The Arrogance of Christianity

[Yggdrasil]

As I sat there in church, for the sake of my extended family, I realized what a joke the entire nativity story of Christianity is, and I don't say this pejoratively.

I stared down at the priest, who was giving a sermon about the story, with a bunch of small tots dressed up as ancient goat herders gathered around the altar. I stared at the glaring eyes of those around me, my family included, gulping each and every word as absolute truth professed by the almighty God. Then I realized, this is a joke.

Of course, I never believed the story, and have been an declared atheist for many years now. I had always dismissed the story as mythological trite, but I had never viewed it through the lenses of logic. Let me enlighten you as to my point of view:

Christians believe that, 2009 years ago, the son of God was born in a humble manger in Judea, of a virgin mother. Fine, that's not the point I'm arguing. What I am arguing is the chutzpah of every believing Christian, the fact that you all turned a secondhand account of an event that had happened centuries before and then declared the account(s) as ABSOLUTE TRUTH, and proceeded to establish a religion out of it.

I'm not arguing the logistics of a virgin birth, nor am I arguing the existence of God; I am merely seething at the hubris, the egotism of Christians to proclaim outdated secondhand accounts as the paramount truth and acts of God

[Mwuahaha]

ITT: Confirmation that religion is, always has been and always will be a gigantic farce, shamelessly used to control the ignorant, emotionally unstable masses.

[supperrfreek]

to each his own.
But aside from that, the story was handed down and the earliest accounts (the gospels I think) were written within one or two generations of the death of Christ. I think Mark was the earliest in AD 55, it's not that far away from the death actually (as I said earlier 1 or 2 generations).

Confirmation that religion is, always has been and always will be a gigantic farce, shamelessly used to control the ignorant, emotionally unstable masses.

maybe, maybe not. I'm not entirely sure if this is as true as it was in the middle ages.

[Europa]

I mean, why not? Whats wrong with believing that if you're good in this life you will get to live another in paradise? This has motivated countless people to do countless good deeds, and why not?

And even if Jesus DIDN'T exist then he's just a symbol, a big metaphor just like the rest of the bible. And people need symbols.

[WritingANovel]

I don't think it's arrogance.

It's probably more like having more faith than is warranted.

[vazilizaitsev89]

as much as I hate quoting marx, he said it best "religion is the opiate of the masses"

[Yggdrasil]

Originally Posted by Europa

I mean, why not? Whats wrong with believing that if you're good in this life you will get to live another in paradise? This has motivated countless people to do countless good deeds, and why not?

And even if Jesus DIDN'T exist then he's just a symbol, a big metaphor just like the rest of the bible. And people need symbols.

What's wrong is that that seemingly innocent affects us in several profound ways. That belief in paradise is the very definition of a bigoted, partisan farce. What, those who don't believe get to burn?? O RLY?

As much good as the Christian religion has created, it has been used for extremely dire purposes.

Once the Roman Empire collapsed, the Catholic Church established an absolute stranglehold over European society. ABSOLUTE. For an entire Millennium. The governing authority of Christianity has manipulated the blind faith of the common people to extract money, power, and even their lives.

And if Jesus didn't exist, that's exactly what he is, a symbol. A fucking SYMBOL. I'd love to hear how people need symbols, though. If you intend to argue a lack of secular ethics, please see Zay's thread in My God.

[Europa]

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

What's wrong is that that seemingly innocent affects us in several profound ways. That belief in paradise is the very definition of a bigoted, partisan farce. What, those who don't believe get to burn?? O RLY?

It doesn't matter.

From what you've written, I assume you don't believe there is a heaven or hell. I agree with you. But I consider myself to be unfortunate in this, and can only hope that sometime in my life I'll find something I can believe in, to convince me that an afterlife does exist.

Originally Posted by Yggdrasil

As much good as the Christian religion has created, it has been used for extremely dire purposes.

Power corrupts, and over the course of a few thousand years there is going to be those who will use that power to their own gain...wouldn't you?

I would.