(March 13, 2014 at 10:36 am)Jacob(smooth) Wrote: It never was an argument against Christianity, merely against the inerrancy of the bible.
This is very true and very important to remember. Christianity can be teachings of Aquinas, Calvin, Luther, or it can be Coptic ritual or gnostic secrets. For many Christians these doctrines have more importance than the literal truth of any particular story in the bible. (Consider the doctrine of the trinity which is disputed but also central to many Christians. It is at best unclear if the bible supports the doctrine of the trinity)
Having grown up ELCA Lutheran in a church that didn't say the bible was infallible or that it's authors had any superior access to god than anybody else I can say it effectively teaches a soft atheism because the a church that is up front about the fact it does not have a superior moral authority because there are errors in its mythology loses most of the power that makes religion work.
Companions the creator seeks, not corpses, not herds and believers. Fellow creators the creator seeks -- those who write new values on new tablets. Companions the creator seeks, and fellow harvesters; for everything about him is ripe for the harvest. - F. Nietzche
