Interesting survey just published.  Seems that Atheists know more about religion than just about any other group.  Hmm, is it a case of, "The more you know, the less you believe?"

Discuss.

For over three decades I attended evangelical/charismatic churches. Even the most devout of the devout rarely read the Bible. They listen to the cherry picked verses their pastors preach on Sundays and read sappy devotional books, and that's about it. I would talk to church members and mention what I thought were very well known stories, and they would have no idea what I was talking about(like when Moses appeared before Pharaoh).

I have to admit I never read through the entire Bible. So many times I started with Genesis 1 and intended to read through to the end. But two words sum up the Old Testament in my opinion: bloody and boring.

I think God will be pleased with me for not believing He committed all the atrocities the Bible accuses Him of.

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Very interesting!

There was a quote by someone and of course I can't remember who said it and exactly how it went.  But it was something like:  "Anyone who completes schooling in theology will come out a non-believer."

I stopped working on my M.Div because I was learning "too much."  Discussions were incredibly heavy, thought provoking and sometimes, at least to me, heartbreaking.  I felt a disconnect with my faith and that wasn't the direction I wanted to go in.  Perhaps in the future I will be ready, but I am certainly not at this point in my life.  

Call me a fool, ignorant, stupid, etc... Logically, I "get it."  But I don't want to.

Although I am an atheist, I certainly do not begrudge anyone else their own personal spirituality.  In fact, I actually admire, and in some ways envy, people that have a strong faith.  What I did want to point out with my original post is that the vast majority of people that base their opinions on their faith don't actually understand the basis of their belief.  They prefer to be spoon-fed the basics so that they do not have to exercise their minds.

In my opinion, this is a major source of both hypocrisy and stridency.  Hypocrisy in that people voice certain positions, but do not know or care enough to actually adhere to those positions on a personal level.  Stridency in that when people are unsure of their opinions, they tend to lash out at anyone that questions them.  They are not secure enough to actually entertain any other viewpoints, even for the sake of discussion.  Heaven forbid that they should actually, accidentally, learn something, grow, and thus change their opinion.

If, as you say, you have pursued education and knowledge of divinity up to the point of university level curriculum, then not only does this particular survey pertain to you, but I would be interested in discussing various concepts and suppositions with you.  After looking at your web site and photos, I think it would be best if we did this over some light hors d'oeuvres and a glass or two of wine.  

Sorry, typo in my previous post changes the tenor of what I intended.

The second to last sentence should read:

"If, as you say, you have pursued education and knowledge of divinity up to the point of university level curriculum, then not only does this particular survey NOT pertain to you, but I would be interested in discussing various concepts and suppositions with you."

That missing "not" makes a difference.

Glad you clarified...I had a question mark lingering over my head for a moment. :p

I would be thrilled to continue this conversation further in private.  Shoot me an email, let's see where it goes!  (And thank you for taking the time to peruse my site!)