Greg Laden's Blog

Ridicule is the best medicine, for the afflicters and afflicted alike,

Posted by: Gilipollas Caraculo | August 6, 2009 5:22 PM

There's a part of me that wants to make excuses for the vast majority of "Christians" who have NO IDEA what the Bible actually says. I want to shift the blame for their ignorance and absolve everyone of responsibility in my mind. After all, they're just repeating things they've been taught by people that they respect. They've read some sentimental books ABOUT religion. You know, The Purpose-Driven Life or something. That has some Bible verses, right?

Part of me wants to blame an educational system that fails all of us in fundamental ways. We're taught the mechanics of literacy, basic math, very rudimentary science, and vague history. We're made to read whatever classics our English teachers see fit to suck all the life out of in a given year (this is true even at the AP level). We learn how to use condoms (kind of) and how to get birth control pills. But most of us are not taught to LOVE learning. We're not taught to value intellect or knowledge, and yet, at 18, we celebrate the end of high school as almost the pinnacle of our education and the beginning of adulthood.

Part of me wants to blame the culture of religious and ideological indoctrination in churches and in homes.

Another part of me realises that shifting all the responsibility off of the individual is condescending and probably enabling. Especially in light of the increasing trend in younger, more open-minded churches of actually ENCOURAGING people to read the Bible, so I know that it's not exactly DIScouraged or inaccessible to people.

Even taking into account that these sort of "people on the street polls" invariable find the dumbest people in the city to speak with, this is pretty sad. But then, people think all kinds of crazy stuff is in the Bible that's not there at all, so I guess I shouldn't be surprised when people have no idea what actually IS in there.

In other news, I'm watching Richard Dawkins' interview with Wendy Wright. I'm only on part two, and I'm pretty convinced that Mr. Dawkins must be a saint. I would have slapped her at least once by this point in the interview. Just from sheer frustration. Alright. Probably wouldn't have slapped her, but something. She is impressively ignorant, and apparently half deaf.

Posted by: Bridget McKinney | August 7, 2009 9:05 AM