Discussion between a Christians and an athiest

Pygoscelis said:
Yes, fanatic religion is but one of many mental disorders.
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Thank-you for recognizing that your previous statements about religion as implied by the cited quote are untrue.

And while I will grant that there are some people who are fanatical about religion in very unhealthy ways, I don't believe that it is listed in the DSM handbook as a mental disorder.
 
Actually it is. Look again. It qualifies under a number of definitions for disorders in there.
 
Pygoscelis said:
Actually it is. Look again. It qualifies under a number of definitions for disorders in there.
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Actually, I did look first before I posted. And it might be a sympton that someone has who is diagnosed with another disorder possesses--I said there are some people who are fanatical about religion in very unhealthy ways-- but I did not see it listed as a disorder itself. If I missed it and it is I would be interested in reading about it, I've got one or two people in my church I would like to get some help for.

Of course, being a fanatic about religion just means that one is a fan (fanatic and fan being two different derivations of the same word). But then, truly I am not a fan of religion. I even cringe when I hear people talk about being religious. Religious fanaticism, that which causes people to react to events in the world without thinking because on some built in religious way of responding is not what I mean by either Christianity or any sort of faith. Though certainly Christianity has its fair share of religious fanatics. In my humble opinion, such persons do more harm than good to their respective faiths. Zeal is one thing; fanaticism is quite another. What I wish for is for people to develop faith, to learn to trust in God and to connect with him. I do believe there is something bigger than us in this world, and I believe that connecting with it is important to reach wholeness in life, that without making that connection we can never be all we were created to be.

Yep, I said created. The only other way I can think of to have expressed the same concept would be to say that we can never be all we were accidented to be. And I don't think life is an accident. That last is a faith statement, but it is not a religious statement. Can you tell the difference?
 
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