Ignorance and the Bible
- Thread starter domer76
- Start date
That's interesting that Jews and mainline Protestants are widely considered the least offensive people. I saw Richard Dawkins once grudgingly admit that every Anglican vicar he'd ever met was a really decent and pleasant person.As Trump's current cabinet exemplifies, there are people who will sell their souls for money.
The atheists whine no one trusts them. Duh. No shit. They have no souls by their own admision. No wonder they rank on the low end of the favorability scale.
Americans Feel More Positive Than Negative About Jews, Mainline Protestants, Catholics
Most U.S. adults are neutral toward several religious groups, though Americans tend to rate their own religious group positively. More than a third of Americans hold unfavorable views of multiple religious groups.www.pewresearch.org
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
One measure of maturity is when a person starts thinking of others ahead of themselves. They move from the childish "me, me, me" stage to an adult "us, us, us" stage. Most religious leaders are thinking of others and the greater good. Not the televangelists or ISIS assholes, but most.
Where in atheist philosophy is the concept of sacrificing oneself for the greater good? While some individual atheists may have an upbringing that emphasizes mature views and the concept of self-sacrifice, it doesn't seem to a common ideal for people who believe we're just meat robots and "when you're dead, you're dead".
All good points.
On balance, it's really hard to find anything genuinely offensive about the Anglican, Episcopalian, Presbyterian churches and moderate Reform Judaism.
To my recollection there are not great atheist moral leaders. Atheism doesn't have an established moral doctrine, and moral relativism lies at the root of atheism.
Usually the recognizable great moral leaders came from a religious tradition, because religious doctrine recognizes universal truths, objective morality, absolute right and wrong. That's just more powerful rhetorically than moral relativism.
Martin Luther King Jr., the Dalai Lama, William Wilberforce, Pope Francis, Dietrich Boehoffer, Nelson Mandela, etc.
Obviously, corrupt popes and televangelists have been on the side of Satan!
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
Human beings are flawed. I like the 10% Rule as a good example of both flawed human beings and the fact most people try to be good, socially well-adjusted people. Charles Swindoll's comments about life are also applicable.
Our nation's moral compass seems to be broken, 35 percent of our people worship a tangerine criminal pedophile.Human beings are flawed. I like the 10% Rule as a good example of both flawed human beings and the fact most people try to be good, socially well-adjusted people. Charles Swindoll's comments about life are also applicable.
I think Solzhenitsyn articulated it well.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
Based Chad
Was it me?
He's complaining about "the sneaky Jews"I take it that some idiot mentioned their Orange Jesus?
wanting someone dead is not the same as ordering their execution.
Some of the canonical gospels sugarcoat Pontius Pilate, because early Christians were nervous about drawing Roman attention to themselves. Pontius Pilate is known in other historical sources to be a cruel and capricious procurator.
Judea was a Roman province, subject to Roman law.
The Sanhedrin had no authority to order capital punishment, even if some of them wanted Jesus out of the way.
Jesus was executed for the political crime of supposedly claiming to be the king of the Jews.
Pontius Pilate wouldn't have given a rats about the theological grievances some Sanhedrin elders had with Jesus.
His job was to enforce Roman law and execute alleged political radicals.
Did the Romans record the earthquakes and the 3 hours of darkness during the Crucifixion?
And the worst part is: a significant number of Christians decided that he somehow comports with what they value.
Almost as if religious objective universal morality has no bearing on reality.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
MAGAts hate Jews. They hide it well because they need Israel but they do.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
All great historical points.
It also points out that "history is written by the victors". Decades passed before writing the Gospels and centuries passed before the canonized Bible was passed. It would be normal for those in power to spin the story to their favor.
You have to use the methods of literary criticism to establish the historically reliable elements of the New Testament, just like you would have to with Herodutus' Histories.
As far as I can tell the only people treating the entire Bible as a work of analytical history and literal fact are militant Atheists, and conservative Bible thumping evangelicals.
I'm surprised that most atheists claim to be the most scientific, rational, and impartial of posters.
Dutch Uncle
* Tertia Optio * Defend the Constitution
Most atheists, at least none of the militant ones posting online, are any of those things anymore than MAGAts are. Both groups are irrational and fanatical.
Most Christians fall extremely short of the example of Christ.
The reasons Democrats are now losing states and demographics they used to routinely win - aka, the Midwest, Appalachia, white Catholics, white Protestants - has nothing to do with religion. It has to do with the perception that the modern Democratic party cares more about atheists, undocumented immigrants, and transgenders than they do about their traditional blue collar base.
