₦airaland Forum

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?

Speaklove:
#speaklove#
You said
" A god that resides in your mind. "
#me
So if you claimed he resides in my mind then that should be one if the evidences that he is real because ;the mind is one of the four components of the soul .

The human soul is a living matter ,
And the mind is not an ordinary term to describe the thinking faculty of a human but a factual space of existence within the soul of man .

Believing something is true IN YOUR MIND is not evidence that such things exists in reality.

If I believe that a hot cup of milk is rotating around the solar system, that doesn't make it true. Subjective experiences and anecdotes are just that, anecdotes.

"Reality" is not "Reality" because you can see or touch it ,rather it is about what you can or not see or what you can hear or not hear but

Wrong. Reality can be subjective, granted. But when we refer to reality, it's usually about objective reality in facts and observed phenomenons. Wishful thinking and opinions are not necessarily real and have little to do with reality.

So God was not or is not real because we think or imagined his existence but because we can see and feel his influence ,his power ,his dominion ,his artistic splendor displayed all over the wall of creation .

When and where did you see this god? Besides which god? Each religion (we have like 4,000 of them) can use this same line and what changes is they substitute Allah, Ifa, Obatala, Thor.

Seeing nature and thinking therefore God exists. DOES NOT mean that God exists. You're just making a leap to appeal to your preconceived belief.

We ourselves are one of the proofs of the existence and reality of god -in that we are constantly faced with bewilderment every time we behold the streams of miraculous innovations and new findings from experiment conducted by this wonderful being called man .

Yea, thats not how evidence works.

So even the findings done through scientific experiments are not(or should not be) for discrediting the existence of God but for pointing to undeniable and factual traits that are no less than the handiwork if a higher being
Whose splendor are greater than anything humans can think or imagine ,and this being can not be called anything less than God-the Creator.

Yall apologists used to claim thunder was god speaking, science came along and gave a clear explanation of how thunder works and how it merely a natural phenomenon which is not at all as a result.of supernatural or divine influence, the same has happened for explanations of many other things, such as gravity and genetics.

So far everything deemed supernatural has been exposed to be as a result of complete natural processes. No god needed

Science keeps making enquiries and making investigations based on facts and giving us explanations for observed phenomena while all you church folks do is say "yea god did it"

You need to step up and read the writing on the wall. Science is closing the god gap and religion is losing its grip in the minds of many with each passing day.

Xanax is also highly addictive and one can easily OD (overdose) on this drug.

It should be used under the supervision of a professional.

Nmezor:
Who brought this into 9ja?

We had it coming. Drugs are usually a manifestation of other deeper societal problems.

For example, Tramadol has been used by many workers to stay focused at work because in a harsh economy everyone wants to keep their jobs at all cost.

Tramadol is gateway drug it's only a matter of time and tolerance before the users develop addictiin for stronger substances.

Many programmers, music writers, labourers, construction workers etc use meth for increased productivity. Yahoo boys usually work at night night sleep comes. Meth can make you not need sleep for 10 days straight and you're bombing steadily.

Refer to Bella Shmurda's
Ice on my neck, Ice on my wrist. Many days I never sleep. I'm taking risk song.

In a country where you need to be on a constant grind yo make ends meet, it's only a matter of time.

When you have the demand, the supply will come.

Karleb:
How can I unread these?

Education includes the facts.

The meth inital high is said to be the most happiest feeling a human can ever have.

It's why most users get addicted from the first puff. After using it and it wears off..Its all you can think of.
You simply just want to get that feeling again..and again.. and again and you're in.

The feeling is truly amazing.

But the thing is, the higher you go, the bigger the fall.
Before you use meth, say goodbye to your family and friends and sell your belongings.

Because you WILL definitely lose them and you will eventually sell your things. Only by doing it now you will properly do a send off your family and you will sell your things for the actual price of what they're worth.

dreh17:
Outta curiosity;
Is this the same drug from the movie Breaking Bad?

Anything different from marijuana should be completely banned from our society.

Yes, it's still meth. But usually in the real world, to cut cost drug dealers "cut" (dilute) the meth with other substances to increase profit. It's stuff like that causes the tooth decay (Google meth mouth) and other skin stuff and sometimes even heart attacks and death in users.

Heisenberg's meth (blue sky) was obviously more purer/cleaner and that's why it was sought for by dealers and users.

However, more meth means more a stronger addiction that eventually causes the users to seek for inpure meth when the normal one is too expensive for them (meth heads usually can't keep jobs for long) or unavailable( like a police bust).

