I'll take it for a spin.
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Originally Posted by Shaden  The first of these is that Christianity is based very much on faith and not just faith but blind faith. |
I disagree already. Christianity, like many other things, is based primarily on obedience. There's a difference, depending on where you are and the circumstances of your upbringing that dictate the extent to which it's a matter of obedience, but the definition of sin remains walking off the path of obedience.
The faith part comes in as the question of who the obedience is to.
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Originally Posted by Shaden The only proof of God's existence is a book - and the origins of this book are shrouded in uncertainty. |
The standard apologetic to this is either the acceptance of circular logic ("The Bible says so. Why is that right? Because God said so. How do I know? The Bible says so.") or the invocation of
Psalms 19. I'm getting doctrinal, though, so... skip ahead...
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Originally Posted by Shaden But there is no doubt in my mind that Christians are brave, strong and resilient individuals.... For that one sacrifice they make Christians will always have my attention. It might seem stupid but ultimately it proves there is something of substance behind that pleasant face. |
First, you must show that the individual has made that sacrifice. The vast majority of Christians are, not because they chose to be, but because they didn't choose not to be. They believe because this was the first worldview they were presented. And this is often why they
don't know the history of their own religion: the past does not exist, because it is irrelevant to truth.
Second, I would find it more respectable that someone can take the core of their being and find it in themselves a willingness to question it. Instead, most Christians find the "sacrifice" comfortable. They find obedience and conformity to be comfortable. Myself, I have gone so far as to question things such as my own existence; I make the choice, consciously, to assume certain things. How many Christians would you say do this?
Third, you make no differentiation between Christians' "life-long faith test" and others' "set of faith tests". Why is faith in one's partner less than faith in God? Because you might get another? Is it because they're gambling with their own life? Is it the reward? How often do Christians think about Heaven? How often do they ponder God? Do Christians sacrifice only to get to Heaven? I don't think so. It is, ironically, far more likely that they sacrifice so that they can avoid Hell: a completely different deal.
Christians and other religious persons are people, just the same as other people, and just as much at fault. Would you respect someone who chose boundaries like, "I won't speak to white people"? Limits like, "I won't ever go outside my house"? Why are the boundaries that Christians choose better than these? And shouldn't
this, not the fact that they have set them at all, be the arbiter of whether or not they deserve respect?
A person isn't respectable because they have limited themselves; a person is respectable if they limit themselves
for the right reason. But whether those reasons are right is a bit subjective, isn't it? It might be worthwhile to know what those reasons are.