Can a theist be truly objective?  Can he be impartial      when questioning the truth of his scriptures, or      will he assume the superstition of his parents      when questioning?   I've often found it to be the case that the theist      will stick to some kind of superstition when      wondering about God and his scriptures.  I've      seen it in the Christian, the Jew, the Muslim,      and the other theists alike.  All assume that      their mothers and fathers were right in the      aspect that a god exists, and with that belief      search for their god.       Occasionally, the theist may switch religions or      aspects of the same religion, but overall the      majority keep to the belief that some "Creator"      was behind the universe's existence.  I've      known Muslims who were once Christians and vice      versa, I've known Christians who were once      Jewish and vice versa, and I've even known      Christians who become Hindu.  Yet, throughout      their transition from one faith to another,      they've kept this belief in some form of higher      "being."  Why?       It usually all has to do with how the child is      brought up.  From the time he is born, the      theist is brought up with the notion of the      "truth" of some kind of scripture-- the Bible,      the Torah, the Qur'an, & etc.  He is told      of this wondrous God who wrote (or inspired)      the scripture, of the prophets talked about in      the scripture, of the miracles performed, & etc.      He is also told that to question this (as      children are apt to do) is a sin, a crime      against God, and to lose belief in the scrip-      ture's truth is to damn one's soul to Hell.      Thus, by the time he is able to read the      scripture for himself, the belief in its "truth"      is so ingrained in his mind it all seems a      matter of course.       But it doesn't stop there.  Once the child is able      to read for himself, there is an endeavor to      inculcate the child the "right" readings of      scripture, to concentrate more on the pleasant      readings, to gloss over the worse ones, and to      explain away the unexplainable with "mystery."      Circular arguments, "self-evdent" facts and      "truths," unreasoning belief, and fear of      hell is the meat of religion the child must eat      of every day.  To doubt, of course, means wrath      of some sort, and the child must learn to put      away his brain when the matter concerns God.      All of this has some considerable effect on the      child, so that when he becomes an adult, the       superstitions he's been taught are nearly      impossible to remove.       All of this leads me to ask whether the theist can      truly be objective when questioning God, Hell,      Heaven, the angels, souls, and all of the rest.      Can he, for a moment, put aside this notion that      God *does* exist and look at everything from      a unbiased point of view?  Obviously, most      theists can somewhat, especially when presented      with "mythical gods" (Homeric, Roman, Egyptian,      & etc.).  But can they put aside the assumption      of God's existence and question it impartially?       Stephen      _/_/_/_/  _/_/_/_/   _/       _/    * Atheist    _/        _/    _/   _/ _/ _/ _/     * Libertarian   _/_/_/_/  _/_/_/_/   _/   _/  _/      * Pro-individuality        _/  _/     _/  _/       _/       * Pro-responsibility _/_/_/_/  _/      _/ _/       _/ Jr.    * and all that jazz...  --