Ignorance and faith

JONESM2 writes: "... began my journey into atheism at age 6" and "Yes, children, READ the Bible. It's the fast-track to becoming a free-thinker!"

It somehow seems to elude athiests that, among those who actually read the bible, most become christians...hence the comparatively miniscule number of atheists.

I find it fascinating that most atheists pretend to have aquired such profound depths of wisdom and knowledge by age 6 (or 7 or 8 or 9) that they became instantly intellectually superior to their elders. That DOES explain a great deal.

And isn't it interesting that virtually all "free-thinkers" think...EXACTLY alike...?! :-)

Ps 14:1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

...and thus acknowledges the very Being he denies.

Silverman says:

"Nonetheless, for better or worse, the Bible and the religions it spawned have deeply influenced our culture and the world. To be educated, everyone needs to know what it says. Like Aesop's fables, the Bible contains stories with talking animals. Both offer moral lessons to children as well as universal truths to adults."

I've heard this nonsense all my life. Everyone seems to accept it without argument. But it won't stand up to the least analysis. Sure, they "have deeply influenced our culture and the world," but haven't the Qu'ran and the Bhagavad Gita and the Book of Mormon done the same? So I suppose that we need to read those as well, "[t]o be educated."

If what we seek is "moral lessons to children as well as universal truths to adults," then one would be better off with the fables of Le Guin, or Niven and Pournelle, or for that matter Carl Hiaasen. Their fables are at least well written, AND they can keep their stories straight. Unlike the poorly scribbled, self-contradictory crap that fills the Bible, the Qu'ran, and the Book of Mormon.

The Bhagavad Gita, I don't know. And I really doubt that I'll bother to read it in this lifetime. Guess I'm condemned to remain resolutely uneducated.

Clearly knowledge is not a value recognized by religious authority. Neither is it of any import to the evangelicals who strive to avoid it.

"Ecrasez l'infame" was, if I recall correctly, a battle-cry of the Enlightenment which at last substituted reason for faith. Evidently, the peasant gene was much stronger than any intelligent person could have supposed.

These lines say it all: "It doesn't take long for a thinking person to realize that religious belief is based more on geography than theology, and that with all the conflicting faith beliefs, they can't all be right. But they can all be wrong." The best way to avoid believing in any of the fairy tales is to know about all of them.

"Having faith in faith--is falling for make believe" sums it up very well. Those who have eyes and see will know this. Those who, for whatever reason, see only what they want (need) to see will never understand.

As a child, I remember my father reading to me from a collection of stories entitled "Just So Stories" about how the leopard got its spots and how the elephant got its long trunk. I knew that they were make-believe and my father didn't try to convince me otherwise. At Sunday school the teacher read us Bible stories and I took them to be more "Just So" stories. My father took issue with my perspective on the Bible stories and insisted that these were TRUE stories. I told him that a man could not live inside of a whale and that I was not going back to Sunday school if that is what those people really believed. That began my journey into atheism at age 6 and a battle that raged between me and my father for the duration of his life. Yes, children, READ the Bible. It's the fast-track to becoming a free-thinker!

secular prophet to mankind,herb silverman saith,

*it does not take long for a thinking person to realize that religion belief is based more on geography than theology*

for real?

what geography in america brought christianty?what geography in america divided people to jesus land and liberal land?

geography of saudi arabia produce oil ,is it land of oil or land of islam?

what is more funny is that prophet herb head of secular coalition to mankind is speculating herb tea party to decafe and counter weight the coalition of believers tea party to mankind.

typical liberal who does not know the difference between theology and geography vs
typical believers who their theology is limited to geography?

typical human hallucination.

I love reading Christian history, especially the early years. It reminds me time and time again why I reject all than nonsense. It just boggles my mind how anyone who really delves into what the Bible actually says or who explores how Christianity came to be could be anything but an atheist. Whenever I have had the opportunity to engage my Christian friends in a dialog about their religion, I have found that they are woefully ignorant about it. When confronted with the facts, most of them have either quickly ended the conversation or told me that I am going to the netherworld after I die. One even resorted to giving me a (pre-rehearsed) testimonial. I was deeply moved by the sincerity of his stupidity. So I am not at all surprised that Pew Forum found that agnostics and atheists know more about religion than believers.

SO:

"GAYS & Homosexuals" are HUMAN(s):r NOt or unlike US (HUUMATES). and

"EUCHARIStian's, aka Eucharistual's" are Human(s): r NOt or unlike US (HUUMATES).!

VOTE: Wipe-off this Holyi-Born'th, in-MIRACLE [zero born in Sin or Curse; Maybe Ye/Yo Kids & or Familys & Periests..] all THEOCRACY's and MONARCHS forever!

THEN, and only Then will: Genuine HEALiNG OF NATIONS & True (opposite MYTH) PEACE/MIR/ZINGHU/MIR/SHANTI/PAZ/SALAAM/SHALOM..... will COME to past for OUR "[Eklaht-i-ON] MEMETiC-ites! as promised in All/Every & Any of Yo/Ye 'iNfixus-Books' mention so so so many times [exclusively] here on ONFAiTH!

