Religion for $1,000, Alex

[cbayer]

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/27/opinion/sunday/kristof-religion-for-1000-alex.html?hp&rref=opinion&_r=0

APRIL 26, 2014

Nicholas Kristof

WITH Easter and Passover freshly behind us, let’s test your knowledge of the Bible. How many mistakes can you find:

Noah of Arc and his wife, Joan, build a boat to survive a great flood. Moses climbs Mount Cyanide and receives 10 enumerated commandments; for all the differences among religious denominations, the Ten Commandments are a common bedrock that Jews, Catholics and Protestants agree on.

Sodom and his wild girlfriend, Gomorrah, soon set the standard for what not to do. They are turned to pillars of salt.

The Virgin Mary, a young Christian woman, conceives Jesus immaculately and gives birth to him in a Jerusalem manger. Jesus, backed by the Twelve Apostles and their wives, the Epistles, proclaims what we call the Golden Rule: “Do one to others before they do one to you.” The Romans repeatedly crucify Jesus — at Cavalry, Golgotha and other sites — but he resurrects himself each time.

Christianity spreads through the gospels, which differ on details but all provide eyewitness accounts of Jesus’s life from birth to death. Finally, Rome tires of throwing Christians to lions and becomes the first country to adopt Christianity as its religion. The Bible is translated from the original English into countless languages.

So how many errors did you spot? There are about 20 mistakes, which I’ve listed at the end of this column, and they reflect the general muddling in our society about religious knowledge.

Secular Americans are largely ignorant about religion, but, in surveys, religious Americans turn out to be scarcely more knowledgeable.

“Americans are both deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion,” Stephen Prothero noted in his book, “Religious Literacy.” “Atheists may be as rare in America as Jesus-loving politicians are in Europe, but here faith is almost entirely devoid of content. One of the most religious countries on earth is also a nation of religious illiterates.”

more at link

[Jim__]

1. I agree that we need a revival of the humanities.

And, also, that there is a connection between the humanities and religion. But, I wish he would have made a stronger argument than the one he makes in this column.

[immoderate]

2. I dispute his contention that secular Americans know less about religion.

For instance secular Americans are aware of the contradictions in the bible that the religious are oblivious to. That's not to mention the contradictions to reality.

--imm

[cbayer]

3. I'm not sure what studies he is referring to, but

I have seen data on both sides.

It all depends what questions you ask.

[goldent]

4. In my experience, secular (perhaps I should say Atheist) Americans don't

know much about the Bible besides the general story of Christmas and Easter, and the general idea of miracles. You could say the same for many Christians. I don't know any secular/atheist Americans who study the Bible and can quote contradictions by Chapter and Verse as people do here on DU - they just don't have any interest in it. The people I'm thinking about are in their late 20's through 40's. It could be different for older people

[cbayer]

5. There are websites that provide anti-theists with biblically based

ammunition for their internet wars.

I think that's why you see the same "contradictions" posted repeatedly.

I agree that most secular/atheist americans really don't give it a thought, though many may have been raised in churches that were very biblically focused.

That might explain why they sometimes score better on biblical tests.

[immoderate]

6. I concede that most people don't read the bible.

But in my experience, more people who have read it adopted atheism than have converted to Christianity. The bible, if you read it, is the story of a Supreme Being with extreme personality issues and a penchant for monumental screw-ups.


But that's if you read it.

--imm

[cbayer]

8. The "people become atheists after reading the bible" is a common

meme, but I've never seen anything to back that up.

OTOH, I do think that some people raised in strict, fundamentalist religions turn away from that and embrace atheism because of their early experiences.

Lol, attributing a "personality" to this unknowable thing people call god. The personality issues are more likely with the men who wrote the books.

[immoderate]

19. The personality issues of the men who wrote the books, were "inspired" by the god in whose image...

...they were formed.

And of course my observations are anecdotal, and perhaps subject to a confirmation bias, but no cognitive dissonance here.

--imm

[cbayer]

20. I guess so, if you believe in all that.

[trotsky]

21. I wasn't raised in a strict, fundamentalist religion.

And I believe reading the bible, cover-to-cover, helped lead me to atheism.

So I, personally, stand as a glaring counter-example to your personal beliefs. Not that you give a toot. You've made up your mind how the world works, facts be damned.

[Brettongarcia]

7. How many mistakes might atheists or religious scholars find?

Start with the first word: "Noah." Scholars now suggest that the stories of the Great Flood are Babylonian in origin; there are Noah tales that pre-date Judaism.

Scholars in fact could take issue with practically every word.

So Kristof's argument is simply naïve. His "right" answers are wrong.

[Bluenorthwest]

11. You are incorrect, his questions are about the content of a text, not about the accuracy

or truthfulness of that text. A fully fictional story can be subjected to the 'what is in the story' test. Example, King Lear did not exist, but in the play 'King Lear' he has 3 daughters, not 4 sons. It is wrong to say Lear had 4 sons in spite of the fact that there was never a King Lear.
The naïve entity here is you, because you seem to think the question 'what is written in this book' is the same as 'are the things in this book actual or truthful'. They are not the same question.

[hrmjustin]

9. The author is wrong. Eadter is a 50 day season so Easter is not over.

[Bluenorthwest]

12. That's just your denomination's trip.

Easter, as practiced in Protestant America, is a Sunday holiday. 50 days later they may or may not even acknowledge Pentecost. Sunday, hats, eggs, candy, ham, done.

[hrmjustin]

13. Most mainline protestants follow the 50 day season.

[Bluenorthwest]

16. No. Most American Protestants do no such thing. They just don't.

Certainly not to the point they'd claim Easter is not over yet. Most of them barely even acknowledge the Pentecost at all, much less follow a season of ritual.

[hrmjustin]

17. Are you talking about Evangelicals?

[Bluenorthwest]

10. Well, I got them all and I'm here to say that secular people know way more about

religions in general and the specific religion held by most believers. In part is because believers are interested in the ritual practice and not the texts those practices claim to be founded on.

[cbayer]

14. I am not surprised that you got them all, but I would not

say that you accurately represent most non-religious people.

[Bluenorthwest]

15. I accurately represent only myself

I've had much advantage, having been to lots of places and met lots of people. I've been to everybody's church, mosque, temple, holy place, I've met high mucky mucks of all the faiths including branches most folks don't know exist.

[cbayer]

18. That's exactly what I meant.

Your experience and exposure definitely gives you a leg up on pretty much most believers and non-believers.

I'm currently trying to explore more religions. Mexico presents an interesting mix of catholicism and indigenous religions.

I have been to only one majority muslim country and no hindu countries, so there is still much on my bucket list.

Hope you are well, BNW.