Religion is just another human endeavor, consequently it is subject to all the things that occur to any other human endeavor. What I mean is that when something starts out you will have an idea of what the faith believes according to the founder(s). Not everything that is posited as being a tenet of the faith is going to go down equally well with every single person who subscribes to it. I would imagine that this would be true from the very beginning. For example, I would find it surprising that even the very first Xtians were unanimous in there support for every last little doctrine of belief. People are just naturally given to picking and choosing, so they just go ahead and do so. They really don't even think about it. In my own personal experience as someone who was raised in the RC church, there did not appear to be anyone who did not go ahead and do that, and as a general rule people just believed that which corresponding with their own personal leanings and ignored the rest. Technically we were all wrong for doing so according to the church, but no one ever gave it a thought.
It is probably a good thing that people behave this way because who would want to live in a society where we still stoned people for picking up sticks on the sabbath? Of course, some things appear to be a big deal to some folks for whatever reason and then you get into the whole schism thing. You have yourself a knock-down drag-out over the forces of orthodoxy and change, with both sides being convinced that they are in the right. Which, as we know from history can get quite bloody at times. But let us all remember that religion is always, in all times, a force for good! Amen.
It is probably a good thing that people behave this way because who would want to live in a society where we still stoned people for picking up sticks on the sabbath? Of course, some things appear to be a big deal to some folks for whatever reason and then you get into the whole schism thing. You have yourself a knock-down drag-out over the forces of orthodoxy and change, with both sides being convinced that they are in the right. Which, as we know from history can get quite bloody at times. But let us all remember that religion is always, in all times, a force for good! Amen.
“To terrify children with the image of hell, to consider women an inferior creation—is that good for the world?”
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
― Christopher Hitchens
"That fear first created the gods is perhaps as true as anything so brief could be on so great a subject". - George Santayana
"If this is the best God can do, I'm not impressed". - George Carlin
