Coming across more of those religious freaks that inject God into every science thread
If studying the nature of the universe perturbs your faith, what you have is not faith; It is fear of the unknown
God is quite safe from science. But to religion, science is Kryptonite
This is what's called a "low-brow dismissal" wherein offers no counter-argument to what I have said and implies knowledge of my religious education
I come from both Christian and Buddhist parents so these are quite familiar
A common theme I've seen many times before is the default retort of implied ignorance
"Someone diminishing what you believe automatically diminishes you": This is the antithesis of critical thinking and it is the straight jacket religion wraps around your mind. And it highlights the dangers of religion as a concept beyond reproach is also beyond the reach of truth
As a former religious person, I take comfort in knowing escape from the asylum is still possible
Now we still have to deal with the effects religion still has on policy
When it comes to reproductive rights, marriage, equality, or just plain existing in this world unmolested, it's hard to navigate the rapids created by religion. Again, this has nothing to do with what deity(ies) you believe, but the dogma your particular brand of "Reality"(tm) you seek to imprint upon your peers
This need to inject dogma into the search for truth is both insidious and destructive to us a species
Somewhat counterintuitive proposal:
More religious studies classes. And by that, I don't mean someone of the faith trying to indoctrinate, but someone stepping outside of themselves to teach what they believe. Many instructors of many religions taking time to teach classes of the same students
When you have a perspective of the variety of faith, you learn to appreciate it as a byproduct of human imagination. I'd love to sit in for lessons on the Bhagavad Gita, the Bible, and Pali Canon
@cypnk i went to a christian college, and now i wish i had a more general experience with the perspectives of other religions
@cypnk yea, i'd prefer a more personal guided tour i think. Like reading about the bible has always felt quite dull to me, it only felt like it mattered when i heard about people's personal connections to it, ya know?
basically i just need to make friends with somebody from like every religion and convince them to tell me about what it means to them
@tcql YouTube has somewhat bridged the gap there. There are some good resources that seek to educate without an ulterior motive
@tcql @cypnk which one, if you don't mind? You may want to start with more perspectives on Christianity first and move out from there. Sectarian (and yes that includes nondenominational evangelical) Christians can be appalling bad at teaching ecumenical Christianity. This is by no means exclusive to Christianity, sectarians and partisans of any belief system are often unreliable as to their own histories and neighborhoods, compared to educated outsiders. That's the nature of tribalism.
@tcql It's not too late. People like to hound the Internet for its frivolousness, but what of its greatest strengths is the ability to connect information like nothing else
There are translations of almost all religious texts available at your fingertips