(August 22, 2013 at 7:32 pm)freedomfromfallacy Wrote: I'm curious. Do the resident christians really believe
all of the stuff they post? Which ones are real and
which are trolling? Or, are their beliefs really as
troll-ish as some of them sound? I'm starting to think
that christians are out of their minds. I'll name names
if anyone asks, but please don't ask me to quote posts
by them - I'm trying to forget.
Actually - just as ancient Egyptians Believed that their rulers were gods - there are xtians that do believe the statements of their religion. THere are a number of reasons why they do
1- Early Indoctrination - as Oscar Hammerstein wrote - YOU have to be taught to hate and fear - it has to be drummed in your dear little ear - you have to be taught before its too late - to hate all the things your relatives hate. Example - most children believed in the Tooth Fairy and Santa Claus - because their most trusted people - normally their parents - led them to believe they WERE real.
And since religion is taught to SCARE people for the most part - it is hard to overcome the overwhelming early education of religion.
We do tend to trust our "family" when it comes to things that otherwise cannot be explained to THEM.
2 - SO that brings number two - education. Religion is largely believed by people around the world who have less education or are of less intelligence - and it is far less believed by people of high intelligence or of higher education. OUR parents were not taught science in the same way we have been - and they do not accept science as being proven true.
That is not to say that there are not otherwise intelligent people who believe in religion - but it is to say that most people have not actually questioned their religion - and simply expect it to have been "already proven" =- of course it has not been though.
3 - People are looking for something more - some type of reward for living a good life - and religion promises them a reward - while reality fails to do that. So some people cannot except that they are just another - albeit higher level - animal on earth.
Now - as early religious education is waning - as well as higher education being more available - then less and less people will believe based simply on what is said in religion - and as they ASK QUESTIONs - that were formerly things religion refused to address - religion cannot hide any longer.
Religion is waning in the Western world - people are less religious and getting more so every day. Eventually - beleif in Leprechauns will end.
