Comments on: Six Arguments Against Religion IV: We’re Not Like Those ‘People’

By: Jeff Lilly

Jeff Lilly — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 22:27:09 +0000

Cat & Erik — that is encouraging! And honestly, not all that surprising; most adults I know in America, even the evangelical ones, are relatively broad minded. Of course, maybe I just travel in broad-minded circles, but still — good news.

Melanie, I don’t blame Jesus. As I said in the article, it’s not just religions that form these in-groups / out-groups. I do blame human failings, in particular the churches that are more interested in hierarchy and doctrine than the living spirit.

By: melanie

melanie — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 18:41:24 +0000

Unfortunately, can’t disagree w/ you about some Christians. But please don’t blame Jesus for his imperfect followers. He said that he came that we would all have life to the full, and so that WE WOULD ALL BE ONE. He did not come to found a religion, he came to proclaim that God loves us all and that the kingdom of heaven as at hand, if we would simply (hah!) love God and love our neighbors. That sounds pretty inclusive to me. I don’t personally believe in an “after life hell” I think we create our own little hells right here on earth when we judge and condemn others and thus separate ourselves from God’s universal love and from one another.

By: Erik

Erik — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 02:06:12 +0000

Cat, I was thinking of that study as I was reading this as well… I assume you’re thinking of this one, where 57% of evangelicals polled reported universalist leanings…

Jeff, I will admit to occasionally having those feelings myself, when confronted with the more rabidly fundamentalist among my neighbors (of which there are a fair number in my corner of the South). Most folks, though, just haven’t been confronted with enough variance from the moderate-to-conservative Protestant local standard to really give it a lot of thought.