w*********r
发帖数: 3382 | 1 An article about religion. kind of old but fun to read.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2008/oct/30/atheism-religion
A slow but certain demise
All the signs are there: religion will die. I'm just sorry I won't be around
to see it
* Terry Sanderson
* guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 October 2008 09.30 GMT
* Article history
There are signs that in the western world (including the US) religion is,
indeed, beginning a long, slow – although accelerating – decline. All the
statistics show that congregations are falling, mass attendance is
diminishing and Christian knowledge is passing inexorably from our culture.
There have been two, or in some cases, three generations of people in this
country who have had no connection with church at all. It plays no part in
their life or their thinking. They are what I term "the religiously
indifferent" – they couldn't care less whether religion is there or not,
just so long as it doesn't interfere with their lives. Such people make up a
vast and increasing swath of the population of Britain.
Why is this? In order to survive, a religion's mythology must be imbued into
the next generation at an early age, before critical faculties that might
prompt resistance develop. This is Richard Dawkins' meme theory. It is also
the reason that most Church of England schools are primary schools and that
madrassas start the process so early on in children's lives.
Evangelists know that it takes only three or four generations of unchurched
people for the mythology to fall from consciousness, to disappear from the
culture. People find that actually they can manage perfectly well without it.
Religious leaders may despair about how difficult it is to reach "Generation
Y" (roughly, 16-25 year olds), but if children have reached adolescence and
they have not been infected with the religious meme, they will be mainly
immune to it. The only way is to get gentle Jesus into their heads when they
're four or five.
In the developing world we are told that religion is strong and, apparently,
unassailable. We see people in great crowds passionately defending their
beliefs from insult, or walking round a giant stone in Mecca. But one needs
to ask: do they really believe what they purport to believe? Or is the
religious meme so strong in poor countries that it is inescapable? Does
religion control so much of the culture that it is simply not possible to
function as anything other than a religious adherent, whether sincere or not?
I ask this because I've noticed recently how many people are telling me: "I'
m not a religious person, but I am spiritual." This is rapidly followed by a
defensive: "You don't have to go to church to believe in God."
And this is what religious leaders should fear far more than the atheism or
secularism they like to rail against. The spiritual-but-not-religious
brigade represents a creeping disease that can eventually kill religion. It'
s a way of leaving the church without having the guilt of declaring yourself
an atheist.
The founder of the National Secular Society, Charles Bradlaugh, said: "No
man sees a religion die". That may be so, but religions do eventually die.
History is littered with their corpses. Until now they have always been
replaced. But one day the human race's growing indifference to the gods will
prove more lethal than any anti-clericalist dagger. Religion will die.
I am sorry I won't be around to see it. | l*****a
发帖数: 38403 | 2 嗯，我认为会，不过要很久很久，
说实话我觉得宗教作为软弱的人的疗伤所，还是有它存在的价值的，只要他们关上门在
自己教堂里yy不出来大
吼宣扬天下人都和他们一样，是需要心理治疗的病人
around
the
【在 w*********r 的大作中提到】
: An article about religion. kind of old but fun to read.
: Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/belief/2008/oct/30/atheism-religion
: A slow but certain demise
: All the signs are there: religion will die. I'm just sorry I won't be around
: to see it
: * Terry Sanderson
: * guardian.co.uk, Thursday 30 October 2008 09.30 GMT
: * Article history
: There are signs that in the western world (including the US) religion is,
: indeed, beginning a long, slow – although accelerating – decline. All the
| w*********r
发帖数: 3382 | 3 i hope i live long enough for that day.
honestly i don't think nowadays american kids take religions seriously,
thanks to the secular department of education. it might seem slow now, it
could accelerate exponentially after these kids grow up.
but many people are just gullible and mentally weak. they just need an
imaginary higher power to console them.
