I’m in a strange place: very conservative, but not Christian

[Mantis]

I trust his written word is infallible.

 

[Romanov2488]

Because you don’t believe. You read the Bible like a phone book if it is not interpreted by the Holy Spirit. People look for reasons NOT to believe instead of looking for reasons to believe.

I’ve heard the, “Interpreted by Holy Spirit” argument before and I’ve come to the conclusion that that’s synonymous with the Bible speaking to you emotionally. While emotions are good and all (as we all have them), we also have a rational side. I’m not willing to sacrifice my reason for emotions to feel better about myself. To me the Bible has merit as I’ve said many times…I just don’t agree with it being the gospel of truth, or word of god. In my eyes, the more religious one is…the more emotional they are. Emotions by default are irrational. To me, emotions follow rationality, not the other way around. You feel better better but what is actually being done? Religious folks rely on praying a lot. Religion isn't just potentially harmful in the way that it keeps its adherents from receiving useful medical treatement, it's also potentially harmful in the way that it allows its adherents to do effectively nothing to help others even when they're trying to. A good example of this phenomenon is encapsulated in the clichéd and nauseating phrase, 'Thoughts & prayers'. I'm sure they want to help...but only if their prayers actually worked. The danger of prayer comes from the propensity to convince those praying that they're benefitting those they're praying for. Whenever there's a disaster or attack, all over social media we see the assurance of everyone's prayers. Sure some people who pray also help in tangible ways but the majority of them believe that praying alone is sufficient. Like many other atheist activists have said many times, "If all those people realize their prayers don't work, perhaps we'd see a massive increase in charitable giving and a noticeable decrease in human suffering.”

My religious family members believe in praying and give credit to prayer for things going our way. I however, have to constantly remind them that I achieved what I achieved without any prayer whatsoever. I have no time to pray, because it’s all being consumed by my effort to achieve whatever I’m trying to achieve.

I have never heard of anyone being attached to the Bible purely out of reason. There’s always some emotion involved and the reason is only there to justify it.

Every time I’m at the table with the wife and family, I’m the only one whose that voice of reason. I don’t even try to push atheism or question the existence of god, but my god (no pun intended), do they constantly go on about how god this and god that. Maybe you succeeded because you worked your ass off, not because of god. That’s the thing, the religious are very ‘un’individualistic. God is always in control for them..heaven forbid you take credit for any success. We can’t work through a problem without god being involved. And I see this manifesting in the form of non practicality way too often. It’s a lot easier to shift responsibility onto a devil or a god than to take it upon yourself. And while politically they agree with me on many things, they just don’t quite get how much I really value absolute freedom..including freedom from any religion or god.

This study here shows that women are more likely the be affiliated with a religion than men:
1. Women more likely than men to affiliate with a religion
68% of atheists are men in the U.S. alone compared to 32% women.

Religion in essence, is very feminine in nature.

 

[Wrangler]

“In trying to refute something that is axiomatic, you demonstrate its validity.” This is fallacious since it is tautological at best. It’s like saying, “A beginner who just started.”
View attachment 24815

‘Accepted’ truth. ‘General’ truth. But not Truth.
View attachment 24817

Right. A self evident truth is not an assumption.

 

[Mantis]

Well I fully disagree with

I’ve heard the, “Interpreted by Holy Spirit” argument before and I’ve come to the conclusion that that’s synonymous with the Bible speaking to you emotionally. While emotions are good and all (as we all have them), we also have a rational side. I’m not willing to sacrifice my reason for emotions to feel better about myself. To me the Bible has merit as I’ve said many times…I just don’t agree with it being the gospel of truth, or word of god. In my eyes, the more religious one is…the more emotional they are. Emotions by default are irrational. To me, emotions follow rationality, not the other way around. You feel better better but what is actually being done? Religious folks rely on praying a lot. Religion isn't just potentially harmful in the way that it keeps its adherents from receiving useful medical treatement, it's also potentially harmful in the way that it allows its adherents to do effectively nothing to help others even when they're trying to. A good example of this phenomenon is encapsulated in the clichéd and nauseating phrase, 'Thoughts & prayers'. I'm sure they want to help...but only if their prayers actually worked. The danger of prayer comes from the propensity to convince those praying that they're benefitting those they're praying for. Whenever there's a disaster or attack, all over social media we see the assurance of everyone's prayers. Sure some people who pray also help in tangible ways but the majority of them believe that praying alone is sufficient. Like many other atheist activists have said many times, "If all those people realize their prayers don't work, perhaps we'd see a massive increase in charitable giving and a noticeable decrease in human suffering.”

