The Problem with Christians

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

Same here. I've never had a problem saying, 'I don't know.' Theists seem to think that because I personally don't have the answer to their question that there is NO answer to their question. I appreciate that they think I'm the be-all and end-all of human knowledge, but (prepare yourself for a shock) there are some things I simply don't know.

Boru

[FebruaryOfReason]

Same here.  I've never had a problem saying, 'I don't know.'  Theists seem to think that because I personally don't have the answer to their question that there is NO answer to their question.  I appreciate that they think I'm the be-all and end-all of human knowledge, but (prepare yourself for a shock) there are some things I simply don't know.

Boru

Me too. That's the whole point, isn't it?

The scientific method provides a space for not knowing. It's all about investigating the things we don't know. And it's very successful. Time and time again it has been effective in discovering things that we didn't know before.

But for a theist, if something isn't written in their book of old bollocks, they've got nowhere else to go.

Two hundred years ago, we had no clue what caused diseases. The priests told us it was our fault and ordered us to pray better and give them more fucking money. We still kept dying like flies.
But the scientists accepted that their own level of knowledge wasn't sufficient. They got down to some hard work, found out about bacteria and microbes, and hey presto! We could stop those diseases.

[Ivan Denisovich]

Main problem with christians is their existence. All other issues steam from it. Though if they would keep their silly superstitions to themselves then I couldn't care less about this sect.

[Bob Kelso]

Lol, that is a good point!

I see people on this site write hundreds of pages of absolute crap, straining so hard to make their fairytale narratives make sense that I'm surprised their eyes haven't burst. If they put that much effort into some actual learning, they'd all have a good grasp of actual science by now. Or whatever else they might want to learn.

It must be exhausting, actually. To constantly have to account for everything, to weave each new piece of information into a pre-set story, and to make excuses for your abusive parent figure. He leaves the door wide open for strangers to walk in, then watches as they rape his young children. "Free will", he says, while doing nothing to stop them.

*my bold*

Total Recall anyone?

---

---

[robvalue]

Religious people everywhere, just give this a try:

Say "I don't know". Don't say, "Nobody knows, but I think the answer is [random unsupported claims]".

Your head won't explode. You don't have to have the answer to everything. It's absurd to think that you even could.

[abaris]

That's basically what religion is, not just Christianity. A coping mechanism that gives people an excuse not to use their brains.

It's not about an excuse not to use their brains. It's about ultimate security. Feeling protected in life and death, not having to cope with losing loved ones forever, not having to cope with the thought of no longer existing at some point in time.

The ultimate life insurance, if you so will. I guess, that's the major motivator.

[robvalue]

And about feeling special. That they, specifically, are more than just a random life form scuttling around a rock in the middle of nowhere.

[Crossless2.0]

We have certain members here, whom I won't call out by naming, who put up with daily abuse (they're morons, idiots, etc. -- I'm guilty of indulging in this abuse myself) but who are clearly not idiots. In fact, some of them strike me as rather intelligent. It's their predetermined conclusions -- those things that simply must be true due to the faith they place in their holy book(s) -- that are stupid. Now, I'm not about to argue that it's not stupid to place such faith in these books (in my opinion, it is), but intelligence seems less the issue than emotional commitment and need. People don't put themselves through such strain and mental contortion unless they are trying their damnedest to protect something dear to them -- even at the cost of intellectual integrity.

[vorlon13]

. . . and it's orders of magnitude worse for Mormons . . .

[robvalue]

We have certain members here, whom I won't call out by naming, who put up with daily abuse (they're morons, idiots, etc. -- I'm guilty of indulging in this abuse myself) but who are clearly not idiots. In fact, some of them strike me as rather intelligent. It's their predetermined conclusions -- those things that simply must be true due to the faith they place in their holy book(s) -- that are stupid. Now, I'm not about to argue that it's not stupid to place such faith in these books (in my opinion, it is), but intelligence seems less the issue than emotional commitment and need. People don't put themselves through such strain and mental contortion unless they are trying their damnedest to protect something dear to them -- even at the cost of intellectual integrity.

I agree, I don't think the devout are faking it. At least not most of it. I'm not so naive as to think they could stop believing it all any more than I could start believing it. They are trying to use their intelligence to justify their emotional conclusions to themselves. That's how it comes across. With the exception of the theists who bother to interact with us as people outside of religious discussion, I think they're here so that they feel they've "tested themselves" and are still right. I don't know what else they could get out of it.

I certainly don't automatically think someone is stupid because they hold a particular stupid belief. And they do seem to put an enormous amount of effort into cementing their position, even when it means using childish arguments that they'd probably never use regarding any other subject.

I do however find some of the beliefs absolutely disgusting at a moral level.