Christian Ignorance


In Genesis 2:17, God commands Adam and Eve, under the threat of death, to remain ignorant; ignorant of the knowledge of good and evil. And it seems like a lot of Christians, but by no means all, have, very seriously, taken this message to heart. They seem to revel in their own ignorance; to be proud of not knowing, or being unwilling to know, the truth about the world we inhabit.

This is coming from an ex-fundamentalist Baptist, who believed, for nearly 20 years, that the Genesis story was, in its entirety, literally true. I personally know what its like to take pleasure in ignorance. I remember sitting in biology class, thinking, “this is all bullshit. I came from Adam and Eve, not some monkey.” Eventually, however, my huger for knowledge won out, and I had to get rid of the fundamentalist bullshit that I had been raised to believe.

Now, when I look at fundamentalists and evangelicals, all I see is willful or easily cured ignorance. The scientific ignorance of 1st century goat-herders is completely excused; but it is, in my opinion, inexcusable to be ignorant of such basic scientific facts as evolution by natural selection, simple geology, or simple anthropology in the 21st century. We literally have all of human history and knowledge at our fingertips; it sits within arms reach of each one of us, just about every second of every day. At this point, the blame for ignorance falls on the individual.

However, I do acknowledge that we are all ignorant about something - nobody knows everything about everything - but some people are so ridiculously ignorant, in such fundamental subjects, that it wouldn’t be a stretch to call them an ignoramus. While I know some people are just not capable of grasping high-level scientific concepts, I wouldn’t place the average fundamentalist Christian in that group. The average fundamentalist Christian is fully capable of understanding some very complex subjects; they just won’t allow themselves to understand anything that contradicts their indoctrination. In those areas, they are willfully and happily ignorant.

As someone who wants to understand as much about as many things as I can, these displays of willful ignorance astonish and bewilder me. I can no longer wrap my head around how people are content to be ignorant. It just flabbergasts me when someone says “the earth is 6000 years old,” or “we didn’t come from a rock.” Like, seriously, the cure for ignorance is simple: pick up a nonfiction book on the subject and fucking read. It’s that easy, yet they won’t; and it saddens me.

I am no longer content to be ignorant, nor am I content to allow people to wallow in their own ignorance. I know I’m not the smartest or most educated person in the world, but if I could help lead just one person away from ignorance I would be happy. That’s why I can’t keep my mouth shut when I see my aunt deriding science or an old acquaintance spouting religiously inspired bullshit. We’ve come to a point where ignorance is a danger to the whole human race, and, though he was the furthest thing from an atheist, I’ll leave you with a quote from the reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.: “Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.”

Reposted with permission from Jared Bridge.

Thoughts?

Not really because the most knowledgeable and intelligent people in history have been Christians and servants of God.

So the problem is not having "too much" knowledge, whatever that is, but making knowledge to take the place of God in one's life and become one's god.

That's evil!

Those who had the most knowledge and intelligence in history never had that issue, so having much knowledge is not an excuse to become so foolish and rebellious.

God bless.

Bacteriologist:
Christian Ignorance

In Genesis 2:17, God commands Adam and Eve, under the threat of death, to remain ignorant; ignorant of the knowledge of good and evil. And it seems like a lot of Christians, but by no means all, have, very seriously, taken this message to heart. They seem to revel in their own ignorance; to be proud of not knowing, or being unwilling to know, the truth about the world we inhabit.

Fool!

Ever seen any person convict a baby or toddler or slowpoke for wrong doing? No

Yet, do they not learn new things?

Fool, The word is "Mens Rea"!

O ye haters of God, so plentous in foolishness and accustomed to speaking stupidities and never knowing, yet crying about knowledge.

Fools!

"actus non facit reum nisi mens sit rea" Is The Law!

But stoopid haters of God never know any thing!

jesusjnr2020:
Not really because the most knowledgeable and intelligent people in history have been Christians and servants of God.

Can you tell us some examples of the most knowledgeable and intelligent people in history who were Christians and servants of God??

Bacteriologist:
Christian Ignorance


They seem to revel in their own ignorance; to be proud of not knowing, or being unwilling to know, the truth about the world we inhabit.

