Jesus said if you continue in my word then you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free
Chris, all belief systems place restrictions and boundaries on the sort of ideas that may be seriously entertained for inclusion within that belief system. Although, you may still maintain possible discretion (and this would depend, one supposes, upon the degree to which the dogma of the particular belief system is fettered by psychological necessity), the leeway for the reasonable and probable exercise of that discretion, would obviously be conditional upon a host of factors, not the least being those very exclusionary clauses that do indeed constitute critical premises within the person's belief system.
In the case of religion, the more fundamental the belief, the less discretion is available for the inclusion of new and different ideas. As an example, for a person that believes that the bible represents God's words, and that God's words are Truth--any suggestion that any part of the bible is stupid, atrocious, absurd or asinine, is summarily dismissed, or if entertained, is done so as a parlour exercise, without benefit of a truly critical faculty. It is for this reason that, when I point out to you that God thought bats were birds, you can ignore God's lack of knowledge, and you can rationalize it in whichever manner suits the purpose of your need to protect your most fundamental belief system.
Yes, your thinking has extreme limitations upon it. Why? Because you already know the Truth...or most of it. |
