# Have a hard time respecting the moderately religious **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 14, 2014, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053 "2014-07-14T05:29:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 9:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/21 "2014-07-14T09:29:26Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > This is one of those no win discussions. Atheists and agnostics believe all religious people live breathe and accept the most extreme interpretations of their religion. > > For some strange reason its impossible for critics to recognise that most religious people are moderate and its more a matter of culture than to die for. For some strange reason it seems impossible for you to recognize that a belief system which directly contradicts itself is intellectually bankrupt. ---
**Author:** ![Onyerbike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/onyerbike/32/5402_2.png) [@Onyerbike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Onyerbike)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 9:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/22 "2014-07-14T09:53:13Z")
Most of everybody is nuts in their own little way. Moderately nutty people are the best! So long as they don’t passively aggressively inflict their own brand of crazy on the public at large (a trend that I think is dying out), I think it serves everybody to have them around because it takes all sorts to make a world. I have christian parents, and while some of their social mores are repugnant to me I know they have made few if any ever real attempts at changing my own codes, they live and let live. I love them for that. If they were dogmatically rigid, unswerving, unthinking literalists of their faith I doubt I’d be feeling that way so manifestly, if at all. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/23 "2014-07-14T09:58:34Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I don’t know that that’s the case. > > Some people value evidence and can’t imagine giving in to nonsense like astrology. > > Religion is certainly as unfounded as astrology, homeopathy or casting the future in chicken bones. > > It’s hard to imagine a successful surgeon that thinks he needs to check the bones to see if he should invest in a mutual fund. > > Mind you, I know a lot of religious people, and I do get that they believe because they don’t examine the beliefs. It’s like a painful tooth that your tongue skips over. Especially the weak believers. They want to believe it. It’s comforting, it’s easy. I remember when I believed. For a long time my questions were pushed away by a sensation of dread similar to my fear of heights. I was afraid to question things. Afraid that I’d burn in hell. Hell, I value evidence also. In think God gave us eyes to see the universe and a mind to understand it, and ignoring the evidence of our senses - meaning science - is not only stupid, but also blasphemous. I have no illusions that my religious faith provides any explanation on how the universe works. It doesn’t. It may, however, attempt to give me a reason for \*why \*it works. For me, religion gives the universe meaning - meaning being outside the purview of science. That’s why I know my religious beliefs aren’t logical - they’re not supposed to be. Humans aren’t completely logical beings, nor should we be. We’re creatures of both mind and emotion, intellect and spirit, and while science provides all of the answers the former needs, religion serves my purposes regarding the latter. Besides, it makes me happy. Oh, and I don’t think you’ll burn in hell. First of all, I’m Jewish, and I don’t believe in hell. Second of all, if I thought atheists were evil I wouldn’t have married one. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/24 "2014-07-14T10:22:03Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Yes but you can’t say, for example, that original sin and Christ’s redemption are the only possible answers to the topic of salvation and then in the next breath say Noah’s Ark is a story that got inaccurately transcribed. Sorry, but that just seems like the biggest case of irrational, contradictory thinking. I am open to being corrected, but I do not think that original sin and Christ’s redemption are directly in the Bible at all. Whether or not they directly appear there at all (it is possible they are directly discussed in some part such as Paul’s epistles), they are allegorical interpretations of certain stories, that _are_ in the Bible, namely, in these cases, Adam and Eve and the serpent, and Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. As such it makes perfect sense to say that the stories are not literally true but the allegorical meanings, the moral and spiritual lessons they teach, are. That is exactly how an allegory is supposed to work. For most of the 2,000 or so years that Christianity has been around - until the rise of Biblical literalism, which was invented in early 20th century America specifically to attack the world view of modern science (and evolutionism in particular, because it was seen as dangerously socially radical) - hardly any educated Christians believed that the miraculous stories of the Old Testament were literally true. Know-nothing atheists who do not understand this, and insist, like you, that the only true Christians are the Biblical literalist fundamentalists, are doing enormous harm to the cause of science by driving all the people (most of the American population) who would otherwise be quite happy as “moderate” (i.e., traditional) Christians, with a positive attitude towards science and its progress, into the arms of the lunatic fundamentalists. Fundamentalist atheists like you do almost as much harm to science and rationality as do the fundamentalist Christians, such as young Earth creationists, that actually hate it. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/25 "2014-07-14T10:23:03Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > That’s why I know my religious beliefs aren’t logical - they’re not supposed to be. Humans aren’t completely logical beings, nor should we be. We’re creatures of both mind and emotion, intellect and spirit, and while science provides all of the answers the former needs, religion serves my purposes regarding the latter. Besides, it makes me happy. This is basically saying you know it is not logical but you believe it anyway because it makes you happy… how can that work? Saying science provides answers to these sets of questions ad religion provides answers to this set of questions… well… that would be ok if it actually did provide answers. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/26 "2014-07-14T10:24:59Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > So then, your definition of “interpreting the bible” is ignoring the unpleasant parts? I love America. That doesn’t mean I love the fact that my country committed genocide against the Indians, enslaved blacks for a hundred years, threw the Japanese in camps during WWII, and continues to have problems treating gays and transgendereds as human beings. I love my mother. That doesn’t mean I love the fact that she had major drug problems for years when I was little that made us homeless more than once. I love hamburgers with bacon and bleu cheese and grilled onions. That doesn’t mean I love that they’re making me fat. Why must the Bible then be an all-for-nothing, take it or leave it, either “every single word is literally true” or “there is no God and the book isn’t worth using for kindling” matter, when pretty much every single other aspect of life is about prioritizing and deciding what is and isn’t important to you? ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/27 "2014-07-14T10:25:26Z")
> [@Lobohan](#): > > I don’t know that that’s the case. > > Some people value evidence and can’t imagine giving in to nonsense like astrology. > > Religion is certainly as unfounded as astrology, homeopathy or casting the future in chicken bones. > > It’s hard to imagine a successful surgeon that thinks he needs to check the bones to see if he should invest in a mutual fund. > > Mind you, I know a lot of religious people, and I do get that they believe because they don’t examine the beliefs. It’s like a painful tooth that your tongue skips over. Especially the weak believers. They want to believe it. It’s comforting, it’s easy. I remember when I believed. For a long time my questions were pushed away by a sensation of dread similar to my fear of heights. I was afraid to question things. Afraid that I’d burn in hell. Yep, that and being told outright to not question god. We were actively discouraged from thinking about it too much. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/28 "2014-07-14T10:29:20Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > This is basically saying you know it is not logical but you believe it anyway because it makes you happy… how can that work? It works because I’m not completely logical. The difference between me an a fanatic is that I’m capable of compartmentalizing my illogic and preventing it from interfering with my logical mind. It’s complicated. But then, people are infinitely complicated. That’s part of what makes us awesome. > [@Robert163](#): > > Saying science provides answers to these sets of questions ad religion provides answers to this set of questions… well… that would be ok if it actually did provide answers. It provides answers in the same way any other philosophy, system of beliefs or personal code provides answers. It may provide answers for me and not for you - YMMV. That’s cool. You’re happier as an atheist, I’m happier as a theist. It’s all good. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/29 "2014-07-14T10:33:31Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > I am open to being corrected, but I do not think that original sin and Christ’s redemption are directly in the Bible at all. Whether or not they directly appear there at all (it is possible they are directly discussed in some part such as Paul’s epistles), they are allegorical interpretations of certain stories, that _are_ in the Bible, namely, in these cases, Adam and Eve and the serpent, and Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. As such it makes perfect sense to say that the stories are not literally true but the allegorical meanings, the moral and spiritual lessons they teach, are. That is exactly how an allegory is supposed to work. Not being able to say for sure whether theses stories are allegories or meant to be literally true, is not a very good indicator that you should trust what you find in the bible. > [@](#): > > For most of the 2,000 or so years that Christianity has been around - until the rise of Biblical literalism, which was invented in early 20th century America specifically to attack the world view of modern science (and evolutionism in particular, because it was seen as dangerously socially radical) - hardly any educated Christians believed that the miraculous stories of the Old Testament were literally true. I don’t know much about the history of the bible in 800AD or 1600AD. And quite honestly I doubt you do either. But it seems odd people would start wars and burn people at the stake and argue and move halfway across the world to form new colonies if they thought the bible was just a bunch of stories… > [@](#): > > Know-nothing atheists who do not understand this, and insist, like you, that the only true Christians are the Biblical literalist fundamentalists, are doing enormous harm to the cause of science by driving all the people (most of the American population) who would otherwise be quite happy as “moderate” (i.e., traditional) Christians, with a positive attitude towards science and its progress, into the arms of the lunatic fundamentalists. Fundamentalist atheists like you do almost as much harm to science and rationality as do the fundamentalist Christians, such as young Earth creationists, that actually hate it. I’m asking you to be consistent in your methods of what you choose to believe. That does not make me a fundamentalist of any sort. