A "true believer" in God and Religion may be, by far, the most skeptical person on the planet. This may sound ironic, even paradoxical, but there is probably no one who is more skeptical of everything there is to be skeptical of, than a "true believer." Not all "believers" suffer from this near fatal sense of absolute skepticism, but the ones that do, will almost never "believe" anything other than the beliefs they have deeply, emotionally, and psychologically, come to depend on for their sense of purpose and identity.
For these true believers, no mountain of scientific data could ever change their mind about climate issues, for example. No ocean of studies and research could ever sway their opinion about racism; no amount of murder, rape, and genocide could ever shake their faith in the righteousness of their chosen religion; and no universe full of torture, death, and evil, could ever diminish their absolute "belief" in the unequivocal benevolence of their God.
If Christ himself were to show up tomorrow, and pronounce to every "believer" on the planet, that they had simply gotten his message all wrong, they would not for a single second consider that he might be speaking the "truth." Indeed, that anyone could ever suggest such a thing - especially when so many countless millions have invested and even sacrificed their whole lives into "believing" they were right about their "one true faith!" - would only prove beyond a doubt, that such a person was nothing more than a blasphemer and a heretic. That that is exactly the same conclusion the Sanhedrin came to, for which they then crucified the very Christ who dared to suggest any such thing, is always overlooked by the most devote of Christians. And the more devote they are, the more like the Sanhedrin they insist they are not - how ironic.
In this sense, the Christian's humility is but a mustard seed that is completely incapable of moving the mountain of their unwavering conviction they are right. And the more anyone suggests they do not have a god-like knowledge of both "god" and "universal truth," the more they feel they are under attack. And the more they feel they are under attack for their "beliefs," the more convinced they are that God wants them to smite all those who oppose God's moral laws (which just happen to coincide exactly with their own views about how the world should be). As someone once wrote, you know your god is man made when he hates all of the same things that you do.
What is really ironic about this almost absolute unwillingness to consider that they could be wrong about their "beliefs" in god and his (i.e. their own special subjective brand of) universal "truth," for which there is not a single atom of actual physical evidence for the existence of either one (they rely instead purely on divine revelation, emotion, tradition, the Bible, a little bit of reason, and most of all "faith") is that they will often reject any amount of evidence, no matter how much, that challenges their beliefs - about virtually anything else - as lies, propaganda, emotional manipulation, brainwashing, "Kool-Aid," and so on.
Just to clarify - If Christians submerse their own children in a virtual vacuum of Catholic thinking and teaching for most of their childhood, where the child's mind is almost totally insulated from any serious external challenge to the "faith" posed by atheists or Muslims or even science on the one hand, and is equally insulated from any internal challenge from their own curiosity (by deeming certain questions or ideas heretical or blasphemous to even think on the other, the latter is never considered by the Christian to be "brainwashing," because the child being indoctrinated into the Christian "faith" (i.e. belief system) is simply being taught "the truth" of God and His universal moral truths - which can only ever help the child be a better person (and never an A-hole who acts like they know as much about "right and wrong" as God himself). Of course, when the Muslim, Atheist, Nazi, Liberal Democrat, or Jones Town disciple, all seek to do the exact same thing, the Christian is the first to jump to their feet and denounce such attempts as dangerous "brainwashing."
Blasphemy laws, of course, have only ever been about force feeding people this bullshit, while executing anyone who says, "hey man! Ya know, everything you're saying, and the fact that you seem to think you have some 'divine authority' to tyrannically dictate to people how they should live their lives, and what they need to 'believe' so they and their kids don't end up roasting for eternity in hell - while telling us to give you 10% of our income 'for the poor' - sounds like pure charlatan style bullshit!"
Take the climate crisis. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of scientists and climatologists (97% in fact) have pointed out the problems are indeed man made, and only getting worse faster than predicted, for the "true believer," its all just a liberal hoax, designed to give the New World Order power over everyone on the planet (ya know, like God?). Even the death threats that some such climate scientists like Dr. Michael E. Mann received for publishing his research showing The Hockey Stick effect (because the graph looked like a hockey stick) is faked, as far as they are concerned.
All of the evidence in the world offered by scientists to support such conclusions is simply dismissed by the "believer" as bogus, who simply replies to all of this -"I do not "believe" it." Indeed, show such doubting Thomas's "the holes" in the ozone layer, and they STILL will not believe it! (Why such skeptics are not equally as skeptical of those who continue to make billions of dollars every year by denying that climate change is real and humans are contributing to it, is a mystery even God can't figure out.)
NOTE: Since the political system itself IS in fact a cesspool of money and leverage, the skeptics of Climate change are right to be skeptical of those who offer to fix the mess they alone contributed to causing. But there is all the difference in the world between being a healthy skeptic of those offering solutions (indeed, even religion is selling the world 'salvation") and whether or not there is actually a problem that our over consumption and over privatization of everything, is causing, and thus needs to be addressed.
That so many of these same "believers" subscribe to a religion that centuries ago tortured and murdered people, and in some places in the world today even continues to persecute and punish people, who say the exact same thing about God or their religion, is beyond belief! In fact, atheists today are not even allowed to speak in the U.S. congress! That such hypocrisy is the very sin their savior Jesus Christ was crucified to forgive, is something they simply chose to ignore. No wonder he said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Apparently, their absolute certainty comes from their belief that God has revealed to them "absolute truth," which they have understood with infallible precision (thanks to a perfect lens of perception provided to them by the Holy Spirit). That "absolute truth" is something they are equally convinced they must defend with their lives, for it is their sacred duty and sole purpose of existing in the first place. Martyrdom, as they call it, whether for their political or religious convictions, is seen as the greatest honor they can give to their God or their country.
No, these ideas are not limited to ISIS or Islamic extremism. Nor are they part of some horrific sci-fi movie like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Zombie Apocalypse. These ideas are held by people who stockpile weapons while worshiping their Prince of Peace. They simply prefer to cherry pick their interpretations of the Bible, from those where Jesus talks about bringing war, not love. As it says in Matt 10:34, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (And they blame Islam of being a religion of violence and jihad - oy vey!)
Yet this is the power of a belief, that it leads a person to accept as gods honest-truth, the idea that their particular brand of God is real, and all other brands are fake, despite there being not a single shred of physical evidence to support such a belief, while at the same time rejecting all of the physical evidence in the world as "fake" and "a hoax" because they simply chose not to believe it. It's enough to make even an atheist say, God help us all!
The only problem is that this kind of skepticism is far, far greater than God.
For these true believers, no mountain of scientific data could ever change their mind about climate issues, for example. No ocean of studies and research could ever sway their opinion about racism; no amount of murder, rape, and genocide could ever shake their faith in the righteousness of their chosen religion; and no universe full of torture, death, and evil, could ever diminish their absolute "belief" in the unequivocal benevolence of their God.
If Christ himself were to show up tomorrow, and pronounce to every "believer" on the planet, that they had simply gotten his message all wrong, they would not for a single second consider that he might be speaking the "truth." Indeed, that anyone could ever suggest such a thing - especially when so many countless millions have invested and even sacrificed their whole lives into "believing" they were right about their "one true faith!" - would only prove beyond a doubt, that such a person was nothing more than a blasphemer and a heretic. That that is exactly the same conclusion the Sanhedrin came to, for which they then crucified the very Christ who dared to suggest any such thing, is always overlooked by the most devote of Christians. And the more devote they are, the more like the Sanhedrin they insist they are not - how ironic.
In this sense, the Christian's humility is but a mustard seed that is completely incapable of moving the mountain of their unwavering conviction they are right. And the more anyone suggests they do not have a god-like knowledge of both "god" and "universal truth," the more they feel they are under attack. And the more they feel they are under attack for their "beliefs," the more convinced they are that God wants them to smite all those who oppose God's moral laws (which just happen to coincide exactly with their own views about how the world should be). As someone once wrote, you know your god is man made when he hates all of the same things that you do.
What is really ironic about this almost absolute unwillingness to consider that they could be wrong about their "beliefs" in god and his (i.e. their own special subjective brand of) universal "truth," for which there is not a single atom of actual physical evidence for the existence of either one (they rely instead purely on divine revelation, emotion, tradition, the Bible, a little bit of reason, and most of all "faith") is that they will often reject any amount of evidence, no matter how much, that challenges their beliefs - about virtually anything else - as lies, propaganda, emotional manipulation, brainwashing, "Kool-Aid," and so on.
Just to clarify - If Christians submerse their own children in a virtual vacuum of Catholic thinking and teaching for most of their childhood, where the child's mind is almost totally insulated from any serious external challenge to the "faith" posed by atheists or Muslims or even science on the one hand, and is equally insulated from any internal challenge from their own curiosity (by deeming certain questions or ideas heretical or blasphemous to even think on the other, the latter is never considered by the Christian to be "brainwashing," because the child being indoctrinated into the Christian "faith" (i.e. belief system) is simply being taught "the truth" of God and His universal moral truths - which can only ever help the child be a better person (and never an A-hole who acts like they know as much about "right and wrong" as God himself). Of course, when the Muslim, Atheist, Nazi, Liberal Democrat, or Jones Town disciple, all seek to do the exact same thing, the Christian is the first to jump to their feet and denounce such attempts as dangerous "brainwashing."
Blasphemy laws, of course, have only ever been about force feeding people this bullshit, while executing anyone who says, "hey man! Ya know, everything you're saying, and the fact that you seem to think you have some 'divine authority' to tyrannically dictate to people how they should live their lives, and what they need to 'believe' so they and their kids don't end up roasting for eternity in hell - while telling us to give you 10% of our income 'for the poor' - sounds like pure charlatan style bullshit!"
Take the climate crisis. It doesn't matter that the vast majority of scientists and climatologists (97% in fact) have pointed out the problems are indeed man made, and only getting worse faster than predicted, for the "true believer," its all just a liberal hoax, designed to give the New World Order power over everyone on the planet (ya know, like God?). Even the death threats that some such climate scientists like Dr. Michael E. Mann received for publishing his research showing The Hockey Stick effect (because the graph looked like a hockey stick) is faked, as far as they are concerned.
All of the evidence in the world offered by scientists to support such conclusions is simply dismissed by the "believer" as bogus, who simply replies to all of this -"I do not "believe" it." Indeed, show such doubting Thomas's "the holes" in the ozone layer, and they STILL will not believe it! (Why such skeptics are not equally as skeptical of those who continue to make billions of dollars every year by denying that climate change is real and humans are contributing to it, is a mystery even God can't figure out.)
NOTE: Since the political system itself IS in fact a cesspool of money and leverage, the skeptics of Climate change are right to be skeptical of those who offer to fix the mess they alone contributed to causing. But there is all the difference in the world between being a healthy skeptic of those offering solutions (indeed, even religion is selling the world 'salvation") and whether or not there is actually a problem that our over consumption and over privatization of everything, is causing, and thus needs to be addressed.
That so many of these same "believers" subscribe to a religion that centuries ago tortured and murdered people, and in some places in the world today even continues to persecute and punish people, who say the exact same thing about God or their religion, is beyond belief! In fact, atheists today are not even allowed to speak in the U.S. congress! That such hypocrisy is the very sin their savior Jesus Christ was crucified to forgive, is something they simply chose to ignore. No wonder he said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Apparently, their absolute certainty comes from their belief that God has revealed to them "absolute truth," which they have understood with infallible precision (thanks to a perfect lens of perception provided to them by the Holy Spirit). That "absolute truth" is something they are equally convinced they must defend with their lives, for it is their sacred duty and sole purpose of existing in the first place. Martyrdom, as they call it, whether for their political or religious convictions, is seen as the greatest honor they can give to their God or their country.
No, these ideas are not limited to ISIS or Islamic extremism. Nor are they part of some horrific sci-fi movie like Invasion of the Body Snatchers or The Zombie Apocalypse. These ideas are held by people who stockpile weapons while worshiping their Prince of Peace. They simply prefer to cherry pick their interpretations of the Bible, from those where Jesus talks about bringing war, not love. As it says in Matt 10:34, "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword." (And they blame Islam of being a religion of violence and jihad - oy vey!)
Yet this is the power of a belief, that it leads a person to accept as gods honest-truth, the idea that their particular brand of God is real, and all other brands are fake, despite there being not a single shred of physical evidence to support such a belief, while at the same time rejecting all of the physical evidence in the world as "fake" and "a hoax" because they simply chose not to believe it. It's enough to make even an atheist say, God help us all!
The only problem is that this kind of skepticism is far, far greater than God.
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