How have

[mynameisjake07]

Millions of people been brainwashed into thinking the "Bible" is a sacred book which holds all the truths to man?

[Peterness]

fear

[Peterness]

ignorance

[fexurbis]

You're using "brainwashed" too liberally. The term refers to a very specific kind of torture driving individuals to insanity and dysfunctionality. It's been tried in wars and totalitarian states and so on. Brainwashed people don't go around working and doing laundry.

What the Bible is is a cultural phenomenon... Nothing more than that. How did millions of Yoruba came to believe in Xango? Or millions of Asians came to believe in Buddha? Or Indians in Karma? Or Greeks in Dionysus?

Simple, cultural transmission.

[Green]

They wanted to believe that, so they decided to. Why they choose to believe in God and take the bible so literally in the face of all contradictory evidence today, I don't know. In the past, it is much more understandable why people believed that (no contradictory evidence, wasn't socially acceptable not to and not to go to church, and often it wasn't politically accpetable either). I know in the Colonial Era here in America, people had to pay a fine in silver or in some places tobacco if they didn't go to church.

[iris rotation]

Fear yes.

Ignorance yes.
Stupidity too? Probably. And the general robotic nature of culture where one generation passes on it's nonsense to the next, many of whom just blithely accept it wholesale.

[iris rotation]

I know in the Colonial Era here in America, people had to pay a fine in silver or in some places tobacco if they didn't go to church.
Who got to smoke the baccy I wonder?

[fexurbis]

They wanted to believe that, so they decided to. Why they choose to believe in God and take the bible so literally in the face of all contradictory evidence today, I don't know. In the past, it is much more understandable why people believed that (no contradictory evidence, wasn't socially acceptable not to and not to go to church, and often it wasn't politically accpetable either). I know in the Colonial Era here in America, people had to pay a fine in silver or in some places tobacco if they didn't go to church.Because people are guilty of selective exposure. Certain cultural norms make them feel at home. The norms/ideas/environments/people that don't produce the same effect are ignored.

I also wouldn't assume that the past was as restrictive as all that without acknowledging our also very restrictive society. In ancient Greece one had many contradictory schools of thought to choose from. And just perhaps there was less stigma attributed to free thought that in contemporary U.S.

[Freedom_Man]

its a cultural thing, your parents tell you it when you're young, you believe it and thats it. and then when you get older you question it, find that its not your thing or you still fear that you're going to hell for not believing and become a christian again. thats it

[Joel_33]

You're using "brainwashed" too liberally. The term refers to a very specific kind of torture driving individuals to insanity and dysfunctionality. It's been tried in wars and totalitarian states and so on. Brainwashed people don't go around working and doing laundry.

What the Bible is is a cultural phenomenon... Nothing more than that. How did millions of Yoruba came to believe in Xango? Or millions of Asians came to believe in Buddha? Or Indians in Karma? Or Greeks in Dionysus?

Simple, cultural transmission.yep there you go

however i will add that ideals are culturally transmitted by means of power struggles. I think if you look at this from a genealogical perspective you'll realise that previous to christianity paganism was the core religion of that area of the world, christianities spread can be attributed largely to conquest, war and interlectual domination.

Just as Buddhism spread itself by means of subverting indigenous beliefs through incorperating them with buddhist teaching, christianity has done so by conquering belief systems and instilling its own. Just as Islam has done, and if you look at the european wars of the last 2000 years you'll see that Islam and Christianity have done their fair share of crusades against each other, Islam got as far as spain before being pushed back.

[Maryslittlebrat]

Yea, fear, ignorance and stupidity built into them at birth or picked up in desperation, either way it's scary and I don't think it matters what religion of ethos it is really.
the masses fall for everything to diff degrees and it's always been so
It's funny too it's the 'opposite' of what Jesus taught

what I don't get is why don't they wake up or get suspicious at some point in life for the most part? never question beliefs? scary and the end of thought
at least I'm lucid to the fact I'm insane
peace