My religious family members believe in praying and give credit to prayer for things going our way. I however, have to constantly remind them that I achieved what I achieved without any prayer whatsoever. I have no time to pray, because it’s all being consumed by my effort to achieve whatever I’m trying to achieve.

I have never heard of anyone being attached to the Bible purely out of reason. There’s always some emotion involved and the reason is only there to justify it.

Every time I’m at the table with the wife and family, I’m the only one whose that voice of reason. I don’t even try to push atheism or question the existence of god, but my god (no pun intended), do they constantly go on about how god this and god that. Maybe you succeeded because you worked your ass off, not because of god. That’s the thing, the religious are very ‘un’individualistic. God is always in control for them..heaven forbid you take credit for any success. We can’t work through a problem without god being involved. And I see this manifesting in the form of non practicality way too often. It’s a lot easier to shift responsibility onto a devil or a god than to take it upon yourself. And while politically they agree with me on many things, they just don’t quite get how much I really value absolute freedom..including freedom from any religion or god.

This study here shows that women are more likely the be affiliated with a religion than men:
1. Women more likely than men to affiliate with a religion
68% of atheists are men in the U.S. alone compared to 32% women.

Religion in essence, is very feminine in nature.

I fully disagree. This is not about emotions and you are not feminine to be a Christian. The effeminate will not make it into heaven. I choose not to burn.

 

[Wrangler]

I’ve heard the, “Interpreted by Holy Spirit” argument before and I’ve come to the conclusion that that’s synonymous with the Bible speaking to you emotionally.

Wrong conclusion but I understand it based on the available evidence you are able to draw from.

Although profoundly disturbing to a Cause and Effect believer, the Bible is clear that God choses people for his reasons that are not clear to us. I can tell you of my supernatural experiences. Direct communication from a super power of a being. I did not hear a voice. It was like telepathy.

I don't believe many of the chosen have such experiences. I was like you and then I was touched and sealed by the Holy Spirit. It changed my life as it would anyone. See Paul on the road to Damascus. See Martin Luther in the thunder storm.

I’m not willing to sacrifice my reason for emotions to feel better about myself.

What are you willing to sacrifice to feel better about yourself?

This study here shows that women are more likely the be affiliated with a religion than men:
1. Women more likely than men to affiliate with a religion
68% of atheists are men in the U.S. alone compared to 32% women.

Religion in essence, is very feminine in nature.

Your god, your idol is rationality. Have you ever considered that women are more spiritual than men BECAUSE they are more emotionally connected? the Bible says he made them male and female, a balance between rationality and emotion. Humans are not merely robots, programmed with reasoning capability. Instead if AI, we are not BI, biological intelligence. My Pastor pointed out that our God is an emotional God.

Like you, I have contempt for people who are emotionally driven. However, there is balance and the question is why do men tend to be the emotionally constipated sex? Suppressing emotion is a coping mechanism. Men's failure to effectively deal with their emotions is why they are the ones who most often criminally blow. 10 of 11 people in prison are men. Most lack the love of a devoted father, providing daily doses of discipline, including the discipline of how to positively handle negative emotions.

 

[Wrangler]

Religion isn't just potentially harmful in the way that it keeps its adherents from receiving useful medical treatement, it's also potentially harmful in the way that it allows its adherents to do effectively nothing to help others even when they're trying to. A good example of this phenomenon is encapsulated in the clichéd and nauseating phrase, 'Thoughts & prayers'. I'm sure they want to help...but only if their prayers actually worked. The danger of prayer comes from the propensity to convince those praying that they're benefitting those they're praying for.

A profoundly cynical confession. I'll pray for you.

I agree and admit that some denominations oppose the medical treatment of blood transfusions. However, it is slanderous to suppose that epitomizes Christian's doing nothing to make the world a better place. Christianity is the greatest force for good in the history of the world. That virtually all the world's inventions, discoveries and beneficial philosophies (such as capitalism, economics and good business practices) came from Christian nations is not an accident.

An important fact you seem to be at odds with is the proper place faith has in ones life. Faith begins were knowledge ends. We act and should and and must act despite not having all knowledge. Therefore, all action is an act of faith.

The Bible does not say to only pray after you've taken all prudent action. It says to pray at all times. Fact is, everything that exists is limited, including man's capacity to act, to help others in time of need. Just because all prudent action has been exhausted, does not men the good will toward men has been exhausted. The natural flow, therefore, is 'Thoughts & prayers'. For some reason, you incorrectly suppose 'Thoughts & prayers' are a substitute rather than in addition to action.

 

[Romanov2488]

Right. A self evident truth is not an assumption.

The majority of mathematicians will tell you an axiom is an assumption. They arise out of human observation which is limited. Similarly, people will go around acting as if common sense is a real thing when really it’s as Einstein has said, “The collection of prejudices acquired by age eighteen.” Another reason why I don’t believe in objective morality. And those who do believe in objective morality in my eyes are coping with the fear of morality not being objective after all as it’s been proven time and time again. I take myself as a conservative, atheist, postmodernist.

 

[Romanov2488]

Wrong conclusion but I understand it based on the available evidence you are able to draw from.

Although profoundly disturbing to a Cause and Effect believer, the Bible is clear that God choses people for his reasons that are not clear to us. I can tell you of my supernatural experiences. Direct communication from a super power of a being. I did not hear a voice. It was like telepathy.

I don't believe many of the chosen have such experiences. I was like you and then I was touched and sealed by the Holy Spirit. It changed my life as it would anyone. See Paul on the road to Damascus. See Martin Luther in the thunder storm.



What are you willing to sacrifice to feel better about yourself?



Your god, your idol is rationality. Have you ever considered that women are more spiritual than men BECAUSE they are more emotionally connected? the Bible says he made them male and female, a balance between rationality and emotion. Humans are not merely robots, programmed with reasoning capability. Instead if AI, we are not BI, biological intelligence. My Pastor pointed out that our God is an emotional God.

Like you, I have contempt for people who are emotionally driven. However, there is balance and the question is why do men tend to be the emotionally constipated sex? Suppressing emotion is a coping mechanism. Men's failure to effectively deal with their emotions is why they are the ones who most often criminally blow. 10 of 11 people in prison are men. Most lack the love of a devoted father, providing daily doses of discipline, including the discipline of how to positively handle negative emotions.

No, rationality is not my god or idol. It’s a useful tool, just like science. It helps in being objective and in getting things done.

Even though the majority of innovations and good business came from Christian nations, it does not mean that Christianity is a direct cause. Correlation≠causation. The U.S. for example is not even a Christian nation, it’s a nation that allows Christianity to be unlike North Korea. Treaty of Tripoli which was arrived at via unanimous Senate decision clearly declares, “The government of the U.S. is not in any way founded on the Christian religion.” All of that other stuff such as “in god we trust” and “one nation under god” in the pledge and on money was only added in the 50s.

And yes, faith begins where knowledge ends. The more faithful one is, the more they are opposed to knowledge. Faith is an act of filling in gaps which is why it’s sometimes referred to as the ‘god of the gaps’.

‘Thoughts and prayers’ are usually a substitute more often than not because it’s easier to not act. Prayer is useless without action, in fact it’s not a necessity.

Regarding women, I wouldn’t say they are more emotionally connected because that would imply they are connected to some god. Instead it would be more accurate to say they are more in touch with their emotions. And it’s not about suppressing emotion, but allowing the rationality to cut through and lead. Reason is conscious, emotions are unconscious. If there’s emotional disharmony, it’s because the rationality is not clear…or not even there. Emotions clouding all reason leads to dysfunction, they are no longer grounded or anchored. Men and women aren’t either rational or emotional but a combination of both, as a ratio. I’m not a robot but rationality just happens to outweigh emotions that much more. Men are also usually more conservative than women. If you look at the statistics, the majority of women vote democrat.

And when you say all action is an act of faith, that’s a very ambiguous statement since ‘faith’ is a very loaded word. Are we referring to faith as in a belief system or as pure trust? I have faith I won’t sink straight down whenever I swim but it’s just a trust…there is no god or gods involved. Is there some sort of mystery or spiritual aspect to life? Sure. But I prefer not to give it any names because then it becomes too much woo woo. To me, belief in a god is just as much woo woo as some sort of universal intelligence out there. Better to just admit I don’t know and use the tools that at least offer some sort of reliability to evolve and enjoy life.

 

[Wrangler]

The majority of mathematicians will tell you an axiom is an assumption.

Appeal to Authority. Who are mathematicians to have special knowledge unavailable to the masses?

Mathematicians can say all they want that 1=1 is an assumption. Common sense and anyone fully trained in having a philosophy of life recognize it as the axiomatic Law of Identity.

Scientists are so corrupt in their concept formation, they fail to recognize an adjective does not change the noun. There are not 8 women in the room and 3 blonde woman in the room; there are 11 women in the room, 3 of which are blond. The same with planets in our solar system and transgender men.

If you ideas of the universe, of reality are wrong, your interpretation of your senses will be wrong.

 

[Romanov2488]

Appeal to Authority. Who are mathematicians to have special knowledge unavailable to the masses?

Mathematicians can say all they want that 1=1 is an assumption. Common sense and anyone fully trained in having a philosophy of life recognize it as the axiomatic Law of Identity.

Scientists are so corrupt in their concept formation, they fail to recognize an adjective does not change the noun. There are not 8 women in the room and 3 blonde woman in the room; there are 11 women in the room, 3 of which are blond. The same with planets in our solar system and transgender men.

If you ideas of the universe, of reality are wrong, your interpretation of your senses will be wrong.

You could be misusing the logical fallacy of ‘appeal to authority’ to discredit those who are qualified. Immediately after you stated, “Common sense and anyone fully trained in philosophy”…common sense can be an appeal to popularity. Anyways, mathematicians really don’t have special knowledge unavailable to the masses as the masses can also learn it themselves. What they have is years of study that even you or I could put in if we wanted to. As I’ve said before, axioms are assumptions since they rise out of human observation which is limited. You haven’t said anything about human observation being limited yet purport that axioms are absolute truth.

Common sense also varies widely and it’s not as common as you might think. All ideas of the universe are equally valid as there is no idea in particular that is correct while the others are wrong. If we talk about ideas in the context of utility, then that changes things. This is no different than a group of people belonging to a religion who believe that only their religion is the correct one.

 

[Jim B]

You could be misusing the logical fallacy of ‘appeal to authority’ to discredit those who are qualified. Immediately after you stated, “Common sense and anyone fully trained in philosophy”…common sense can be an appeal to popularity. Anyways, mathematicians really don’t have special knowledge unavailable to the masses as the masses can also learn it themselves. What they have is years of study that even you or I could put in if we wanted to. As I’ve said before, axioms are assumptions since they rise out of human observation which is limited. You haven’t said anything about human observation being limited yet purport that axioms are absolute truth.

Common sense also varies widely and it’s not as common as you might think. All ideas of the universe are equally valid as there is no idea in particular that is correct while the others are wrong. If we talk about ideas in the context of utility, then that changes things. This is no different than a group of people belonging to a religion who believe that only their religion is the correct one.

All ideas of the universe are equally valid as there is no idea in particular that is correct while the others are wrong?

John 14:6a, "Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

John 8:31=32, " Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Notice that "truth" is singular!

 

[Romanov2488]

All ideas of the universe are equally valid as there is no idea in particular that is correct while the others are wrong?

John 14:6a, "Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life."

John 8:31=32, " Then Jesus said to those Judeans who had believed him, “If you continue to follow my teaching, you are really my disciples and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Notice that "truth" is singular!

John 14:6 is a favorite among fundamentalists and is used to justify that only Jesus is the way. Jesus also spoke in parables, he could have meant something else by that phrase. The fundamentalists think they are being literal when in fact they could just be imposing their own interpretation of what was said. There is nothing to suggest that they are not the ones taking it out of context. The Quran does this as well in 3:19 where exclusivity is claimed in much the same way as John 14:6 does. "Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them. But as for him who denies the truth of God's messages-behold, God is swift in reckoning."

Another verse from the Quran 22:62 which claims exclusivity:
"That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Grand."

Exclusivity is also claimed within Christianity by different churches. For example the two largest Christian branches, the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church both claim to be the "one true church" and that "outside the true Church, there is no salvation." All of this is no different than the cliques in a high school cafeteria where each one considers itself to be the only proper one among the others.

To me personally, all religions are cults and they all started out as such back when the norm was different. They were all counter-cultural at one point, just like your typical cult. Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism, it was completely counter cultural to the Roman Empire at the time when paganism was the norm, up until Constantin finally made Christianity the main religion of Rome.

There is a lot of talk in the U.S. among Christians saying that they are being persecuted. They are not being persecuted, they are being held accountable for not following Jesus' teachings in the sense of being politically conservative. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jesus is not compatible with the GOP. GOP would pull its lip over its own head if Jesus could be president. It's like being extremely liberal while also being anti-globalist.

 

[Wrangler]

Have you ever considered that women are more spiritual than men BECAUSE they are more emotionally connected?

Even though the majority of innovations and good business came from Christian nations, it does not mean that Christianity is a direct cause. Correlation≠causation. The U.S. for example is not even a Christian nation

It is causation, not correlation, that Christianity and the height of human achievement go together. And you are very, very wrong in saying the US is not a Christian nation.

America is a Christian nation discovered by Christians, founded by Christians - on Christian principles - and led by Christians. The chaplain of the United States House of Representatives, established during the Washington Administration, is responsible for beginning each day's proceedings with a prayer. Every Chaplain has been a Christian. Every President has been a Christian. America is a Christian nation that decided to form a secular government rather than a theocracy because of the experience of conflict among the Colonies in establishing religions.

Guess which religion every single State who established a religion as a Colony was established in America? Christian. Although rapidly declining, as prophesied in Revelation, 63% of Americans today identify as Christian. So, it begs the question, on what basis could one possibly claim America is not a Christian nation? Especially of interest is what claim supersedes all these facts in America was, is and always will be a Christian nation?

 

[Skovand1075]

The liberals ask me how the hell are you conservative and don’t believe in god? The conservatives ask me, how the hell do you not believe in God, but aren’t liberal? I get into it with the Christians, the atheists, the liberals, and the conservatives. People say ohhh don’t let labels affect you. Those labels mean a lot. If you are Christian in the fundamental, that massively affects your political stance. And if you are not a Christian, then your political stance on issues will be seen as very unChristian by the typical Christians.

I consider myself spiritual, but not religious. I was raised Christian Orthodox but I never cared to take it seriously.

It’s just funny because I have a lot of Christian values but I never liked the idea of not being my own ultimate authority which I guess allows me to hold many unChristian values at the exact same time. It’s tough. I consider the other alternative of someone like myself to be a liberal Christian…that too is another conundrum.

Can anyone offer any insight into this?

There is no particular advice to take other than to learn why you believe what you believe from a humanistic position. I’m on the opposite end.

I’m a democrat who is very liberal and also a
Strong believer in Yahweh. I know why I believe what I believe and how to defend it. How do you defend your conservatism from a non fundamentalistic religious position?

 

[Skovand1075]

You mention needing or wanting evidence for Yahweh. There is not really that much evidence. There is essentially no evidence for the supernatural. There is also no evidence that if there is a god the god is Yahweh. I’m to tired to dig deeply into it but as a far left winged Christian who accepts general scientific consensus. Such as I accept evolution and so on.

One thing to be aware of that Christianity does not just belong to conservatives, or those who reject science and so on. Many people from all over are Christians.

you mentioned the burden of proof. Science can’t do that. Science can’t detect the supernatural. History can’t prove the supernatural and no matter what the argument is, statistically a natural answer will be more likely than a supernatural one but we also have to consider things such as how many unlikely coincidences can there be.

for me my faith finds peace in these spots.

1. we see faith healing many people.
2. we see genes that support religious beliefs. Some science indicates that religious beliefs are very similar to feelings in how they evolved. It encourages unity far more than break it.
3. We have a major gap what started everything.

Ultimately it comes down to faith though. Nothing can make faith. It’s either there or not in my experience. Someone either feels the pulling of the Holy Spirit and are open to it or they are not.

 

[Jim B]

John 14:6 is a favorite among fundamentalists and is used to justify that only Jesus is the way. Jesus also spoke in parables, he could have meant something else by that phrase. The fundamentalists think they are being literal when in fact they could just be imposing their own interpretation of what was said. There is nothing to suggest that they are not the ones taking it out of context. The Quran does this as well in 3:19 where exclusivity is claimed in much the same way as John 14:6 does. "Behold, the only [true] religion in the sight of God is [man's] self-surrender unto Him; and those who were vouchsafed revelation aforetime took, out of mutual jealousy, to divergent views [on this point] only after knowledge [thereof] had come unto them. But as for him who denies the truth of God's messages-behold, God is swift in reckoning."

Another verse from the Quran 22:62 which claims exclusivity:
"That is because Allah is the Truth, and that which they call upon other than Him is falsehood, and because Allah is the Most High, the Grand."

Exclusivity is also claimed within Christianity by different churches. For example the two largest Christian branches, the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church both claim to be the "one true church" and that "outside the true Church, there is no salvation." All of this is no different than the cliques in a high school cafeteria where each one considers itself to be the only proper one among the others.

To me personally, all religions are cults and they all started out as such back when the norm was different. They were all counter-cultural at one point, just like your typical cult. Christianity was an offshoot of Judaism, it was completely counter cultural to the Roman Empire at the time when paganism was the norm, up until Constantin finally made Christianity the main religion of Rome.

There is a lot of talk in the U.S. among Christians saying that they are being persecuted. They are not being persecuted, they are being held accountable for not following Jesus' teachings in the sense of being politically conservative. I've said it before and I'll say it again, Jesus is not compatible with the GOP. GOP would pull its lip over its own head if Jesus could be president. It's like being extremely liberal while also being anti-globalist.

Here is the problem: you wrote "To me personally, all religions are cults.."

That is simply your personal belief, but there is no objective evidence for it.

 

[Romanov2488]

You mention needing or wanting evidence for Yahweh. There is not really that much evidence. There is essentially no evidence for the supernatural. There is also no evidence that if there is a god the god is Yahweh. I’m to tired to dig deeply into it but as a far left winged Christian who accepts general scientific consensus. Such as I accept evolution and so on.

One thing to be aware of that Christianity does not just belong to conservatives, or those who reject science and so on. Many people from all over are Christians.

you mentioned the burden of proof. Science can’t do that. Science can’t detect the supernatural. History can’t prove the supernatural and no matter what the argument is, statistically a natural answer will be more likely than a supernatural one but we also have to consider things such as how many unlikely coincidences can there be.

for me my faith finds peace in these spots.

1. we see faith healing many people.
2. we see genes that support religious beliefs. Some science indicates that religious beliefs are very similar to feelings in how they evolved. It encourages unity far more than break it.
3. We have a major gap what started everything.

Ultimately it comes down to faith though. Nothing can make faith. It’s either there or not in my experience. Someone either feels the pulling of the Holy Spirit and are open to it or they are not.

I know science can’t detect the supernatural. But yet many people act as if the supernatural is there no matter what, so the burden of proof is on them. The whole point is to get them to admit that their entire premise is faith based because a great deal of them talk about how ‘there’s so much evidence of the supernatural.’ If there is so much overwhelming evidence, then let’s take a look at that evidence. Eventually none of the ‘evidence’ stands scrutiny so they have been falsely claiming there is evidence all along.

Even though Christianity doesn’t belong to conservatives, it’s statistically more prevalent among conservatives. The evangelicals for example vote republican for the most part.

U.S. religious groups and their political leanings

I generally agree with all 3 of your points and somewhat with the 2nd concerning unity. Religions unite people just as much as they divide. Christians for the most part are united around a central figure: Jesus. The Muslims too except around Muhammed. Now put them both in the same room and see what happens. And with faith healing people, I wouldn’t bash someone who has cancer who feels better because they believe. However, they could also be healing due to their belief decreasing their hormonal stress and there’s many other ways to decrease stress other than belief in a deity. I can choose to believe in a flying unicorn giving me peace until I heal, but that does not mean the flying unicorn is real.

 

[Romanov2488]

Here is the problem: you wrote "To me personally, all religions are cults.."

That is simply your personal belief, but there is no objective evidence for it.

That’s why I said to me personally. There’s way too many similarities between a religion and a cult to overlook.

 

[Windmillcharge]

I’m not saying Christianity is a lie. You are asking me to be an anti-theist here, which I am not. I cannot prove that Christianity is a lie or any religion for that matter. But, claims of there being a creator are also just as unsubstantiated as someone claiming there is absolutely no god. This is why all of this is simply called ‘religion’.

Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.

Sorry for the long delay in coming back.

There is evidence for a creater, I've already shown you it. There is evidence that the bible is special and there is historical evidence that Jesus is unique.

It is reasonable to believe in God, but it is not reasonable to not believe in God, unless one can provide a reasonable explanation for the universe.

 

[Skovand1075]

I know science can’t detect the supernatural. But yet many people act as if the supernatural is there no matter what, so the burden of proof is on them. The whole point is to get them to admit that their entire premise is faith based because a great deal of them talk about how ‘there’s so much evidence of the supernatural.’ If there is so much overwhelming evidence, then let’s take a look at that evidence. Eventually none of the ‘evidence’ stands scrutiny so they have been falsely claiming there is evidence all along.

Even though Christianity doesn’t belong to conservatives, it’s statistically more prevalent among conservatives. The evangelicals for example vote republican for the most part.

U.S. religious groups and their political leanings

I generally agree with all 3 of your points and somewhat with the 2nd concerning unity. Religions unite people just as much as they divide. Christians for the most part are united around a central figure: Jesus. The Muslims too except around Muhammed. Now put them both in the same room and see what happens. And with faith healing people, I wouldn’t bash someone who has cancer who feels better because they believe. However, they could also be healing due to their belief decreasing their hormonal stress and there’s many other ways to decrease stress other than belief in a deity. I can choose to believe in a flying unicorn giving me peace until I heal, but that does not mean the flying unicorn is real.

Just remember it’s mostly just in USA among Protestants that’s most Christian’s are alt right. The conservative Christian movement is driving many away from faith towards atheism. The majority of atheists right now were conservative Christian’s at one point and moved away from it all. Liberal Christian’s are fighting hard to correct that. Outside of USA liberal Christian’s make up a giant portion. Even in America the liberal Christians are growing. A large portion of liberal agnostics that were conservative Christians that left the faith during college years come back later on as liberal christians also.