christianity as a whole is a very manipulative and controlling religion. it literally teaches people to be sheep. they are taught to accept authority in an almost brainwashed fashion.
Jar responds:
It is not Christianity that teaches abject acceptance of authority, but rather some of the more perverted communities, those holding beliefs that cannot stand up to challenge.
Jar raises a good point which I think it is easy to lose sight of: it's easy to blame lack of critical thinking on religion, but the root cause goes so much deeper than Christianity, or any other religion.
Think about it. How many people do you know who are not creationists (which is everyone I know except one friend) but who believe in one or more of the following: UFOs, homeopathic 'medicine,' psychics, ESP, tarot cards, astrology, George Bush propaganda, Michael Moore propaganda, JFK conspiracies, conspiracy theories in general, TM, Feng Shue, Acupuncture, Dowsing, etc. etc.
Most people I know believe in one or more or at least do not doubt the possibility of their existence. How many of your friends/acquaintences would consider themselves valid thinkers yet still espouse one of the things I listed? Not a valid sample set? True, but telling nonetheless. Better examples are how popular and prevelant books, shows, and movies about the aforementioned subject matter are.
A great example is how popular homeopathic medicine has become despite the fact all you are buying is a placebo. Even some health care insurance providers are allowing some forms of 'alternative medicine' to be covered by medical insurance.
Heck, even think about your typical US highschool experience, how many of us were really, truly encouraged to challenge what we were taught in chemistry, biology, or physics? It's hard to challenge things when you:
1- don't know much about the subject (e.g. most creationists (or laypeople) really don't understand evolution).
2- have authorities you respect teaching you and reinforcing what you have been taught is true.
3- have an inherent bias because you want to believe it is true.
4- the subject is constantly in print, telivision, or media in general and it doesn't critically question your position.
I honestly believe many, if not most people are not critical thinkers
but not simply because they have been exposed to Christianity (look at how many of the forum participants have "I used to be Christian" stories).
That said, I
do agree that passionate religious communities bend over backwards to obfuscate or warp reality to fit their desired vision of the world. Joseph Smith saw invisible golden tablets? L. Ron Hubbard knew about extraterrestrial intelligence? Noah crammed a bunch of critters in a wooden boat for months?
I will never forget how my grandparents explained dinosaur fossils away as Satanic tricks intended to make the righteous stray from the path.
But I also think with enough exposure to difficult questions, people can become critical thinkers. If tough questions are presented, or even encouraged, I think some of it has to start rubbing off. A seed is planted. Isn't this similar to the conversion process in a way? All that witnessing and Good News spreading bombards folks with questions they can't answer then provide them with answers from God?
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