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> But just as the Reformation led to faith-healing and megachurch preachers Quite a leap. Break that one down... > Sagan's teachings made it seem as if anyone

> But just as the Reformation led to faith-healing and megachurch preachers Quite a leap. Break that one down... > Sagan's teachings made it seem as if anyone could be a scientist. As long as a chain of reasoning made sense to you, then it was true! How does Sagan give this impression? Namely that "as long as it makes sense to you, then it must be true." And why is this analogous to the Reformation? Seems like a non-sequiter.

paulddraper 3y ago
>> But just as the Reformation led to faith-healing and megachurch preachers > Quite a leap. Break that one down... Prior to the Reformation, you needed not just Truth but Authority as well. There was an actual hierarchy, and you respected that hierarchy. Luther said that any man could connect to God, be a spiritual leader, assemble a congregation. And so the number of religious sects increased from 1 to much more than 1, including for example faith healers and megachurches.
- mcpackieh 3y ago
  There's no doubt that the Reformation resulted in a proliferation of Christian sects, but attributing megachurchs and faith healing to that seems bizarre to somebody who is not a Christian. The Christian bible says that Jesus himself was a faith healer. Innumerable Catholic saints have been faith healers, and faith healing in the form of Exorcism is still taught as real by the Roman Catholic Church to this day. And megachurchs? No Christian church is more 'mega' than the RCC. They share all the defining characteristics: Huge gaudy megastructures? Yes, Cathedrals. Money flowing up through the organization? The Vatican is decked in gold. Hierarchical with the preacher at top living opulently? This describes the Roman Catholic Church to a T. And Jesus himself is said to have preached to crowds of hundreds or thousands. The Reformation certainly lead to a splintering of Christian sects, but did not introduce faith healing and megachurches. These were already ancient, arguably originating characteristics of Christianity.

paulddraper 3y ago

>> But just as the Reformation led to faith-healing and megachurch preachers > Quite a leap. Break that one down... Prior to the Reformation, you needed not just Truth but Authority as well. There was an actual hierarchy, and you respected that hierarchy. Luther said that any man could connect to God, be a spiritual leader, assemble a congregation. And so the number of religious sects increased from 1 to much more than 1, including for example faith healers and megachurches.

mcpackieh 3y ago
There's no doubt that the Reformation resulted in a proliferation of Christian sects, but attributing megachurchs and faith healing to that seems bizarre to somebody who is not a Christian. The Christian bible says that Jesus himself was a faith healer. Innumerable Catholic saints have been faith healers, and faith healing in the form of Exorcism is still taught as real by the Roman Catholic Church to this day. And megachurchs? No Christian church is more 'mega' than the RCC. They share all the defining characteristics: Huge gaudy megastructures? Yes, Cathedrals. Money flowing up through the organization? The Vatican is decked in gold. Hierarchical with the preacher at top living opulently? This describes the Roman Catholic Church to a T. And Jesus himself is said to have preached to crowds of hundreds or thousands. The Reformation certainly lead to a splintering of Christian sects, but did not introduce faith healing and megachurches. These were already ancient, arguably originating characteristics of Christianity.