Would You Want To Know?

[Wade]

I was having a conversation with a co-worker of mine. We are friends at work but not much of anything else. Well he is a typical Sunday Christian (when he feels like it). So he is not a “fundie” by any means. I think he goes “just in case”, but never talks about it otherwise.

 

Well, he knows exactly how I feel about Christianity and I think I scare him a little. LOL. Well we were talking and I asked if I could ask him a hypothetical yes or no question. He agreed. This purely hypothetical question was this:

 

 

If Christianity really is a fraud and all of what you have been told was a lie……

 

WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW?

 

 

 

I think I saw sparks fly out of his ears! He stared at me for a long time. Then said “it doesn’t matter because it is not true!”

 

 

I told him that this is a hypothetical question, it doesn’t matter if it is true or not.

 

WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW?

 

 

“it doesn’t matter because it is not true!”

 

 

He then didn’t want to talk about it anymore. So I left it alone.

 

 

I began to think about this. The brainwashing of the cult controls his mind to the point that he is scared to consider a hypothetical yes or no question.

 

 

I couldn’t stop thinking about this. I found it very intriguing. So a few days later I was talking to another friend of mine at the gym.

 

 

Same question.

 

 

Same blank look.

 

Same sparks flying out of the ears.

 

Same type of response, a refusal to answer, a refusal to even consider.

 

 

I plan on asking several more Christians. I am curious as to their response.

 

 

So, anyone else have the same type of experience they would like to share?

 

Any passing Christian want to answer my simple HYPOTHETICAL question?

 

If Christianity really is a fraud and all of what you have been told was a lie……

 

WOULD YOU WANT TO KNOW?

 

 

 

A YES or NO answer will suffice.

 

If you want to explain yourself that is fine.

 

But please answer the question first.

[Kalidasa]

Yes, I would. Because frankly, I do not like being lied to. And that's putting it lightly.

[nick5]

I'd say yes... but then again, I'm not a christian, I'm not blinded and brainwashed by that crap. So it's hard to see it from their point of view.

So, if I was a christian, I'd probably say that it doesn't matter... because it's not true

[saxyroze]

I think most Christians hold the stupid saying “Ignorance is Bliss” to heart. So with that in mind, I don’t think many Christians would actually say yes. They like the little security blanket Christianity gives them and even if it were a fake blanket, they’d still want it.

[JoeFriday]

I think the reason people have problems answering that question is that christianity is almost always connected with some supporting experiences. The problem of reconciling those experience which are real (at least in the sense they felt, and may have placebo effects as well), with the claim that christianity is fake presents a problem because then they would be faced with the hard question of what caused those experiences. In many people's minds to feel/think things exist but that aren't there, is pretty much is the definition of insanity. Most christians don't have an alternate explanation besides christianity is true, the devil caused it, and I am insane.

[Open_Minded]

If Christianity really is a fraud and all of what you have been told was a lie……

 

Wade...

 

I think Christianity is dealing with something along those lines right now. We're studying Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels.

 

The Gnostic Texts are causing quite a stir within the Christian community, and they should be.

 

Anyway ... our group ended up talking about the impact of archeaology, literary analysis, etc... on the literalist reading of scripture. There are few options when facts come into conflict with belief.

1. A person can decide to consider his/her beliefs and grapple with those beliefs, what they are, where they eminate from, why they are important, etc...
   
2. Or... a person can decide to go into denial and just ignore the facts. Not a good option, but - ignoring facts within and of itself does not lead to violence.
   
3. The other option - and one that the world is witnessing across religious boundaries these days - is to deny the facts, demand that the facts are "wrong" or "lies" and act out violently.
   

 

So .... the question becomes where amongst those options does the average religious consumer fall?

[BlueGiant]

I would have said yes when I was a Christian to that question. I can see where people would be uncomfortable, but that is the price one pays for being honest with themselves.