It's a rabbit hole that ends very badly 99.99% of the time.

Nmezor:
My God . Na poison o

Truly a poison. Methamphetamine is one hell of a drug. Not even heroine (which is itself highly dangerous) comes close.

Meth literally transforms human beings into aliens/supermen.

Meth can cause you to be up without sleep for 7 days straight. And your concentration and focus will still be higher than normal people who have been sleeping.

Someone on meth can hear sounds from the 3 next rooms. And can finish 10 books in one week. All this while feeling Happy like crazy.

It literally turns a man into a beast. It's why meth is a journey most people never recover from. One high is enough to get you hooked forever.

lkillbrokehoes:
I actually don't know what people gain by using hard drugs, i really don't know.

Methamphetamine is on a different level from other classic hard drugs bro.

Your brain releases on average 250 dopamine units during a mind blowing orgasm while having sex.

Taking Methamphetamine alone tricks the brain into releasing 1300 dopamine units. That x6 of an orgasm.

An orgasm "high" is about 15 secs to 30 secs max. Meth high can last for hours.

Imagine feeling uncontrollable orgasms for 12 hours straight. This drug is truly the Devil's candy.

Jskelly11:
Methamphetamine I know is expensive, how is the one being sold in Nigeria cheap??

Meth is generally cheaper cheaper cocaine. It is popularly called the poor man's cocaine.

Schizophrenia is a complex brain disorder. It often runs in families and can cause troubling symptoms. These may include hearing voices, and having trouble thinking clearly and relating to others. It often starts suddenly in early adulthood. There is no cure for this illness, but it can be managed with medicine and supportive therapy.


Culled from https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/schizophrenia

Lovely conversations happen in our group. Have questions about religion and maybe even philosophy in general? Join the Skeptic Generation group today.

[s]

FarmTech:
.
If u understand how God feels about sin, u will take this serious. Do u know that we all will give account of everything we say? Including everything u support on Nairaland. But many people just write anything and think they will get away with it.

Angels assigned to you are recording everything. On that great day of judgement, books will be opened and we will be judged from them. If u are truely a Christian, stand for Christ's interest and expose sin. Don't promote satanic ideologies that full this world.

[/s]

Nonsense thrash

Godmademan:
My all time longest post on Nairaland. Una no vex my blood dey hot.

Why? All I see are people saying whether God approves or doesn't...

Why una no let una God speak for himself

am4truth:
Untrained child.... Jesus has now become your father's mate that you have the gut to say nonsense about.

Jesus defender...always speaking for your all-powerful god. If Jesus no like am allow am talk na..mtchee

LordReed:
All is I see are people with physical bodies struggling to live, no soul in sight.

How do you find it comfortable to talk to someone who wishes death on you and just suggested suggested that you should kill yourself?

Workch:
They think theory in science is just a wide guess.

The way these Christians say nonsense with boldness is funny.

Lmao ikr

This one doesn't even sound like a Christian. I think he's more of the self acclaimed "spiritual" clan who also look down on science.

Sometimes they can be worse than the established Christian Scampologists

OkCornel:
In all you’ve posted, these are theories of which nothing has been proven in our lifetime!

Lmao Truly spoken like someone who knows f*ck all about science. Google search what a theory means and cure your own ignorance

OkCornel:
Me: Prove to me God created man from dust.
Theists: God is all powerful, anything is possible with God…bla bla bla.

Me: Prove to me mankind evolved from homo habilis, to homo erectus to Homo sapiens.

Atheists/Science believers: You see, these things didn’t happen overnight, bla bla bla. Mutations, DNA this and that led to this and that few millions of years ago.

Except these are things that can be verified if you can get off your ignorant high horse and take a trip to the lab so you can see what comparative anatomy or antibiotic resistance looks like. Obviously that's too much for a lazy mind that never reads, so take a trip to the museum for archaeological records of fossils that have been found instead.

OkCornel:
Bottom line is, nobody knows shit and everyone is guessing.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a waste of time arguing over whose beliefs and stupidity is better.

Lmao this is literally the worst version of skepticism that I have ever seen. "Nobody knows shit" typed with a phone that is a result of the science you just spat on. Hypocritical much?

Take a look at yourself and for f*ck sake, PLEASE READ A BOOK.

