to dadeadman,
then pls explain why 2billion christians worldwide(statistics
can be found thru internet) can view christianity as if there was
enuff evidence? like i said b4, how do we define insufficient? wad
if these 2billion christians feel theres sufficient evidence?
u still havent answered my qn...if christianity teaches
salvation by grace while other religions teach salvation by gd
works, shldnt we view christianity diff from other religions???
another qn...ever considered how diff the perspective would be
if we evaluate science using religion instead of the otehr way
around?
Based on chrisitianity, all other religions worship false gods
(maybe except judaism), for the fact that the other majority of the
world, excluding atheists and agnostics, believe in some other
deity, it seems to prove that most people would have a tendency to
believe in the supernatural due to mitigating factors, most notably
fear, feelings of solidarity and hope in another life. Many
Christians have been raised from birth with the idea being fed to
them, in such situations it is unsurprising if they choose to
merely believe what their religious leader/bible says without
question. Levels of sufficient evidence may vary, but for the fact
that suicide bombers have no evidence that they are going to heaven
after they die, it shows that many hold a lower standard in
examining evidence in relation to religious beliefs, either because
they were taught, or because they just want to accept it because of
different factors.
For your 2nd qn, on how we should view Christianity, it seems
that one might be saved due to grace, but that certainly would not
happen to an evil person according to the church. Simply put, one
has to live a "christian" life to go to heaven, to get into God's
good graces. This seems very simillar with other religions asking
followers to do good deeds.
To evalute science with religion seems a tad ridiculous at best,
due to the fact that much of theology in christianity is based on
the bible which with no basis at all, except faith, people believe
to be holy. Science however has proven itself with evidence, most
notably in the modern era lives we live today. An example of a
failing when using doctrine to evalute science was when Galileo was
arrested by the inquistion for his "herectical" scientific thoughts
of heliocentricity. Yet there fails to be any example where
christianity's doctrines trump scientific discoveries/theories.
Yes, while in an argument you may find loopholes and such, but
to question all the time would no doubt lead to the Pyrrhonian
regress. Thus we have to content ourselves with a highly probable,
but not completely foolproof explanation.
As for your marriage argument, there are still happy marriage
around, just that there is less focus on it. Thanks to everyone who
has taken the time to read my long paragraphs