Fundamentalism and Atheism

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It has occurred to me that Fundamentalist Protestants and Atheists seem to be opposite sides of the same coin. This is exhibited by the sharing of two qualities:
  1. When interpreting Scriptures, both factions insist on a literalist translation, ignoring genre, original audience, and idiom.
  2. Both insist that their own view is 100% correct, and all else are absolute fools, decreeing themselves to be the final arbiters of truth.
Really, the biggest difference between the two is that Atheists will not believe the Bible under any circumstances, and Fundamentalists will not discard their misguided faith under any circumstances. Any thoughts?
 
Boy are are not kidding. I just had an experience yesterday that now has me terrified to even pray.
It is all a big mess.
 
ThePKCatholic said:
Boy are are not kidding. I just had an experience yesterday that now has me terrified to even pray.
It is all a big mess.
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By all means continue to pray. I just came into the Church in 2008, converting form Fundamental Independent Baptist. If you have any questions, shoot me a message!
 
CWBetts said:
It has occurred to me that Fundamentalist Protestants and Atheists seem to be opposite sides of the same coin. This is exhibited by the sharing of two qualities:
  1. Both insist that their own view is 100% correct, and all else are absolute fools, decreeing themselves to be the final arbiters of truth.
Really, the biggest difference between the two is that Atheists will not believe the Bible under any circumstances, and Fundamentalists will not discard their misguided faith under any circumstances. Any thoughts?
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Do you believe the Catholic Church is 100% correct? If so, then why are you any different?

PS- playing devils advocate here 😃
 
teadough said:
Do you believe the Catholic Church is 100% correct? If so, then why are you any different?

PS- playing devils advocate here 😃
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Not to answer for him, but the Catholic Church only holds to that part of it. We do not hold to an exclusively literal view of Scripture. That does make us considerably different
 
ralphinal said:
Not to answer for him, but the Catholic Church only holds to that part of it. We do not hold to an exclusively literal view of Scripture. That does make us considerably different
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the point I was making is that Catholics think they’re right in what they/we believe. At one time I really used to think about those same ideas that the OP posted. Especially since I came from a non-catholic background.
 
CWBetts said:
It has occurred to me that Fundamentalist Protestants and Atheists seem to be opposite sides of the same coin. This is exhibited by the sharing of two qualities:
  1. When interpreting Scriptures, both factions insist on a literalist translation, ignoring genre, original audience, and idiom.
  2. Both insist that their own view is 100% correct, and all else are absolute fools, decreeing themselves to be the final arbiters of truth.
Really, the biggest difference between the two is that Atheists will not believe the Bible under any circumstances, and Fundamentalists will not discard their misguided faith under any circumstances. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Why would atheists bother to interpret scriptures in the first place?
 
teadough said:
the point I was making is that Catholics think they’re right in what they/we believe. At one time I really used to think about those same ideas that the OP posted. Especially since I came from a non-catholic background.
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I don’t disagree. Like I said, though, the first point still stands.
 
teadough said:
Do you believe the Catholic Church is 100% correct? If so, then why are you any different?

PS- playing devils advocate here 😃
Click to expand...
The major difference is that I do not take it upon myself to decree that I myself am right.
 
Kaninchen said:
Why would atheists bother to interpret scriptures in the first place?
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They use them to show how incorrect they are in the light of science. Easy example: the age of the universe.

They also cite them against current historical timelines.
 
ralphinal said:
They use them to show how incorrect they are in the light of science. Easy example: the age of the universe.
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Surely they only do that in the case of people who try to use scripture to prove silly things about the age of the universe.
They also cite them against current historical timelines.
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I expect they do a lot of it to goad the goad-able.
 
Kaninchen said:
Still don’t understand why they would bother.
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Many Atheists seem to obsess about religion. Its almost like they have a pathological desire to say God cannot exist. I myself wonder why they got so obsessive about it. It really confuses me as to why they even care.
 
CWBetts said:
Many Atheists seem to obsess about religion. Its almost like they have a pathological desire to say God cannot exist. I myself wonder why they got so obsessive about it. It really confuses me as to why they even care.
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I expect it’s a parallel to those who are obsessed the other way.
 
Kaninchen said:
Surely they only do that in the case of people who try to use scripture to prove silly things about the age of the universe.

I expect they do a lot of it to goad the goad-able.
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No, it is in the standard issue “How to get others to Hate God, too” handbook. I have a copy right beside my “Muslims ate my hamster” book. :D:D

Most atheists that I know use it as an opening salvo, no matter to whom they are speaking. Generally, they are taken aback when I point out what I believe as a Catholic.
 
CWBetts said:
The major difference is that I do not take it upon myself to decree that I myself am right.
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You would have to to a certain degree. There really is no way around it. You can say “The Church says,thinks,believes, and has handed down…” through eternity, but in the end, you take it upon yourself to make the final decision in regard to what you have Faith in.
 
CWBetts said:
It has occurred to me that Fundamentalist Protestants and Atheists seem to be opposite sides of the same coin. This is exhibited by the sharing of two qualities:
  1. When interpreting Scriptures, both factions insist on a literalist translation, ignoring genre, original audience, and idiom.
  2. Both insist that their own view is 100% correct, and all else are absolute fools, decreeing themselves to be the final arbiters of truth.
Really, the biggest difference between the two is that Atheists will not believe the Bible under any circumstances, and Fundamentalists will not discard their misguided faith under any circumstances. Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
I have a friend battling this right now. He is a fudamentalist/literalist and is having problems with allowing seeming contradictions in the bible with his literal interpretation and fundamentalist approach to Scripture.

The way I see it, is there are three ways to go.
  1. Accept that there are contradictions, and say you believe in a literal interpretation, which would be intellectually dishonest. (My friend is waffling here, pray for him.)
  2. Become an agnostic/atheist.
  3. Become a Catholic and read Scripture through the eyes of the Church.
 
ralphinal said:
No, it is in the standard issue “How to get others to Hate God, too” handbook. I have a copy right beside my “Muslims ate my hamster” book. :D:D

Most atheists that I know use it as an opening salvo, no matter to whom they are speaking. Generally, they are taken aback when I point out what I believe as a Catholic.
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Perhaps it’s a reflection of my living in a society with quite a few atheists (and an enormous number of ‘really don’t give a damn’) where talking about religion at all is regarded as something of a ‘faux pas’?
 
ralphinal said:
Not to answer for him, but the Catholic Church only holds to that part of it. ** We do not hold to an exclusively literal view of Scripture. That does make us considerably different**
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I know that a sola-scriptura person reading this statement might take great offense to it, claiming that Catholics don’t believe the Bible.
Which is so far from the truth.
We love and read the Bible for all it’s worth!
 
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