The thing I want to ask is... do those of you who are religious ever feel like the idiots are messing it up for you? Please only answer yes if you think the majority of religious people are sheltered and misrepresenting your religion.   This does not mean "oh yeah I know someone who's really annoying about religion"

Most of the time, I think religion is a perfectly tolerable idea. And I've met one or two (older) religious people whom I think I can share quite a lot with. I have faith in their wisdom about life in general, regardless of whether a God exists or not. They are accepting and warm, and I don't mind pondering about the world in their presence. From a religious standpoint, they'd be the ideal ones to share the message, right?

But then there are so many people spouting naive, senseless statements. Or giving personal stories that are off on a tangent and barely relevant. Or just being presumptious bastards in general.

They're the cliche of a stupid religious idiot. But for the religious people, how do you feel about them? What do you make of them?

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im non religious but i have been to a church before. they don't act like what you mention but i do agree they are not so intelligent

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Did you mean "they" as in the church? Or those who go to church?

That's probably the main reason I'm an atheist.

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I'm a boy and you're a girl, what else is there in the world?
I can make you smile I can make you laugh, what else is there in the world

The thing about religion is that you can intertwine it with science if you try to, thats what keeps me from having to "choose a side".

On the other hand you can be religious, out in the world, and still stick by your guns and not agree with what atheists say.

Sometimes it has nothing to do with being sheltered, but having to do with what people want to believe and have faith in.

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The world is only as sweet as you make it and only as terrible as you see it

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im non religious but i have been to a church before. they don't act like what you mention but i do agree they are not so intelligent

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I can not comment because I am a Pantheist, and I've never met a Pantheist that fits that description.

However, I am anxious to hear what some of the more intelligent theists on here have to say about it
[perhaps Forever Angel or Soren]

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Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful.It's the transition
that's troublesome.   --Isaac Asimov

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Quote: from whoami111 at 6:46 pm on Sep. 17, 2008

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im non religious but i have been to a church before. they don't act like what you mention but i do agree they are not so intelligent

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Did you mean "they" as in the church? Or those who go to church?  

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Some make others look bad...in simple words.

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I just thought it applies more to religion than any other category.

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I agree. I am, however, completely non-religious. The majority of religious people I know, however, are rather unsophisticated in their capacity to reason and argue anything from a philosophical standpoint. Even if they are very intelligent in other academic areas. I take this as evidence for why so many people are religious... those people who are inept in the philosophical realm are much more likely to be religious. And far more people are unsophisticated than sophisticated. How do I explain those people who are not inept yet are still religious? That's a tough one I'm not in the mood to tackle right now.

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Im religious and love philosophy...

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The world is only as sweet as you make it and only as terrible as you see it

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I agree. I am, however, completely non-religious. The majority of religious people I know, however, are rather unsophisticated in their capacity to reason and argue anything from a philosophical standpoint. Even if they are very intelligent in other academic areas. I take this as evidence for why so many people are religious... those people who are inept in the philosophical realm are much more likely to be religious. And far more people are unsophisticated than sophisticated. How do I explain those people who are not inept yet are still religious? That's a tough one I'm not in the mood to tackle right now.

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Be careful with that statement.
I can see what you are saying, the masses choose religion because it is easier to explain things than with physics and deep philosophical thought, however, that is not to say that those who are religious are necessarily philosophically inept.

I'm sure you meant it this way, just making sure, because I've read the works of many theistic philosophers, and have personally conversed with some, and I can tell you they are far from philosophically inept.
Again, just making sure everyone else catches the distinction there.

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Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful.It's the transition
that's troublesome.   --Isaac Asimov

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Im religious and Im not sheltered at all.  
But I know what you mean.  
They are many religious people that are intolerant and refuse to even listen to ideas.  

The thing about religion is that you can intertwine it with science if you try to, thats what keeps me from having to "choose a side".  

On the other hand you can be religious, out in the world, and still stick by your guns and not agree with what atheists say.  

Sometimes it has nothing to do with being sheltered, but having to do with what people want to believe and have faith in.

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Yeah, intertwining it with science is one up from blatant, single-minded creationism.  

But I didn't just mean that. It's the feeling that if God is something higher and more meaningful, then those people surely can't be the ones to get it. Because they're so. fucking. shallow.  

But just because they don't get it (presuming I'm right about that) doesn't mean that no one does. And that's what I'm asking.

Post edited at 6:55 pm on Sep. 17, 2008 by tell me again

I definitely believe there are those who misrepresent my religion, not just Lutheranism, but Christianity as a whole.  I never noticed it as much when I was younger, but as I grew older, I began recognizing the hypocracies of the members (not the church, just to make sure that's clear).  At first it was in members of other religious organizations both outside of Christianity and in the many sects under it.  Then, in fact somewhat more recently, I noticed it in the members of my own church....It was rather disheartening.

As for sheltered..well, yes, actually I do think a lot of them are sheltered, which is very much possible the reasoning for their prejudiced thoughts.  Now know, when I say "sheltered" I don't just mean as in raised not really knowing the world like kids are to protect them from the harshness of society.  I mean, even the adults are very sheltered, living lives that rarely warrent for a proper opinion about hardships in American most specifically.  These lives I think partially lead them to make opinions and perform actions that are very unappealing to the general populace which in return give the whole Christian community a bad name.


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"Energizer Bunny arrested, charged with battery."