# Will we ever shed our religiocentric views **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [July 8, 2013, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963 "2013-07-08T19:16:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 10:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/61 "2013-07-11T10:24:31Z")
And this, **Algher** , is why religion should be shed altogether. No matter how liberal and tolerant some christians become towards others, all it really takes is one bastard to point to the bible and claim _ **there is only one way** _, and you won’t have a leg to stand on. All the effort of keeping the christian myth alive by watering it down, picking and choosing etc. etc. will be for nought. The danger of Christianity reverting back to an intollerant, homicidal movement will always be present. It is baked in. That goes for Islam too, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/62 "2013-07-11T11:26:44Z")
Where you have people you have religion and most likely always will. It comes with the territory just like murder, rape, love, hate and war. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 12:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/63 "2013-07-11T12:43:08Z")
> [@Longshanks](#): > > Where you have people you have religion and most likely always will. It comes with the territory just like murder, rape, love, hate and war. Nonsense. In a lot of western countries religion no longer features at all. There may always be some new type of woo in fashion, before the debunking sips through, but people _can_ live without religion quite well. ---
**Author:** ![Longshanks](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Longshanks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Longshanks)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 12:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/64 "2013-07-11T12:50:09Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > Nonsense. > In a lot of western countries religion no longer features at all. > There may always be some new type of woo in fashion, before the debunking sips through, but people _can_ live without religion quite well. They can, but the point I was trying to make is that religion in one form or another has always existed with mankind and the idea of it simply disappearing because we become ‘enlightened’ doesn’t seem realistic. ---
**Author:** ![Latro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/a87d85/32.png) [@Latro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Latro)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/65 "2013-07-11T14:34:24Z")
> [@Longshanks](#): > > They can, but the point I was trying to make is that religion in one form or another has always existed with mankind and the idea of it simply disappearing because we become ‘enlightened’ doesn’t seem realistic. I agree, a certain vigilance against the forces of darkness should be maintained, but the point I am making is that for large parts of the modern world, religion _did_ simply disappear. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/66 "2013-07-11T18:29:19Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > And this, **Algher** , is why religion should be shed altogether. > No matter how liberal and tolerant some christians become towards others, all it really takes is one bastard to point to the bible and claim _ **there is only one way** _, and you won’t have a leg to stand on. > All the effort of keeping the christian myth alive by watering it down, picking and choosing etc. etc. will be for nought. > The danger of Christianity reverting back to an intollerant, homicidal movement will always be present. It is baked in. > > That goes for Islam too, of course. I don’t let bastards define my faith, or my beliefs, or how I chose to follow them. I also don’t really care if others want to claim that my interpretation is wrong, or watered down, or cafeteria Christianity, or whatever other insult someone wants to toss my way. If Rabbis and Imans think that I am following the words of a false Messiah who was really just a prophet in their eyes - that makes for an interesting discussion, but it does not drive my faith. If Catholics want to tell me that my lack of interest in the Pope means I am a lesser Christian - oh well. If atheists want to snark, sneer, claim that they “understand” the Bible better than I do - whatever. Not that I won’t sometimes jump into a pig fight, but I usually leave those to when I confront intolerant Christians who let the Bible be their justification for their bigotry. In the meantime, I enjoy learning about other faiths, and seeking ways that we are the same instead of seeking ways that we are different. Sometimes this results in a person of another faith joining mine, other times it just becomes a good excuse to share a bottle of wine (or juice for them if they do not drink). My amateur study of Islam, Judaism, the history of some of the Christian churches, Native American spirituality, and a smattering of Buddism tells me that we have a lot to learn from each other. If there is single law that I follow in all this, it is one that I learned (and teach) in the Boy Scouts: > [@](#): > > A Scout is Reverent. > A Scout is reverent toward God. He is faithful in his religious duties. He respects the beliefs of others. That is a tough one to follow with your faith seems to tell you to NOT respect by the beliefs of others - but I do my best to follow it. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/67 "2013-07-11T18:42:06Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > I don’t let bastards define my faith, or my beliefs, or how I chose to follow them. > > I also don’t really care if others want to claim that my interpretation is wrong, or watered down, or cafeteria Christianity, or whatever other insult someone wants to toss my way. I’m sorry, but I believe you are the one that questioned _my_ supposed interpretation of John 14:1-6. Are you saying that it was your intent to insult me? I do believe I gave you ample time to give an alternate interpretation, and I even found a website for you that listed most of them. But instead of showing me where I was wrong, you came back with whatever your last post was. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/68 "2013-07-11T18:44:22Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I’m sorry, but I believe you are the one that questioned _my_ supposed interpretation of John 14:1-6. Are you saying that it was your intent to insult me? I do believe I gave you ample time to give an alternate interpretation, and I even found a website for you that listed most of them. But instead of showing me where I was wrong, you came back with whatever your last post was. I already gave you my interpretation. You then attacked my interpretation. I gave more detail, You chose not to read it - instead tossing out a weblink with different translations. Perhaps I misunderstood your tone - I assumed you were attacking, not asking. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/69 "2013-07-11T18:54:58Z")