NOTE:

Even though all these so-called [Pre-Apoaclyptic] god playin "Big-Mouths (of Psychic Drivings)" can talk the talk, lala

That: Ironically, from an Eklah-y-iON perspective/iNtrovision Stable,ly" THAT;

BOTH: 1): HOMOSEXUALS, aka Pedophiles, aka "Gays (same Sex Prefer'rs et al)) + 2): EUCHARISTUALS", are both VILE + Commit ABOMINATIONS [aka; Anti Humanity Practices/indulgences]!!

WE[i] EKLAH-t-iON's, See that Sodomites/Gommorahites + Stmbolic Cannabiliyes & Vampireite Xristians, via Eucharist (aka Eat Flesh + Drink Blood PRACTICES) is an Anti Apocalyptarian/Eklation Act. aka Anti Aquarius-Age Acts etc Brought from the PRE-Apocalyptic-Age via the Jealous GOD(s) PISCES-AGEs!! O' Mother//Father of Harlots & Co!!

WHEREFORE: Vote: Death To THEOCRACY + MONARCHY on Holyi, NEBULA-BUiLT, S.pace S.hip Earth(of many)!

There is No More any Room for Ye/Yo PRE-Apocalyptarians, aka H-U-M-A-N(s)!! Move Over: For US APOCALYPTARiAN(s)!

iMportanto: Do Not Fight This Prophercy! Pleaza re-Read a Thousand Times, (NOt OUR) "iNfixus-Book"s [Chumash/Bible/Quran/BkMormon///Geeta/Kangyur/Tangyur et al! which warned Ye/Yo thereins of Us Humans of "IT" coming aka US coming.

O' Satanic VersUs lovin [Addicts] of the Pisces-Age "WAR-BLEESING" epochs/Worshippers!

NO, NOt via our O.U.R. {O.ne U.niversal R.eligion} "PEACE-BLESSiNG" Prophecy, who's Aquarius-age [actually via the "RE-FRESHING] time [man-made clocks] via Holyi TiME {via "IT"s TEMPereature] is Come!??

Wow! What a Great or Very Cool, yet Righteous article by Brother "Chisristopher Hitchens" via "SLATE".Please see: "CHURCHiANITY" [Similar] O' BIG MOUTH GOD-PLAYERS! & CO on S.pace-S.hip Earth {No Exceptions!}

http://www.slate.com/id/2268796/

Anmazing, NO Grace!

And, needless to say, the priest class is heavily invested in cherry-picking only the parts that'll keep you coming back and dropping money in the collection plate. Thus they generally skip right over the parts about lying, cheating, theft, plagiarism, forgery, child rape, torture, mayhem, murder, and genocide, all for the greater glory of God.
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You are so right, that is why sunday morning the Leech at the lectern will tell the sheep in the pews about Noah - the drunken slob - of great faith built the stupid ark. Would never tell about the ever inebriated Noah who could not keep his clothes on would expose himself and how he DOG cussed out his son instead. If they read all the crap in those books their pews will be empty of all the right minded folks

Atheists lack the belief in gods and yet we seem to know a great deal about what various religions of the world believe on the subject and to what extent religious beliefs are protected and prohibited in public life. Everyone loves a good survey.

One of the things which, differentiates religion from the Community of Reason is the treatment of knowledge. Religion generally tends to restrict knowledge to just teaching about their particular faith and sometimes even restricting some knowledge about the faith to the faithful flock.

You can read the rest of my response to this topic:
http://exm.nr/cERzGR

I will be responding to every issue posted in the 'On Faith' section. If you would like to be notified when my new response is up, please subscribe.

Just a stab in the dark here, but I hypothesize (subject to someone actually doing the research and checking the data) that it's because atheists and agnostics tend to be readers, while religionists tend to be listeners.

If you're a reader, you're probably eclectic — you seek out stuff from a wide variety of sources (or at least stumble across it while looking for other stuff). If you're a listener, you get your information from mainly the same speakers over and over again. And, needless to say, the priest class is heavily invested in cherry-picking only the parts that'll keep you coming back and dropping money in the collection plate. Thus they generally skip right over the parts about lying, cheating, theft, plagiarism, forgery, child rape, torture, mayhem, murder, and genocide, all for the greater glory of God.

The more you know the more mysterious it becomes. I still hold out that I can at least to some degree describe my existence. I breath the various fragrances of the earth. I see the stars above me and I feel both pain and comfort about me but no one has ever been able to describe to me no existence. So I will continue to be an agnostic who is waiting for those who believe in an eventual non existence to describe that state of unbeing.

Being raised Catholic, I was never encouraged to read the Bible, or to inquire about religion at all beyond what the priests and nuns dictated to me. As an atheist, I strongly encourage all children to read the Bible.

Maybe this is the point of any successful religion -- make "rules" for the people who can't understand "why."