First of all, your point is MOOT. Being an atheist or theist has NOTHING to do with evolution. There are Christian sects that accept evolution (Catholicism) and atheists who do not accept evolution. Theism and Atheism refers to the God belief no more no less.

OkCornel:
Let me make it easy for you. Science claims man evolved from homo habilis to homo erectus to Homo sapiens.

Can you provide sufficient and persuasive evidence for this? .

Yes. Fossil records of the great apes have been found I several parts of the world. Can you pick up a Biological textbook? We also have DNA records that demonstrates our similarity with the earlier hominid species. Embryology and Comparative Anatomy are strong evidences as well. There are literally mountains of evidence. Just put down your Bible for once and read a book that was written by people who know what they are writing.

OkCornel:
Do you also have any evidence to prove man will evolve from Homo Sapiens to something more superior?

You can start preaching now.

Congratulations you just proved you haven't actually studied evolution.

Man is ALREADY evolving. You seem to think evolution is something that happens overnight. Humans (Homo sapiens) have only been around for 200,000 years. Which in Geological/Evolutional time is relatively short for noticeable evolutionary pressures to have their effect. Little changes in DNA take a long time to manifest as regards phenotypic (physical) properties.

However, a little Google search of the difference between the genetic composition of the earliest human civilisation and today's humans will cure your ignorance that yes there is in fact, a genetic drift, which will, as time goes on eventually leads to the formation of offspring that we cannot mate with (effectively a new specie).

Grow up and READ!!

Fiscus105:
are many stories in Bible which are fictions of imaginations, exaggerations and ignorances. .

You try

Fiscus105:
Thou,I don't blame the story tellers (Bible writers) because that was how it occurred to them then, world was still in completely crude stage then.

You no try...We are talking about a book supposedly written with the INSPIRATION OF AN INFINITELY INTELLIGENT Supreme Being.

Why are you blaming the writers? When God was simply using their hands to write the book? You sef think am...If the source of all knowledge wanted to write a book wouldn't it know how best to communicate with ALL humans using texts, stories and allegories that make the most logical sense in the most understandable way?

Now we have a Bible/Quran that is absolutely ridiculous, contains all sorts of errors, as well as mythical jargons and superstitious nonsense. And you think this came from a God or Allah?

It simply doesn't make sense.

A particular pastor and his brainwashed followers won't like this.

Lovely idea. Why wasn't this broadcasted? Would have loved to attend. Surely there are more heathens than these.

Dliquidmetal:
I hope they do heal,imagine going through life from infancy till six feet below with a veil on your face........Living all days of ones life in shackles and also fighting anyone who offers to unshackle and unveil..such a pitiable way to live.

Most who resort to piss poor apologetics are those who have something or the other to gain from religion. Also, they are those who esteem their indoctrination, ego, and stomach above what is actually true.

Losing my religion, had consequences, but they were not so dire. I was a successful instrumentalist in my church, I had posts and would like be a minister by now if I didn't cared about the sincerity of my beliefs. It hurt me to lose those things, to find out I had invested so much into Christianity that turned out to be a false religion, but I knew I was only 21, there was plenty of time to redeem the losses. I still struggle with some of the mistakes I made as a result of placing my faith above everything else, but generally things are looking up.

I believe the same is the case for some of these people as well but the consequences may be different. They simply are incapable (they can't afford it) of seeing the ills in their religion. Because their ego, indoctrination, family ties, financial needs, investments whatever prevents them from seeing it.

I think it all boils down to your core values. Do you care in believing what's right according to the evidence OVER what your family believes/what brings food to your table/what gives you purpose/what you were taught since you were a kid?

I think that's what differentiates the dishonest engagers in this forum from the relatively honest ones.

hupernikao:
Have you read the Bible well and understand what it says? This is the basis of our discussion. I will want you to confirm to me first that you have READ the Bible well and UNDERSTAND its teaching and can confirm its false or contradictory.

I am not working on hear say or online reading.

Kindly confirm this first.

I was a Christian for 20 years of my life. I have read the bible many times than I can possibly remember.

Genesis is the first book of the Bible. I have read it from beginning to end more times than any other book. From children class to Sunday school to preparing for youth fellowship when I was the prayer coordinator.

Hopefully that clears it up for you.

Although that even is irrelevant with why the Bible is inconsistent. How do you reconcile these paradoxes and contradictions in the narration of Genesis stories?

Dliquidmetal:
I always see your comments all over this forum and to be honest you come off as a very dishonest and delusional human being.
In full glare of verifiable evidences you would always pride yourself in blissful ignorance or maybe denial. I hope you heal one day,before your love for the illusion in which you live in gets the better of you.

