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Originally Posted by msmith
This is absurd. These are simply opinions stated out of ignorance, not facts. I have an advanced degree and I am highly educated. I am also an avid reader who is committed to expanding my education and knowledge. I am also a self made millionaire in my mid-thirties after starting with nothing. I am also a very devout Christian.
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You are greatly outnumbered by the devout Christians who have barely a high school education, work for minimum wage, and are on their third marriage.
Do you claim their "success" is also tied to their Christianity?
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The type of Christian who has examined all of the evidence on both sides of the equation
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If you haven't danced with Mescalito, you haven't examined "all the evidence." If you haven't made a pilgrimage to Mecca, you haven't examined "all the evidence." If you haven't drawn down the moon and participated in the Great Rite, you haven't examined "all the evidence." You've looked at what was convenient for you to study, and made decisions based on text, not experience, even though many religions reject the notion that an intellectual understanding of a description is enough to understand them.
Saying "I examined all the evidence and I have found the best one" is like saying "I read everyone's bios on Match.com and I know my wife is the best woman in the world." She might be... but it's not because of what you read from the publicly-available information.
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It is my faith in God that has carried me through difficult times and made me stronger, and my constant education about Him that has brought me to this conclusion. The more I study and the more life experiences I have convince me of the truth in the Gospels.
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Including the part where Jesus said his message was only for Jews, not Gentiles?
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Christianity has endured for two millennia and reached well over two billion adherents because of the awesome message of hope it brings to the world.
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No, because it killed off all the competition in Europe. "Convert or die" is a great way to spread your "message of hope," and it's still being practiced in some parts of the world. In some parts of the US, even, where Christians feel vindicated not only striking out at members of other religions, but of members of their own whom they feel are not devout enough.
Christianity's message of "you don't have to do anything but believe, to be guaranteed bright shiny prezzies after death" is a hopeful one in places where life sucks. Where life is more affluent, the message lacks something, and that's shown by the number of people who move toward agnosticism in first-world countries.
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A true scientist should be humbled by all the mysteries of the universe they cannot explain while they continue to search for knowledge,
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Indeed. But that search doesn't necessarily result in the conclusion of a sentient creator-deity, much less the notion that the deity specifically described in ancient Hebraic scriptures is the only one.