3 ms·

I'm sure a few do; I would bet that the vast majority do not or do so only rarely. How many on HN do it? And in fairness, "someone who has seriously practiced

I'm sure a few do; I would bet that the vast majority do not or do so only rarely. How many on HN do it? And in fairness, "someone who has seriously practiced multiple religions, and ... with a degree in religious studies" is an exceptional case in terms of both experience and expertise, and not representative of others. You should write a book comparing your experiences. I'd be fascinated.

muraiki 11y ago
You know, we have to do a lot of educating about things like SOPA and other laws that we as programmers generally aren't fond of. And we get upset because we know these things affect everyone in an important way. People use computers and technology every day of their lives -- some are even programmers, and have been their entire careers -- and sometimes even after they have been educated about this issue, they still don't care. But there are still we who care about these issues, and the small number of people (in comparison to users of technology across the whole US) who respond to us. As you can guess, my point is that this situation occurs in many other areas too, including that of religion. And here I will speak from my experience as an Orthodox Christian: this is an extremely dangerous view. The temptation to label your brother as "not a true Christian," to see yourself as superior because you've read more books, attend more services, pray more often, etc. is very great. I'm not trying to veer into proselytization here, but rather am trying to explain at least the Orthodox response to the general argument of why all Christians aren't obviously great people. :) When it comes down to it, every person -- Christian or not, Orthodox or not -- is engaged in a very great struggle in their hearts. They have been wounded deeply by this world, even if they live in relative comfort and ease compared to another human in a worse situation. Some have chosen a particular hospital to recover in, but unfortunately struggle greatly with their illness. I know that my own case, of having experienced multiple religions and chosen an education in religious studies, is rare. But what I am trying to say is that people being sincere about their religion takes many forms, and is more complex than a one-dimensional scale. There are indeed beacons in the Church: the saints, such as Saints Porphryrios and Paisios, who are not far from us but reposed in the 90s. But as Saint Porphyrios said, there are untold numbers of "hidden saints," who lived lives of obscurity and humility and love, not writing tracts of theology, but who lived theology, who lived communion with God. I think that perhaps we expect a saint to be a certain kind of mythical person and we hold religious people to that kind of standard. I know that it must be disappointing when you meet a Christian and do not encounter faith, hope, and love. But the story of each Christian's life is not over until death -- and even at that point there is mercy.

muraiki 11y ago

You know, we have to do a lot of educating about things like SOPA and other laws that we as programmers generally aren't fond of. And we get upset because we know these things affect everyone in an important way. People use computers and technology every day of their lives -- some are even programmers, and have been their entire careers -- and sometimes even after they have been educated about this issue, they still don't care. But there are still we who care about these issues, and the small number of people (in comparison to users of technology across the whole US) who respond to us. As you can guess, my point is that this situation occurs in many other areas too, including that of religion. And here I will speak from my experience as an Orthodox Christian: this is an extremely dangerous view. The temptation to label your brother as "not a true Christian," to see yourself as superior because you've read more books, attend more services, pray more often, etc. is very great. I'm not trying to veer into proselytization here, but rather am trying to explain at least the Orthodox response to the general argument of why all Christians aren't obviously great people. :) When it comes down to it, every person -- Christian or not, Orthodox or not -- is engaged in a very great struggle in their hearts. They have been wounded deeply by this world, even if they live in relative comfort and ease compared to another human in a worse situation. Some have chosen a particular hospital to recover in, but unfortunately struggle greatly with their illness. I know that my own case, of having experienced multiple religions and chosen an education in religious studies, is rare. But what I am trying to say is that people being sincere about their religion takes many forms, and is more complex than a one-dimensional scale. There are indeed beacons in the Church: the saints, such as Saints Porphryrios and Paisios, who are not far from us but reposed in the 90s. But as Saint Porphyrios said, there are untold numbers of "hidden saints," who lived lives of obscurity and humility and love, not writing tracts of theology, but who lived theology, who lived communion with God. I think that perhaps we expect a saint to be a certain kind of mythical person and we hold religious people to that kind of standard. I know that it must be disappointing when you meet a Christian and do not encounter faith, hope, and love. But the story of each Christian's life is not over until death -- and even at that point there is mercy.