You will never catch me responding to him. Him and his type have proven countless times that it is a total waste of effort and time trying to reason with them.

Religion is a mental virus.

hupernikao:
Please now.
I want to learn from that your massive knowledge of the scriptures. Don't shy away from this. I know you are sure of your knowledge, I want to help you market it here well by exposing the Bible. Please let's start it.

If not, no one will see you as being truthful or honest. I want everyone to see you as a honest man, a savior and deliverer from the bondage of the Bible. Don't you think it's what you have always desire.

Genesis 1:1-4 should be a good start. What do you think.

Great.

Let's talk about Genesis.


1. Genesis 6:19 God commands Noah to bring 2 of every kind of animals, clean or unclean. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive.


Yet in Genesis 7:1 he is to take either 7 or 7 pairs of each clean animal, and (presumably) 2 of all the rest.
The Lord then said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and your whole family, because I have found you righteous in this generation. 2 Take with you seven pairs of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and one pair of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate, 3 and also seven pairs of every kind of bird, male and female, to keep their various kinds alive throughout the earth




2. God created man and woman at the same time.

Gen 1:27
So God created mankind in his own image,
in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them.


God created women after men.

Gen 2:21 So the Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man’s ribs[g] and then closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the Lord God made a woman from the rib[h] he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man.



There are many more contradictions in Genesis alone. But I only took the effort to write these two. Just to see how you will respond and if you'll be worth conversing with.

mixta140:
Nigerians dont really like progress...
But if federal say make everybody put or send to federal govt email... one person go send not less than 2... many will try go open new accounts by force...
Many Nigerians always wanting what they dont deserve

Rest. What is progressive about this? All the properties of the so-called e naira are already being enjoyed using other apps. Why should we go out of our way to then use a government product? A government that is itself hostile towardsnits own citizens. Why?

Lmao is it just me or nairaland NEVER posts something good about bitcoin and other cryptos?

All news about crypto I have seen on nairaland front page are always bearish news. Pka "FUD"

A 10% pullback on bitcoin or ANY other coin for that matter is not new to most all crypto investors. It is common knowledge that the crypto market is highly volatile. 200% - 500% price jumps happen quite frequently.

The crypto market is here to stay. Now i may be wrong about the above, but I don't expect a notoriously backward and non-innovative platform like nairaland to support a 22nd (yes 22nd) century idea like bitcoin and most crypto.

There hasn't been any improvement on the nairaland interface ever since I joined in 2016. More than 5 years.. Most people who joined way back would likely say the same.

Most crypto tokens are backed by heavy projects that will revolutionise the entire world in a few years. Cardano (ADA) is backed by peer reviewed scientific research. Smart contracts will reduce corruption even where corruption is deeply ingrained in the culture, like Nigeria. Bitcoin can and will replace Gold as the safe haven asset. The opportunities that exist for both rich and poor in crptocurrencies are immense. Axie infinity (AXS) for example is earning people in Burkina Faso, Philippines and other poor countries at least, $100 monthly. DeFi will save us from the tricks banks use to rip us off.


It's only a question of WHEN, not IF. I understand the need to eliminate competition. But this site is no match. Nairaland mods all need to stop spreading false news that reduces people's confidence in cryptos.

mildteddy:
FYI, You will see better answers on Quora.com than on Nairaland.

Calm down and think things through. Check Quora. Nairaland can get you depressed.

Nairaland is one hell of a toxic site. Watch people who themselves have sex with their girlfriends WITHOUT PROTECTION COME here to make fun of the guy.

I like nairaland but this site is filled with hypocrites and fake people.

suffering:
Mscheew. In this day and age of multiplying then storing eggs we’re reading stories of this sort. This is obviously an American article, it doesn’t concern me.

U dey vex o lwkm

Pastafari:
That's why FSM is the only true God. He doesn't allow you disgrace yourself and your entire household all in the name of speaking in an unknown tongue.

Hail the noodly lord.

May he touch you with his noodly appendage. Ramen!

Asour:
However, you shouldn't insult your Vice president.
It's not right.

The only person who doesn't deserve to be insulted is someone who proves they don't.

The failed campaign promises are an insult to the judgement and the intelligence of millions of Nigerians. The constant impoverishment of the common Nigerian man is an insult on his right to have a normal life.

Don't tell me to not insult for these misfits in government.