Reading Victor Hugo’s “Hunchback of Notre Dame” published in 1831, and he breaks away on a sideline narrative to explain how the priests were afraid the printing press was going to replace the pulpit. Priests were in fear that everyone else could read their own Bible. Why? Wonder how they feel now, almighty google scholar? But with all the knowledge in the world available to us, has the information made the majority any smarter? When the words “look it up” are deemed too critical or offensive we have a problem. The level of apathy towards sound learning and reason is astounding. At least we still have the priests to tell us what it all means.
TheCommonAtheist 
Even though all the knowledge is readily available, people aren’t comfortable with anything that contradicts their beliefs or ideas. Looking things up and dismissing them as blasphemy is very common everywhere.
LikeLiked by 2 people
My buddy the science teacher here at the local school was telling me about an interview he saw with Bill Nye and Ken Ham. Bill welcomed new evidence while the preacher said if there was proof the Bible was a fraud it wouldn’t change his belief. Crazy train!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
We’re all trained that way. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Jim, when I encounter faith-followers and ministers like you are referencing, I sometimes ask What is so different about YOUR “faith” in God’s will and his omnipotent mysteries and me embracing my miniscule place, my humanism/agnosticism… in this Cosmos?
But then at some point in time we WILL know the exact difference, right? The faith-follower/minister will gravitate to some degree (or completely) of self-perceived fundamental biblidolatry and/or divine revelation to distinguish/separate themself from me. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Or he’ll go into your shrek parody mode? Lol
LikeLiked by 1 person
HAH! Yes they will if they’re not familiar enough with their faith’s mechanisms of General & Special Revelation theology. They do begin to sound like Pinocchio in Shrek! LOL 😛
LikeLike
We in the I.T./I.S. field use R.T.F.M. – or Read The Fine Manual – fine of course can be replace with that four letter foul or fuck.
But the printing press was a big deal. You see most of what is in the Biblical texts suffers from translation error, copy error and most importantly editorializing by scribes. Those scribes would change what something said – in essence the first editors but what’s in the Bible isn’t necessarily so special and mostly made up or pulled from someones nether regions. But with the press what gets committed to the page is it forever.
And recall up until the late 1960’s Catholic mass was said in Latin:
Ut non modo erat in principio et semper erit quod maxime natura Bibliorum speciatim definientes equum stercore.
It was Pope John the 23rd who started the liberalization of the church – masses then said in local vernacular, priests and nuns could go plain clothes, and the church started getting very liberal. Then that mutt JP II fucked it all up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great insights! Thank you
LikeLiked by 1 person