I was asking you how you reconcile your interpretation of John 14:2 with pretty much every version of John 14:6 that exists. It doesn’t matter whether it’s called a house, home, room, mansion or rent-controlled apartment, when Thomas asks Jesus what the right path is every single version I can find says pretty much the same thing: “Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” ---
**Author:** ![Kinthalis](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kinthalis/32/16084_2.png) [@Kinthalis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kinthalis)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/70 "2013-07-11T19:27:29Z")
> [@astorian](#): > > “All religions are pretty much the same, since all of them teach us to be nice to each other.” Society teaches us to be nice to each other (well, most do). Religion teaches us that, those other guys over there, yeah _those_ guys, they don’t count as “each other”. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/71 "2013-07-11T19:28:44Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > I already gave you my interpretation. Do you mean this: > [@Algher](#): > > No, I wouldn’t, nor would many others, including Ministers and Bible scholars. No actual in context reason for your interpretation-just that some anonymous others agree with you. > [@Algher](#): > > You then attacked my interpretation. I gave in context reason for my interpretation. > [@Algher](#): > > I gave more detail, You chose not to read it - instead tossing out a weblink with different translations. I can’t seem to find any elaboration on your initial interpretation. ---
**Author:** ![MrQwertyasd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9d8465/32.png) [@MrQwertyasd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrQwertyasd)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/72 "2013-07-11T20:17:18Z")
> [@](#): > > It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the morons together. ouchy. ---
**Author:** ![Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/f04885/32.png) [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qin_Shi_Huangdi)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/73 "2013-07-11T21:32:52Z")
> [@Latro](#): > > And this, **Algher** , is why religion should be shed altogether. > No matter how liberal and tolerant some christians become towards others, all it really takes is one bastard to point to the bible and claim _ **there is only one way** _, and you won’t have a leg to stand on. > All the effort of keeping the christian myth alive by watering it down, picking and choosing etc. etc. will be for nought. > The danger of Christianity reverting back to an intollerant, homicidal movement will always be present. It is baked in. > > That goes for Islam too, of course. I don’t see why tolerance of false religions and acknowledging there is only, one narrow road to salvation are mutually exclusive. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2013, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/74 "2013-07-11T23:05:14Z")
> [@Qin\_Shi\_Huangdi](#): > > I don’t see why tolerance of false religions and acknowledging there is only, one narrow road to salvation are mutually exclusive. Agreed…but if you say out loud “I respect that you are following a different path”, but silently think to yourself “…but I believe that you have no chance of getting into Heaven, because my way is the only way”, then you make a mockery of tolerance. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/75 "2013-07-12T02:39:09Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > Do you mean this:No actual in context reason for your interpretation-just that some anonymous others agree with you.I gave in context reason for my interpretation.I can’t seem to find any elaboration on your initial interpretation. I didn’t write a treatise. I personally take the many rooms in Father’s house to be an open enough statement for room for others. I also am quite familiar with Christ’s statements of paths, punishments, damned branches and trees, etc. Christ liked to speak in a lot of allegories and parables. I am comfortable stating that I know ONE way to heaven - through Christ. I am not arrogant enough to assume that I know all, however. I have no problem seeking ways to work with those of other faiths. I will know sooner or later what the final judgement will be. Ignoring religion, or trying to pretend it will go away, has cost us a lot in our foreign policy and our understanding of the world. [http://opencanada.org/features/the-think-tank/interviews/lets-talk-about-religion/#.Ud9WOBSiPJ8.twitter](http://opencanada.org/features/the-think-tank/interviews/lets-talk-about-religion/#.Ud9WOBSiPJ8.twitter) ---
**Author:** ![Asympotically\_fat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e47c2d/32.png) [@Asympotically\_fat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asympotically_fat)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/76 "2013-07-12T02:55:41Z")
Will we ever she our religiocentric views? Inshallah… ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/77 "2013-07-12T03:21:12Z")
> [@Algher](#): > > Christ liked to speak in a lot of allegories and parables. And which of these is John 14:6? ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/78 "2013-07-12T03:50:02Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > And which of these is John 14:6? If you wish to hang your feelings on that passage, go for it. I have made my beliefs quite clear. Do I have questions? Yes. Do I let one single passage define my entire faith? No. If I thought you were actually interested in learning about my faith, I would continue this. But I just don’t seem to be getting that feeling from your questioning. Why are you so interested in this? ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/79 "2013-07-12T04:00:45Z")
I am interested in those who cherry-pick verses out of context to suit beliefs already held. In your particular case, I am interested in how you justify your interpretation of John 14:2 in light of what the context clearly points out. So far it seems as if you don’t justify it-you just ignore the context entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Algher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Algher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algher)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963/80 "2013-07-12T04:15:46Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#): > > I am interested in those who cherry-pick verses out of context to suit beliefs already held. In your particular case, I am interested in how you justify your interpretation of John 14:2 in light of what the context clearly points out. So far it seems as if you don’t justify it-you just ignore the context entirely. Why are you interested? What is your goal in your questioning? Why this dogged determination? Is this some sort of atheist Witnessing? We are, after all, in the right forum. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/will-we-ever-shed-our-religiocentric-views/662963.md?page=5)