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/30 "2014-07-14T10:37:56Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > I love America. That doesn’t mean I love the fact that my country committed genocide against the Indians, enslaved blacks for a hundred years, threw the Japanese in camps during WWII, and continues to have problems treating gays and transgendereds as human beings. > > I love my mother. That doesn’t mean I love the fact that she had major drug problems for years when I was little that made us homeless more than once. > > I love hamburgers with bacon and bleu cheese and grilled onions. That doesn’t mean I love that they’re making me fat. > > Why must the Bible then be an all-for-nothing, take it or leave it, either “every single word is literally true” or “there is no God and the book isn’t worth using for kindling” matter, when pretty much every single other aspect of life is about prioritizing and deciding what is and isn’t important to you? What is there to love about a system of morality that says you are not accountable for your own actions, cast your sins on jesus, and, anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus goes to hell? If that is not your “interpretation” of the bible you are just ignoring the unpleasant parts. > [@Alessan](#): > > It works because I’m not completely logical. The difference between me an a fanatic is that I’m capable of compartmentalizing my illogic and preventing it from interfering with my logical mind. > > It’s complicated. But then, people are infinitely complicated. That’s part of what makes us awesome. > > It provides answers in the same way any other philosophy, system of beliefs or personal code provides answers. It may provide answers for me and not for you - YMMV. That’s cool. You’re happier as an atheist, I’m happier as a theist. It’s all good. Well at least you admit it’s not logical. Very few Christians do. I can’t say I have any big problem with your beliefs. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/31 "2014-07-14T10:42:21Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > What is there to love about a system of morality that says you are not accountable for your own actions, cast your sins on jesus, and, anyone who doesn’t believe in Jesus goes to hell? If that’s what one believes to be _true_ about the nature of the universe, then whether one wishes things were different or not is hardly relevant. Just because you wish the sky weren’t blue doesn’t mean you can say it’s green. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/32 "2014-07-14T10:43:13Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > This is one of those no win discussions. Atheists and agnostics believe all religious people live breathe and accept the most extreme interpretations of their religion. I am an atheist and I most certainly do not believe that. I also find it hard to believe that _any_ agnostics believe it. Clearly agnostics are people who see much that is positive and sensible in religion. The only people who think in the way you describe are, on the one hand, the actual religious extremist fundamentalists, and, on the other hand, fundamentalist atheists like the OP, who are deeply ignorant about religion and its history. I do not think it is a no win discussion at all, incidentally. The OP’s opinions arise mainly from ignorance about religion and its history, not from mere disbelief in it. People can be educated out of this sort of ignorance, and probably the OP is generally in favor of rationality an in having more and better knowledge. (Unlike Young Earth Creationist types, who care nothing for reason if it conflicts with their beliefs, and are _determined_ not to learn any better.) If the OP understood religion better, which he is probably quite capable of, he would realize that it it is perfectly possible and rational to be an unwavering atheist who nevertheless respects the motivations and intellectual integrity of “moderate” Christians (and “moderate” adherents of other religions) , just as it is perfectly possible, and intellectually consistent, to be a Christian who accepts the findings of modern science. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/33 "2014-07-14T10:55:04Z")
God isn’t a moderate. Fundamentalists tend to stick more closely to established scripture than liberals, who ignore the text and water down the faith by appropriating ideas from other philosophies. Anti-vaxxers should call themselves germ theory moderates. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/34 "2014-07-14T10:56:58Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > I don’t know much about the history of the bible in 800AD or 1600AD. And quite honestly I doubt you do either. But it seems odd people would start wars and burn people at the stake and argue and move halfway across the world to form new colonies if they thought the bible was just a bunch of stories… Actually I know a fair bit about about it, and clearly know a lot more you do. For most of its history, Christianity has not been about belief in Bible stories. Indeed, until the 16th century Protestant reformation, few Christians ever read the Bible, and were generally discouraged from doing so by the Church authorities (largely for fear that, being untrained in the techniques of allegorical interpretation, they would misunderstand it by taking it too literally). To a considerable extent, that is still true for Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Most of the unpleasant events that you refer to did not occur because Christians thought the Bible was telling them to behave that way. Christianity is nearly as much about the Bible as you think. The only people who think it is all about the Bible are the extremest modern fundamentalist Christians, and their mirror image, the fundamentalist atheists like you, who play into their hands. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/35 "2014-07-14T11:09:19Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > If that’s what one believes to be _true_ about the nature of the universe, then whether one wishes things were different or not is hardly relevant. Just because you wish the sky weren’t blue doesn’t mean you can say it’s green. Saying that you believe proposition X is true is not the same as saying it is moral, logical, or… true. You have to establish that it is true first, then, you can try to explain it or rationalize it. > [@njtt](#): > > Actually I know a fair bit about about it, and clearly know a lot more you do. For most of its history, Christianity has not been about belief in Bible stories. Indeed, until the 16th century Protestant reformation, few Christians ever read the Bible, and were generally discouraged from doing so by the Church authorities (largely for fear that, being untrained in the techniques of allegorical interpretation, they would misunderstand it by taking it too literally). To a considerable extent, that is still true for Catholic and Orthodox Churches. Most of the unpleasant events that you refer to did not occur because Christians thought the Bible was telling them to behave that way. Christianity is nearly as much about the Bible as you think. The only people who think it is all about the Bible are the extremest modern fundamentalist Christians, and their mirror image, the fundamentalist atheists like you, who play into their hands. Again… I really don’t care what happened in the 16th century. This is all a big distraction on your part because what is in the bible does not correlate to reality, or, to logic either one. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/36 "2014-07-14T11:11:49Z")
> [@marshmallow](#): > > God isn’t a moderate. God doesn’t exist, dear. > [@marshmallow](#): > > Fundamentalists tend to stick more closely to established scripture than liberals, who ignore the text and water down the faith by appropriating ideas from other philosophies. As Christians have been doing at least since the time of St Paul (i.e., pretty much from the start of the religion, and long before any such book as The Bible existed). The fetishizing of the text of the Bible as literal truth and the whole basis of the religion is a very modern (20th century) aberration from Christianity as it has been practiced for most of the past 2,000 years. I find it very sad the way so many atheists have bought into this dangerous nonsense. Arguably (I believe some theologians do argue) Biblical fundamentalism is, from a traditional Christian perspective, a form of idolatry: they make an idol of, they worship, the Bible, which one of most serious of sins according to Christian tradition. ---
**Author:** ![Robert163](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/4af34b/32.png) [@Robert163](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robert163)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/37 "2014-07-14T11:13:57Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > God doesn’t exist, dear. > As Christians have been doing at least since the time of St Paul (i.e., pretty much from the start of the religion, and long before any such book as The Bible existed). > > The fetishizing of the text of the Bible as literal truth and the whole basis of the religion is a very modern (20th century) aberration from Christianity as it has been practiced for most of the past 2,000 years. I find it very sad the way so many atheists have bought into this dangerous nonsense. Arguably (I believe some theologians do argue) Biblical fundamentalism is, from a traditional Christian perspective, a form of idolatry: they make an idol of, they worship, the Bible, which one of most serious of sins according to Christian tradition. 1- If the bible is not “literally” true then what possible value is it? 2- The fact that there is no consensus among the non-literalists is a big problem. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/38 "2014-07-14T11:16:41Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > I don’t know much about the history of the bible in 800AD or 1600AD. And quite honestly I doubt you do either. But it seems odd people would start wars and burn people at the stake and argue and move halfway across the world to form new colonies if they thought the bible was just a bunch of stories… > . Exactly. I don’t think anyone has ever killed anyone because they disagreed on what one of Aesop’s fables meant. ---
**Author:** ![monavis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e0b2c6/32.png) [@monavis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monavis)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/39 "2014-07-14T11:16:47Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > I’m about as hard-edged an atheist as you might find in these here hills – okay, I’m no **Der Trihs** , but I am pretty much his spiritual ally – and the moderately religious are the ones I respect the most! > > They’re the ones who don’t try to force their God down everyone else’s throat. They accept the science of Evolution. They have accommodated themselves to Gay Marriage. They understand that morality is nuanced, and that the Bible isn’t the be-all and end-all of moral truth. > > They’re the ones who follow their faith more or less the way I follow an aesthetic vision. It gives them pleasure and comfort, but they realize that others have other views, and that ecumenism and tolerance are civilizing values. > > Moderation is a civilizing value, one of the very highest. > > A hard time respecting moderation? Nay! Moderation is one of the things most worthy of our respect in the whole of the world! I agree, they are the one’s who follow the teachings of Jesus that some fundamentalists over look like: Jesus is quoted as;" I give you one commandment; that you love one another.Don’t judge, love your enemies, return good for evil, turn the other cheek" . He seemed to despise the Pharisee’s who made a public display of their religion but didn’t follow the spirit of the law. Jesus was a liberal and the first Christians were communistic, they shared all in common. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2014, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053/40 "2014-07-14T11:18:12Z")
> [@Robert163](#): > > Again… I really don’t care what happened in the 16th century. This is all a big distraction on your part because what is in the bible does not correlate to reality, or, to logic either one. It was you who brought up what Christians have done in the past, burning each other at the stake and so forth. I was merely pointing out that that your understanding of this history is defective. It really saddens me to fellow atheists being as willfully, pig-headedly ignorant as Young Earth Creationists are. You are helping their evil cause. ☹ [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-a-hard-time-respecting-the-moderately-religious/693053.md?page=3)