About six months ago I was visiting my son in Reno and I met this christain church pastor that spent an hour preaching to me. Fifteen years ago he was an attorney and then he got into drugs and went to prison where he became a minister. Ten years ago he opened a Christain church and all he could talk about was Jesus this, Jesus that and quoting scriptures and all. Finally I asked him why he had to make it so complicated and he told me it wasn't intellectual. Three months later I went back to Reno and saw him staggering down a street and he looked like he'd been sleeping under a bridge and was so loaded that I had to help him stand when he was looking for his cigerates. As he walked away I yelled for him and told him that it is intellectual. Why do people, especially Christains make it so complicated when Jesus is ancient history? Isn't it all about God and isn't religion intellectual?
2007-07-31 05:01:18 · 9 answers · asked by THE FISH 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
No. Religion is ANTI-intellectual; it encourages you to ignore facts and logic and simply have faith. Any moron can have faith.
2007-07-31 05:05:17 · answer #1 · answered by Brent Y 6 · 5⤊ 2⤋
The Catholic Church teaches about the synthesis of "Fides et Ratio," or Faith and Reason. Yes, there is an intellectual element to faith. That's why you have to go to school for 8 years to become a priest. Pope John Paul II even wrote an encyclical called "Fides et Ratio" dealing with this very topic.
2007-07-31 12:12:45 · answer #2 · answered by Stephen 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I feel that Religion IS intellectualization or even politicization of whatever God and Spirit truly is. We always have the challenge of growing spiritually in a material world, and too often it make it "complicated", when attempting to do so. Many often end up clinging to the physical representations of their concepts, eg. dogmas, crosses, icons, imaging God as a man, etc. and miss the whole point.
I feel the truth is simple, at least for me, but gets complicated as it is relatively unexplainable in terms of the physical or material world. Mostly I just have to surrender, and be grateful for the evidences of it always working in my life, whether I choose to acknowledge it or not.
Love and compassion of one for another, and acceptance of all that is, with love = unconditional, positive regard, is about the best we can do. And don't we complicate this with our judgments, and intellect.
Good luck with your search, and try to have some compassion for your friend.
2007-07-31 12:20:01 · answer #3 · answered by sunnyjay 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Religion is just a search for truth that has become mired in it's own dogma. It *should* be intellectual, but it isn't.
2007-07-31 12:06:16 · answer #4 · answered by ZombieTrix 2012 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Philosophically discussing religion is intellectual stimulation. But beyond that nothing.
2007-07-31 12:05:57 · answer #5 · answered by John C 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
It is intellectual because you have to use your mind to sort out all that is said when you hear what is being told you.
2007-07-31 12:37:28 · answer #6 · answered by 1saintofGod 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
No. Religion and high intellectual capacity are incompatible.
"Reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed. Faith must trample underfoot all reason, sense, and understanding, and whatever it sees must be put out of sight and... know nothing but the word of God." ~ Martin Luther
"Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but... more frequently than not... struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God." ~ Martin Luther
"Reason should be destroyed in all Christians." ~ Martin Luther
"To be a Christian, you must 'p l u c k out the eye of reason'." ~ Martin Luther
"There is on earth among all dangers no more dangerous thing than a richly endowed and adroit reason, especially if she enters into spiritual matters which concern the soul and God. For it is more possible to teach an a** (donkey) to read than to blind such a reason and lead it right; for reason must be deluded, blinded, and destroyed." ~ Martin Luther
2007-07-31 12:06:15 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 3⤋
I don't know why some Christians make it so complicated.
It is actually very simple.
It gets complicated when we try to twist it to justify our own sins.
10 Commandments, and 7 Sacraments is all you need!
Peace!
2007-07-31 12:06:23 · answer #8 · answered by C 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Yes, I think so. It has to do with our understanding of how the universe works. Highly intellectual concepts!
2007-07-31 12:06:06 · answer #9 · answered by KC 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