How many 'branches' of Christianity is there?

[Chris777]

Originally posted by moimeme

 

look at how many people on just this message board, are absolutely clueless of the bible

 

You do comprehend, do you not, that each of those over 33000 sects of Christianity holds thousands of people each as certain about his interpretation of the Bible as are you?

 

You do comprehend that the chances that any one of you have THE interpretation are much smaller than that of winning all the lotteries on the planet, eh?

 

I was refering to people who have never looked at it or given it a second thought, particularly those of other religions, or the "I wish I didnt have to bother with religion at all types"

[Chris777]

Originally posted by Pocky

In my opinion, people don't study their own religion and they take information at face value from the people that have designated as their spiritual leaders. I contribute this mostly to the faith concept - once you implement faith as the sole reason for your ability to accept something that would not normally be acceptable the need for critical thinking an analysis appears to be instantly removed.

Is it faith or laziness though? most everything in scripture is backed up and reiterated in other verses, and we are even told to study it, in the scriptures, to not be ignorant of it.

 

People have started to think that having faith means not questioning and I tend to disagree with that. I think that people can still have faith in the existence of a belief, yet allow themselves to question the information they receive regarding that religion. While spiritual leaders can be knowledgeable, they are not without mistake and this is a weakness of all religions.

But at what point should one stop questioning it? And actually start believing it. otherwise what are they actually doing

 

Personally, I see many people that have so religiously lackadaisical in their own studies that they themselves have started the breakdown of their own religion.

partly true, but it is also fortold that many would "sneak in" like wolves among sheep, as well as many more turning away from the truth altogether

[Chris777]

Originally posted by moimeme

I beg to differ. I would put it to you that people are allergic or unwilling to engage in critical thinking and analysis gravitate to both religious and political philosophies which do all their thinking for them. It's so much easier to parrot what the chief mouthpiece tells you to than it is to use your own grey matter to sort out whether his mouth is just the small empty gap in front of an even larger gap in the cranium.

many people take the path of least resistance. But to say they (all) are unwilling to entertain critical thinking, or analasis. But again, how many people in our times actually look at any of the scriptures as possibly being truth, even, and in many cases especially when they point directly to some aspect of theor own personal lives, that goes against said scripture. Most either A dismiss everything altogether, and go back to doing things "their own way", or B some end up trying to find a back door into whatever they are doing to justify it. be it an alleged scriptural back door, or some moral one.

 

Really how many have you ever heard of that have said that "ok they were wrong, and that the scripture was correct"? And to narrow the list even further those that attempt to follow said scripture, even when it may seem illogical?

 

Again, I'd say that it's those who are troubled by thought who prefer to demand that people kowtow to the wishes of leaders, be they Presidents or Popes. It was one of the great revelations of my life to read in the Meyers-Briggs analysis of types that there is a type that ascribes authority to people in power regardless of their competence. I belong to the type that respects competence, regardless of power or position. I believe it's one of the smaller groups.

Its just a study, but in reguards to positions of power, people do tend not to question, what is being told to them.

 

Humans are humans and prone to error - even the holiest and best-intentioned ones. Until God decides to make His wishes known in plain text in the language of the day, it will ever be thus.

Hence the term study, the whole issue is that we are all seperated from God, so that the only way we could all be spoken to in a language exactly relevant to us personally would be direct communication from him.

[moimeme]

but in reguards to positions of power, people do tend not to question, what is being told to them.

 

Some people do, which was my point. It's the people who can't be bothered thinking for themselves.