Why the west leaving the Christainity ?

[Madhuri]

what does that say about religion if education is a threat????


did you mispost???

I think it says a lot about the mainstream views of the world's current dominant religions.
Education teaches us not only about laws of nature but also to think critically. My observation is that critical and objective thinking completely annihilates literalist interpretations of those dominant religions.

My original post should be interpreted contextually. This means I am referring to the current global trend, the current dominant religions and how atheism is largely a response to particular Abrahamic perspectives.

 

[JustWondering]

People refusing to accept Jesus are either burnt up on earth, left behind on earth or cast out into outer space.

Will a giant catapult be used for this purpose?

 

[JustWondering]

that's big drop for the christianity !!!
which mean next 100 year ,may the christians will disspear in USA !!!

and replaced with Atheism/Agnosticism!!!

 

[-Peacemaker-]

and replaced with Atheism/Agnosticism!!!

Until people need rescuing from a situation they can't get themselves out of.

 

[JustWondering]

I'm claiming that people who engage in wickedness usually lie to themselves in order to justify that behavior. Yes, Christians are more than capable of this.

Define wickedness.

 

[-Peacemaker-]

Define wickedness.

In case anybody actually doubted that the definition of evil is seen more and more as something subjective, see exhibit A

 

[JustWondering]

In case anybody actually doubted that the definition of evil is seen more and more as something subjective, see exhibit A

You didn't really answer my question. What wicked acts are modern day Americans comitting and lying to themselves, and others about?

 

[JustWondering]

Until people need rescuing from a situation they can't get themselves out of.

What situation?

 

[kai]

In my experience people are questioning the views of fundamentalists, on things such as Homosexuality and the role of women in the church.There finding those views to be at odds with modern thinking. A lot of people in the UK just tick the box for christian on any forms ,polls etc without really having much idea of what it actually means. I know i have in the past , not sure why? but i kind of found it part an parcel of my national identity i suppose.

 

[Wannabe Yogi]

A while back, I read an article that said most of the Americans who are currently converting to Islam are Hispanic women. I forget why, though.

I have also heard that a lot of folks in prison convert to Islam.

 

[kai]

I have also heard that a lot of folks in prison convert to Islam.

Yeah they seem to be here in the UK , i have a nephew who pent some time "inside" he claims the Muslims are the largest "gang" get better food and more leniency due to the fear of political correctness. But i reiterate that's only his view.

This may be of interest;

Muslim gangs imposing sharia law in British prisons - Telegraph

 

[Inthedark]

is this a consequnce of modernity (technologie )
it's consequnce of secularism ( religion get away from the politics )
or it's the consequence that the Bible contian errors (edited by human )

as i see here in this forum most of the western people are atheists !!!

and some western reports said :
many of the christain convert to Islam or to other religions .

Since the enlightenment and the Newtonian view of a mechanistic universe, the spiritual needs of the west have been pushed aside and science thrust to the fore about explaining our existence. Increased literacy in the general population, sharing of information and increased levels of education generally have also helped carry the process along. This hasn't happened recently, I think it has been building and increasing at pace for four hundred years or more.

Insular inward looking religious institutions which fear change and the new are doomed to fail in this environment unless they change and adapt to the new environment. Any literal interpretation of ancient scipture regarding supernatural themes cannot remain relevant in our post modern secular society. People are walking away from organised Christianity as a consequence.

I hope we don't lose these people from being spiritual in nature and that they continue to seek knowledge outside of religion in this regard. I think the negative aspect of the enlightenment and post modern secualr society is the void left behind by religion - we are spiritual beings who always search for meaning after all.

With regard to the mind/brain issue, dualism, materialism and what it is to be conscious, these things will not be defined by science, at least not in the forseeable future. These are matters pertaining to our spirituality.

So yes, people are leaving because the church is no longer relevant in it's current "literal" insular and exclusive format.

Well, in my opinion anyway.

:run:

 

[ankarali]

To be Christian is better than to be an atheist

 

[YmirGF]

To be Christian is better than to be an atheist

Did you really just say that?

