And how funny the idea is that, if that very Christian had been born in Cameroon, he would be telling you about witchery and voodoo, and if he had been born in Papua New Guinea he would be telling you about John Frum, and if he had been born among the Kwaio people he would be telling you about the Adalo and other ancestors, and if he had been born among the Shoshone people he would be telling you about the talking clouds and the Waterbaby?
Isn't it funny the intensity and enthusiasm some Christians put in the idea they absorbed through social osmosis and cultural epidemiology, without themselves being in control of what to choose to believe in the first place, being caused by a mere accident of birth?
ps.Yes, I asked this just yesterday. But I'm not satisfied with the answers.
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You summed it up perfectly, religious choice is simply about geographical distribution.
Epidemiology is a good word to describe this illness of the mind, science appears to be the cure but unfortunately most will choose to ignore the scientific argument.
I just hope the day will come when all these myths are totally quashed, this day needs to come soon, before they begin to fulfill the apocalyptic prophecy.
Aside: I have found it a rather unfortunate trend on this site that an insightful and thought-provoking answer (such as Jess D's) from a theist gets the same number of thumbs-down as a copy-paste or nonsense answer like pjpackers'.
I think those giving the thumbs-down are doing a great disservice to the spirit of open discussion. The point here is not to agree with all the opinions being posted, the purpose is to have an intelligent debate that hopefully all involved can learn something from.
Absolutely!
Not only is area a factor, but time as well. If we were living in Scandinavia in the 7th century, I'd be told that Thor is the best god to pray to for a good harvest, Freya if I wanted children, and Odin if I was heading off to war.
And all of these gods are as imaginary as the christian one.
Well for a start there are native born Christians in all of those countries, some were born into a Christian family and others converted from other religions (or from atheism).
And the world's first Christians were 100% converts from something else, so clearly "social osmosis and cultural epidemiology" does not lock a person into the particular religious worldview that they grew up in.
But those annoying little facts aside, let’s apply your proposition to something other than religion and see if it still works...
Take Politics for example.
Simply because there are many political alternatives in the world (monarchy, fascism, communism, democracy, etc.) doesn’t mean that someone growing up in the midst of one of them is unable to see that another form of government would be better than theirs.
If you grew up in Nazi Germany chances are you would have been a member of Hitler Youth or if you lived in Russia you would have been a Communist but that would not make those systems better than Democracy and the accident of your birth would not necessarily preclude you from recognising a better alternative and desiring to change to that better way.
I'm sorry, but I think your case just collapsed in a heap.
We are all brainwashed from birth. It's just the Christians think they were born that way. Most people in countries with a poor education system suffer from ignorance, but with Christians it's self inflicted so have no excuse. Lol
Practicing Shaman,... quantum physics rocks.
As a Christian, I disagree with your premise. I wrestled with this question a lot when I was trying to figure out what I believed in.
I kept on restating over and over again in my mind all the things I have heard and read from other people. All the science and textbooks, all the experts, both for and against, all the people who made fun of it all, and all the people who said the other way.
In the end, I concluded that it was all chatter, and decided to try myself, and that is where I received my proof.
If I lived in another country, I don't believe I would be in that religion. I do believe it is by the direct hand of God and Jesus that Christians are unique and set apart for the work of Christ.
Now, being a Christian is a humiliating experience. You cannot be an arrogant, boastful Christian because we have nothing to boast about outside of Jesus Christ. I don't brag about how I'm better than you. If I preach to you, it isn't by my own authority that I do so.
Your fight is not with me, what YOU think of ME is irrelevant, I'm under the same rules and sentence you are.
I disagree with you premise in that you do not give God enough credit to supply his own proof to his followers, and to set apart his followers in this world according to his purpose. He wants everybody to be saved, but he isn't going to go somewhere that he isn't wanted.
Ive asked something similar, I just get crap like god has a plan for everyone. Those who never heard of him will still get to heaven if theyre good people etc.
But the whole thing just tells me there is no god, its just a cultral thing and nothing more.
We are all born with a hope and a plan for our life. The people who hear the word of God and his plan of salvation through his son and accept the only way to know the living God, will not perish but will have ever lasting life. Those that reject deny make fun of tells a different fate. God is in control it is never to late to turn to him. God Bless
Yes. And other, less savoury words pertaining to the legitimacy of the preacher's birth.
Not sure if that's the appropriate word to use to describe the process of evolving religions. Sure, religions are similar to viruses, but it's more of a deliberately nasty comparison to make.