Comments on: Quick note on Jefferson and adolescence

By: Pareidolius

Pareidolius — Wed, 30 May 2018 20:49:42 +0000

Turning from god. You say that like it’s a bad thing. Embracing rationalism and atheism was the most exhilarating moment of my life. Gods are as small as the brains that made them. The universe may not be made for us, but that makes it, and our existence all the more wonderous and precious to me.

By: David Farrell

David Farrell — Wed, 30 May 2018 20:49:42 +0000

As a recovering fundamentalist it has been my experience that most fundamentalists, and that includes those attending fundamentalist college and in the ministry, do not fact check their leaders and preachers. They simply take them at their word; I don’t know if that is laziness or denial. Maybe a combination of both.

It has also been my experience that when fundamentalists and evangelicals seriously start looking at things they often cease to be fundamentalist and/or evangelical. The sad part is that so many are totally walking wounded by that time that they turn from God and embrace an atheist viewpoint.

By: TXHistoryProf

TXHistoryProf — Wed, 30 May 2018 17:30:52 +0000

David,

I too am a recovering fundamentalist. I attended a fundamentalist church and school where we were taught not to question the Bible or our preachers as they were “divinely inspired”. My journey to elightenment began after graduating from an ELCA college, I was taught to read the Bible critically and I was taught the history of Christianity as well as the religions of the world and their similarities to each other.

As my academic credentials increased so did my view of absolute evangelical doctrine. I feel that, just as the founders did, that religion is a very personal issue which should not be pushed on others. Bending history to fit an agenda,Christian or otherwise, is a sin among real historians. While in grad school, I read the works of some of the top historians in the field. It was at this point that I realized Barton was not telling the entire story. Fundamentalists have a habit of taking things out of context to support their point.

Mark

By: TxHistoryProf

TxHistoryProf — Mon, 06 Aug 2012 01:11:15 +0000

It is entirely possible to believe in a “Supreme Creator” and sill utilize rational thought with religious values and principles to guide life decisions.

The beauty of the USA is that we are free to embrace or reject monotheistic or polytheistic religion.

Mark

By: TxHistoryProf

TxHistoryProf — Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:11:15 +0000

It is entirely possible to believe in a “Supreme Creator” and sill utilize rational thought with religious values and principles to guide life decisions.

The beauty of the USA is that we are free to embrace or reject monotheistic or polytheistic religion.

Mark

By: Gus

Gus — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 08:45:42 +0000

There was a reason for apprenticeships in colonial America. (But we dare not say that, it sounds like organized labor, those Jesus hating socialists)

By: Gus

Gus — Sat, 04 Aug 2012 04:45:42 +0000

There was a reason for apprenticeships in colonial America. (But we dare not say that, it sounds like organized labor, those Jesus hating socialists)

By: AZVoter

AZVoter — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 19:10:56 +0000

Tom, the same question could be asked of the Founders’ requirement that 21 be the minimum voting age.

It was the 26th Amendment. ratified in the 1970s, that lowered the minimum voting age to 18.

By: AZVoter

AZVoter — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 15:10:56 +0000

Tom, the same question could be asked of the Founders’ requirement that 21 be the minimum voting age.

It was the 26th Amendment. ratified in the 1970s, that lowered the minimum voting age to 18.

By: Richard Willmer

Richard Willmer — Fri, 03 Aug 2012 11:42:57 +0000

Turning from gods made in one’s own image is certainly a very GOOD thing. One the great ironies of religious fundamentalism is its tendency to ‘tightly define’ God, according to texts written by humans and / or human dogma; inevitably, such an exercise leads to ‘gods in the image of [the worst aspects of] humans’.

There is always a danger that any human construct can become a ‘god’ (‘money’ springs immediately to mind – now there’s a ‘human construct’ if ever there was one!), and – no disrespect to Pareidolius – this can be as true of rationalism and atheism as it for theism / religion. That said, the embrace of enquiry can be enormously rewarding, for both individuals and societies.