I personally know what its like to take pleasure in ignorance.

Eventually, however, my huger for knowledge won out, and I had to get rid of the fundamentalist bullshit that I had been raised to believe.

Now, when I look at fundamentalists and evangelicals, all I see is willful or easily cured ignorance.


The average fundamentalist Christian is fully capable of understanding some very complex subjects; they just won’t allow themselves to understand anything that contradicts their indoctrination. In those areas, they are willfully and happily ignorant.


Thoughts?

Wow I can relate to this soo much. I grew up believing the Bible Word for Word, letter for letter. The stories of the OT really fascinated me and I could not imagine any other thing being true.

However I grew older, became more knowledgeable about Science, Fossils, Carbon Dating, medical innovation and the outer space & other planets.

I became more religiously involved in my late teens and early 20s. Started actively preaching and ministering to people, as that was the way to 'please God'.

My quest for knowledge and 'finding the right answers' led me to discover so many things like mistranslated Bible verses, the Apocrypha, differences in doctrine & denominations, Bible verses that weren't original but added later, etc

It was a really turbulent time and I eventually came to some realizations about God and the world

I won't elaborate further, but let's just say I don't care about religious activities anymore and I have shifted my interests, time, resources and energy into information and things that will give me the kind of life I really want for myself

TheRealOwner:


Can you tell us some examples of the most knowledgeable and intelligent people in history who were Christians and servants of God??

Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Isaac Newton, to name but a few.

jesusjnr2020:
Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Isaac Newton, to name but a few.

Can you prove the Christianity of each of these people from any of their speech or work?

AntiChristian:


Can you prove the Christianity of each of these people from any of their speech or work?

Can you prove that any of them were neither servants of God or Christians?

jesusjnr2020:
Can you prove that any of them were neither servants of God or Christians?

The onus is on you to prove your claim that those people you mentioned were Christians! Telling me to disprove your claims to prove you are wrong is illogical.

not at all

jesusjnr2020:
Joseph, Daniel, Shadrach, Isaac Newton, to name but a few.

Ok good. About Joseph, Daniel and Shadrach, the only thing supporting their existence is that their stories are written in the Bible. There are no other historical references about them.

Also, all they did was use their talents/gifts to serve the kingdoms that took them captive. All their actions benefited just the Kingdom and Jews

Let's compare them to Sir Isaac Newton. Newton invented Calculus at the age of 23. Newton made so many contributions to shaping the science called Physics today. The applications of his work span through so many fields, especially Engineering. This is someone we know truly changed the world

If you go through Newton's profile, there was no mention of him being a devout Christian or evangelising or receiving divine inspiration or fasting for religious reasons.

Was he born in a Christian country? Yes.

Was he an active Christian? No

TheRealOwner:


Ok good. About Joseph, Daniel and Shadrach, the only thing supporting their existence is that their stories are written in the Bible. There are no other historical references about them.

Also, all they did was use their talents/gifts to serve the kingdoms that took them captive. All their actions benefited just the Kingdom and Jews

Let's compare them to Sir Isaac Newton. Newton invented Calculus at the age of 23. Newton made so many contributions to shaping the science called Physics today. The applications of his work span through so many fields, especially Engineering. This is someone we know truly changed the world

If you go through Newton's profile, there was no mention of him being a devout Christian or evangelising or receiving divine inspiration or fasting for religious reasons.

Was he born in a Christian country? Yes.

Was he an active Christian? No

You guys and your sentiments trying to discredit even the glaringly obvious truth just because it has to do with God.

I mean, let forget about the rest. Even Isaac Newton too? Smh.

Ok

jesusjnr2020:
You guys and your sentiments trying to discredit even the glaringly obvious truth just because it has to do with God.

I mean, let forget about the rest. Even Isaac Newton too? Smh.

Lol. Sir, I understand your passion and bias towards him being a 'good Christian' but I'm telling you that he wasn't smart or a good scientist because he was a good God-fearing Christian. If that were the case, all the apostles of Christ would have made scientific discoveries too

Being very knowledgeable and intelligent and being a servant of the Most High are 2 very different things.



