Intelligently redesigning Christianity

[watchamadoodle]

I watched a little documentary tonight about how Louis Zamperini (of the "Unbroken" film) overcame his problems after receiving Christ at a Billy Graham revival.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Zamperini

I also enjoy watching a preacher named TD Jakes ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T._D._Jakes ). His message is usually about achieving your dreams - nothing specific to Christianity or the Bible.

So... why can't atheists analyze the good things and the bad things in Christianity and gradually redesign it? Instead of being forced through the trauma of deconversion, and the humiliation of realizing that they had been duped, Christians could continue with the faith they love. However, that faith would be gradually adjusted to remove the factual and philosophical weaknesses and to remove the harmful effects on the believers and society. Buddhists do not have as much cognitive dissonance as Christians endure. There is no reason IMO that Christianity couldn't be fixed.

[Faith No More]

If you remove the factual and philosophical weaknesses from Christianity, you're left with a bunch of people getting together on Sunday for no reason at all.

Besides, Christianity can only be as good as its source material, and based on that, you're probably better just scrapping the whole thing.

[Whateverist]

As policy I agree that it is more fruitful with less back lash to simply push for better theism rather than no theism. I'm sure people can be good without god. I'm just as certain that people can be good with god if they can just get away from the worst bits. Have it your way and let others do the same makes for a happier life for the one doing the letting.

[Drich]

Actually Christianity is doom to remain 'broken' if atheism gets to determine the 'fix.'

Why? Because at its core Biblical christianity at least speaks in absolutes and can not compromise. Unlike Buddhism and many other religions. In fact the only redemption a Christian can ever hope for is in Christ, therefore can not be redeemed/fixed.

[vorlon13]

All scripture is suitable, afterall.

The christers be stuck with every logical fallacy, contradiction, failed prophecy and corrupted testament. Tough shit.

Better off scrapping the whole mess and announcing a 'new' revelation, and trying a little harder to get it right this time.

I'd suggest a close study of fucking Mormonism as a primer in how to NOT do it. Failing that, and noting the large numbers of compulsive gullibles, following the example of Scientology and just doing it for personal gain is mighty compelling too. And fuck the poor gullibles, go after the rich ones.

[dyresand]

Actually Christianity is doom to remain 'broken' if atheism gets to determine the 'fix.'

Why? Because at its core Biblical christianity at least speaks in absolutes and can not compromise. Unlike Buddhism and many other religions. In fact the only redemption a Christian can ever hope for is in Christ, therefore can not be redeemed/fixed.

Blame the writers of the bible for breaking its 10% original source material by adding their own 90% to it and none of it being original and copied from other religions. So yeah its kinda easy being a atheist there is nothing really to point out or any flaws in anything because you know we don't have a holy document.

[vorlon13]

God (well the Hebrew one, anyhow) should have been a better plagiarist

Found another chuckle about Mormonism too. God, very, very early on commanded them to be a record keeping people. Somehow that was construed as a command to be compulsively revisionist too. I'm not sure the Mormon hierarchy has been totally 100% caught on all their fraud, (and Lord knows they won't know !!), but it looks like most everything important in their dogma has been polluted, confused, revised thrice, and misunderstood. I almost, almost wonder that they haven't had far more than their hundred+ schisms. After all, every time something is deliberately corrupted and then the hierarchy denies anything was changed, despite damning evidence they themselves published, it is an opportunity for more of the disgruntleds to jump ship.

[robvalue]

I find it funny that quantum mechanics, one of the most bizarre, mental and unpredictable concepts in our universe has far less "interpretions" than the perfect word of God in a book.

I like the sentiment, I would leave to see xianity 3.0. Rewrite it with all the stuff christians say is in their bible, or just ditch it altogether and maintain a fluffy notion about "jesus". Let's face it, for a lot of christians, that's all it is anyway and they wouldn't even notice if you rewrote the bible, as long as you kept the 3-4 verses their pastors make them read.

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Exhibit A:

http://youtu.be/lyktbTRPWME

[vorlon13]

Just looking at the 600+ Levitican Laws, IANMTU, if the entire observable Big Bang universe was COMPLETELY filled with Christians, and each one observed a different subset of them, and assigned them in their own order of perceived importance (so as to evaluate all of them to decide which ones to cherry pick to ignore or observe), that number of Christians (less than 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000, really) is so close to ZERO as compared to the total number of possible religions (assuming each religion observes the 600+ in each of their own ways) as to matter not one kunt hair.

Thanx, robvalue, for directing my thoughts there.

God claimed to not be the author of confusion, but I would say he is off by a factor considerably larger than a googol, maybe even a googolplex. (the number, not the Internet thingy)

[Mudhammam]

Actually Christianity is doom to remain 'broken' if atheism gets to determine the 'fix.'

Why? Because at its core Biblical christianity at least speaks in absolutes and can not compromise. Unlike Buddhism and many other religions. In fact the only redemption a Christian can ever hope for is in Christ, therefore can not be redeemed/fixed.

Changing your Bible's so-called absolutist terms is the easiest thing in the world; actually, you would think you, as a Christian fundamentalist, would of all people know just how easy it can be done considering your god supposedly troubled himself to compose 27 "new testament" books spelling it out for you: you take an old scripture that has for centuries meant one thing for a group of people, and you reinterpret it to mean something totally new.

For example. Psalm 104 is clearly written as an ode to God's goodness by marking the order in the world. Hebrews 1 takes it and applies it to Jesus so that the author of that work can legitimize his new Christian doctrines to his reluctant Jewish audience. See how easy that is? We can take "Christ" as an allegorical principle for self-sacrifice and the collective benefits that are reaped when each person works for the good of one another. I'll let you and your fellow Jesus nutters take it from here though, I don't want to doom the project before it begins.