People using religion when it suits them?

[clergyman]

I've come across this often online. Hypocrites. People who justify their beliefs with something when 95-99% of the time, they don't follow it.

I was reading an article on Yahoo about laser attacks on planes and the demographics of the attackers were young males (specifically teenagers) from 15-24.

I saw in the comments some people saying they should be punished by the law, and one comment was saying 'Spoil the rod, spare the child, spare the rod spoil the child.'

Now I understand sometimes tough punishments are necessary on children, but the fact is, the people making these claims don't really care about religion as much as their need to justify something they see as wrong.

The people who talk about this are almost living their life in a way that is against the Bible. About 70% of Americans claim to be Christians yet 95% have had premarital sex? What sense is that?

It seems that people a fair percentage of Christians are 'Swaying' Christians who don't really live their life for God and instead use religion whenever it suits them. They will be against gays because its a sin, threaten hell for unbelievers people who make them feel bad, advocate for strong punishments for those who make mistakes but continue to sleep with everyone, get wasted, live in ignorance etc

[Dystopia]

I've come across this often online. Hypocrites. People who justify their beliefs with something when 95-99% of the time, they don't follow it.

I was reading an article on Yahoo about laser attacks on planes and the demographics of the attackers were young males (specifically teenagers) from 15-24.

I saw in the comments some people saying they should be punished by the law, and one comment was saying 'Spoil the rod, spare the child, spare the rod spoil the child.'

Now I understand sometimes tough punishments are necessary on children, but the fact is, the people making these claims don't really care about religion as much as their need to justify something they see as wrong.

The people who talk about this are almost living their life in a way that is against the Bible. About 70% of Americans claim to be Christians yet 95% have had premarital sex? What sense is that?

It seems that people a fair percentage of Christians are 'Swaying' Christians who don't really live their life for God and instead use religion whenever it suits them. They will be against gays because its a sin, threaten hell for unbelievers people who make them feel bad, advocate for strong punishments for those who make mistakes but continue to sleep with everyone, get wasted, live in ignorance etc

Because using only the nice part of the bible is better, otherwise society wouldn't be peaceful.

[Minimalist]

It seems that people a fair percentage of Christians are 'Swaying' Christians who don't really live their life for God and instead use religion whenever it suits them.

There is no group which has a larger chasm between what they are supposed to do and what they actually do than jesus freaks.

I attribute it to them being largely full of shit.

[Fidel_Castronaut]

Somebody somewhere once equated religion to a crutch. It makes sense a lot of people seek to use it when confronted with something they don't understand or are afraid of (eg. Homosexuality), but disregard it when they think they've got a handle on it (their own sexuality, perhaps).

When it comes down to it, apologetics can explain the contradictions away so nobody has to face the label of hypocrite.

[The Valkyrie]

Somebody somewhere once equated religion to a crutch. It makes sense a lot of people seek to use it when confronted with something they don't understand or are afraid of (eg. Homosexuality), but disregard it when they think they've got a handle on it (their own sexuality, perhaps).

When it comes down to it, apologetics can explain the contradictions away so nobody has to face the label of hypocrite.

Religion has famously been called religion the opium of the people. Personally I think of religion as the lobotomy of the masses.

[ManMachine]

I've come across this often online. Hypocrites. People who justify their beliefs with something when 95-99% of the time, they don't follow it.

I was reading an article on Yahoo about laser attacks on planes and the demographics of the attackers were young males (specifically teenagers) from 15-24.

I saw in the comments some people saying they should be punished by the law, and one comment was saying 'Spoil the rod, spare the child, spare the rod spoil the child.'

Now I understand sometimes tough punishments are necessary on children, but the fact is, the people making these claims don't really care about religion as much as their need to justify something they see as wrong.

The people who talk about this are almost living their life in a way that is against the Bible. About 70% of Americans claim to be Christians yet 95% have had premarital sex? What sense is that?

It seems that people a fair percentage of Christians are 'Swaying' Christians who don't really live their life for God and instead use religion whenever it suits them. They will be against gays because its a sin, threaten hell for unbelievers people who make them feel bad, advocate for strong punishments for those who make mistakes but continue to sleep with everyone, get wasted, live in ignorance etc

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

[Brian37]

The title of this thread states the obvious.

[vorlon13]

Sorry don't remember the show (on PBS ??) but a Muslim woman was being interviewed about religious oppression and she noted when women highlight passages from the Koran that are favorable to bettering their treatment, the male Immans discount everything the women find in the Koran and stick with the stuff they like.

I'm thinking 'cafeteria-ism' is not peculiar to Christianity.

[Jenny A]

Christians have been rewriting the Bible by reinterpreting and leaving various parts out of their theology for so long it hardly bears comment. The early Christians would have a hard time recognizing either medieval or modern Christians as Christians. It like most religions changes with the times despite the ancient book on which it is based.

This is made easier by how contradictory the Bible is. You can justify all sorts of stuff with the Bible.

[vorlon13]

God BLESS the Literalists !!!!!!!!