 

It should be noted that I did find out the answer and said yes at the time...*grin*

[Checkmate]

Considering the amount of resistance Christians give us on this board alone, I'd say their response will always be avoidance. Christians have no intention of ever allowing little things like truth or evidence to stand in the way of their Faith. They can't afford to confess that they MIGHT be wrong. For that is to admit doubt, and doubt leads down the road to apostasy. After all, look what happened to us when we doubted, questioned and sought HONEST answers.

 

So it's safer to keep their heads firmly up their rectums and avoid the question.

 

But still, I think it's a grand question to ask. A perfect barometer for gauging how honest or dishonest a person is willing to be.

[Angel]

Hmmm, very interesting question!

Well, if I were asked a few years ago, I probably would not have wanted to know, because I would never have wanted to believe that my whole life was based on a total lie. I was so into it, christianity was all I knew, trusted, and believed. It would have been too devestating at the time.

However, a year or so ago, I would have wanted to know because it would have cleared up a lot of doubts that I was starting to have.....in reality, that is about what it came down to. Found out it was all phoney and nothing more than a control game. Sooooo, I am glad that I KNOW the truth now.

I seriously doubt that any full blown christian would answer that question because to them, that is all they know and they can not imagine anything that they believe being anything but the ultimate truth.

Hope that I made some sense, I tend to ramble...lol

[Checkmate]

Angel, I understood you. And I agree. Christians are so invested in the Lie, that they become desperate to hold onto it at any cost. This is why they surround themselves with like-minded sycophants singing the same tunes, while avoiding the tough questions of skeptics. To have the rug yanked out from underneath them would be devastating. Not many humans have the guts to admit that they were dumb enough to believe a swindle. Their pride won't allow it.

 

This topic has gotten me wondering again, and I wish that any of our resident ex-ministers would stop by and answer some questions I have.

 

What happens to church members of a Pastor who quits? When the man in charge blows the whistle on the scam, does that make the members question and re-evaluate their faith? Or do they keep plugging forward without a support system? Does the body function without the head? Or do they REALLY believe that "Christ" is the head, ignoring the little man behind the curtain? How far are people willing to deceive themselves?

 

If EVERYONE else in the church quits, leaving a Christian alone, would they keep believing? Or would it be like the Emperor's New Clothes? Having been relieved of the burden to lie, would they now admit that they too didn't see anything?

 

"Enquiring minds want to know."

[Rosa Mystica]

I would have said yes when I was a Christian to that question.

 

I would have, too. I can't stand the idea of "lie to yourself so you can be saved". What a bunch of crap!

[loves_learning]

 

Wade...

 

I think Christianity is dealing with something along those lines right now. We're studying Beyond Belief : The Secret Gospel of Thomas by Elaine Pagels.

 

The Gnostic Texts are causing quite a stir within the Christian community, and they should be.

 

Anyway ... our group ended up talking about the impact of archeaology, literary analysis, etc... on the literalist reading of scripture. There are few options when facts come into conflict with belief.

1. A person can decide to consider his/her beliefs and grapple with those beliefs, what they are, where they eminate from, why they are important, etc...
   
2. Or... a person can decide to go into denial and just ignore the facts. Not a good option, but - ignoring facts within and of itself does not lead to violence.
   
3. The other option - and one that the world is witnessing across religious boundaries these days - is to deny the facts, demand that the facts are "wrong" or "lies" and act out violently.
   

So .... the question becomes where amongst those options does the average religious consumer fall?

 

YEAAAAA! I'm glad you're reading Elaine Pagels, she's awesome. You should read "Adam, Eve, and the Serpent" next...

 

Anyway, these things ARE causing a big stir to more open groups, because they do present some difficulties in reconciling a faith in absolute truth and what is obviously a document that isn't. This kind of stuff is what turned me off to Christianity eventually...my faith was based on absolute truth, and once I found that I couldn't trust it anymore, then I was done.

 

But, on the other hand, if one's faith isn't based upon absolute truth and there is some sort of intepretive matrix present that can reconcile the two, it isn't necessarily such a big wrench thrown in the framework of faith.

 

To answer the first question, yes, I wanted to know because of my absolute truth idea...if I was not living by the absolute truth or if I was wrong about what it was, I had to find out.