Maybe one of the most arrogant, laughably pretentious and ignorant posts I've ever had the misfortune to come across. For a minute I thought you were trolling but then I came the stunning realization you were serious.
Oh goody, here' the pot calling the kettle "troll.
*edit: "ignorant <I>series</I> of posts".
Or maybe it was because science hadn't been invented yet, and pretty much <I>everyone</I> believed in God? Most of the great early scientists were looking for evidence of divine creation - they were seeking to prove that God exists, rather than the opposite. Funny thing, too..most of them actually became <I>more</I> devout as they learned more about the universe they inhabited. Somewhere along the way, however, people decided, for whatever reason, that the idea of "creation" was incompatible with "adaptation". I haven't found a single line in any Protestant bible, the Koran or various other sacred texts that would suggest this is the case. Its actually pretty remarkable how much effort anti-religious types spend misrepresenting religious tenets or practices - they seem especially fixated on reaching back to the Middle Ages to shore up their arguments. This seems particularly disingenuous centuries after the Reformation: if you ask almost any Buddhist, Christian or other practicing member of a generally tolerant and voluntary faith you'll find they don't believe in things like divine mandates. Christians in particular understand that their religion was essentially held hostage by corrupt Catholic and Anglican leaders during the feudal periods. But the thing people forget is that faith and <I>religion</I> are really different concepts. Religion is the collection of traditions surrounding a particular faith, and there are no two churches whose traditions are exactly alike. However, at day's end its really just the believer and his God - everything else is window dressing to give some kind of context to the gathering of people with similar beliefs. I have nothing but respect for those who are willing to walk the narrow path that some religions demand, as long as their not using their faith as a means to some material end..or to attack those they feel threatened by, like atheists seem to feel regarding those who believe in the divine.
I notice that you're a "newcomer in training". It's always nice to welcome a "new troll into the fold", so to speak.
Anyway, the exact same thing could be said of the religious establishment, With them constantly trying to pound their views into the heads of an unsuspecting public, by whatever means they deem necessary. In support of that., I'd like to remind you that the Spanish Inquisition didn't formally end, until 1868.
And then, (may have been Plato), said something to the effect that a society can't succeed without an unprovable reward, and an unprovable punishment.
If you took organized religion out of the mix, and just taught the "golden rule", think how many religious zealots wouldn't be running on at the mouth constantly, and they actually might achieve something, or simply get jobs. Oh, sure then they have to pay taxes, because they relinquished their NPO status.
Moving on, there is a plausible psychiatric theory that states something to the effect that, "many of the prophets and even ordinary people of the past, would be diagnosed as "raving schizophrenics" by today's standards". This by virtue of the fact it is possible that people of olden times were unable to distinguish their own conscience from messages from an outside source. Works for me. "Dog told me to kill my neighbors", symptomatically, (and syntactically), differs little from, "God spoke to me from a burning bush".
In any event, do us the courtesy of not registering post after post, simply to inform us that you've said rude things and ranted. We're better off not knowing. And you'd be better of by not serially posting inflammatory nonsense.
Which is by all means not to say, "don't post inflammatory nonsense". Simply because that would make me a hypocrite. Knock yourself out, but learn to use the edit features of the forum. And that suggestion is simply because, to the best of my knowledge, it's against the rules not to.
I know, I know, so many rules. Rules made by God for man. Rules invented by the churches, to control man, by claiming they've come from God. And now this insult, forum rules. "Religion is the opium of the people". I think somebody famous said that.
I suspect that you're going to find it increasingly difficult to be be as right, righteous, and self righteous, as you so very obviously believe you are, all the time. Open forums just seem to work like that.
