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If christianity was strictly followed
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sandandfoam
Veteran Member
My position isn't all that different to those who believed the sun went around the earth in that I have never read Copernicus, so I only believe the earth goes around the sun because everyone else does and I have never had cause to question it.
But its relgious leaders did try to stop the spread of the knowlege that the earth travelled around the sun. Copernicus's book was banned and Gallileo was accused of heresy by the church for making these claims.
Your postition is very different in that your knowlegde that the earth travels around the sun is based on evidence collected first hand by mankind. Not conjecture or medievil fairy tales.
sandandfoam
Veteran Member
That's your view of my position. I think belief=belief. I don't know that my belief isn't based on conjecture. I think my belief in science is a lot more unquestioning that my belief in religion. But to answer your question I don't think any religion can stop people investigating the nature of reality and I don't think that religion and science are incompatible. Both need to evolve with new discoveries. This -"If christianity had been strictly adhered to since conception would we still believe the sun went around the earth?" -would never have been possible to impose.
I agree 100%, however my question was a completely hypothetical if. If christianity had been allowed to govern what we knew of the universe we would not of found out the truth about our solar system.
Have a "what if" machine do ya?
wouldnt that be really cool, if you really had a what if machine. Just imagine what you could do with it..
Storm
ThrUU the Looking Glass
The belief that the sun went around the earth was based on evidence collected first hand, not fairy tales. They saw the sun rise on one side of the earth, move across the sky, and set on the other side each day. It was obvious.
Jesus never had any teachings about the the sun in regards to the earth. You're mistaking Jesus' teachings with The Church's teachings.
Fluffy
A fool
"If Christianity had been strictly adhered to since conception..."
If Christianity had been strictly adhered to since conception then I find it much more likely that a great number of the evils that have been done in its name would not have happened. I'm unsure whether this would include the repression of other ideas but I'm fairly sure that this repression would not have taken on the form of persecuting the individuals who spread them.
If Christianity had been strictly adhered to since conception then I find it much more likely that a great number of the evils that have been done in its name would not have happened. I'm unsure whether this would include the repression of other ideas but I'm fairly sure that this repression would not have taken on the form of persecuting the individuals who spread them.
Quiddity
UndertheInfluenceofGiants
Yes! We're close to finalizing our position on how to eat a recess peanut butter cup.
It's important to note that much of what Christians believed in the past was never intended to be dogma. Christians believe all sorts of things; that doesn't mean it will be something the body will adhere to.
It's important to note that much of what Christians believed in the past was never intended to be dogma. Christians believe all sorts of things; that doesn't mean it will be something the body will adhere to.
Scott C.
Just one guy
I agree. My point is that the Christians of that era misinterpreted the Bible. True Christian doctrine (i.e., the word of God as revealed through prophets/scripture) does not teach that the sun revolves around the earth. Christians, misinterpreting the Bible, taught that. If we define Christianity as I just did, Christianity can never be wrong. If, on the other hand, we define Christianity as the "set of commonly accepted beliefs of those who profess to be Christian, whether or not those beliefs are consistent with the word of God", then, of course, Christianity can be wrong.
McBell
Admiral Obvious
I find the poll question difficult to answer because not even Christians can agree on who is and isn't a Christian.
If they cannot agree, which definition of Christian is a non-believer supposed to use?
Furthermore, how many Christians have to believe something before one can say that Christians believe it?
If they cannot agree, which definition of Christian is a non-believer supposed to use?
Furthermore, how many Christians have to believe something before one can say that Christians believe it?
Smoke
Done here.
In religion, and especially in dogmatic religion, there's a natural resistance to change. If change seems to undermine religious authority, it's Katy, bar the door. If I believe the sun revolves around the earth, and I believe the Bible says the sun revolves around the earth, and you say the earth revolves around the sun, you're not just challenging my preconceptions, you're contradicting the Bible. That makes you not just a person with an odd idea, but a threat to religious faith. A person with the proper attitude toward religion would never come up with an idea that seems to fly in the face of religion, much less endanger the faith of others by promoting his idea. So you're a loose cannon, a heretic, and a danger to our Christian society.
That's pretty much how dogmatic religions reacts to any challenge to its preconceptions. It's easy to scoff at Christians of earlier ages who thought a commitment to geocentrism was essential to their religion, because almost all Christians have, during the intervening centuries, accommodated their religious beliefs to the facts, and no longer see geocentrism as important or relevant to their faith.
However, there are still Christians, at least in North America and Africa, who are still going through exactly this kind of reaction to evolution. There are still Christians almost everywhere who believe that the equality of women or the equality of homosexuals threatens the very foundations of their faith. Of course, they think the present challenges to their own preconceptions are very different from the challenges their ancestors faced, but they're not. Dogmatic religion always has a problem with new facts and new ideas.
That's pretty much how dogmatic religions reacts to any challenge to its preconceptions. It's easy to scoff at Christians of earlier ages who thought a commitment to geocentrism was essential to their religion, because almost all Christians have, during the intervening centuries, accommodated their religious beliefs to the facts, and no longer see geocentrism as important or relevant to their faith.
However, there are still Christians, at least in North America and Africa, who are still going through exactly this kind of reaction to evolution. There are still Christians almost everywhere who believe that the equality of women or the equality of homosexuals threatens the very foundations of their faith. Of course, they think the present challenges to their own preconceptions are very different from the challenges their ancestors faced, but they're not. Dogmatic religion always has a problem with new facts and new ideas.
Quiddity
UndertheInfluenceofGiants
What Midnight said! As always, well put.
Scott C.
Just one guy
I agree with some of what you say. We must not, however, throw the baby out with the bath water. Don't throw the revealed word of God out, because of the on going problems of its misinterpretation.
