johnydon22:
Last Thursday, the heat of the Otedola bridge tanker explosion was still very much felt throughout Nigerian cyber-space. What further aggravated the problem was the pray for Nigeria campaign it sparked off.

As expected there was mixed feelings about the whole campaign and i was one of the persons that spoke against such clueless campaign. We have been praying times and again after every tragedy yet another even deadlier tragedy occurs just after. This should be a call for more practical solution and not prayer.

Anyway that is not the point of this thread. Let me proceed with my story.

So, i made some posts on my WhatsApp status against the #PrayForNigeria campaign and ordinarily my friends reacted. Some felt the need to affirm that prayers worked which i did not argue against, some agreed with me, a particular friend of mine (female) whom i have not seen before, we just chat online argued against the premise and we got talking. I later made my intentions of not arguing on whatsapp known and she proposed that we met that day to sit and talk, i agreed.

In the afternoon she was at my house and we got a bit familiar with ourselves before proceeding with the discussion. The following lines highlights the premise of this topic.

After a few discussions about God, religion, prayer and all.

She asked me to explain to her, that she wanted to understand my perspective on Christianity, God and biblical positions.

"I want to tell you a story" I said. She smiled and paid apt attention to my impending story, so i began. "long ago when the world was still new, Chukwu (God) created humanity and everything was ok but it wasn't determined yet if man were to live forever or not" She adjusted herself and paid even closer attention.
"So God called the tortoise and the dog" Immediately i mentioned this line she lifted her face up and gave me that WTF look. I smiled and told her to relax, i wasn't finished with my story then proceeded.
"God gave the dog a package of immortality and the tortoise he gave a package of mortality, whoever delivers his first affects the turnout of man's reality on mortality. The dog is much faster than the tortoise so it sets out immediately with bullet speed, but on its way, it saw a pile of bones and thought to itself, let me eat and enjoy some bones, the tortoise cannot ever catch up. After the bones, he was tired and decided to take a little nap. He was still sleeping when the tortoise walked past him and thus delivered his package to mankind first and that is why mankind is prone to die"

She laughed.
I asked "You don't believe that right?"
She nodded in affirmation.
"Why?"

"Dogs and tortoise?, common, thats folklore" she replied.

I laughed and agreed. "But do you know that, that is the Igbo traditional story of what happened?"
She just laughed.

"All right, i will tell you another story" I said.
"So long ago, after God created heaven and earth, he created two humans and put them in a garden. Then he planted a tree and told them not to eat that particular tree but they can eat every other fruit there. Then the woman was taking a walk one day and the snake told her. "You know you won't die if you eat this fruit right?, God just doesn't want you to be like him" then the woman took the fruit and ate it, gave some to her husband and he ate it. and that is why snakes do not have legs today and humans are prone to die and women have pains during labour"

"do you believe this one?" i asked.
She paused for a while and burst into laughter.

How come you don't believe the former but you believe the later, they both had the same motif, style and theme?

She laughed again and kept quiet for a minute. After that i knew she had no much defense to muster up anymore, i just proposed we watch some african magic.

* * * * * * *

This story up there represents the point this thread presents. "Myth or truth' Most Christians or Muslims that'd read this almost certainly won't believe my story on dog and tortoise determining whether we live forever or not but they obviously believe stories that are just as ridiculous as mine.

A muslim would laugh at the Greek myth of Perseus riding a flying horse but they actually believe Muhammed rode a flying horse named baruq.

Evaluation of myths found in most religious books betrays a motif that is most certainly folklore, apparently myth but today, people believe these as truth and defend these beliefs against reason.

As i have always affirmed, such application of faith is grossly dishonest by default.

So is this not a time to ask yourself the most necessary question towards your belief. The most daring approach that affirms our courage to seek the truth.

Why do i believe this story and not that story?

If you could understand the why? of your belief, i think this simplifies your position better and shows your belief does not necessary form myth into truth.

Deprofessional:


I have seen enough in this life to make me believe in the existence of GOD.

Acepen:
People Hold On To Belief And Opinion Despite Rational Evidence Against It

dalaman:
Now to address the OP


People tend to accept these mythical stories because they were indoctrinated with then and made to accept them at very early ages when they couldn't reason very well and they had no reason to dismiss them.because they were told to accept them as special and previlaged facts by authorities they trusted and had no reason not to. Failure to accept these myths are laced with certain threats and talks of damnation or doom.

Societal acceptance also plays a great role as well. That's why a Muslim will read the bible and mock Christians for accepting certain tales but will read the Koran and defend similar tales.

Acepen:
Op Johnydon22 Ur Threads Tickles My Thinking Faculty.
What We Have Here Is Perceptual Ascentuation. People Hold On To Belief And Opinion Despite Rational Evidence Against It

dalaman:
Now to address the OP

People tend to accept these mythical stories because they were indoctrinated with then and made to accept them at very early ages when they couldn't reason very well and they had no reason to dismiss them.because they were told to accept them as special and previlaged facts by authorities they trusted and had no reason not to. Failure to accept these myths are laced with certain threats and talks of damnation or doom.

Societal acceptance also plays a great role as well. That's why a Muslim will read the bible and mock Christians for accepting certain tales but will read the Koran and defend similar tales.

johnydon22:


i quite agree. after our discussion, she agreed of having not really given a thought to most of the things i said and then playfully said she was going home to think.

CAPSLOCKED:



SHE'S GOING TO THINK FOR AS MUCH AS 300 YEARS AND COME UP WITH "I FEEL HIM IN MY HEART. GO CLOSER TO HIM BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE. DON'T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BE USED BY DEVIL. HELL IS REAL ".
IT'S A USUAL THING.

johnydon22:
Well, i'm pretty sure some of us had come up with such defenses to quench the doubt burning through us at certain points in our lives.

