Why are many Christians so intolerant of other religions and spiritual paths?

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Even better if we replace it with:




 

cj44

Electoral Member
Sep 18, 2013
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cj, where is your sense of humour? I was just teasing you. After taking to hundreds of people of all faiths, I can pretty much guess what your responses will be. BTW, you left out the idolators angle.


Na! He's an easterner and its past his bedtime.
Cliffy,
I reckon it is time for some clarifications. First, regarding my comment about "My time zone doesnt jive with you fabulous Canadiens". I am under the impression that most on these forums live in western Canada. I'm in the lower 48, but not in the pacific zone.
 

JLM

Hall of Fame Member
Nov 27, 2008
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JLM, Indeed you are correct. Read the following with sinister voice and laughter.

For I have been groomed by the Evil Time Merchant for decades to finally arrive at this moment where I willingly and maliciously lead others into the dark confusion of time zones. I taunt without mercy those living in the Pacific Zone leading them to believe I live where I do not. One day I shall succeed and lock them away forevermore in the hourglass of doom.


There's a nut in every crowd!
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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Cliffy,
I reckon it is time for some clarifications. First, regarding my comment about "My time zone doesnt jive with you fabulous Canadiens". I am under the impression that most on these forums live in western Canada. I'm in the lower 48, but not in the pacific zone.
Actually, most of Canada, most time zones are represented on here. Late in the evening, most would be in the west as easteners are already in bed.. Mr Beaver and Colpy are on the east coast (although it would seem by their perspectives they would be from different planets). el Barto is in Quebec and many Ontarians are here too. Petros and Spade from the prairies, JLM and myself from the interior of BC, etc. That you signed off at 10pm, I guess you are somewhere between New York and Minnesota.

I know this may come a shock to most people, especially Bones, but My Little Pony is a new fringe religion.
 

cj44

Electoral Member
Sep 18, 2013
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Cliffy,

I'm going to assume you want an actual answer here, and that you're at least willing to hear from someone other than Motar and cj44.

Religions exist to fulfill various emotional needs in people, mostly reassurance from fear. Everybody's exact emotional makeup varies, but people with sufficiently similar emotional makeups can group together without too much friction, satisfying their belonging needs and fear of being alone.

Broadly speaking, people with a great deal of generalised fear of everything will prefer monotheistic religions with big, powerful Daddy gods who love them oh so much and are going to send everybody who scares them off to eternal torture. People with less fear will prefer more intellectualised, philosophical religions. People who view the world as compartmentalised will prefer polytheism with specialist gods. That view is in decline, so is polytheism.

You might expect that this would lead to a nice, smooth spectrum of religions from paranoid ranters with and all-powerful, vengeful god to pretty secure people with a calm, confident view and a Cosmic Muffin sort of generally overseeing the multiverse. But remember, we're dealing with poorly understood and generally unacknowledged fears here, which rarely lead to rational outcomes. Because there is enormous emotional pressure to follow the religion of one's group, few people ever change religions. If they change, they generally change within the umbrella of their community's religion. Hence, Christians have hellfire-and-damnation thunderers, religious imperialists, highly centralised structures, highly decentralised structures, quiet reassuring sects, and pacifist sects. All within the umbrella of Christianity. Muslims have Wahabis, Sufis, Salafis, and dozens of other sects of equally varying outlook.

So once you pick your sect (itself a painful process), you then get into a reinforcing loop. And your sect's philosophy will reflect, and reinforce, your fears. If you have high fear levels and a desperate need to be right, you'll pick a militant, intolerant sect. If your fears don't break that way, you'll be in a quieter, less pushy sect. And wherever you end up, you'll cherry-pick your religious text for bits that reinforce your own sect's outlook. Never hard to do, since the religious texts are an accurate reflection of the unacknowledged fears to which they respond: chaotic, internally inconsistent, and lacking in a clear and coherent message.

Politics is similar, because it's driven by the same factors. You pick your party based on what soothes your fears most effectively, then the branch of your party based on the contours of your particular outlook. Then you filter incoming information to find that which reinforces your choice.
T-Bones, Perhaps one of the most barren recitations I have read in some time. I thank you for this spiritual wasteland. Quite an accomplishment. Rather than uplift with proclaiming the graces and mercies of the Living God, you are bent to eviscerate souls and trample faith underfoot.

