re: #118 Anymouse š¹š
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I know enough theology to be a counter-apologist. It doesnāt take a degree in theology (or even a college degree at all).
The Bible makes testable claims about the physical universe. It fails all those tests.
The idea that fundamentalists are somehow ānewā is counter-factual. Fundamentalism has always existed in Christianity, and frequently ruled with an iron fist (thereās a reason we call them āthe Dark Agesā). The Puritans didnāt come here for religious freedom, they came to set up a theocracy, and killed people for witchcraft because the Bible tells them to do that (and opposed smallpox inoculation because smallpox was āGodās willā).
Fundamentalism was beaten down by the Enlightenment and only seems strange today because it was quiet for a while. It is the norm, not the exception, of Christianity.
Fundamentalism isnāt unique to Christianity, either. I suspect it is a product of our neural hardwiring to create easily understandable patterns, even where those patterns arenāt actually true.