Welcome to the wonderful, variegated world of religion!

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I think religion is an attempt to explain life, the universe, everything via a narrative about supernatural and powerful entities or entity. This narrative is based on belief not evidence and is culture-based. (I am attempting an explanation which covers all religions past and present, not just the currently popular ones.)


By "we" I'm not entirely sure if you mean religious people in general, Christians in general or a specific denomination. My guess is "we"="Christians in general". In that case I think you believe that the universe was created by God who sent his son to earth in the form of Jesus and that this Jesus died to redeem humanity. Different denominations have all sorts of sub beliefs. Catholicism has made peace with evolutionary theory (as the pope recently reiterated) but some Protestant denominations have not.

When you say "our books" I am guessing that you mean old and new testaments. I have read the bible cover to cover (although it took me quite a long time and was interspersed with other books). Some of this reading was for academic reasons- course assignments for comparative religion courses in college. When it comes to debates, I don't quote bible verses. Religious people know far more about any given verses than I do so I am likely to accidentally weaken rather than strengthen my argument if I start cherry picking.



I do have a reasonable idea, thanks to relatives and college as well as my own independent reading. I do get caustic with young earthers because I think such literalism is silly.



I await the post(s). I may have muffed even what I see as the core belief of Christianity (Jesus Son of God redeems humanity via sacrificial death). When it comes to "diligent support" I don't know if you mean support for the truth of these beliefs being consistent with reality (as opposed to other religions with different beliefs or as opposed to science). Or if you mean support for these beliefs being what Christianity actually is as opposed to what some fringe believers are portraying it as. Or something else.

Well, as I indicated Christianity in its modern form is much more screwed up than Christianity in its original form, gnostic or not.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist sitting in a MODERN ROMAN CATHOLIC mass, hearing about the inferiority of women as opposed to men both in spiritual teaching potential and in LOVE INSTEAD OF FEAR of GOD to figure that one out.

GNOSTIC GOSPELS TEACH THAT THEY ARE EQUALS, IN SPIRITUALITY AND LOVE OF GOD INSTEAD OF FEAR AND THAT IS BOTH SUPERIOR IN SPIRITUALITY AND LOGIC.

Modern Christianity does teach morals and ethics AND WORKS REAL WELL OVERALL IF ONE IS A WHITE MIDDLE TO UPPER CLASS DUDE.

BUT NOT SO for the lesser viewed of human being from women still, to homosexuals, to even simple reproductive freedoms of the herd as whole.

Funny thing about Karma is it's real.

Back in the days of Constantine as modern scholarly religious research does suggest, Constantine and his early Roman Catholic Cohorts made Jesus into a Warrior GOD to enforce the rule and expansion of the Roman Empire. And in doing so justified the slaughter of those who veered off the path of what those early Roman Catholics and Constantine told the masses they MUST BELIEVE OF ELSE, RANGING UP TO BURNING AT THE STAKE RESERVED FOR heretics notable or NOT.

So these folks who used the name of Christianity for control of the masses through repression and oppression of their basic human nature, specifically reproductive freedoms and subjugated others through illusory fears of stories of burning in hell eternally got their way and the rich became richer and the poor became poorer.

But the thing is the child of the ancestors of these very men sit in front of TV sets rooted as couch potatoes even forgetting the art of movement with GOD and GRAVITY instead of against GOD and GRAVITY SITTING LIKE A LEAD WEIGHT ON A COUCH with a remote control aimed at FOX OR other mindless activities to make the day go on, with additives of antI-depressants and pain killers to make a life WITHOUT GOD TOLERABLE AS TO LIVE AGAINST MOTHER NATURE TRUE IS SAME AND ONE AS LIVING AGAINST GOD TOO.

THE MOST AMAZING THING is people who KNOW AND ACT BETTER AS ONE WITH GOD STILL HAVE THE EMPATHY TO TRY TO HELP THESE LOST CHRISTIANS FIND GOD. AND TRULY IN MANY CASES THEY ARE MORE LOST THAN ATHEISTS PER TRULY KNOWING AND LOVING GOD.

THAT IS WHAT LOVE IS, UNCONDITIONAL, AND ALMOST NOTHING LIKE MODERN CHRISTIANITY STILL, AS IS, OVERALL.

AND EVEN IF ONE IS A WHITE MIDDLE CLASS DUDE, WITH ALL THE BAGGAGE ATTACHED IT STILL S88KS AFTER ALL IS SAID AND DONE ON SUNDAY, OVERALL, BUT NOT IN ALL PLACES OF COURSE, WHERE THE WORD CHRISTIANITY IS TRULY HEARD AS LOVE, TRULY UNCONDITIONAL LOVE AS IT IS THAT SIMPLE AS TRUTH.

In other words no religion or church required, and more likely a detriment, OVERALL AS SUCH, to finding, KNOWING and TRULY UNCONDITIONALLY LOVING AND LIVING WITH GOD AS ONE FORCE OF LIFE WITH ALL OTHERS TOO.

THE WORD CHRISTIANITY AND EVEN THE WORD GOD IS MORE AND MORE BECOMING AN OVERALL CULTURAL MEME OF PEJORATIVE.

IT'S TIME TO FIND ONE WORD THAT CONSUMES THE TRUTH, AND I CHOOSE LOVE TO REPLACE BOTH THE C AND G WORD AS TRUTH.

AS TRUTH AND LOVE ARE ONE AND SAME AS GOD'S EYES AS TRUTH.