Faith writes:
Yeah but that's really a fantasy of your own.
You're denying reality. Again. The child born in a village in the Atlas mountains is a Muslim. The child born in the UK in 1600 was a Christian. No-one EVER spontaneously believed in a religion he'd no knowledge of.
It may be predominantly the case at least for all those who were actively raised in a culture's religion, but there are those in every culture who end up accepting the religion of another culture.
It IS predominantly the case - overwhelmingly. Of course in modern times races and belief systems mix because travel is now easy. Even so, in almost all cases it's an accident of birth that determines your religion.
So, how do you explain two friends of mine who were both raised Protestant and ended up serious Buddhists, one a priestess? All those at EvC for that matter who say they were raised Christian and have given it up. Somehow none of that counts for some reason.
Very easily, in Western society many people are looking for something to believe in and they can now find in almost anywhere. So a small percentage change or lose their born to faith. The fact that a few do this is no surprise.
Also, Christian missionaries DO succeed in converting people of other cultures to Christ, it's happened all over the world.
Of course they do! It's a disgraceful and digusting practice. All it says is that people have belief systems that are pragmatic and flexible. Christians are converting to Islam in the same way. That's not something that could have happened without exposure to them. Spontaneous belief does not exist, it has to be taught and it's best taught from birth.
Under no influence whatever? Just arrived at that opinion on your own?
Yup, just gradually realised that it was garbage. Took about 6 months from memory.
Well, God isn't stopping you from changing your mind you know. It's still your choice in the end.
Crap - he had me and then let me go. Thank god. The question is why? The answer is that it was just a childish delusion that I grew out of. Exactly like Father Christmas. And I do mean exactly; it felt exactly the same.
And you know what else is odd? Nobody spends much time if any complaining about Buddhism or Hinduism or any other religion on earth but Christianity. Don't you find that odd? Surely they are just as irrational by your lights, and surely they influence the people around them to their irrational beliefs.
Your kidding??? They're as bonkers as you. If you were a Hindu I'd be saying exactly the same things. The only reason you're not a Hindu is because you were not born into that culture.
Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien. I am Mancunian. I am Brum. I am London.I am Finland. Soy Barcelona
"Life, don't talk to me about life" - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.