[dzrose93]

Originally posted by wptw
Look, Fred Hatchett's song and dance should come as no surprise. We've all met people like him before. They're the kind of people who turn to religion and use it as a massive crutch, or as a way to try and wipe away parts of their past that they're not particularly proud of. They're easy targets because they're not typically bright enough people to question and try to understand the things they see and hear and read, so they lock onto one narrow interpretation of scripture and make their whole life revolve around it. They never consider for even a moment that an intelligent person could interpret things differently. They never consider that even among different English translations of the bible there are significant differences in the meaning of individual passages, not to mention differences among translations from ancient languages to classical languages to modern languages, all these translations being made not by god but by men. Ever play the telephone game?

The world's leading religious scholars - people who have dedicated an entire lifetime to the study of every available religious text - even they don't agree on various interpretations of scripture. Yet little old Fred sitting in his bubble in North Carolina is positive he's got it right and we've all got it wrong. What does that tell you?

I've bantered with Fred for a long time. And I don't really have anything against him. I just think he lacks a critical mind, so when someone way back when fed him this BS false gods agenda, he swallowed it hook, line and sinker without a second thought. Fred denounces GLOs as cultlike, but ironically his mindless repetitive message board dogma-babble is so reminiscent of a religious cult mentality, it's positively scary. I hope someone close to him can eventually deprogram him so he can open his eyes to a wider world.

I've advised Fred that truly intelligent and wise people share something in common: They allow for the possibility of other interpretations - other interpretations of global events, other interpretations of American politics, other interpretations of the physical world, other interpretations of scripture. By contrast, narrow and myopic people tend to stamp their feet and insist there is only one possible correct interpretation.

So it's pretty clear on which side of the fence Fred falls. Like I said, we've all met people like him before. You can't change their minds because their minds are closed to other possibilities. You can't reason with them because intelligent argument also requires an open mind. So you either beat your head against a wall or you ignore them.

I figure if Fred's right and I'm going to hell, well then I've got better things to do before I go than listen to him drone on about it. First I've got to polish my statue of Minerva and then I have to make my daily blood sacrifice to Demeter.

wptw

Well said, wptw.