Hypocrisy is not just found in Christianity, it seems that it is a feature of many people's ideologies. I say 'it seems' because everybody is entitled to interpret whatever ideology they like from whatever sources they like. We don't live in totalitarian countries.
You could argue that most atheists you come across don't really understand the ideology they profess to adhere to. There is plenty of scientific theory out there to explain why concepts like 'god' and social constructs like 'religion' persist, and the kinds of evolutionary advantages the cognitive processes that lead to these concepts have afforded humanity - but still you will find people saying that religion is destructive and useless, to say that is a misinformed oversimplification is putting it nicely. I've shown on many occasions that if you challenge the status quo, put new ideas out there, atheists are just as prone to going nuts as any other ideology.
We have to ask ourselves honestly are we looking for reasons to denigrate another person's ideology, and if so, why? I've seen a lot of posts on this forum with sweeping generalisations saying Christians are idiots, which is blatantly not true, some are, sure, but then so are some atheists. Asserting atheistic ideology does not confer intelligence, which a lot of people seem to think it does.
We need to get away from this Christians v Atheists bullshit. It's pointless and destructive. The question we need to be asking is how can we better understand why these ideologies came into existence and why they persist. Dumb ideas do not persist for thousands of years. They have clearly been useful, and we need to understand fully why they have been useful before we can suggest they are no longer useful. To suggest otherwise without due consideration of the theory and then claim scientific method is the best way to understand our world is true hypocrisy.
MM
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Actually - your first statement is true - because people of ALL religions do not follow the rules.
The word "Islam" means "peace - but one could be justified in saying that Jihad is a contradiction to Islam right in the Koran
However - this is the xtian sub group - so you would expect people to point out things about Xtians here.
We don't need to understand how these ideas came into being and persist - we ALREADY know how it happened. Religion essentially was the originally the ruling class kept the uneducated masses in line. (Rule of law required a higher purpose than just rule of the people) As countries overcame other countries - religions combined - new beliefs were added - and the old stories were adapted and exaggerated.
People believed that the earth was FLAT for thousands of years - as well as the earth being the center of the Universe - and MANY other now Dumb things too.
The main reason why they persisted so long is that it was not allowed to be Questioned. Once you open up Pandora's box - it will take a while for the majority to understand just how ridiculous religion is - because these things are indoctrinations of youth. And there is a fortified and solidified organization that CONS people into those beliefs - and it is legal for them to exist.
However - there will always be some who deny reality - as the church did when it was discovered that the earth was not flat - nor was it stationary and unmoving in the sky. ANd it will likely take hundreds of years more - before reality ends religion and replaces it with rule of the people.
You could argue that most atheists you come across don't really understand the ideology they profess to adhere to. There is plenty of scientific theory out there to explain why concepts like 'god' and social constructs like 'religion' persist, and the kinds of evolutionary advantages the cognitive processes that lead to these concepts have afforded humanity - but still you will find people saying that religion is destructive and useless, to say that is a misinformed oversimplification is putting it nicely. I've shown on many occasions that if you challenge the status quo, put new ideas out there, atheists are just as prone to going nuts as any other ideology.
We have to ask ourselves honestly are we looking for reasons to denigrate another person's ideology, and if so, why? I've seen a lot of posts on this forum with sweeping generalisations saying Christians are idiots, which is blatantly not true, some are, sure, but then so are some atheists. Asserting atheistic ideology does not confer intelligence, which a lot of people seem to think it does.
We need to get away from this Christians v Atheists bullshit. It's pointless and destructive. The question we need to be asking is how can we better understand why these ideologies came into existence and why they persist. Dumb ideas do not persist for thousands of years. They have clearly been useful, and we need to understand fully why they have been useful before we can suggest they are no longer useful. To suggest otherwise without due consideration of the theory and then claim scientific method is the best way to understand our world is true hypocrisy.
MM
[/quote]
Actually - your first statement is true - because people of ALL religions do not follow the rules.
The word "Islam" means "peace - but one could be justified in saying that Jihad is a contradiction to Islam right in the Koran
However - this is the xtian sub group - so you would expect people to point out things about Xtians here.
We don't need to understand how these ideas came into being and persist - we ALREADY know how it happened. Religion essentially was the originally the ruling class kept the uneducated masses in line. (Rule of law required a higher purpose than just rule of the people) As countries overcame other countries - religions combined - new beliefs were added - and the old stories were adapted and exaggerated.
People believed that the earth was FLAT for thousands of years - as well as the earth being the center of the Universe - and MANY other now Dumb things too.
The main reason why they persisted so long is that it was not allowed to be Questioned. Once you open up Pandora's box - it will take a while for the majority to understand just how ridiculous religion is - because these things are indoctrinations of youth. And there is a fortified and solidified organization that CONS people into those beliefs - and it is legal for them to exist.
However - there will always be some who deny reality - as the church did when it was discovered that the earth was not flat - nor was it stationary and unmoving in the sky. ANd it will likely take hundreds of years more - before reality ends religion and replaces it with rule of the people.
