Anyone who believes that god exists but isn’t for bonobos or other sentient beings, is seriously arrogant, not to mention uncritical. The belief that god is only for homo sapiens sapiens is akin to the belief that he’s only for the Israelites. Both are self-centric and therefore irrational (not looking at the bigger picture, believing one is at the centre of the universe), in this case anthropocentric.
You’re now the one either ridiculing the idea that god is for bonobos too. That or you’re suggesting that others may believe that it is a ridiculous suggestion. It is not a ridiculous question, and if people think it is or appears to be in bad faith, that tells us something about their belief system.
I recognised how my post might be interpreted, in my very first post. That’s why I said, “I’m not taking the piss.” If you think I am taking the piss, you’re calling me a liar, which as serious an accusation as it gets.
Within the first post, after the flippant starter, I went on to ask your “real questions”. Asking seemingly flippant questions is a way of testing the flexibility, imagination and attitude of people who answer. Challenging, perhaps. If you’re confident in your beliefs, have the intellectual flexibility EQ to correctly interpret the way my question was meant, this shouldn’t be a problem.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]Next time try something like this: “How does your religion square itself with evolution? Are there any texts that deal with whether earlier human species has souls or whether god has a personal relationship with other intelligent species that may exist on other planets?”[/quote]How does your religion square itself with evolution? That’s an old and boring question that’s been answered by believers long ago and the compatibility of religion and evolution is only doubted by extremists.
[quote=“Mucha Man”]“One of your religion’s core beliefs in that the son of God came to earth, died and ascended to heaven. Obviously I am a little skeptical of this. How does your religion explain supernatural events such as an ascension into Heaven? And where does Heaven stand in relationship to the physical world we know?”
You know. Real questions that might generate real answers.[/quote]
I prefer to ask children’s questions. They’re more illuminating. And they illustrate the intelligence and flexibility of mind of the answerer. If he went physically “up”, that means he went up and must have stopped somewhere or carried on forever. If ascension means something else, more metaphorical perhaps, so be it. Tell me about it.
I would note that I haven’t once (correct me if I’m wrong - I haven’t reread all my posts) indulged in ridiculing or name calling, personal attacks or insults.