I've been noticing lately that there are many questions that appeal to the idea that the person posting the answer has some expertise into historical matters that others in the population are ignorant of. Examples of this include the idea that the founding fathers of America were Atheist, and that Mother Theresa didn't feel the presence of God for 40 years of her life. Why do these so called facts only seem to appear after the person indicated by the 'fact' has died and are then unable to verify these claims? Do others have some idea on why this phenomenon occurs? Are people just so full of it that they must make up outlandish claims in a way that is deliberately unverifiable or is this just coincidence? Do you know of any other examples of this occurring? Please use clear examples that do not (intentionally) disrespect other people beliefs (such as Adam and Eve for example).
2007-08-25 21:29:02 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
It does seem somewhat suspect that claims like Mother Theresa wasn't a friend to the poor doesn't surface until after she had died. How can we verify such information? Mother Theresa wouldn't let anyone but lepers kiss her (I assume this was to bring them comfort without risking other healthy people). This would seem to argue against her not being a friend to those in need; she also did much work in 3rd world nations working on the behalf of those in need. How can we verify that these claims are truthful when the evidence seems so overwhelming? Why should we believe those who make these types of claims without source?
2007-08-25 21:41:51 · update #1
Most of the people you list left some footprints in the way of journals, diaries, or publications that could be used to verify the assertions made, not that that means the asker/answerer looked it up. People's thinking, especially ordinary ones, from prehistory or earlier societies where most all were illiterate are much harder to ascertain as there aren't many artifacts. Even when there are documents, we need to be careful in drawing conclusion. As Napoleon said, most of what we call history was decided and agreed upon by the victors -- not an exact quote, but the gist of one.
With or without sources, we are the final judge of what we accept and believe to be true. It is lamentable, however, that many -- and kids are so vulnerable -- blindly accept without the arduous work of researching and investigating reality for themselves.
2007-08-25 21:38:33 · answer #1 · answered by jaicee 6 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Sometimes people get things wrong (like the idea that Mother Teresa was a friend of the poor which was debunked by Christopher Hitchins before she even died or that the US is a Christian nation which was debunked by the writings of a lot the US's founding fathers).
Overtime those who are right manage to convince others and those who are wrong die out.
One example of a false belief appearing after death is the idea that the US was founded on Christianity. Many of the founding fathers of the US were vehemently anti-Christian and yet after their death they got posthumously baptised by religious believers trying to force religion into government.
2007-08-26 04:35:51 · answer #2 · answered by bestonnet_00 7 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Possibly the author who presented the idea that Mother Theresa was agnostic has it right. He happened to be appointed Devil's Advocate for her Canonization hearing and had access to her writings that you or I would never have.
As for the founding fathers I have lately become appalled by the presentation of them all as born again evangelists by the current white house administration. Previous Staff at the Library of Congress have quit and have protested about the religious re-writing of American history.
2007-08-26 04:52:08 · answer #3 · answered by ? 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The same reason that people today are starting to say that the Holocaust never happened. When history is far enough in the past, it becomes more open to interpretation, or even flat-out denial.
And the founding fathers were not predominantly Atheist (some were), but many were Deists.
2007-08-26 04:36:33 · answer #4 · answered by SDW 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
well... the more famous founding fathers were actually deists. and the evidence only takes about half a seconds worth of research on google. they made their opinions quite clear in most cases.
and as for adam and eve, thats just a ridiculous story inconceivable with today's knowledge of evolution.
2007-08-26 04:38:08 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 1⤋
Why would correcting beliefs based on false information be disrespecting the people who hold those beliefs? The information about Adam & Eve given in Genesis by Moses was corrected by Jesus in The Apocryphon of John. Why would people who claim to be followers of Jesus choose to continue to be ignorant of this fact?
2007-08-26 04:42:53 · answer #6 · answered by single eye 5 · 1⤊ 3⤋
"Hell is a place of torture". No it isn't. No where in the scriptures is there such a claim.
2007-08-26 05:10:16 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
u r rit frnd.
2007-08-26 04:57:11 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