Christianity requires fear, guilt, and conformity

[Lapidem]

Not even a clever dodge. You know why the natural world obeys mathematical law, you just don’t want to admit it.

Human Flaws Demonstrate Evolution, Not Intelligent Design

The human body is clearly not the product of an intelligent designer. Its many flaws tell the fascinating story of evolution's accidents and constraints.

sciencebasedmedicine.org

"The human brain can’t comprehend large numbers, we are easily fooled by optical illusions, and our memories are frequently wrong. We are frequently confused, tricked, and distracted, and we are subject to cognitive bias and confirmation bias. We fall for fallacies like the gambler’s fallacy and the sunk-cost fallacy. We are unduly sensitive to anecdotes. We have dual human natures; we are both Jekylls and Hydes. We can switch from self-sacrifice to murder in a heartbeat."

"Lents makes it clear that the design of the human body is not “intelligent” but is full of errors produced by the constraints and accidents of evolution. Nevertheless, we manage quite well. Our imperfections are a testament to the greatness of our species because we are so good at getting around them. Where will evolution and technology take us from here? That remains to be seen."

 

[Wrangler]

why the natural world obeys mathematical law

The human brain

The evidence presented is not limited to the human brain. This begs the question of why you moved the goal post? It’s obvious you are not being honest with yourself.

 

[Stumpmaster]

Ah the scaremongering abuse. Rather cliché to be honest but as you're a rookie I'll let it pass

13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

How's that demon driving going btw?

Why do you think preaching and teaching the Good News is abusive?

It's easy enough to frequent a Christian forum for the purpose of expressing antiChristian vitriol with shallow ad hominem fallacies, but to discourse intelligently without these in a civilised manner seems to present more of a challenge for some unbelievers.

If all that resides in the heart and mind of an unbeliever is scorn and mockery for those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation, such unbelievers are to be pitied, but not repaid in kind.

 

[Jim B]

It's funny how you like to wax lyrical about your particular flavour of religion and when it suits state that millions of "Christians" are misguided and reading/believing the wrong versions of the Bible. But when you want some good stats you're happy to include each and every one of them.

There are and always have been huge divisions within the "Christian" religion. They are effectively different religions believing different things.

Roman Catholicism
Protestants
Orthodox
Anglicans

Which of these do you align to?

Which ever it is, you'll be disappointed to know that it's not the most popular religion at all !

What specifically are "the wrong versions of the Bible"?

 

[Jim B]

Patently absurd. Christians are very much not one.

Christians are one: the body of Christ.

 

[Jim B]

Honestly your warped logic never ceases to amaze.

In effect then there is only one "religion" because all those separate religions are so categorized by all their followers engaging in belief of some kind. They all engage in prayer/meditation of some kind. They all think their way is the right way.

Reality check. A wolf is not a deer. They may share some traits like having 4 legs but they are fundamentally different animals.

One will readily attack the other and devour it.

Christian divisions gave us long wars. Protestants vs Catholics in Ireland for example. Religion itself has given humanity more and bloodier wars than anything else.

In the end it's about power and control. The endless fight for supremacy and the right to exploit and control the dumb masses for one's own ends.

Humanity will not progress or evolve until it rids itself of religion in all its forms and those who wilfully exploit the weakness of others.

"Religion itself has given humanity more and bloodier wars than anything else" is nonsense. Nations and other groups fight wars to gain control of other people, resources, and territories.

"The endless fight for supremacy and the right to exploit and control the dumb masses for one's own ends" is also nonsense if you apply it to religion.

Humanity will not progress or evolve until it rids itself of the lust for power and control in all its forms and those who willfully exploit the inability of others to successfully defend themselves. Blaming religion for the ills of the world is absurd.

 

[Jim B]

See how frustrated you are that you try this psychological nonsense on me. You're doing it because I'm an itch that you have to scratch. You can't help it. I'm in your head.

No, that is delusional. You're actually begging to be a part of the body of Christ!

 

[Lapidem]

Why do you think preaching and teaching the Good News is abusive?

It's abusive when it is done using classic psychological attacks which include scaremongering and guilt tripping. Scientology is rife with such abuse as is Christianity. It needs to stop.

It's easy enough to frequent a Christian forum for the purpose of expressing antiChristian vitriol with shallow ad hominem fallacies, but to discourse intelligently without these in a civilised manner seems to present more of a challenge for some unbelievers.

Pot, kettle. Look at this forum, it's full of hatred, insults and abuse against anyone who doesn't accept your dogma or interpretations of god and the bible.

If all that resides in the heart and mind of an unbeliever is scorn and mockery for those who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for their eternal salvation, such unbelievers are to be pitied, but not repaid in kind.

Nope. You're just inventing things to make a platform for yourself. I have sympathy and pity for those who have been religiously indoctrinated and who have not seen the allegorical secrets embedded in the bible. I have made great efforts to highlight those secrets and what they mean. It is I that then receive scorn and persecution for it. But that's ok. I have wide shoulders. I can take the horse to water but I can't make it drink.

 

[Lapidem]

What specifically are "the wrong versions of the Bible"?

You'll have to ask Wrangler as he's the one claiming millions of so-called Christians are misguided and lost because they're reading the wrong versions of the bible.

