Posted: Dec 12, 2018 5:02 pm
zulumoose wrote:I've been on both sides of this, and most genuine believers are not scammers, they do talk about it, and mostly they're not embarrassed
I suspect there are plenty of people who do not really believe what they profess to believe, they like to gather together in groups, go to meetings, and prop up each others beliefs, seeking reassurance and safety in numbers, feeling guilty about their own doubts and imagining others do not feel the same. This is not just a religious phenomena. Someone who is quiet about their beliefs seems to me to be far more likely to be sincere.
A spot of 'no true scotsman' fallacy there!
In the Anglican church, of course there are huge numbers that don't really believe it, as there's no pressure on people to believe anything at all. There are even atheist bishops. But in the evangelical Christian church it's a very different matter. There may be some that are just in it for the friendly club aspects, but they're very few, very obvious, and they tend not to stay long. Evangelical churches are extremely uncomfortable places for people that aren't genuinely into it.
Whether they'd actually put their lives on the line and be martyred for their faith is a different matter, of course, and not something that's put to the test very often in the West.