It's all surface level talk "Praise God." , "Trust God." etc

You notice people get visibly uncomfortable and try to change the subject if you go any deeper.

That’s because no one is high iq enough here. They all get into screeching arguments like monkeys.

You never change anyone's mind, so it all seems like a waste of time to me.

Plus, all the deep stuff doesn't really matter if we can't learn to live the two great commandments.

ETA: That was my one religious post for the year.

Most people refrain from deep talks of all subjects unless they have a passion about it, if you want a deep theology conversation you gotta find a Theology on Tap or Young Adult Church group

I recently spoke to this guy whos a recoverin addict and in hes late 30s. Incel. And kinda slow.
Like if you met him you wouldnt be surprised to find out he was a tiny bit autistic, though he was not.
Hes a diehard religious christian and i spoke to him close to a year ago about religion because i was balls deep in christianity too.
Now when we spoke again i did not come clean about quitting religion, because i realised something about that guy and these people in general.
Is that they need something to hang on, and who am i to shake that from them with my pessimistic bullshit.
So i dont like to discuss religion with any of these religious guys anymore.
Because imo its just a coping mechanism, and it works it stops people from killing theirselves.
Deep down i think everybody in religion has doubts about it, because why the fuck wouldnt you. Youre deciding to trust something with zero proof.
And when they start thinking about it deeper the doubts reek in and the coping mechanism suffers.

To be fair, theology is a very difficult field to understand. The average person with average intellect will struggle to develop well thought out arguments when so much “evidence” is interpreted, rather than agreed upon. Christians can’t even come to a consensus on certain aspects of the Bible. Most are likely just unprepared for such discussion, especially when challenged in their worldview, so parroting the same comfortable talking points is going to be something they cling to.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with that. After all, religious belief itself relies foremost on faith.

However I do agree that believers would be better suited to explore these concepts.

Personally I do have faith in God, which is relatively new for me, but I wouldn’t be prepared to defend my beliefs to someone better educated on the subject. That’s why I enjoy listening to Christian Apologists like Wes Huff, Cliffe Knechtle and William Lane Craig. They aren’t afraid to confront questions about their faith, yet they still use logic and reason to support it. Helps me learn.

Not really. I don't talk to people.

i dunno, forums are kinda the last place you can have any real discussion. you will be OUTCASTE if you attempt to have that in daily life. everyone you meet (and you cannot blame them) is largely COPECELLING through life.

blacks btw are the largest self reported as being religious demogr % in the US by far....do with that information what you will.

There's nothing to discuss. The only way to eternal life is through Christ. Very simple

How about them Lakers?

It's a pointless conversation. We don't know is the only right answer.

I find its pretty ineffective and off putting to try and rope people into theological debates. I like the topic and even sometimes I don't want to get into it.

But if you focus on growing in holiness, people see the light in you. People you would have never expected will come with questions. Often in the form of a challenge or "well, what about X?" questions. That's when theology comes into the conversation. They have to see the goodness before they care about the truth.

It's pretty pointless for all intents and purposes. Unless a particular person is going into a debate and is unsure and has an open mind, no one is going to change positions. Even if people get exposed as wildly uninformed they're going to cling to their previous position 90% of the time. Which they can do because theology is based entirely on interpretation and things we can't prove.

Yeah some of it is historical, but most of that stuff happened so long ago that the religious connection is not definitively provable, and further more the ruling regime of the time could have manipulated records. Just look what we've seen various governments do in terms of propaganda that we know of in modern times. You really think they didn't do that shit back then too? And there was way less oversight then because everyone has cameras and smartphones and the internet now.

I mean even within one religion, I'll take Christianity because it's what I'm most familiar with. How do you have a discussion on what is to be held canon or not? Certain books I've definitely seen good arguments for keeping them out of canon, but others seem arbitrary or due to social/political reasons at the time.

But at the end of the day even if you bring that up to someone who is a staunch defender of the governing body who is keeping those books out of canon, they will likely not change their mind and will argue vehemently against you.

Best case scenario in 90% of these debates is all parties walk away with no opinions changed and just say "well I respect you as an intellectual, that was a good debate." More often than not though people are going to get angry and stressed out about it, which is why I stay away from them in general. If holding a certain belief helps people get through life, that doesn't bother me even if I find it nonsensical. It's when they carry that shit over into making policy that affects people in a negative way that I have a problem.

Would those people help me be religious? I grew up going to church and believing in God/Jesus but there’s just too many things about Christianity that I can’t wrap my head around. I think I’d be happier if I was a Christian but I also don’t like Christians that go to church or their churches/ I personally believe that they do religion wrong lol. Plus I’m slightly brainwashed that I need to rein in my atheism before I die or else I’ll go to hell, so it’s a weird conundrum to be in. I don’t think I’m actually atheist- just don’t know how to get over the doubts and things that don’t allow me to give into Christianity