A very good scientist would be busy at his work trying to perfect his work or testing out new things. You won't see him or her attending service 3x weekly or going round proclaiming his religion is the best and those that don't follow it are sinners or infidels

AntiChristian:


The onus is on you to prove your claim that those people you mentioned were Christians! Telling me to disprove your claims to prove you are wrong is illogical.

There you go again arguing with yourself. Who said they were Christians?

Why not go back and quote the question I was asked if you're not arguing with your own preconceived ideas and not what I said.

Bacteriologist:
Christian Ignorance

Thoughts?

There is nothing like too much knowledge but there is the idolization of knowledge. Knowledge for the service of the LORD GOD is beautiful but knowledge for the purpose of just being knowledgeable could easily lead to an obsession and from thence to the idolization of knowledge. At the end of the day worshipping knowledge will not bring salvation.

First it was wear a mask, next it was social distancing, next it was lockdowns, next it was get the first jab, followed by another jab, followed by another booster jab and yet COVID cases are skyrocketing in societies with high vaccination rates...these worshippers of knowledge find it hard admitting that all they know is failing them and that they need help beyond what they think they know.

Foolish OP. Go and take 1 year old baby and teach him how to drive a car . You will end up killing that baby in road accident. God withhold certain knowledge from us because we are not yet mature enough to handle it . That was what happened in the garden of Eden . Adam wasn't yet mature enough to handle that knowledge of good and evil . What happened when eve decided to learn the good and evil wisdom ?. She end up losing her first born Abel because Cain learnt how to kill a man with weapon . Then came wars because men learnt how to make weapons . The earth went into chaos

Too much knowledge about God and the son of God is not evil, but too much knowledge about secular things is evil. That is why the scripture says in Romans 16:19 that we should be simple concerning evil and wise unto that which is good.

KNOWLEDGE is accumulation of useful information. So there can never be any evil in acquiring information.

WISDOM is the practical application of accumulated information which results in lasting benefits.

STUPIDITY is what you call knowledge when it's not solving any problem!

Bacteriologist:
C
In Genesis 2:17, God commands Adam and Eve, under the threat of death, to remain ignorant; ignorant of the knowledge of good and evil.

It was God's will for man to know Good and evil. That also means it was the will of God for Adam to eat the fruit. But his sin was that he ate it prematurely and also at the command of the devil

jesusjnr2020:

So the problem is not having "too much" knowledge, whatever that is, but making knowledge to take the place of God in one's life and become one's god.

.

That is dogma.

The purpose of knowledge is to inform our opinions, beliefs and actions.

Acquiring knowledge with the goal of strengthening belief in a particular god out of around 4,000. Is self-limiting and often leads to contradicrions and cognitive problems.

TheRealOwner:


Wow I can relate to this soo much. I grew up believing the Bible Word for Word, letter for letter. The stories of the OT really fascinated me and I could not imagine any other thing being true.

However I grew older, became more knowledgeable about Science, Fossils, Carbon Dating, medical innovation and the outer space & other planets.

I became more religiously involved in my late teens and early 20s. Started actively preaching and ministering to people, as that was the way to 'please God'.

My quest for knowledge and 'finding the right answers' led me to discover so many things like mistranslated Bible verses, the Apocrypha, differences in doctrine & denominations, Bible verses that weren't original but added later, etc

It was a really turbulent time and I eventually came to some realizations about God and the world

I won't elaborate further, but let's just say I don't care about religious activities anymore and I have shifted my interests, time, resources and energy into information and things that will give me the kind of life I really want for myself

This is interesting! Thank you for sharing. Knowledge really sets one free.

Continue learning and keep an open mind! Go where the evidence and knowledge leads!

The only evil is that, you will know more than your pastor, and that is not acceptable

efficiencie:

Knowledge for the service of the LORD GOD is beautiful but knowledge for the purpose of just being knowledgeable could easily lead to an obsession and from thence to the idolization of knowledge.

Coming after you just said too much knowledge isn't bad?

