Arrogance and Religion

[Just_me_Mike]

So you don't believe in the big three, or her sisters and brothers. You have found a smaller less known belief that suits your fancy.
Or, perhaps better yet you have created your own, completely out of the thin air aided by your past experiences.

All should demand respect, so long as they respect others, but where is the arrogance in all of this?

If I say I denounce the Jewish religion, and cite and handful of reasons, yet don't stop there and explain I have come up with my own beliefs, do you not realize it is just as faulty and arrogant as those sticking with one of the big three?

Something strangely odd in the manner, interaction, and over all demeanor of any and all religions. Something I can't quite put my finger own, but it smells SO MUCH of arrogance. Maybe I'm wrong

 

[xkatz]

People are arrogant about religion because they think their own beliefs are better or more "authentic" than other beliefs.

 

[Caladan]

Im trying to read what you are saying Mike, but I cant follow your line of reason, do you think you can phrase and articulate this post again, so that perhaps I can respond?

 

[LuisDantas]

It is not arrogance to seek answers. Humility does not imply uncertainty.

The trick is in knowing that self-assurance does not make one master of truth.

 

[Boethiah]

There is a difference between knowing what path is right for oneself and knowing what path is right.

 

[Eliot Wild]

I know many Christians, friends and family even, who display a certain religious arrogance, at least it could be interpreted as such.

However, having known them all my life, I realize, or at least suspect, that they have merely misinterpreted the concept of "Faith". They believe that if they don't display a certain amount of confidence and self-assurance in their dogmatic beliefs, then their faith is lacking.

Seriously. They actually have mistaken religious arrogance, and even dogmatic rudeness, for Faith. They believe their faith demands that their religion is more true than others. They believe their faith demands that their convictions are more aligned with God's Will. They believe their faith demands that they force-feed their beliefs to others, because obviously anyone who worships a different God or who worships in a different manner is lost, and their faith says it is better to arrogantly give testimony to these "lost" souls rather than politely allowing people ample space to walk within their own particular faith.

Personally, I also find it to be the pinnacle of religious arrogance when people quote the Bible or other religious texts to me as validation of their beliefs. This is based on an arrogant assumption that I will accept their holy book as truth with the same sort blind faith that they do. As I said, to me this is the acme of arrogance.

 

[Noaidi]

There is a difference between knowing what path is right for oneself and knowing what path is right.

Can I ask what you mean by that?

 

[Boethiah]

Can I ask what you mean by that?

One can believe that their own religion is right for them. Like, I believe the Baha'i Faith is right for me because it fits me. But, I do not think that the Baha'i Faith is necessarily the only right way, or the only way at all. It is not the universal "correct" path. I cannot claim it is, because claiming this would require objective proof that it is the most correct religion in comparison to others. That would require some sort of measure or scale to determine which religion was "correct". It is impossible to prove that a religion is more correct than another religion, because religions rarely have physical evidence of their claims. So, one can believe that a path is right for them individually, but when they start claiming it is the most correct path universally, it becomes arrogant.

 

[Noaidi]

Boethiah.

Thanks. I agree with your reply.

 

[Kathryn]

I know many Christians, friends and family even, who display a certain religious arrogance, at least it could be interpreted as such.

However, having known them all my life, I realize, or at least suspect, that they have merely misinterpreted the concept of "Faith". They believe that if they don't display a certain amount of confidence and self-assurance in their dogmatic beliefs, then their faith is lacking.

Seriously. They actually have mistaken religious arrogance, and even dogmatic rudeness, for Faith. They believe their faith demands that their religion is more true than others. They believe their faith demands that their convictions are more aligned with God's Will. They believe their faith demands that they force-feed their beliefs to others, because obviously anyone who worships a different God or who worships in a different manner is lost, and their faith says it is better to arrogantly give testimony to these "lost" souls rather than politely allowing people ample space to walk within their own particular faith.

Personally, I also find it to be the pinnacle of religious arrogance when people quote the Bible or other religious texts to me as validation of their beliefs. This is based on an arrogant assumption that I will accept their holy book as truth with the same sort blind faith that they do. As I said, to me this is the acme of arrogance.

I know many atheists, friends and family even, who display a certain anti-religious arrogance, at least it could be interpreted as such.

However, having known them all my life, I realize, or at least suspect, that they have merely misinterpreted my concept of "Faith" and they don't recognize their own biases. They believe that if they don't display a certain amount of confidence and self-assurance in their dogmatic beliefs, then their "objective reasoning" is lacking.

Seriously. They actually have mistaken anti-religious arrogance, and even dogmatic rudeness, for sincerity. They believe their "intellectualism" demands that their beliefs are more true than others. They believe their
"intellectualism" implies that their convictions are more aligned with humanism. They believe their particular brand of secular humanism demands that they force-feed their beliefs to others, because obviously anyone who worships a God or who worships in any manner is less intelligent than they are, and their secular beliefs say it is better to arrogantly give testimony to these intellectually inferior unfortunates, rather than politely allowing people ample space to walk within their own particular faith.

Personally, I also find it to be the pinnacle of arrogance when people quote the Bible or other religious texts to me as validation of their lack of belief. This is based on an arrogant assumption that I will accept their intellectual ponderings and musings as truth with the same sort biased disbelief that they do. As I said, to me this is the acme of arrogance.

