If your going to ditch hell and intolerance and a literal reading, do you not loose most of the followers we have today.?
Honestly, I think that is just fine. However, I don't think there would be serious lost. Christians, at least in modern countries, are increasingly becoming more liberal. So there would be some loss, but I don't think it would be a major loss.
We are talking about some people being brainwashed since early childhood, asking for them to give up their faith will not come easy.
I think brainwashed it too harsh a term. For example, I grew up in a evangelical fundamentalist household. And it wasn't like anyone forced me to adopt that ideology myself. I may not have known any different, but I still accepted it out of my free will.
The problem was when I did start doing my own research, which was supported by my church and parents, I ended up rejecting the entire religion as I went from one extreme to the other (where I argued blindly that Jesus did not exist, and I was simply an angry atheist).
My brothers also ended up leaving the religion as well, but not with as much anger as I did. They also didn't leave it because of research, but because it just didn't fit them.
The problem for me is that I didn't have any credible driving force. The forums I belonged to at that time had hardly anyone who really studied Christianity, and it fueled my ignorant beliefs (I'm talking about beliefs like John the Baptist being the real Messiah, and things similar to what is found in Holy Blood, Holy Grail).
I think if many Christians are taught how to challenge the religion productively, and guided by serious scholarship, there will be little kicking and screaming. Others will definitely resist, and we have even seen some of that in this very thread.
A problem though is when people attack the religion. The reason is because people instantly become defensive, and then that person becomes isolated. We can also see that in this thread, as what I said could be seen as an attack by some.
And really, it is not about asking people to give up their faith, but to gain a more mature faith.
I think yout best approach is to start with a small change that will help leed to the possibility for more small changes in the future.
There could be some good in that; however, I don't really care for such a compromise. I don't think anyone should be able to be free to hide behind an institution while committing atrocious acts. No one should be free to persecute others, and then claim that their religion supports it and get off free. And if we go with just a small change, it allows people to continue to openly be bigots, while defiling the religion, and other members of it. More importantly, it defiles those who they are being bigoted towards, and that has to change immediately.
Maybe a non literal reading through education would break the ice and as the education progresses, it will be easier to loose the dogma holding it back.
That I agree with.
