Samadhi23
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- Posted: Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:27:56 +0000
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In the Bible Belt, most anyone can tell you about God and Jesus and why they matter (or don't matter as some of us are atheists, but we're fooling ourselves if we think the predominant religion of the region doesn't effect us). Something I started noticing about all this knowledge several years ago bothers me. Frequently, in conversions concerning Christianity, the more knowledgeable person on the subject is the less religious participant. This is certainly not always the case, but so many people profess to be religious, attend Church regularly and tithe, then go about telling others how they ought to live more Christian lives but have no apparent grasp of what it means to be Christian or what their sacred text says.
Some explanations come to mind as to why this occurs. For example, having to deal with Christians with great frequency can inspire some non-Christians to learn enough about the religion to turn it against some of its more annoying practitioners. Also, when such a high percentage of the population is Christian, included in that group is bound to be some brash individuals who will always speak before thinking.
So I'm curious. Does anyone else see this happen much (or would it be better to ask how often you see this happen) where a proud member of a religion gets in conversations with heathens who know his religion better than he? Does anyone see this problem occurring with other religions? Why do you think people identify with a religion they don't understand? What do you think when you see a loud, proud, but ignorant Christian (is it even right to call that person a Christian)?
Some explanations come to mind as to why this occurs. For example, having to deal with Christians with great frequency can inspire some non-Christians to learn enough about the religion to turn it against some of its more annoying practitioners. Also, when such a high percentage of the population is Christian, included in that group is bound to be some brash individuals who will always speak before thinking.
So I'm curious. Does anyone else see this happen much (or would it be better to ask how often you see this happen) where a proud member of a religion gets in conversations with heathens who know his religion better than he? Does anyone see this problem occurring with other religions? Why do you think people identify with a religion they don't understand? What do you think when you see a loud, proud, but ignorant Christian (is it even right to call that person a Christian)?
1) Yes, I have seen the phenomena you have described here, and I have seen it a lot.
2) Yes, I have seen this phenomena with many religions, and not just Christianity.
3) Yes, I have seen this phenomena amongst atheists.
The natural conclusion is that people as a whole are significantly less intelligent and significantly more culturally conditioned than free-thinkers give them credit for. People like you see the absurdity in vehemently believing in something that you don't even know enough about to provide a discussion about it. Less aware people have no such aversion. They readily choose not to investigate for themselves (we could debate the reasons for this if you like), and the end result is that they mindlessly absorb whatever influence is more culturally sanctioned for their own little corner of the world.