One way or another, Christianity (as well as its Partners-in-Crime: Islam and New Age Navel Gazing, etc.) is headed for serious and final Smack-Down.
They’re gonna lose a LOT more then just their lunch money! It’s just a matter of time until the masses–ignorant as they can be–simply won’t fall for the patronizing and controlling, desperate hocus-pocus bullshit anymore.
Hallelujah!
Actually, let me sort of ask another question…before the Scientific Revolution (and hence, before Christianity), was there science? There certainly were people trying to find out about the natural world, and there were theorists, and there was technology and advancements and so on, but I’m not sure that there was science as we know it today…there wasn’t the scientific method, there wasn’t the idea of professional or institutional scientists, and there was an enormous faith in established authority over independent thought. I think you can make the argument that it wasn’t until the 16th-17th centuries that you really saw what we’d think of as science develop.
A careful analysis of the history of science would show it to be all tangled up with religion, its true.
But I’ve always viewed the scientific method as the only way to learn about the universe. An alien species in a galaxy far far away would have no choice but to use the scientific method if they wanted to survive. It doesn’t matter if they are super intelligent or not - it’s incompatible with the laws of the universe that any one thing can contain a representation of everything else. Thus, you will have to do hypothesis testing in order to learn what you don’t know, plain and simple.
Christianity isn’t a necessity.
If every believer in every organised religious group disappeared overnight, this planet would tick on quite merrily without them.
I wouldn’t go that far. You’re talking about at least 80% of the world population. While we can do just fine without the beliefs, I don’t think the same can be said about the manpower.
Hmmm… that many, eh? What about just the religious leaders and their henchmen then? How many would that involve?
If by henchmen you mean people wih actual jobs provided by religious institutions, they can all go.
If by henchmen you mean people who volunteer at or contribute to religious institutions, I think we’d still have a labor shortage. Though maybe not in the US. I get the impression this is a country with more people who claim religion rather than practice it. But honestly, I can’t say for sure that we are any different along those lines.
I have been standing around there keeping up with it, nothing really seemed comment worthy and I have found Liberal’s comments interesting.
The first one, BJ. I agree; I wouldn’t miss a one of them.
I understand what you are saying, but Jesus is God that we can know on a personal level. Some did know Jesus before He was born. King David unquestionably knew the Lord on a such a personal level, to the point that he knew he was under grace and that allowed him to violate the written code and remain blameless in God’s sight. Adam walked with God, Moses spoke with God, and others knew God personally. This personal relationship with God is the person Jesus. Most of the other people worshiped God from afar only.
Jesus coming in the flesh represented the shift from a few people (represented by the closed Hebrew society, difficult Hebrew language, Holy of Holyes only for the high priest 1/year, only clean animals can be eaten), to the masses (represented by the great commission, the people’s language Greek, curtain torn, Peter instructed to ‘eat’ all animals).
If Christianity means after Jesus being raised (or close to that time), it would seem like the Hebrews did some science before then, metal refining for instance. If it means before people had a personal relationship with God then no, since Adam knew God like that. If you meant before Jesus, then as I said above there was no before Jesus.
To the question if science was/is done outside this personally relationship I’d say yes, it still goes on today.
Which time are you talking about?
I seem to recall the Lord of Hosts punishing David for having an affair with a married woman and arranging her husband’s murder. Of course, said punishment involved killing the innocent child born as a result of the affair in question, but that’s only because the Lord of Hosts is evil.
Metal refining is not science. Do you know what the word “science” means?
I’m wondering why I’ve never taken note of your far out views given your lengthy history on the boards. Are you a recent convert to fundamentalist Christianity ?
OK the discovery of metal refining, and the improvement of it.
(nitpicky today aren’t we)
Though I don’t self identify with the term fundamentalist Christian, basically yes, before this I was worshiping demons.
Today? Today? Are you implying that I just now became a nitpicking asshole? I can supply at least a dozen examples of me being a pedantic jerk from the last week alone.
But my pointing out that metal refining particularly as practiced by the Bronze Age Hebrews is not a science isn’t one of those instances.
You were worshipping Rick Santorum?
Eating of the consecrated bread that only the priests were allowed to eat, not only was this in the OT but Jesus Himself commented on this in the NT.
But yes there are consequences for our actions here, we are disciplined, not punished.
God bless you, I got a great laugh out of that.