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Challah · 10-31-2007, 10:09 PM

You don't ask a question in your first post but you raise an interesting point, so I'll "answer" that as best I can. For what it's worth, last year I had a "spiritual" experience of sorts and considered converting to Judaism to explore and understand my ideas and feelings. Then I asked myself a simple question: "Do I actually believe any of this?" The answer is no, I don't.

Let's look at the start of your dialogue:
A: So what's the most important thing about Christianity?
B: Jesus Christ
A: What's so important about Jesus, beyond being a name to hang a religion on? What can Jesus do for me.
B: Jesus is the way, the truth, the light. Only through him can we reach salvation.

I run into a problem at the second B. As I see it, the answer to "What can Jesus do for me?" is "Almost certainly nothing." The god of the Bible is hilariously human. He creates, he gets pissy, he destroys. Apparently he also fathered the child of a "virgin" mother. That child apparently then went on to die on the cross for the sins of man. Right.

I've never been able to wrap my head around why so many complex, intricate theological debates happen all over the world, yet so many basic questions go largely unasked and unanswered. Questions like...

1. Why do so many religious texts make irreconcilable claims, and what "evidence" is given to support these claims? Should this "evidence" be taken seriously? Why?

2. Who stands to gain from widespread religious indoctrination?(Hint: it's not the masses.)

3. Which is more probable?
-The Bible is the word of an omniscient, omnipotent father figure who's son is the salvation of Man.
-The Bible is a compilation and reiteration of myths that has some good bits but is generally outdated and silly.

I'm not ruling out the existence of god or genuine spiritual experiences, but why look to archaic texts and horrendously corrupt institutions for answers to the most important questions?

You said "Love thy Neighbor as thyself? Of course. On some basic level he is your self." and I couldn't agree more, but why bring the baggage of a colossal sham into such a simple, beautiful idea? I honestly believe that organised religion is one of the main obstacles preventing this mode of thinking from being embraced.

10-31-2007, 10:09 PM	#22 (permalink)
Challah Crazy Location: Canada	You don't ask a question in your first post but you raise an interesting point, so I'll "answer" that as best I can. For what it's worth, last year I had a "spiritual" experience of sorts and considered converting to Judaism to explore and understand my ideas and feelings. Then I asked myself a simple question: "Do I actually believe any of this?" The answer is no, I don't. Let's look at the start of your dialogue: A: So what's the most important thing about Christianity? B: Jesus Christ A: What's so important about Jesus, beyond being a name to hang a religion on? What can Jesus do for me. B: Jesus is the way, the truth, the light. Only through him can we reach salvation. I run into a problem at the second B. As I see it, the answer to "What can Jesus do for me?" is "Almost certainly nothing." The god of the Bible is hilariously human. He creates, he gets pissy, he destroys. Apparently he also fathered the child of a "virgin" mother. That child apparently then went on to die on the cross for the sins of man. Right. I've never been able to wrap my head around why so many complex, intricate theological debates happen all over the world, yet so many basic questions go largely unasked and unanswered. Questions like... 1. Why do so many religious texts make irreconcilable claims, and what "evidence" is given to support these claims? Should this "evidence" be taken seriously? Why? 2. Who stands to gain from widespread religious indoctrination?(Hint: it's not the masses.) 3. Which is more probable? -The Bible is the word of an omniscient, omnipotent father figure who's son is the salvation of Man. -The Bible is a compilation and reiteration of myths that has some good bits but is generally outdated and silly. I'm not ruling out the existence of god or genuine spiritual experiences, but why look to archaic texts and horrendously corrupt institutions for answers to the most important questions? You said "Love thy Neighbor as thyself? Of course. On some basic level he is your self." and I couldn't agree more, but why bring the baggage of a colossal sham into such a simple, beautiful idea? I honestly believe that organised religion is one of the main obstacles preventing this mode of thinking from being embraced.