2007-09-03 02:35:14 · 21 answers · asked by Anonymous in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Scripture is dead until it is alive in you. God is the "LIVING" Word.
2007-09-03 02:38:47 · answer #1 · answered by Premaholic 7 · 5⤊ 3⤋
I'm not sure that religion convinces people that only the bible has answers.
But I do think most religion is born from primitive social engineering and fear of death, the former and latter being co-dependent.
And yes, it absolutely diminishes curiosity. In fact, many religions actively discourage curiosity as it is a threat to their doctrine. They often view knowledge as 'evil' because knowledge so often conflicts with their religiously 'ordained' or prescribed viewpoint.
2007-09-03 02:50:24 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The original Christian faith, as practiced during its first 1500 years, never made the claim that only the Bible has answers. That misunderstanding, called "sola scriptura," comes from Martin Luther.
Jesus himself is the way, the truth, and the life. He taught orally, and his teachings may be found in the writings of the early Christians both in the Bible and outside the Bible. Writings by the Fathers of the Church are particularly useful in interpreting ambiguous scriptures.
As the last verse in John says, "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written."
2007-09-03 02:44:44 · answer #3 · answered by Bruce 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
It does if you actually apply the idea that the Bible is the sole textbook for everything. I don't think most "Christians" do; most just go to church once a week and are otherwise reasonable, intelligent people. The "fundie" types have obviously crippled their own ability to reason, and their fear of discovering anything that might be interpreted as contradicting Scripture makes them almost comically afraid of original research.
2007-09-03 02:42:28 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
yes, absolutely. i was a christian for many years and my thinking was so unbelieveably limited by biblical constraints. everything was so black and white; and the more fundamentalist and legalistic you are, the worse it is. now that i've abandoned the faith, i can think so much more clearly--actually, i can think period. i think that's what is so enticing about christianity-- you don't have to think. the bible pops out an answer, and in the areas where there is no clear cut answer, everyone gets all stresed and confused (i.e. the infamous question of why do bad things happen to good people?)
learning to think for myself once i left the church was really hard, but so well worth it. i can now explore my various curiosities about 'sin' without feeling guilty. and i can learn from my own mistakes without wondering if God is disapproving of me or not. it's so freeing...
2007-09-03 02:43:48 · answer #5 · answered by babeedoll_05 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
No religion do not diminish my ability toreason but the bible has the best answers in relations to life.
2007-09-03 02:45:23 · answer #6 · answered by JoJoBa 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
It certainly has with some people.
The main problem is that when a person has a question about some sort of natural process, it is seductively easy for them to just come to the conclusion that "God did it" and then not bother to look any further.
When you disallow the insipidly simple conclusion of "God did it", people will have to look harder for the answers if they want their curiosity satisfied. This, in turn, is what leads to the increase in humanity's overall body of knowledge.
Concluding that "God did it" adds nothing to our knowledge.
The phrase "God did it" is a crutch for the mentally lame.
2007-09-03 03:04:53 · answer #7 · answered by Azure Z 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
After having countless religious and philosophical discussions with my devout Christian family members, I say yes. It's not that their faith makes them stupid. But it seems to put a wall in thinking, so to speak. It's like they only allow their thoughts to only go but so deep before they stop them. And they seem to feel pressured to fit everything in a biblical paradigm, even to the point of sounding ridiculous.
2007-09-03 02:43:43 · answer #8 · answered by Subconsciousless 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Why anyone would want to believe the ancient stories of illiterate goat and sheep herders of 2 to 4 thousand years ago over our scientists of today is a mystery.
2007-09-03 02:44:37 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
No, in fact it allows me to make more sense of the world because I have the teachings on the Bible to reason from.
2007-09-03 02:39:56 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
No my salvation thur Jesus Christ tell,s me the Bible has the answer,s I need to be a child of God,but I also read other material,s of thing,s that interest me.
2007-09-03 02:41:57 · answer #11 · answered by elaine 30705 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