To hell with truth!

Imagine for a second that you could take all the money, time and energy that has gone into examining whether or not The Holy Bible was true or not, and put it into a trust fund. Or just imagine you could you use it to actually help other people in real-life situations.

Just think, how little progress has come from all that time and energy. The earliest of the Hebrews weren’t that religious at all. There were dozens of books and from time to time, nobody was all that sure that the writings the preachers told them about, were inherently true. From time to time however, a government of religion would be established in certain locations, meaning that it didn’t really matter what you believed, you should just follow the laws of the books, because you’d get hanged or something otherwise.

And how are we different today? We’re not. Despite the hundreds of years worth of evidence to contradict the (forgive me) stupid theories of The Holy Bible, we still have millions of True Believers ™, and you know what? By far most of them are not only pretty convinced, but pretty damn happy about what they’re convinced of.

So it comes to this. Whether Jesus was actually this certain type of man, the physical (or whatever) son of God, whether he changed water to wine and walked on water… how on Earth does that impact his teachings? Does “Love thy neighbour” make sense because the guy who said it walked on water? Do I not steal because I fear eternal damnation in hell if I do? I don’t believe that the majority of believers actually don’t steal and lie, just to avoid hell. I believe that they keep themselves in order because it makes sense. Whether this or that happened in 6 days or 6 billions years, doesn’t change the fact that being good to your neighbour, being honest and hard-working, perfectly makes sense, and in general, is more likely to make you a happier person that otherwise.

I believe in the Almighty. That said, I don’t know wether it’s a he or a she or an it or even there at all. What I DON’T believe, is that I will suffer eternal damnation just for not giving a damn about things that so obviously don’t make a lickin’ difference. I believe that this Almighty, if a conscious force (another theory I don’t give a damn about either), is all that good, it won’t condemn me for simply not having the time for what I call an endless, childish and tiring discussion that will neither resolve issues, disputes, nor convince anyone. How many people have you heard of that convert to Christianity because it’s logically reasonable? How many Christians have you heard of that convert to Atheism because Christianity isn’t ethically moral?

Doesn’t seem to me like anybody else gives a damn about the actual truth either… people just want to be right in advance. :slight_smile:

My two cents, one-and-a-half Euro and a pink rabbit having sex with my mattress. What do you mean? I’m not on drugs!

I can sympathize with much of what you say, and with the frustration you feel. Still, in a way, the stupid work had to be done so that we could LEARN that it is stupid. This is not a slam on Xianity in particular, but just the state our species was born into: a blank, a cognitive nothing–utter butt-ignorant cluelessness.

The process is hardly complete.

Welcome to the Straight Dope Message Boards, Teekin!

I think there is a deep-seated need in some people to exalt that which has made a difference in their lives or at least inspired them greatly.

Hence, Jesus was not simply a wise teacher, he was the Anointed One sent by God.

Ancient Greek heroes were not simply powerful men and women, they were demi-gods.

Even today, people have visions of Elvis, as though he were some super-mysto being.

It’s a way of justifying one’s own devotion.

As far as lamenting the “wasted” effort that goes into supporting this justification, you may as well lament the fact that the ocean is not above the sky.