 

[Heathen Hammer]

My take is that the internet and other broadcast mediums have allowed the fundamentalists to actually come out in public and have their views seen by many people. And doing so was their downfall, because mass exposure to just how backward, barbaric and antithetical to freedom and thought they are, has allowed people the ability to see it in all its ugly glory, and safely reject it.

If you all had kept it to yourselves as your book instructed you, you'd be fine. Now that fundamentalist Christianity has elbowed its way into politics, that was effectively the first chisel-blow on the tombstone. All the ugliness, the hate disguised as following 'God's laws', the hypocrisy and deviance, the despication of truth and learning. The violations of human rights. It's all out for everyone to see.

 

[Heathen Hammer]

How often to we really hear people say "you know, I realize that behavior x is wickedness but I just don't feel like giving it up. I just don't care who my behavior hurts."? You might hear it from people struggling with chemical addictions but that's about it. Other than that, it's just one convoluted excuse after another from people trying to justifying what they want to do.

So is Christianity

 

[besart]

And yet, with the most recent upsurge in technology, since the advent of the personal computer and the internet, etc., there has been an upsurge in people searching for deeper spiritual meaning.

I was talking about the most popular religions of today: Christians, Muslims and Jews. Those religions are antiquated. I still think people want to believe that there is something after this life but those religions aren't answering peoples needs as much now as they may have in the past.

 

[work in progress]

To be Christian is better than to be an atheist

I'll bet they're saying that in Iraq and Afghanistan all the time!

 

[work in progress]

I do understand that you are an atheist and I do understand that you find atheistic "movements" problematical but I do not think that most atheists have a gap to fill. That many appear apathetic is the the nature of the beast, since atheism is a solution to nothing at all and those who raise it above that will always be agenda driven and might as well include a deity and are, I guess, human. But, why should you share more than that particular common ground? Oft times, the worst that a Christian brings to the table of "freedom of conscience" is an imaginary friend who requires no place setting and any goals we have that are exclusive are probably best, as you say, avoided.

This is why we don't all have the same needs or will ever agree on the same ways to make sense of the world! I felt a need to fill the gap, because I am introspective and philosophical by nature. Many people don't feel they have a gap to fill, but that's because they don't spend a lot of time wondering about the big questions in life, and don't feel a need to start.

This is a big problem for any religion with dreams of setting up some kind of orthodoxy. I'm sure a lot of Christians, Muslims and adherents of other religions are just going through the motions and tune out the sermons, but just feel that they have to show some form of public piety to stay in good with the group. What we need is a religion that lets people decide for themselves what sort of truths they want to believe in and follow without being treated as outcasts. This is the way things work in most modern, secular societies where people just avoid the subject and don't talk about religion to outsiders.....it's the same reason why I don't talk about why I don't believe in God or an afterlife unless I'm confronted by someone trying to evangelize me first.

 

[work in progress]

I think it says a lot about the mainstream views of the world's current dominant religions.
Education teaches us not only about laws of nature but also to think critically. My observation is that critical and objective thinking completely annihilates literalist interpretations of those dominant religions.

I would say that there is going to be an inevitable tension between any tradition that claims revealed truth, when dealing with science or any new lines of evidence that would be considered contrary to the teaching. It's how a religion deals with new evidence that determines whether there will be problems. If they adopt a new scientific theory - like evolution, it can threaten to upend their theology, if adherents start questioning whether there the rest of the dogma can be trusted. If they dig in their heels and reject everything coming from biological research, then they are paving the way for the new dark ages, as their adherents become increasingly hostile to science in general. Many go with a middle path, and claim that there is evolution through natural selection forces, but that there is a divine hand involved or a divine objective to reach. I don't buy it, but it looks like the most feasible way to keep the peace between revealed knowledge and new knowledge.

My original post should be interpreted contextually. This means I am referring to the current global trend, the current dominant religions and how atheism is largely a response to particular Abrahamic perspectives.

Since I am one of the rebels against the Abrahamic tradition, that would apply in my case and many others. But some of us have checked in to those exotic Eastern religions as well, and ended up finding a lot of stuff there that seems unreal.

On a cultural level, I've noticed more than a few sociologists and pundits express the belief that they consider the "New Atheism" and the unprecedented popularity of atheist books, as a reaction against the increasing aggressiveness of Christian and Muslim fundamentalism.