 

[Wrangler]

Look at this forum, it's full of hatred

Wrong. You are so twisted you confuse light for dark. So indoctrinated are you with cultural Marxism hatred of dividing people you cannot untwist your thinking to see and hear straight.

 

[Lapidem]

"Religion itself has given humanity more and bloodier wars than anything else" is nonsense. Nations and other groups fight wars to gain control of other people, resources, and territories.

"The endless fight for supremacy and the right to exploit and control the dumb masses for one's own ends" is also nonsense if you apply it to religion.

Humanity will not progress or evolve until it rids itself of the lust for power and control in all its forms and those who willfully exploit the inability of others to successfully defend themselves. Blaming religion for the ills of the world is absurd.

You really need a history lesson

History of Europe - The Wars of Religion

Germany, France, and the Netherlands each achieved a settlement of the religious problem by means of war, and in each case the solution contained original aspects. In Germany the territorial formula of cuius regio, eius religio applied—that is, in each petty state the population had to conform...

www.britannica.com

9: Religious Wars

By 1560, Europe was divided by religion as it had never been before. Protestantism was now a permanent feature of the landscape of beliefs and even the most optimistic Catholics had to abandon hopes …

human.libretexts.org

The Crusades: Definition, Religious Wars & Facts - HISTORY

The Crusades were a series of religious wars between Christians and Muslims, occurring from 1096 and 1291, primarily to secure control of Middle Eastern holy sites.

www.history.com

and more recently:

Religious violence is on the rise. What can faith-based communities do about it?

Violence inspired by religious intolerance is increasing. In this era of turbulence and uncertainty, interfaith action may offer an important antidote.

www.weforum.org

"Religious violence is undergoing a revival. The past decade has witnessed a sharp increase in violent sectarian or religious tensions. These range from Islamic extremists waging global jihad and power struggles between Sunni and Shia Muslims in the Middle East to the persecution of Rohingya in Myanmar and outbreaks of violence between Christians and Muslims across Africa. According to Pew, in 2018 more than a quarter of the world's countries experienced a high incidence of hostilities motivated by religious hatred, mob violence related to religion, terrorism, and harassment of women for violating religious codes."

"The spike in religious violence is global and affects virtually every religious group. A 2018 Minority Rights Group report indicates that mass killings and other atrocities are increasing in countries both affected and not affected by war alike. While bloody encounters were recorded in over 50 countries, most reported lethal incidents involving minorities were concentrated in Syria, Iraq, Nigeria, India, Myanmar, Pakistan and Bangladesh. Hostilities against Muslims and Jews also increased across Europe, as did threats against Hindus in more than 18 countries. Making matters worse, 55 of the world’s 198 countries imposed heightened restrictions on religions, especially Egypt, Russia, India, Indonesia and Turkey."

"How is it that religions - which supposedly espouse peace, love and harmony - are so commonly connected with intolerance and violent aggression? Social scientists are divided on the issue. Scholars like William Cavanaugh contend that even when extremists use theological texts to justify their actions, “religious” violence is not religious at all - but rather a perversion of core teachings. Others such as Richard Dawkins believe that because religions fuel certainties and sanctify martyrdom, they are often a root cause of conflict"


Reading some of the vitriol and sanctimonious crapola posted by some here you can readily see why there is so much intolerance and violence.

 

[Lapidem]

Wrong. You are so twisted you confuse light for dark. So indoctrinated are you with cultural Marxism hatred of dividing people you cannot untwist your thinking to see and hear straight.

"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal."

Let go your ego. It is deafening.

 

[Wrangler]

Let go your ego.

LOL. Dude - you are the one with a God complex. Your ego is so big, you presume to be in the judgement seat over your own Creator.

 

[Lapidem]

LOL. Dude

"lol", "dude"? Best pop back to watching Love Island and Big Brother. This answers a lot TBH

 

[Patrick1966]

Jesus after reading this thread...

 

[Romanov2488]

Appeal to Subjectivism. Feel free to consult your favorite lexicon to educate yourself on the meaning and application of words, like Christianity.

Appeal to popularity. Feel free to consult the agreed upon definition of a majority.

 

[Romanov2488]

No need to wonder. If that is a good incentive, then that is a good thing. It should be an incentive for you too,

Coercion is not an incentive.

I’m a sleazy real estate agent. If you don’t buy this house today, your house will burn down. Why is that not a good incentive?

A good incentive should be an incentive that can help you in some way without any additional consequences other than not taking it. For example, I will pay you double for every hour of overtime. If you don’t do it, you simply miss out on the double time. You don’t also lose your job on top of it.

 

[Romanov2488]

In my conversion experience hell never came into it.

Hell doesn’t always come into every conversion experience, but you best believe it’s there as a last resort for the unbeliever.

 

[Romanov2488]

It assumes that the concept of hell is the reason people become Christians, and asks a question to which a quantifiable answer is not possible. Not just strawman but empty rhetoric.

No, you’re projecting the assumption that the concept of hell is the reason people become Christians. I am only saying it plays a massive role. Not everyone gets hit with the hell threat, but it’s there for anyone who has any doubts.

 

[Romanov2488]

I hardly think that 2.8 billion followers is a minority.

That’s globally, taking into account both developed and undeveloped countries. In developed countries, people are leaving Christianity in droves. And it’s not about the current make up of the population, but the trajectory. Compare church attendance in America from 100 years ago to today’s.