Isaiah 46:9-10
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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T-Bones, Perhaps one of the most barren recitations I have read in some time. I thank you for this spiritual wasteland.
Think nothing of it. You're quite welcome.

Quite an accomplishment.
Thank you kindly.

Rather than uplift with proclaiming the graces and mercies of the Living God, you are bent to eviscerate souls and trample faith underfoot.
Not at all. First, your Living God is a fiction. Second, any objective reading of Christian material demonstrates that, were such god real, he is arbitrary, capricious, brutal, and generally displays the morals and manners of a spoiled child. Third, I'm perfectly willing to trample harmful delusions, which appears to be the actual definition of what you call "faith." Fourth, if your "faith" can be trampled by a brief internet post, it couldn't be worth much to begin with.

Fifth and finally, do souls even have viscera?


Isaiah 46:9-10
I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is none like me.
10 I make known the end from the beginning,
from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please.’

Lazarus Long -

God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. It says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of holding all three of these concepts simultaneously, I have a great deal for you. Send cash only, preferably in small bills.
 

cj44

Electoral Member
Sep 18, 2013
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Think nothing of it. You're quite welcome.


Thank you kindly.


Not at all. First, your Living God is a fiction. Second, any objective reading of Christian material demonstrates that, were such god real, he is arbitrary, capricious, brutal, and generally displays the morals and manners of a spoiled child. Third, I'm perfectly willing to trample harmful delusions, which appears to be the actual definition of what you call "faith." Fourth, if your "faith" can be trampled by a brief internet post, it couldn't be worth much to begin with.

Fifth and finally, do souls even have viscera?




Lazarus Long -

God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent. It says so right here on the label. If you have a mind capable of holding all three of these concepts simultaneously, I have a great deal for you. Send cash only, preferably in small bills.
I can see I am going to have to put in some overtime with you.
 

cj44

Electoral Member
Sep 18, 2013
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Careful, might get your soul eviscerated. There'd be soul-guts strewn all over the place. Yuck.
T-Bones, I see your point. That could get nasty.

You see, I often say things that make very little sense.

Cliffy, Indeed you are correct. A fine Sherlock Holmes you are.

Are you quite certain "My Little Pony" is the antichrist.
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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T-Bones, I see your point. That could get nasty.

You see, I often say things that make very little sense.

Cliffy, Indeed you are correct. A fine Sherlock Holmes you are.

Are you quite certain "My Little Pony" is the antichrist.
No, My Little Pony is more Christ like than most Christians (unless you mean Bones, then beware).

A conversation I had with a friend on Facebook last night:

Chris: Jesus never said you had to be a Christian. He did say my fathers house has many mansion

Cliff: Jesus was a Jewish rabbi. He wasn't a Christian either.

Chris: Cause he wasn't dead yet. Christianity came after his death. Had nothing to do with him. Some of his words were remembered and a few early contemporaries had a direct transmission of something or other but I doubt Jesus was about starting a religion. His followers were the ones who wanted that .... and did.

Cliff: I blame it all on that schmuck Paul.

Chris: Yup Paul was a schmuck. Had great guilt for being a murderer and had a psychotic episode of sorts. Got his butt kicked good and became a fanatic to pay for all those murders.

Chris:You have to admit he does appear to have fallen in love mind you. Unfortunately he wanted every one else to worship his revelation [personal interpretation of direct seeing] as he understood it. It later became distorted even more by the creation of a priest class and grand hierarchy.

Chris: Christ did supposedly say the kingdom is within you. Didn't say anything about a church.

Cliff: I looked within for the kingdom and all I found was blood and guts.

Chris: A little more ayahuasca might have helped.
 

Tecumsehsbones

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Mar 18, 2013
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T-Bones, I see your point. That could get nasty.

You see, I often say things that make very little sense.

Cliffy, Indeed you are correct. A fine Sherlock Holmes you are.

