• NoneOfUrBusiness@fedia.io
    1·
    1 month ago

    You do realize that’s straight up not true right? As a Muslim I don’t know how much of a thing biblical scholarship is, but on the Muslim side of things, uh… yeah. Literally no Muslim will say they “know everything”, because the non-scholars vaguely know they don’t know shit and the scholars will tell you “I don’t know shit”.

  • massive_bereavement@fedia.io
    1·
    1 month ago

    I met people on both sides that had either of those attitudes.
    The “I’m always right because I have a PHD” is not uncommon, even on fields not covered by their education. At the same time, I’ve met many religious people (Muslims, Hindus, Christians) that for them religion was a private, personal aspect that helped them deal with their lives. As a kind of a routine, something done time and time again enough to clear up their minds from stress and give them an anchor when lost.

    I’m not religious, but I believe in freedom and the pursuit of happiness, and I support anyone as long as it doesn’t interfere with other’s.

    • baguettefish@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
      0·
      1 month ago

      I’ve seen a lot of conservative (the American Republican model) Christians but I have also seen what I consider to be “true” Christians, with a strong faith and love for everyone, and part of that faith often involves confronting reality, thinking about solutions to problems, helping the poor and weak. I agree with you that it’s not all black and white. A lot of Christians don’t believe in the literal text of the Bible for its supernatural claims, but instead they read it (and other religious texts, there are a lot of religious people who do some multi-track drifting) for its morals and guiding principles, which can all be interpreted in different ways, and there is a lot of discourse in religious circles about the meaning and morals of texts, about finding ancient wisdom or reinterpreting old texts to better suit modern standards. It can be a very research intensive way of life to be religious and have faith. I’d argue that if you have any principles at all that you stick to, that counts as faith.

      • AoxoMoxoA@lemmy.world
        0·
        1 month ago

        I agree. Western Christianity is a perversion of the religion imo. To be fair a large part of biblical text has absolutely nothing to do with the teachings of Christ and that confuses a lot of people. A lot of them seem to be quite contradictory to what he was saying.

        If anyone is into reading interesting books these helped to clarify Christianity for me. I do not consider myself a Christian ( maybe in my next life) but Jesus was a radical cat and what he did at that point in history was revolutionary .

        Leo Tolstoy , The Kingdom Of God Is Within You. This one may turn you into a Vegan Anarchist so watch out

        Swami Sri Yukteswar, The Holy Science

        Tao Te Ching , Lao Tzu …this one has nothing to do with Christianity but helped me understand what God ( the Supreme Being , God Head, Jah, Allah or whatever you want to call the source) was in simple terms. It’s a quick read

        Paramahansa Yogananda, Autobiography of A Yogi.

        • Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net
          0·
          1 month ago

          That Tolstoy book sounds interesting, I’ll have to check it out.

          There are versions of the Bible where Big J’s words are written in red text, that’s what I would recommend to people so they focus on the part that matters (for Christians)

            • Zoboomafoo@slrpnk.net
              2·
              23 days ago

              I finished The Kingdom of God is Within You, I really enjoyed it. The book aligned with many of my prior beliefs about Christianity and the Church, which was very validating. I appreciated the insight into the state of eighteenth century Russia, which I never want to visit. And lastly it made me deeply consider how much my current job makes me a party to violence. You’re right about it potentially making someone an anarchist.

              Thank you again for mentioning it.

              • AoxoMoxoA@lemmy.world
                2·
                21 days ago

                I have given physical copys to a few people over the years and not a damn one read it. They claimed they were " true Christians " , I fear it would have gone over their heads anyhow.

                I actually did quit a job that I was previously planning on retireing from after some deep reflection caused by Tolstoy’s writing.

                As a kid I was under the impression that was how a Christian would behave and then I became jaded as I grew older. When I read it I thought “that is how they should behave” and it was refreshing to hear someone talk like that.

                I personally do not consider myself Christian, I agree with Nitzsche that “there was but only one Christian and he died on the cross” (i can’t remember the exact quote, it was from the book " the Anti-Christ") but reading The Kingdom Of God is Within You sparked a genuine curiosity about Christ and religion in general.

                Glad you enjoyed it ✌️