I shall tell you a true little tale, I'm a builder by the way. I was working on a Vicars house and used to have some right craic with him as he knew I was an Atheist. If I caught him out on anything he at least had the bottle to admit he couldn't explain it. His wife was cooking pork one day so of course I jumped on him about eating unclean animals and how that tied in with his beliefs. He actually told me he asked the same when he was at college and found out that the passages in the bible were changed or added to, to allow unclean animals to be clean.
Just as an aside having recently filled out my Census. To the question about religion I said my religion was Jedi, just like I did 10 years ago
A few people I know say they believe in God because it's a 'good thing to'. Not because they get any personal benefit, not because they think it will get them into heaven and not because of any evidence. Just because they want to come across as being a good person. Yet they still DO believe? WTF? I know a few practising Christians, and they're the same, at least have the bottle to admit they're either wrong or don't know if I catch them out. The only Creatard I know, however, is a stubborn **** and should **** off and die.
I'm not sure how the government take this. The point of the question was to find out how religious people are nowadays, do they put Jedi's with the Christians, etc, or the atheists? I'm guessing agnostic is a third class.
I live right alongside Donegal where there is cemetary to bury atheists. This old lady died who was an atheist so her son phoned up Derry city council (a predominantly Catholic city. "Do you have anywhere to bury Atheists?" "...........sure we'll stick her over in the waterside cemetary with all the Protestants"
Surely if this information originated from an all seeing all powerful being, there would be no need to edit add to or change His word. Don't even get me started on the size of Ark Noah would have needed to take multiples of every animal and insect in the world. Never mind the feeding and watering of them all the logistics don't bear thinking about. PS. Where did all the fresh water fish go?
And don't forget that Noah must have had every disease and virus going... including STD's, the dirty old bastard...
It wasn't wrong though. The Old Testament says that. Jesus says the Old Testament is to be followed. Christians follow Jesus.
Depends how you view it. It is only the very fundamental Christians and Jews that would adopt the line that things in the bible are absolute divine and literal truths. we know its heavily edited and we know just how the process of putting what books in where came about (particularly with the NT). The vast majority of folk see the divinity in the message and accept the frailties of the delivery of that message.
I have no problem with people believing what they want. My problem is teaching it in schools as if it is fact. I was told about the "mythological" Norse Gods Etc in my comprehensive school, but indoctrinated with Christianity in RE lessons. (And was caned on numerous occasions for not toeing the line ie accepting what I was taught blindly)
I had similar problems. My RE teacher was a devote Christian, which in itself I don't have a problem with, but its when she refused to acknowledge counter arguments, and would send me out (I think I had it easier!) for asking for a reason why I was wrong, that you get annoyed. If anything, the best RE teachers would probably be those who don't care either way, or study religion rather than practice it.