Coming from a family in which two of my father's brothers were priests - and having actually gone to the seminary for a period of time as I was being raised to be a priest - One forgets that religion is a BUSINESS - not just a belief.
Ask a leader of GENERAL MOTORS or FORD if he actually believes that they make the very best cars on the road - and in public - they will likely attempt NOT to answer that question - because that is NOT their business. They are not in business to produce the BEST cars - regardless of cost - they are in the business of supply a good mainstream product to the largest group of people driving cars. That is how they make money.
A priest is in the business of selling his religion - that is how THEY make money - and that is why there is such an emphasis on MONEY in their training. In every business - there are things you want to show to the buyers - and there are things you hope the buyers are not as interested in. So - most people do not want a $1 million dollar car - that can do everything. Most want a car that gets them from place to place - that is reliable - and affordable to THEM
ANd that is the SPIN that religious leaders must put on their PRODUCT. I will go as to say that NO priest believes every detail of their religion - and they are open to the fact that some of them are simply not true. It takes are real idiot to attempt to get money from people in telling them that the earth IS A FLAT round object (A circle) - when we already KNOW it is not.
So - as time passes- religious leaders have had to change the FOCUS of their teachings to things more abstract - know that many things that ancients believed were simply not true. There will always be people who will believe what they were taught - even it is NOT true (NOTE - a senator who still believes that the earth is the center of the Universe) - but most will overlook those things - especially when they are ignored by the priest doing the teaching.
And that is why xtianity does not preach to actually read the ENTIRE bible - because there ARE too many things that are substantially wrong - proven wrong - and are contradictory - and they cannot teach around those things. But they still have an infrastructure to support - as well as themselves - so teaching LOVE and CARING gets around that well for most uneducated people.
It when people are educated enough to know that there is no basis for the religion to begin with that religion is fading away - as it is doing today.
Ask a leader of GENERAL MOTORS or FORD if he actually believes that they make the very best cars on the road - and in public - they will likely attempt NOT to answer that question - because that is NOT their business. They are not in business to produce the BEST cars - regardless of cost - they are in the business of supply a good mainstream product to the largest group of people driving cars. That is how they make money.
A priest is in the business of selling his religion - that is how THEY make money - and that is why there is such an emphasis on MONEY in their training. In every business - there are things you want to show to the buyers - and there are things you hope the buyers are not as interested in. So - most people do not want a $1 million dollar car - that can do everything. Most want a car that gets them from place to place - that is reliable - and affordable to THEM
ANd that is the SPIN that religious leaders must put on their PRODUCT. I will go as to say that NO priest believes every detail of their religion - and they are open to the fact that some of them are simply not true. It takes are real idiot to attempt to get money from people in telling them that the earth IS A FLAT round object (A circle) - when we already KNOW it is not.
So - as time passes- religious leaders have had to change the FOCUS of their teachings to things more abstract - know that many things that ancients believed were simply not true. There will always be people who will believe what they were taught - even it is NOT true (NOTE - a senator who still believes that the earth is the center of the Universe) - but most will overlook those things - especially when they are ignored by the priest doing the teaching.
And that is why xtianity does not preach to actually read the ENTIRE bible - because there ARE too many things that are substantially wrong - proven wrong - and are contradictory - and they cannot teach around those things. But they still have an infrastructure to support - as well as themselves - so teaching LOVE and CARING gets around that well for most uneducated people.
It when people are educated enough to know that there is no basis for the religion to begin with that religion is fading away - as it is doing today.
