I doubt, therefore I am freethinker.
Antony Kagirison
Since the rejection of Apollonius of Tyana as Christ and the anathematization of the Christology developed by the eloquent genius, Valentinus, conventional Christianity fell into sacralization of irrationality and gnosophobia. I use the term Conventional Christianity to signify that what became mainstream Christianity in Europe was decided by a council (that was convened in 325 AD) and not by the founders of Christianity. In fact, the origin of Christianity is subject to scholarly disputes and speculation, which means that we cannot inerrantly identify the real founders of Christianity. However, this has not prevented some Christian clergy from claiming that they have access to the only source of knowledge! To make matters worse, due to the low barrier of entry to join the clergy, some of these clergymen and clergywomen have little formal education. Do these semi-illiterate clergy pose a threat to the religion or to their congregation? Should modern Christians condemn ignorance? What if these semi-illiterate clergy lead a fairly ignorant congregation?
Ignorance and Tyranny as Twins of Convenience
Tyrannies are always sustained by religious populations led by ignorant or poorly educated clergy who abhor rational thought and critical thinking. To these clergy (and the tyrant they support), knowledge can only be validated by their religious beliefs – which usually condemn questioning the existing political and social order. To the tyrant, he is safe in power if he reigns over a superstitious population that venerates him as the leader chosen by God/gods. For these clergy and the tyrant, education and rationalism are loathed as existential threats. For their cowardly superstitious population, it is said, “Humanity has been left under the savage care of a cruel step-father named despotism, and his 2 wives – the 2 step-mothers – named ignorance and cowardice”. Ignorance, as it turns out, can be fatal when it is justified by religious beliefs.
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