So the only knowledge that agrees with the belief you hold is the only knowledge that is important and the one we should pursue? Yea lol..it's called confirmation bias.

efficiencie:

First it was wear a mask, next it was social distancing, next it was lockdowns, next it was get the first jab, followed by another jab, followed by another booster jab and yet COVID cases are skyrocketing in societies with high vaccination rates...these worshippers of knowledge find it hard admitting that all they know is failing them and that they need help beyond what they think they know.

And these are the types of comments you make when all you study is what already agrees with you.

Science is always learning and acquiring new knowledge. The more we know, the better we can refine our old methods of thinking and our previous models. That's why Science will and constantly change.


You need more knowledge in other things.

Bacteriologist:
...Science is always learning and acquiring new knowledge. The more we know, the better we can refine our old methods of thinking and our previous models. That's why Science will and constantly change.

Which is valuable to a hungry 25 year old?
A. BOOK OF 2022 NEW INVENTIONS AND INNOVATIONS FROM SCIENCE.

B. PLATE OF EBA AND AFANG SOUP AND PURE WATER.

C. SEMINAR?

My people make una answer me, no be person wey don chop belle full na him fit learn?

Bacteriologist:


Coming after you just said too much knowledge isn't bad?

So the only knowledge that agrees with the belief you hold is the only knowledge that is important and the one we should pursue? Yea lol..it's called confirmation bias.




And these are the types of comments you make when all you study is what already agrees with you.

Science is always learning and acquiring new knowledge. The more we know, the better we can refine our old methods of thinking and our previous models. That's why Science will and constantly change.


You need more knowledge in other things.

If the statement in bold font is true then it is expected that scientists must entertain a good measure of skepticism and display generous amounts of humility enough to acknowledge that; what they know for now is based on the availability and veracity of the evidence, informed skepticism is absolutely necessary and they are not gods whose words are final.

You mentioned that the comments you referenced "are the types of comments you make when all you study is what already agrees with you". Can't you see how illogical that statement is? I mean why will I study what I know already agrees with my views? If I already know a thing why would I study it? Till today there is hardly any serious study investigating the factors responsible for serious health complications after taking the vaccine and If anyone dares say anything about the health risks that could result from taking the vaccines that person is immediately cancelled and banned. Is that science? As we speak countries/states with very high vaccination rates are also recording ridiculously high COVID cases (last time I checked New York, Israel and Turkey all have at least 60% vaccination rates yet they record at least 30,000 cases per day) and yet anyone who calls this out is a condemned as a conspiracy theorist. Is that science? Till today Pfizer, Astrazeneca and BionTech, after almost 2 years of conducting trials for vaccines that have been administered globally are contending with scientific voices requesting them to share the anonymized vaccine trial data. The FDA of the US is so reluctant to share the anonymized vaccine trial data that they offered to share it in 75 years time in 2097! Tell me, is this science? No, this is not science, rather it is madness.

Centuries ago Galileo was punished for announcing a different scientific thought and the demagogues masquerading as the church cancelled and punished him for doing so, today we have gone full circle because it is the so called "scientists" that are now calling for the cancellation and silencing of any form of scientific dissent to their now religious orthodoxy.

Bacteriologist:


Coming after you just said too much knowledge isn't bad?

So the only knowledge that agrees with the belief you hold is the only knowledge that is important and the one we should pursue? Yea lol..it's called confirmation bias.




And these are the types of comments you make when all you study is what already agrees with you.

Science is always learning and acquiring new knowledge. The more we know, the better we can refine our old methods of thinking and our previous models. That's why Science will and constantly change.


You need more knowledge in other things.

Concerning the statement in bold font. You clearly did not read or understand my comment. I stated that there is no such thing as "too much knowledge" but you could idolize the act of knowing. If you moniker is an accurate description of you then I am sure that you are very well aware that with your knowledge you can create a bio-weapon with a kill-power triple or quadruple that of a nuclear weapon. If all you had was knowledge propelled by a manic desire to be rich you could culture a highly transmissible and destructive microbe that could bring the country to its knees and have them pay you tributes for a lifetime...this is why knowledge for the sake of knowledge or for the sake of other hedonistic reasons is vile!