【在 l*****a 的大作中提到】
: 嗯，我认为会，不过要很久很久，
: 说实话我觉得宗教作为软弱的人的疗伤所，还是有它存在的价值的，只要他们关上门在
: 自己教堂里yy不出来大
: 吼宣扬天下人都和他们一样，是需要心理治疗的病人
:
: around
: the
| b*****o
发帖数: 482 | 4 还有一股力量来自宗教内部. 宗教就是一个各取所需的东西. 宗教势力会因不断分化,
互指异端, 势力越来越弱. | l*****a
发帖数: 38403 | 5 嗯，美国部分的同意，不过你看看这个版的这些基，特别是这些基要，狂热程度还要超
越当年创立美国的清教
徒，我认为只要这种人或者说这种人性不消失，这个宗教就消失不了
要某个宗教彻底消失的最有效方法其实是暴力，就像是基督教掌权后对待多神教徒一样
，人杀光，书烧光，庙
推倒，建立宗教法庭，传播异教杀无赦，即使是这种残忍愚昧到了极点的方式也用了几
百年才奏效，指望全体
人类在几十年里进化我觉得太乐观了
【在 w*********r 的大作中提到】
: i hope i live long enough for that day.
: honestly i don't think nowadays american kids take religions seriously,
: thanks to the secular department of education. it might seem slow now, it
: could accelerate exponentially after these kids grow up.
: but many people are just gullible and mentally weak. they just need an
: imaginary higher power to console them.
| E*****m
发帖数: 25615 | 6 看看北歐的情況， 可能會讓你樂觀點。
【在 l*****a 的大作中提到】
: 嗯，美国部分的同意，不过你看看这个版的这些基，特别是这些基要，狂热程度还要超
: 越当年创立美国的清教
: 徒，我认为只要这种人或者说这种人性不消失，这个宗教就消失不了
: 要某个宗教彻底消失的最有效方法其实是暴力，就像是基督教掌权后对待多神教徒一样
: ，人杀光，书烧光，庙
: 推倒，建立宗教法庭，传播异教杀无赦，即使是这种残忍愚昧到了极点的方式也用了几
: 百年才奏效，指望全体
: 人类在几十年里进化我觉得太乐观了
| l*****a
发帖数: 38403 | 7 看到中国的基督徒我乐观不起来
【在 E*****m 的大作中提到】
: 看看北歐的情況， 可能會讓你樂觀點。
| w*********r
发帖数: 3382 | 8 agreed.
and i am surprised how some chinese do not realize how great our own culture
is and just take such pleasure in sucking up the western world. i as a
chinese feel really cheap for these people. (of course some of the chinese
christians are just too mentally weak, and when surrounded by this christian
culture, the christian god comes most convenient for their need for
strength and consolation)
the christianity thing was never meant for anyone who are not caucasian.
then the black people jumped in, understandable given their sad slave
history and not so much civilization. but why us chinese?
the entire bible talks about jews, romans, etc. i am just so curious how
could these chinese people feel it has anything to do with them. don't they
feel like second class citizen in the eye of their god?
once a chinese priest told me that the jews are really god chosen people.
and i asked "what about chinese" and he mumbled a bit and said we are all
god's children. i can almost touch his feel of being inferior
【在 l*****a 的大作中提到】
: 看到中国的基督徒我乐观不起来
| l*****a
发帖数: 38403 | 9 嗯，滑稽是基督亲口说的外邦人不是＂儿女＂是＂狗＂，伊们也可以毫不介意，或者引
以为荣。。非基可能永
远理解不了
culture
christian
【在 w*********r 的大作中提到】
: agreed.
: and i am surprised how some chinese do not realize how great our own culture
: is and just take such pleasure in sucking up the western world. i as a
: chinese feel really cheap for these people. (of course some of the chinese
: christians are just too mentally weak, and when surrounded by this christian
: culture, the christian god comes most convenient for their need for
: strength and consolation)
: the christianity thing was never meant for anyone who are not caucasian.
: then the black people jumped in, understandable given their sad slave
: history and not so much civilization. but why us chinese?
|
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