad, didn't mean to hurt your fellings! lol. I agree that there is an internal reality. I would think of what you are saying is called human consciousness. It is awareness of the present moment which is the focal point of Zen buddhist practice. It is internally the brain and the five senses interacting with the environment. It is intelligence and the scope of internal dialogue. Buddhists generally do not believe in a soul. Actually we believe in No Self or Non-self (Anatta). This is a teaching to reduce selfish individualism as well as a means to urge compassion for others. I like how you mention Sartre. I remember that I enjoyed reading 'Existentialism is a Humanism' in one of my philosophy courses a while ago.

As far as the Bible goes, I think it is mostly rubbish. I find it very boring and extremely redundant. The so-called inspirational stories don't inspire me. I think it is highly over-rated, not to mention that it's mythology is mostly plaigerized from Egyptian, Sumerian and other cultures. Did you know that the story of the Great Flood was taken from the epic of Gilgamesh?

Now certain historical, literary offshoots from the Bible are interesting, such as Dante's "Divine Comedy", Milton's "Paradise Lost", and Goethe's "Faust", which is actually more Gothic than Christian, but these classic works are generally from the Rennaisance period which sort of mocked and criticized the Bible in deft ways. The greatest writers of history clearly demonstrated an evolution of thought process that far transcended the ridiculous and absurd bible fantasies. The Bible sucks. Read the Upanishads or Bhagavad Gita for greater spiritual illumination. Eastern traditions were far more spiritual than western. The dominant cultural mindset of the western world would be the Greco-Roman, which has it's own greatness and beauty in it's own right.

Christianity, in my eyes, and apparently in millions of others, was a horrible diversion from truth and love. It is a fabled philosophy that will only frustrate and confound you. Look beyond it for greater realization. You are obviously a well educated student. Now Be a Rennaissance Man!