A question for Beth.

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Donal

The church has had a major influence on matters for almost 2,000 years now. However 500 years ago if people spoke out they would be killed, but nowadays people can do it freely. Though the church still those have high connection in academia, goverment, etc.

How much do you think the church has lost influence since it's peak of influence, and how long do you reckon Christianity will be around for?
Now everybody wanna go to heaven but nobody want to die- Krayzie Bone

Kallas

Hmmm.. well i know im not beth but im here so ill make my small attempt at an answer.

Yes you could say that the church had a lot more influence in times past however i dont believe that influence has deteriated it has simply adapted to suit a changing modern world. The world is no longer controlled by fundamentilists that will kill you for not believeing, instead there are hundreds of denominations and sub beliefs, still just as present but not so extreme.

So will it die out? In its form today, eventually, but im sure it will be replaced... people need religion.

El-Bortukali

They do?

does that mean i'm not a person because i don't need it :P

QuoteThe world is no longer controlled by fundamentilists that will kill you for not believeing,

Tell that to the victims of  islam terrorists ;D



hmm,in my opinion, from 50 to 200 years for religions to die.
Tá mo chroí istigh ionat

Kallas

Lol yea i was pretty general then... i said that it isn't controlled by fundamentilists not that they dont exist, and i meant christians.


Hmmm... people other than us... it might be better to say that people need belief.


Beth

Quote from: DonalThe church has had a major influence on matters for almost 2,000 years now. However 500 years ago if people spoke out they would be killed, but nowadays people can do it freely. Though the church still those have high connection in academia, goverment, etc.

How much do you think the church has lost influence since it's peak of influence, and how long do you reckon Christianity will be around for?

As you can imagine, I have given this very thing a GREAT DEAL of thought!! :wink:

I can easily see how the church was able to gain the control it did for many of those 2,000 years. Most everyone was illiterate, so when "officials" came knocking on your door and told you that if you didn't believe a certain way, that they would take you in and punish you -- to death if needs be -- it instilled an immediate sense of "sure, what do YOU want me to believe!" into society at large.

Until recently, I could not see how the church still got away with what it did. We are not an illiterate world anymore. People are free to think for themselves, and public burnings, lynchings and other public tortures are no longer allowed. Yet, I looked around and people who are quite intelligent in other areas of life, still held firm to the irrational beliefs that the church maintains.

That was until recently. I now know how they do it: whenever something threatens the power of the religion, all it has to do is come out with a new dogma that preaches against it!

Case in point, more and more people are becoming quite educated, and as a result are leaving the church by the thousands. In response to this mass-desertion, the "new dogma" is to preach against "intellectualism"!!!!  "Faith" they say, "is not an intellectual endeavor" and that "intellectuals" will try to make you "stray from your faith" by asking you to explain those things that should remain "mysteries of God."  "Intellectualism" is the new "weapon of Satan" to try and overthrow the gospel.

So, in answer to your question, I don't know how long this insanity is going to continue, but I will say that where I live, people hold these beliefs VERY STRONGLY, so it will probably take some kind of COLLOSAL event to change their minds.  What that will be, I have no idea!!!  I mentioned in another thread that it may take UFO's entering our atmosphere to "wake them up" but now that I think about it, they will probably just "shoot first" and "explain later" that the UFO's are "Satan's Spaceships"!!!!

~Beth
Become a Critical Thinker!
"Ignorance is the greatest of all sins."
                   --Origen of Alexandria

CFTraveler

Beth wrote:
QuoteSo, in answer to your question, I don't know how long this insanity is going to continue, but I will say that where I live, people hold these beliefs VERY STRONGLY, so it will probably take some kind of COLLOSAL event to change their minds. What that will be, I have no idea!!! I mentioned in another thread that it may take UFO's entering our atmosphere to "wake them up" but now that I think about it, they will probably just "shoot first" and "explain later" that the UFO's are "Satan's Spaceships"!!!!
I believe (no pun intended-well, maybe a little) that if UFOs landed on our lawn tomorrow they would just be the new cult to worship.  It is a sad idea, but I think a great number of people would rather have someone make the decisions for them than to think for themselves.

Beth

Quote from: CFTravelerIt is a sad idea, but I think a great number of people would rather have someone make the decisions for them than to think for themselves.

That's religion in a nutshell CFT!!!   :grin:

In addition, I believe it was Karl Marx that said "religion is the opiate of the masses." This is, unfortunately, all too true as well...

~Beth
Become a Critical Thinker!
"Ignorance is the greatest of all sins."
                   --Origen of Alexandria

kai wren

Indeed! This is what Discordianism is all about! A couple of nice quotes:

"If religion is the opiate for the masses, disorganized religion is the marijuana of the lunatic fringe."

and

"A discordian is forbidden from believing anything he reads"

Just goes to show... religions generally are about getting someone else to do your thinking for you, but there is at least one which is about getting you to think for yourself  :grin: