Yet another favorite argument against religion in general and Christianity in particular.
There are some very dedicated people that spend months or years diving into every nitty gritty detail of theology. They debate the original translation and context of ancient Greek or Hebrew. They engage in discussions about the authorship of the old religious texts. Very often, disagreements come up over the most trivial of details.
Even among these experienced and well-educated scholars, there is disagreement about one point or another in the Old Testament or the New Testament. There are fewer points they all agree on, than they disagree on.
This is the argument, then: if these men that are more knowledgeable than anyone else on the topic of scripture cannot agree on the most crucial points, what possible chance does a layperson have, to reach a rational decision about the truth of these words?
Let's imagine that you were born into a small town in Wyoming, year of 1880. You only make it to eighth grade before leaving school to work full time on the family farm. You have no understanding of Greek or Hebrew, and very few resources with which to gain a deeper understanding of the differences between Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, etc.
In this scenario, your parents are devout Lutherans and you are brought up to believe the same faith that they have. How would you be qualified to question the teachings of the Lutheran minister?
We could apply the same logic to children born all across time and geography. They are raised in the faith of their parents, and the vast majority do not have the intellect nor the resources to challenge the instruction they are given from a very early age.
This is the second part of the argument: Imagine you are a god, able to see every human across the entire world. You know their thoughts and emotions. You know which are sincere and which are harboring doubts.
You are aware of what these people face after death. If the consequences of a lack of proper belief are indeed dire, all that must be done is to convey the message accurately and clearly.
If the message is so crucial, so vital that every human MUST hear it, why must this message be passed down with clumsy translations between ancient tongues? Why must this message rely upon humans spending decades studying and debating and learning? Why not just tell them directly?
There are a few possibilities. First, this god does not care that humans get the message. Second, this god does not WANT all humans to get the message. Third, this god does not exist at all.
Which is it?
Even among these experienced and well-educated scholars, there is disagreement about one point or another in the Old Testament or the New Testament. There are fewer points they all agree on, than they disagree on.
This is the argument, then: if these men that are more knowledgeable than anyone else on the topic of scripture cannot agree on the most crucial points, what possible chance does a layperson have, to reach a rational decision about the truth of these words?
Let's imagine that you were born into a small town in Wyoming, year of 1880. You only make it to eighth grade before leaving school to work full time on the family farm. You have no understanding of Greek or Hebrew, and very few resources with which to gain a deeper understanding of the differences between Catholics, Baptists, Lutherans, etc.
In this scenario, your parents are devout Lutherans and you are brought up to believe the same faith that they have. How would you be qualified to question the teachings of the Lutheran minister?
We could apply the same logic to children born all across time and geography. They are raised in the faith of their parents, and the vast majority do not have the intellect nor the resources to challenge the instruction they are given from a very early age.
This is the second part of the argument: Imagine you are a god, able to see every human across the entire world. You know their thoughts and emotions. You know which are sincere and which are harboring doubts.
You are aware of what these people face after death. If the consequences of a lack of proper belief are indeed dire, all that must be done is to convey the message accurately and clearly.
If the message is so crucial, so vital that every human MUST hear it, why must this message be passed down with clumsy translations between ancient tongues? Why must this message rely upon humans spending decades studying and debating and learning? Why not just tell them directly?
There are a few possibilities. First, this god does not care that humans get the message. Second, this god does not WANT all humans to get the message. Third, this god does not exist at all.
Which is it?
Hello to whoever is manning this website. I realize that you have some pretty strong opinions about Pentecostalism and religion. i’m happy that you were able to express them in the way you see fit. Sadly, it seems that you have taken over a website from a previous local church of a Pentecostal denomination. I’m curious, why are you feel the necessity to slander and try to break down other peoples belief. It seems to me that you have your space you don’t need to try and take over others. But you’re free to do as you wish. Just wanted to voice my concerns with your actions. If all of this is false, what does it matter anyway, but your passion proves otherwise.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid you are mistaken, I don't have the knowledge or ability to "take over" anybodys website. It's possible someone else has done something malicious without my knowledge, but I can only speculate about that. Good luck with your endeavors.
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