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SCRIPTURE - the fossilised remains of EXTINCT IDEAS

Now I know that there's a flaw in my analogy here, but my point is: Doesn't the very nature of cementing ideas in history and treating them as constant truths, prohibit the evolutionary process of culture and intelligent ideals? Christians (and other religions) regard the historicity of their written word as representing the evidence of timeless wisdom. Yet what we know of the evolutionary process is that nothing can be static. So, by definition, ancient, written words should be considered an historical record of a primitive culture in it's early form of development. As knowledge increases, superstition diminishes and reason takes a hold.

I believe reason is the next evolutionary stage and we are in it's infancy.

GOD! it's taking a while to catch on LMAO

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Permalink Reply by AgeOfAtheists14 on February 15, 2010 at 5:06am

reason could take hold if certain spin doctors did not worship their madness...

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Permalink Reply by Sigmund on February 15, 2010 at 5:38am

well, isn't that the fundamental flaw of dogma. religions become extinct (plenty of examples of that process) when they are too outmoded to be taken seriously by the average unthinking 'man in the street' (no offence intended). wouldn't it be nice if we were close to that point with christianity (we should be, the necessary conditions are there), but I think we might be waiting another while.
dogmatic religions encapsulate/represent and codify the social/intellectual/etc. norms of their time. (consider the implied moral standards of the society that produced christianity and the bible) Thankfully, these inevitably develop, and religions become obsolete. it's obvious now, but still people hang on...

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Permalink Reply by Arnold on March 19, 2010 at 2:10am

While many religions become extinct, some prove quite durable over time. Christianity is but one: Buddhism has been around some 2,500 years, Judaism about 3,000 and Hinduism in some form for perhaps as long as 7,000 years. Zoroastrianism, while claiming few followers now, is also older than Christianity and is the probable source of Christians' belief in Satan and an afterlife.
What characterizes all of these religions is their ability to adapt over time (Believe It or Not!) while convincing their adherents that they are fundamentally the same as always. Even "liberal" sects rationalize that they are changing only the culturally based aspects in order to preserve the fundamental principles for new times and situations.
Religion, despite its very undesirable quality of subjecting large majorities of a society to the will of an elite minority based on fear and superstition, is also a powerful social stabilizer historically. Only in the last 400 years have secular institutions begun to evolve that will, I hope, eventually make institutions that are based on fear of the unknown a thing of the past. I wish it could happen in my lifetime, but I believe it will take a few hundred more years for god worship to become virtually extinct.