CAPSLOCKED:



BELIEF IS A VERY DANGEROUS THING.




IT'S NOT ANYONE'S FAULT THAT THEY WERE INDOCTRINATED AT A VERY YOUNG AGE. CHILDREN ARE VERY EASY TO BE DECEIVED BECAUSE AT THAT STAGE THEY HARDLY REASON FOR THEMSELVES AND CAN BARELY DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG.

THE PROBLEM HERE IS THE ADULTS THEY BECOME.
THERE ARE ADULTS THAT CLAIM TO SEE JESUS ONE-ON-ONE. SOME CLAIM THEY TALK TO AND HEAR HIM. ADULTS BELIEVE THEY KNOW THE ABSOLUTE "TRUTH" AND THEY CANNOT LIVE WITHOUT JESUS.
IT'S SHAMEFUL THAT THERE ARE "EDUCATED" PEOPLE WHO WOULD FIGHT FOR, AND DIE FOR THEIR BELIEF DESPITE ALL THE EVIDENCE AGAINST IT.
THERE ARE ADULTS THAT AGREE THAT RELIGION WAS FORCED DOWN ON OUR FOREFATHERS BY COLONIAL MASTERS. THEY AGREE THAT THE BIBLE IS PRETTY MUCH FUXKED UP AND CANNOT BE THE ABSOLUTE WORD OF A LIVING GOD. THEY DON'T GO TO CHURCH BECAUSE THEY KNOW CHURCHES ARE BUSINESS INSTITUTES AND SERMONS ARE FAIRYTALES. BUT STILL, THEY CLAIM TO KNOW "GOD" EXISTS BECAUSE "THEY FEEL HIM IN THEIR HEARTS.

YOU KNOW BELIEFS ARE MORE THAN DETRIMENTAL, AND DAMAGING WHEN A CONSCIOUS GROWNUP PARTIALLY (OR FULLY) REJECTS A RELIGION BUT ACCEPTS THE DEITY PROJECTED BY THE RELIGION.

CAPSLOCKED:





I THOUGHT I WAS MAD TO QUESTION RELIGION. UNTIL I FOUND OTHERS ON THE INTERNET IN 2016.

johnydon22:
1.Belief in God is not a bad thing, i happen to think it is in fact a profound conviction.

2.But regarding your comment, elucidate the connection between what you have seen in this life and its validation on the existence of God?

3. The post was not really referring to the existence of God but rather question whether most of the stories that form the basis of religious beliefs are in fact truth or myth.

Deprofessional:


If youn doubt some things in the bible, it is tantamount to saying you doubt the existence of God.

I will tell you what I have seen in life to make me believe in an almighty creator.

bloodofthelamb:
Johnydon22, let me diverge a little bit from the premise of your post.

Do you know if you will see tomorrow being the 5th of July 2018? If you know, where is your prove? If there is no prove, don't you think you are living on faith all this while and you did not realise it?

Pls, correct me if I am wrong.

Note: I am not wishing you harm.

adoyi8:
I remember reading an article on the internet titled "How to loose your religion without loosing your mind," I really needed it at time because i was worse than a Mad man. I hated myself, hated my thinking faculty and was faced with the white bear paradox. I wonder where I would have been without the Internet because it has become my church, my sanctuary.

bloodofthelamb:
Johnydon22, let me diverge a little bit from the premise of your post.

Do you know if you will see tomorrow being the 5th of July 2018? If you know, where is your prove? If there is no prove, don't you think you are living on faith all this while and you did not realise it?

Pls, correct me if I am wrong.

Note: I am not wishing you harm.

spongeisback:

Why are you Christians so bothered and concerned about life and death? It's super disturbing.

Am an atheist and I don't spend my time thinking if I would see the next day or not, I plan my day if I don't see it fine. The reason you all hold on to this crazy and weird dogma is because of fear 100%.

johnydon22:
I'd like to believe that I understand the fundamental premise of this question.

Knowledge of tomorrow is an uncertainty, it falls under the purview of probabilities. And when every necessary variable is accounted for we can quantify our likelihood to either see or not see the next day.

The exercision represented here is more correctly hope than it is faith.

Moreover, there are many instances where we exercise faith but we fully understand that our faith have no weight on reality. Its more or less a conviction hinged on wish.

So this is the premise: Faith inserted to represent reality is wrongly applied

Hope and faith are not entirely the same. Be the judge .

Note: it was a great question brother

bloodofthelamb:


Hope is the backbone of faith. Without hope, faith is dead. They go together, for faith is the substance of things hoped for.(Heb 11:1).

bloodofthelamb:


How can you plan for something you do not yet see, or have any evidence that you will see?

spongeisback:

You should be asking yourself this question. After all you believe when you die you'll go to heaven and sing hallelujah for the rest of your days.

So please answer your question.

bloodofthelamb:


How can you plan for something you do not yet see, or have any evidence that you will see?

RuthlessLeader:

Why are you a christian?

bloodofthelamb:


I rest my case. I will let the truth be your companion.

bloodofthelamb:


I am a christian because of the love of God. I didn't choose Him. He was the One who choosed me before the world began that I should be blameless before Him in love.

I only received the glorious love that He bestows freely. All humanity have a chance to receives from Him as well, through a right heart.

RuthlessLeader:

You were likely born a christian. Have you ever asjed yourself about the fate of those born in muslim countries and are brainwashed into accepting islam? Can't you go on a crusade to convert the muslims like paul did with the gentiles?

bloodofthelamb:


Hope is the backbone of faith. Without hope, faith is dead. They go together, for faith is the substance of things hoped for.(Heb 11:1).