[richlevy]

Originally posted by lumberjim
i never asked you to believe that what i think is right. i just ask that you believe that it is POSSIBLE. That's how i feel about christianity. it's possible. no more. no less.


faith and logic are not mutually exclusive, you're right.

However, to say something is true because you believe it is elementally wrong. you can believe something because it is true, but not the other way 'round. no one can really say for sure what is and is not true of the after life. can you?

Faith and logic are not mutually exclusive, but faith and proof are. If something has been proved, we no longer need to have faith in it. Faith is the existence of belief despite the abscence of proof.

I have a few devout Christian friends. We even sometimes discuss religion. However, most of the time we keep our faiths to ourselves.

Having someone constantly tell you how happy they are with their religion is like having someone constantly tell you how happy they are with their car/clothes/hair/house/job etc. - annoying.

It gets even more annoying when they tell you that you should get the same religion car/clothes/hair/house/job etc.

I gets really, really, annoying when they torture you until you promise to get the same religion car/clothes/hair/house/job etc.

It was very sad that Jesus died. It was even sadder that his followers were persecuted. It was very sad when said followers got into power and hunted down the decendants of Jesus in the name of Jesus.

It was even sadder when the followers of Christians fought Christians for hundreds of years and laid waste to vast stretches of Europe.

Almost every organized religion existing in the world is a 'survivor'. In general, this means that in order to survive they may have done things that do not quite fit with a perfect view of the world. (Pope Innocent IV's authorization of torture for the 1st Inquisition comes to mind).

So it should be understandable that people are leery of religion and of the religious. Because while it is wonderful that individuals are looking inward, finding God, and changing themselves, the trouble starts when they look outward, see everyone else and say "But enough about me, let's see how I can make you better".