We are nearing extinction level stupid, as was foretold in the movie Idiocracy. That's all I need to say about that.
As far as people and their various faiths, I am reminded of a couple of things:
1. I heard of an old Amish grandfather who was asked if he was a Christian. He replied, "Don't ask me because I might tell you anything. Ask my neighbor and see what he says about me."
2. A local pastor recently asked me if I was a believer. I told him I was. He then recited the Apostolic Creed and asked me point by point if I believed each article of faith. He then edged into deeper doctrinal waters, but I confessed that I am no theologian. There is much in the Scriptures I do not understand, which doesn't bother me nearly as much as the parts I do understand. He asked for an example. "Isaiah 58*," I answered. "I am bothered that I (and we) don't take that chapter nearly as seriously as the Lord takes it." Taking that chapter seriously is the kind of thing a neighbor might notice.
3. I know a logger who became a Christian midway through life. When his former drinking buddies heard about his conversion, they started making jokes about him that quickly escalated into a fight that he ended with a jack handle. "Nobody makes fun of my religion," he said to his battered tormentors.
I smiled when I heard the story of his fervor, but there are religions that take his approach to an extreme level. Any religion that uses violence to proselytize is evil. Full stop. And that's all I need to say about that.
I smiled at his fervor as a baby in the faith. When he was gently told that defending the faith didn’t require bar room brawls and tire irons, he accepted the counsel gracefully. To my knowledge, that was the last time he hit anyone, in defense of his faith or otherwise.
I suspect the internet is, in many ways, increasing ignorance. "I read it on the internet so it must be a real fact!"
Ignorance is correctable, the ignorant can learn, can be taught, to think critically, sift information presented, and arrive at a valid, valuable conclusion.
Stupid on the other hand, lacking the cognitive ability, the brain power, to learn isn't fixable. Doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results for example.
IQ measures something, I'm not sure what, but supposedly it's intelligence. If my memory serves me correct, the mean point on the IQ curve, 100 IQ, has moved farther left thrice in my lifetime, suggesting why, yes, people are getting stupider.
Many factors could lead toward, produce, this result. I feel a major one is our obsession with excessive safety. every thing, every approved action, must be risk free. We all must be protected from our own stupidity.
Hence more stupid reach maturity, thus more stupid in the breeding pool and subsequently, more stupid in the next generation.
Sadly I suspect many, of not the majority, of our beloved, elite, leaders who are quite sure that they know what is best for the masses, consider stupid a feature, not a bug in the machinery of today's "civilization".
In re: Muslims vs Christians and there behavior. If a Christian were to go around killing and torturing folks in the name of Jesus, they would be violating the very tenets of the faith. OTOH, when a Muslim does the same, they are acting out the tenets of their faith.
And yes, Lord there are lots of stupid folks out there. Tons.
Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are something everyone must learn. They're not innate to anyone, though they may be easier for some over others.
These things aren't well cultivated in an individual or in a community that values possessions and pleasure over wholeness and meaning. Without wholeness and meaning all pleasure leads to destruction and possessions affect used properly. The identity of this kind of person is what they have and how good they feel. Life, for them, begins and ends with their conception of self and their fulfillment is based on nothing lasting. They are slaves of their positions and feelings - which means they are possessed (enslaved) by fleeting and temporary reality subject to death (mortality) and corruption.
We are nearing extinction level stupid, as was foretold in the movie Idiocracy. That's all I need to say about that.
As far as people and their various faiths, I am reminded of a couple of things:
1. I heard of an old Amish grandfather who was asked if he was a Christian. He replied, "Don't ask me because I might tell you anything. Ask my neighbor and see what he says about me."
2. A local pastor recently asked me if I was a believer. I told him I was. He then recited the Apostolic Creed and asked me point by point if I believed each article of faith. He then edged into deeper doctrinal waters, but I confessed that I am no theologian. There is much in the Scriptures I do not understand, which doesn't bother me nearly as much as the parts I do understand. He asked for an example. "Isaiah 58*," I answered. "I am bothered that I (and we) don't take that chapter nearly as seriously as the Lord takes it." Taking that chapter seriously is the kind of thing a neighbor might notice.
3. I know a logger who became a Christian midway through life. When his former drinking buddies heard about his conversion, they started making jokes about him that quickly escalated into a fight that he ended with a jack handle. "Nobody makes fun of my religion," he said to his battered tormentors.
I smiled when I heard the story of his fervor, but there are religions that take his approach to an extreme level. Any religion that uses violence to proselytize is evil. Full stop. And that's all I need to say about that.
* See also Matthew 25.
I've heard the story of the Amish man told from the perspective of Eastern Orthodox.
I am curious why you smiled when you heard the story of the lumberjack?
I smiled at his fervor as a baby in the faith. When he was gently told that defending the faith didn’t require bar room brawls and tire irons, he accepted the counsel gracefully. To my knowledge, that was the last time he hit anyone, in defense of his faith or otherwise.
Gotcha. Now I understand. Thanks for your response.
Thanks for bringing it to my attention.
Ignorance and stupidity are different.
I suspect the internet is, in many ways, increasing ignorance. "I read it on the internet so it must be a real fact!"
Ignorance is correctable, the ignorant can learn, can be taught, to think critically, sift information presented, and arrive at a valid, valuable conclusion.
Stupid on the other hand, lacking the cognitive ability, the brain power, to learn isn't fixable. Doing the same thing over and over while expecting different results for example.
IQ measures something, I'm not sure what, but supposedly it's intelligence. If my memory serves me correct, the mean point on the IQ curve, 100 IQ, has moved farther left thrice in my lifetime, suggesting why, yes, people are getting stupider.
Many factors could lead toward, produce, this result. I feel a major one is our obsession with excessive safety. every thing, every approved action, must be risk free. We all must be protected from our own stupidity.
Hence more stupid reach maturity, thus more stupid in the breeding pool and subsequently, more stupid in the next generation.
Sadly I suspect many, of not the majority, of our beloved, elite, leaders who are quite sure that they know what is best for the masses, consider stupid a feature, not a bug in the machinery of today's "civilization".
I believe that worldliness and pursuing pleasure uncoupled from meaning and sacrifice have contributed to this.
But of course.
In re: Muslims vs Christians and there behavior. If a Christian were to go around killing and torturing folks in the name of Jesus, they would be violating the very tenets of the faith. OTOH, when a Muslim does the same, they are acting out the tenets of their faith.
And yes, Lord there are lots of stupid folks out there. Tons.
Knowledge, understanding, and wisdom are something everyone must learn. They're not innate to anyone, though they may be easier for some over others.
These things aren't well cultivated in an individual or in a community that values possessions and pleasure over wholeness and meaning. Without wholeness and meaning all pleasure leads to destruction and possessions affect used properly. The identity of this kind of person is what they have and how good they feel. Life, for them, begins and ends with their conception of self and their fulfillment is based on nothing lasting. They are slaves of their positions and feelings - which means they are possessed (enslaved) by fleeting and temporary reality subject to death (mortality) and corruption.