The Wise One writes
quote:
Indeed, I joined this very forum wanting to pursue the question of how "true Christians" could justify "lying for the Lord" and why they express such hatred for and opposition to actually seeking the truth.
Having been raised in a religious setting all my life, I have thought about this a lot, especially after I started college and really started getting exposed to more secular ideas than ever before. Here is an explanation that I have been able to come up with in regard to creationist dishonesty.
Religion, specifically Christianity, generally teaches that only religious dogmas are truths. This implies that everything else is not truth and therefore malleable in regard to its "truth value". My following statement might offend some people, so be warned. I think that to many religious people bending a fact or evidence is not dishonesty because that fact or evidence is not part of their religious dogma and therefore, to them at least, do not have to be portrayed accurately.
For secularists, this is particularly hard to understand. At this point, you want to ask how is this not dishonesty? It is not dishonesty, as far as the religious is concerned, because what is being discussed is not part of the religious dogma and therefore isn't truth. And if it is not truth, it must therefore be ok to be bent and warped.
I think this is the number one reason why the evolution side and creation side have such a hard time communicating with each other.
ABE
I just remembered another reason why many religious people think it is ok to bend and warp facts. When I was little, I used to ask a lot of questions. My parents of course didn't know the answers to all of them. Sometimes they made up an answer just to get me to stop asking. I wouldn't call this intentional dishonesty on their part. However, this does reveal a very important aspect of the religious mindset. Facts are not truths and therefore don't have to be portrayed accurately right down to the detail.
Edited by teen4christ, : No reason given.
Edited by teen4christ, : No reason given.