Yes, it did throw doubt. In my opinion, there is a motive to distract people from the truth. You call it a myth, I know. Lack of evidence, you say. I try and explain that faith comes by hearing and believing. You cite evidence to dismiss the story.
My irritation arises because people seem to want to not believe rather than to believe. You would perhaps say that you prefer reality over fantasy. I would tell you that reality is not always how it appears and that belief will be helpful.
Hi Phat,
The problem with believing in things without evidence is that it gives you the luxury of believing anything you
want to be true or wish were true. I was talking in class just this morning about the relative masses of stars (It was waaaay off class topic).
One of the students from Saudi Arabia interrupted me and started wondering aloud how you could possibly understand this information and not believe in God. It blew his mind that people could be atheists in a universe as immense and breathtaking as ours. Of course, I chuckled inwardly a little as I knew the God he was thinking of was very different than the God I was raised to worship. But my student and you both speak of your respected invisible beings in the exact same awed voices. He dismisses your reality in the same off-handed way you dismiss his or any other's religious reality. I find it frighteningly sad.
I DO call your God a myth, in the exact same way I call HIS God a myth, or any other magical, invisible being humans have ever worshiped a myth. It's not because I don't want to believe; it's that I have no actual
reason to believe. I was raised a christian and until my early thirties believed I was truly called into full-time ministry, but believing without reason to believe; believing despite evidence to the contrary became less and less satisfying.
If you can truly give me a
reason to believe that is not based on ancient religious text (loads of religions have those), or from personal feelings (loads of religions have those), or from some magical revelation (loads of religions have those) I am truly open to listening.
You may ask how. I'm still thinking how to answer you.
I invite you to think long and very carefully. If you are really honest with yourself, you may find that there is actually NO answer to anyone asking you "How."
"...heck is a small price to pay for the truth"