Zone1 You didn’t choose your faith. It chose you.

[XponentialChaos]

I’m calling it subjective because that’s what it is. You chose to see it as mindlessly following religion because that’s your bias. Your bias has affected your objectively.

Whether something is mindless or not is subjective, as was already explained.

That’s why I asked you to answer something that was objective. From there, you can call it whatever you want.

 

[ding]

Answer mine.

If their parents were of a different religion, they would likely follow that. True or false?

I already did when I said many people do follow the traditions of their parents in post #34.

I am taking issue with your subjective statement that they do so mindlessly.

 

[ding]

Whether something is mindless or not is subjective, as was already explained.

That’s why I asked you to answer something that was objective. From there, you can call it whatever you want.

No. Whether something is subjective or objective depends upon bias. You were biased so you said they did so mindlessly.

 

[XponentialChaos]

I already did when I said many people do follow the traditions of their parents in post #34.

I am taking issue with your subjective statement that they do so mindlessly.

The fact that their decision is so dependent on their environment leads me to believe that, for many of them, it’s not arrived at through their personal convictions but through how they were raised.

I would consider that mindless, which is subjective. Call it whatever you want.

 

[XponentialChaos]

No. Whether something is subjective or objective depends upon bias. You were biased so you said they did so mindlessly.

That’s my opinion on it. Yes that’s subjective.

 

[ding]

The fact that their decision is so dependent on their environment leads me to believe that, for many of them, it’s not arrived at through their personal convictions but through how they were raised.

I would consider that mindless, which is subjective. Call it whatever you want.

You see it that way because you are biased against religion. So you chose the more negative light to see it in. You lack objectivity on this subject.

 

[ding]

That’s my opinion on it. Yes that’s subjective.

Because you have a poor opinion of religion. So all of your statements pertaining to religion will be biased against religion.

Do you know what the definition of reality is? It’s seeing things as they are. Bias prevents reality from being seen.

 

[XponentialChaos]

You see it that way because you are biased against religion. So you chose the more negative light to see it in. You lack objectivity on this subject.

Were you raised Christian?

 

[XponentialChaos]

Because you have a poor opinion of religion. So all of your statements pertaining to religion will be biased against religion.

Do you know what the definition of reality is? It’s seeing things as they are. Bias prevents reality from being seen.

Mindlessly following the tradition of your parents isn’t exclusive to religious beliefs. Someone can mindlessly, as I would put it, go along with atheism just as easily.

 

[frigidweirdo]

At some point in life we might begin to question what we were taught, about religion and everything else. Some people do, some people don't,

And when it comes to faith, that is not truth. It is belief, or opinion.

For a lot of people, they believe what they were taught and programmed to think at a young age. Some people question and go off to another religion for whatever reason, but nobody has spoken with any God, if they think they have, it's either because they're making it up, or they're delusional.

 

[Anomalism]

So you believe there is no choice in the matter? I disagree. Everything is choice.

I believe there's choice, but I also believe we sometimes underestimate how much our choices are influenced by the traditions of our families. That doesn't mean they're wrong necessarily, or that we shouldn't honor those traditions. I just think it's worth remembering how much our outlooks have been influenced by those around us.

 

[Meriweather]

That’s entirely subjective.

Exactly...subjective on your part. How many siblings do you have? Consider the career paths of your parents. How many of the children followed the same career path? There were eight of us. One of us followed the same career as Dad; none the same career as Mom. How many of you are citizens of the same country as your parents? How many of you live in the same city, county, state? Now take religion. There are many dimensions to religion and faith. That everyone in even a Christian family ends up in the same dimension of that faith as their parents is probably about the same percentage of the children who end up in the same career, same town, etc.

 

[Meriweather]

For a lot of people, they believe what they were taught and programmed to think at a young age. Some people question and go off to another religion for whatever reason, but nobody has spoken with any God, if they think they have, it's either because they're making it up, or they're delusional.

Or, because it actually happened.

 

[frigidweirdo]

Or, because it actually happened.

No, I don't see that as a possibility.

If it did happen, why? There are 8 billion humans on the planet, there are 8.7 million species of creature out there, with 26 billion chickens, 1.4 billion cattle.

There are an estimated 100 billion to 200 billion galaxies in the universe, obviously we can't even see the whole universe. Within a galaxy there might be 100 million stars. Around each star there's a possibility of life.

That's a lot of chance there are trillions of creatures around various stars in each galaxy and each galaxy has the potential for number I can't even describe.

Why would a God, who is in charge of all of that, bother with a human? Why would God even bother talking to any of these species?

There's no reason to. If he talks to you, it doesn't change anything. You still end up dying, atoms still go from living creatures to the ground and then become something else. The atoms don't die, the cycles still keep going no matter what.

And surely if God were going to talk to someone, it'd be someone who can make a difference, someone with their finger on nukes, for example, a scientist who could discover interstellar travel. Not just some random person who in 200 years time will have done nothing.

 

[XponentialChaos]

Exactly...subjective on your part. How many siblings do you have? Consider the career paths of your parents. How many of the children followed the same career path? There were eight of us. One of us followed the same career as Dad; none the same career as Mom. How many of you are citizens of the same country as your parents? How many of you live in the same city, county, state? Now take religion. There are many dimensions to religion and faith. That everyone in even a Christian family ends up in the same dimension of that faith as their parents is probably about the same percentage of the children who end up in the same career, same town, etc.

So ending up in the same town, state, or country you grew up in is similar to sticking with the same religion you grew up with.

People just kind of stick with what they’re used to.

If they had been raised somewhere else, they’d probably stay around there too. If they had been raised with a different set of religious beliefs, they would probably stick with that too.

No disagreement there.

 

[ding]

Were you raised Christian?

Yes

 

[ding]

Mindlessly following the tradition of your parents isn’t exclusive to religious beliefs. Someone can mindlessly, as I would put it, go along with atheism just as easily.

How do you know others are doing anything mindlessly?

 

[rightwinger]

Your religion is an accident of birth not a true faith.

If you were born in China, India or the Middle East you would have a different faith.

Depends who your parents are

 

[Meriweather]

Why would a God, who is in charge of all of that, bother with a human? Why would God even bother talking to any of these species?

There's no reason to. If he talks to you, it doesn't change anything.

You answered your own question: Because God is in charge, down to the last molecule. When someone takes time to create, they care about and care for what it is they created.

 

[Meriweather]

So ending up in the same town, state, or country you grew up in is similar to sticking with the same religion you grew up with.

People just kind of stick with what they’re used to.

If they had been raised somewhere else, they’d probably stay around there too. If they had been raised with a different set of religious beliefs, they would probably stick with that too.

No disagreement there.

You missed my point: Many do not stay in the same place where they grew up. Many move to different communities--some across the country. My parents did not stay in the same place as their parents; five of my parents eight children did moved away; both of my own children moved away.

I pointed out the same is true with religion. Religion and faith--even the same denomination--is not static. People move to different places, explore parts their parents missed, make it their own. Actually, the people who gave up religion altogether are the ones who are stagnant. They have no place to go, whereas people of faith have a multitude.