Are you quite certain "My Little Pony" is the antichrist.
Listen, cj, if you want to "put in some overtime," I'll listen patiently. I must advise you though, that there are undoubtedly many, many better uses of your time. But if you insist, here's some advice:

1. Don't bother quoting the bible at me. I do not accept it as an authority on anything. And neither its antiquity nor its popularity make any impression on me at all, because there's lots and lots of antique stuff, mostly wrong, and the fact that many people believe or claim that they believe something is of zero probative value.

2. Spare me the circular arguments. Anything that boils down to "God created the world, therefore the existence of the world proves the existence of God" will get you a belly laugh and nothing more.

3. Don't appeal to my "faith." Saying "have faith" boils down to "believe what I'm telling youi despite the utter lack of supporting evidence." Not buying.

No, My Little Pony is more Christ like than most Christians (unless you mean Bones, then beware).


The ponies certainly adhere to Christ's teachings more closely than most Christians I've met or heard of.
 

Locutus

Adorable Deplorable
Jun 18, 2007
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There's likely more spirituality and indeed, reality, in the Stairway To Heaven lyrics than in most religious texts and fables.

But what do I know.

Or care.
 

cj44

Electoral Member
Sep 18, 2013
740
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Listen, cj, if you want to "put in some overtime," I'll listen patiently. I must advise you though, that there are undoubtedly many, many better uses of your time. But if you insist, here's some advice:

1. Don't bother quoting the bible at me. I do not accept it as an authority on anything. And neither its antiquity nor its popularity make any impression on me at all, because there's lots and lots of antique stuff, mostly wrong, and the fact that many people believe or claim that they believe something is of zero probative value.

2. Spare me the circular arguments. Anything that boils down to "God created the world, therefore the existence of the world proves the existence of God" will get you a belly laugh and nothing more.

3. Don't appeal to my "faith." Saying "have faith" boils down to "believe what I'm telling youi despite the utter lack of supporting evidence." Not buying.


The ponies certainly adhere to Christ's teachings more closely than most Christians I've met or heard of.
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With a fine welcome to converse like that, how can I refuse? I submit the following questions for your review.

Do you believe in a God/gods? Are you athiest, agnostic, Christian, other? Do you lean toward evolution - intergalactic dust & mold colliding to make a dog or do you lean toward intellgent design or a mixture of both?

And by now, we are way off Cliffy's original topic.

My reponse to any replies you may submit will be much later in the day as i am currently called for duty.

There's likely more spirituality and indeed, reality, in the Stairway To Heaven lyrics than in most religious texts and fables.

But what do I know.

Or care.
You look alot like the Beibs. Quite remarkable. Maybe you could take over his singing career while he finishes his prison time.
 

Tecumsehsbones

Hall of Fame Member
Mar 18, 2013
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With a fine welcome to converse like that, how can I refuse? I submit the following questions for your review.

Do you believe in a God/gods?
No.

Are you athiest, agnostic, Christian, other?
None of the above.

Do you lean toward evolution - intergalactic dust & mold colliding to make a dog or do you lean toward intellgent design or a mixture of both?
I lean toward evolution as the best theory currently under consideration to explain how we got here.

And by now, we are way off Cliffy's original topic.
Good point. I'll copy/paste the above in a new thread in the Members Lounge.

My reponse to any replies you may submit will be much later in the day as i am currently called for duty.
Take your time. I ain't in no hurry.
 

Goober

Hall of Fame Member
Jan 23, 2009
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Moving

Bet his book sales went up.
Yes there are quite substantial numbers of these types in the US. Their power is waning. Has been for a number of years. Are there areas where they wield substantial political clout, yes. But they ain’t running the country.

The same can be said for other countries. The exception being they are in power.
 

Cliffy

Standing Member
Nov 19, 2008
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Bet his book sales went up.
Yes there are quite substantial numbers of these types in the US. Their power is waning. Has been for a number of years. Are there areas where they wield substantial political clout, yes. But they ain’t running the country.

The same can be said for other countries. The exception being they are in power.
Psychopaths and sociopaths gravitate toward positions of power. The lunatic fringe of the religious try to muscle in on the action.
 

cj44

Electoral Member
Sep 18, 2013
740
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16
No.


None of the above.


I lean toward evolution as the best theory currently under consideration to explain how we got here.


Good point. I'll copy/paste the above in a new thread in the Members Lounge.


Take your time. I ain't in no hurry.
Ok. Well, do you like cats?