[Tfug] Apple Mac OS X: tool of Godless Darwinists and Communist / TROLL ALERT?

[bpoag at comcast.net]

Hey Bex, 

>On a truly serious note, why do you think people become 
>"zealots"? (this is not a rhetorical question) If you 
>*truly* "believe" (whatever you happen to believe), then 
>why care about what others "believe"? (let's please avoid 
>the cop-out replies...) 

Exactly. I would absolutely agree that zealotry is caused by people who have unresolved doubts, deep down... The scarier the doubts, the more fiery the zealot. Look at it this way---There are people out there who claim to have total faith in God, but still feel magnetically drawn to the idea of having proof to justify it to others--A shroud in this church over here, a supposed fragment of the cross in that church over there, all sorts of little fetishes that fill in the cracks. All it takes is a Jesus on a tortilla for these folks to line up and start sobbing, lighting candles, and throwing quarters over the velvet rope. 

I know I love my family, for example. I don't feel compelled to prove it, since I know intrinsically. Similarly, I don't need to see a tortilla to know God is real, because I know it intrinsically. 

There's nothing wrong with inviting people, or encouraging people to talk about and learn what you know, but bashing people over the head with your religion is counterproductive and stupid. By guilt-tripping people into religion, you're depriving those individuals of the unique and deeply personal connection they need to have with God....A connection that doesn't require a damn tortilla to bolster. 

I am a Christian, and i'll be the first to tell you that Christianity is absolutely buckshot-peppered with layers of stupidity so thick and so complex that it's hard even for the most well-meaning individuals to make heads or tails of it. I also refuse to believe that the God who gave us the ability to think and reason intended for us to not use them. Feel free to pick Christianity apart. I do all the time. People who call themselves Christians, but are then hesitant to take apart and examine their own beliefs in detail are fundamentally cowards looking more prefer comfort to truth. 

Cheers, 
Bowie 






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