Comments on The things they didn't tell you

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_pOPpy_ - many true words are spoken in jest

Where we attempt to determine what and who the druids were for example, future societies may look upon our contemporary religious beliefs in the same light. Certainly a great number of things we do in our daily lives will in time be considered as primitive, so too will what we collectively believe be viewed the same way.

As for following a "mere book", I've always wondered how so many people can ignore so much of what is contained in ancient religious texts, deeming it as redundant to modern times, yet still adhere to the idea that their religious book of choice is infallible?

posted by gomedome on June 23, 2009 at 7:43 AM | link to this | reply

Gome, who knows?  Future societies, happening upon our long-discarded VCR setup manuals, might derive from them some rudimentary form of salvation via circuitry.

hehehe... couldn't resist, sorry.  Good read!

My disclaimer is that I do believe in God, but why on earth do people of faith put so much stock in physical objects?  If God is all powerful and all knowing, why follow a mere book?

posted by myrrhage_ on June 23, 2009 at 7:18 AM | link to this | reply

elinjo - if the truth be known, "genuine dialogue" is rare
The nature of the site or forums of this type is one reason why this is so, the topic of religion itself is another reason.

posted by gomedome on June 23, 2009 at 7:02 AM | link to this | reply

Raphael222 - Re: Born again

It seems you have missed the point entirely. There is no disputing that the notion of being born again and many other such beliefs, are derived from writings that we can say with some degree of certainty predate the protestant reformation but that was never the point made in this post. The point made here is that the belief itself did not exist prior to the protestant reformation. We know this to be true because being born again has never been a tenet of the church of Rome and is still not to this day a belief in Catholicism.

As a matter of historical fact, the belief that one must be born again is a biblical interpretation made popular by John Wesley amongst others, in the mid and latter parts of the 18th century. Dice it any way you want to but the reality is that one of the fundamental doctrines of the modern day evangelical movement in being born again, is a belief that the vast majority of Christianity (historically speaking) has either never been exposed to, or does not hold as a belief.

posted by gomedome on June 23, 2009 at 6:51 AM | link to this | reply

Sorry, my comment was in reply to Gomedome's; I clicked on the wrong link.

posted by elinjo on June 23, 2009 at 12:01 AM | link to this | reply

Re: Chilitree - I can see where I may have implied some deviousness
This happens in discussions about all kinds of topics; i.e. no genuine dialogue. 

posted by elinjo on June 23, 2009 at 12:00 AM | link to this | reply

Born again
Jesus quoted in Saint John spoke quite clearly (to Nicodemus) about the importance of being born again.

That was WAY before the Protestant Reformation.


posted by Raphael222 on June 22, 2009 at 11:50 AM | link to this | reply

Thanks ... I do understand a bit better now.

posted by Chilitree on June 22, 2009 at 11:11 AM | link to this | reply

Chilitree - I can see where I may have implied some deviousness
But I did not use words such as idiotic or insane. My question is more about why people do not ask these questions and when they do, and receive answers that make some of their beliefs irreconcilable, they choose to ignore the answers instead of modifying their beliefs.

posted by gomedome on June 22, 2009 at 11:05 AM | link to this | reply

Xeno-x - Re: problem is, with all this change
That really is the problem; With the central tenets of the Medieval Church still dominating beliefs, faith becomes an exercise in reconciling impossible scenarios.

posted by gomedome on June 22, 2009 at 11:02 AM | link to this | reply

Yes..."religious" people are more often than not devious and other gullible
still I persist to believe that, outside of these insane and, more often than not, idiotic persons, Christ's teachings, if taken to heart, transforms lives ... Still I do understand your frustrations with mindlesness ...

posted by Chilitree on June 22, 2009 at 9:56 AM | link to this | reply

problem is, with all this change
the central tenets of the Medieval Church still dominate.  And, of course, those beliefs were formed more than a millennium after the events that gave rise to the religion.

posted by Xeno-x on June 22, 2009 at 7:14 AM | link to this | reply