 

[Rainbow Mage]

Taken from kemet.org- "Kemetic Orthodoxy is not one of those religions that claims to be the only true way, so if that's what you're looking for, you may wish to look somewhere else."

Peace

 

[Eliot Wild]

I know many atheists, friends and family even, who display a certain anti-religious arrogance, at least it could be interpreted as such.

However, having known them all my life, I realize, or at least suspect, that they have merely misinterpreted my concept of "Faith" and they don't recognize their own biases. They believe that if they don't display a certain amount of confidence and self-assurance in their dogmatic beliefs, then their "objective reasoning" is lacking.

Seriously. They actually have mistaken anti-religious arrogance, and even dogmatic rudeness, for sincerity. They believe their "intellectualism" demands that their beliefs are more true than others. They believe their
"intellectualism" implies that their convictions are more aligned with humanism. They believe their particular brand of secular humanism demands that they force-feed their beliefs to others, because obviously anyone who worships a God or who worships in any manner is less intelligent than they are, and their secular beliefs say it is better to arrogantly give testimony to these intellectually inferior unfortunates, rather than politely allowing people ample space to walk within their own particular faith.

Personally, I also find it to be the pinnacle of arrogance when people quote the Bible or other religious texts to me as validation of their lack of belief. This is based on an arrogant assumption that I will accept their intellectual ponderings and musings as truth with the same sort biased disbelief that they do. As I said, to me this is the acme of arrogance.

Forgive my denseness, but I don't understand the point of you parroting my remarks. I would most certainly agree there are atheists that conduct themselves in the manner you describe.

But why did you feel the need to parody my comments? Was this intended to mock me or my thoughts?

Perhaps I misinterpreted the OP, but I thought we were dealing specifically with religions, not atheistic beliefs. I spoke specifically of Christianity because that is what I am most familiar with.

 

[Eliot Wild]

Personally, I also find it to be the pinnacle of arrogance when people quote the Bible or other religious texts to me as validation of their lack of belief. This is based on an arrogant assumption that I will accept their intellectual ponderings and musings as truth with the same sort biased disbelief that they do. As I said, to me this is the acme of arrogance.

I don't think this applies in reverse, as you have attempted to do. Certain inconsistencies and blatant errors in fact would tend to indicate the Bible is imperfect, thereby providing conclusive proof that it is not the infallible word of God. That is a valid basis for skepticism, for "disbelief".

However, I don't see how the reverse of that could be true. Simply stating something that is true doesn't provide conclusive proof that it came from God. The Bible could possibly be full of truth, which I believe some of it to be, but that still wouldn't necessarily mean it must come from God. Most eighth-grade mathmatical textbooks are full of truth, that doesn't make them the holy word of God.

I will agree that you shouldn't accept something as truth just because someone, atheist or not, asserts it to be so. There needs to be verifiable or logically conclusive proof to qualify TRUTH. So, you are right to reject that which doesn't meet such standards. However, no offense intended, I also don't think you should hastily rush to insert your notion of truth within a framework someone else created without verifying whether it works in both applications.

 

[Kathryn]

Let me refresh your memory on the OP. Here's the closing line to it:

Something strangely odd in the manner, interaction, and over all demeanor of any and all religions. Something I can't quite put my finger own, but it smells SO MUCH of arrogance. Maybe I'm wrong

My point is that RELIGION and RELIGIOUS PEOPLE are no more or less arrogant than their atheist counterparts. I would call it more of a HUMAN trait than a RELIGIOUS trait - this tendency to be condescending of belief systems that one doesn't share.

 

[Walkntune]

Let me refresh your memory on the OP. Here's the closing line to it:



My point is that RELIGION and RELIGIOUS PEOPLE are no more or less arrogant than their atheist counterparts. I would call it more of a HUMAN trait than a RELIGIOUS trait - this tendency to be condescending of belief systems that one doesn't share.

Maybe we should do a count of the posts mocking God and religious beliefs on RF and those mocking atheism so we can come to some kind of truth on this arrogance matter.

 

[Kathryn]

Maybe we should do a count of the posts mocking God and religious beliefs on RF and those mocking atheism so we can come to some kind of truth on this arrogance matter.

Sheeze, you're not kidding!

 

[dogsgod]

There's a difference. Religion is set up to be mocked. That's the point of religion, to come up with the wackiest of beliefs just to see who goes for them. Next thing you know some poor unsuspecting atheist comes along and hears the latest and can't help but p*** him/herself laughing and then is called arrogant for laughing. Atheists can't win.

 

[Kathryn]

I rest my case.

 

[dogsgod]

You just wanna be that way because you can't burn us at the stake anymore. We can laugh now, but there was time when atheists had to snicker under their breath so as not to be heard, or go behind a closed door before rolling on the floor laughing.

 

[Kathryn]

Oh come on. It wasn't too long ago that Christians in Russia and China were being put to death for practicing their faith.

In fact, you STILL can't openly practice Christianity in China.

Don't worry - you're in no danger of being burned at the stake. But if you try to bring a bible into China, you may end up in a very nasty jail.