types and christianity

[Mr Galt]

Yeah, I read that, too. But when you think about it, it's not all that far-fetched, considering religion is ambiguous, something which appeals to N.

The INTP, if anything, would more likely be an interpreter of religious text. But in the INTJ's case, of course, they'd probably use religious principles to justify the pursuit of their vision, for better or for worse.

I'd think that your average INTJ would outright reject religion because it's not their vision, but somebody else's vision. He/She would probably read the Bible and say "How dare you tell me what is wrong and what is right?!"

 

[The Ü™]

I'd think that your average INTJ would outright reject religion because it's not their vision, but somebody else's vision. He/She would probably read the Bible and say "How dare you tell me what is wrong and what is right?!"

That, too. But why do that when you can use the Bible to control and frighten the mindless civilians?

I have a vision.

I think we can scare others by making them think the Book of Revelation is actually happening by building cloaking jets (which are in their conceptual stages) that will drop fireballs to the earth, which could be either a flamethrower or brightly colored orange bombs! There will be panic!!!

The Bible has its purpose!

 

[Mr Galt]

That, too. But why do that when you can use the Bible to control and frighten the mindless civilians?

I have a vision.

I think we can scare others by making them think the Book of Revelation is actually happening by building cloaking jets (which are in their conceptual stages) that will drop fireballs to the earth, which could be either a flamethrower or brightly colored orange bombs! There will be panic!!!

The Bible has its purpose!

But that still doesn't explain the high percentage of INTJ's who actually BELIEVE the Bible. I can understand using it to control others, but "believing" doesn't seem like something an INTJ would do truthfully.

 

[The Ü™]

I suppose if the INTJ finds the religion logical, I can see them being Christians. After all, logic is often subjective. To some people, creationism and other forms of "pseudoscience" makes perfect sense.

 

[substitute]

"Believing the Bible" isn't universally considered a prerequisite for believing in God or being a Christian. Just thought I'd throw that in there...

edit - also, a great many people don't consider Christianity to be all about telling people what's "right and wrong", but what's necessary/beneficial/logical. I know that's how I see it and I have no difficulty in finding like minds...

edit - it's also my impression that recognizing a good idea and adopting it, whoever's it originally was, is quite in line with INTJ thought processes. I thought deliberately doing the opposite of what anyone else tells you to out of sheer defiance (sometimes even if it's clearly good advice) was more of an ISTP thing...?

 

[Seanan]

It does seem accurate -- Ti analyzes everything, but INTPs see possibilities, while ISTPs demand more concrete evidence of things.

It's just interesting, though, that Ti seems the least likely function to lead to Christianity. Ti determines the nature of things. It looks at what is, senses its nature, defines the pieces. It seems that God is least obvious when one examines the nature of evidence, and more and more likely the more one looks at other sorts of criteria.

This reminds me of an old movie called "Sea Wife." All men and one woman, a nun for whom the movie is entitled, are at sea in a life boat. They are dwindling, some near death, when only two people are awake... the woman and a very cynical, pessimistic, man who is talking gloom and doom. The woman says, "Don't worry, God is with us." To which he says, "I can't believe that" and goes on about his rotten life, ending with "No, I've just seen too much to believe that." She smiles and says: "No, I think you haven't seen enough."

That's me and why I still remember it. I was raised religious but, at a certain point, my logical mind couldn't accept it. Then, I had personal experiences that could not be explained logically and "proved" to me there is something beyond our capacity to understand. Today, though still not religious, I'm very spiritual and Jesus is my Hero.

 

[Mort Belfry]

But that still doesn't explain the high percentage of INTJ's who actually BELIEVE the Bible. I can understand using it to control others, but "believing" doesn't seem like something an INTJ would do truthfully.

There's probably high percentages of ALL types believing in christianity in certain quarters. We all want to believe that people of our type would share our own beliefs and prejudices, but that's simply not the case. Christianity is just really believable to a lot of people. The real question is not why certain types believe it but why anybody believes it.

It's not just Christianity, everything that's ever been believed by anybody has been believed by a representative of all types.

 

[Ghost of the dead horse]

I feel comfort in seeing my type at near the bottom of the list of believers.

 

[6sticks]

16. ISTP - 59.3

Great job guys. High fives all around.

 

[The Ü™]

I thought deliberately doing the opposite of what anyone else tells you to out of sheer defiance (sometimes even if it's clearly good advice) was more of an ISTP thing...?

This is what I tend to think. Stereotypically, anyway. The ISTP tends to be the image of the teenage rebel, the kind of teen who rides a skateboard and does the exact opposite of what he/she is told.

The INTJ would more likely be loyal to the rules but will look for ways around them or methodically and strategically push them to their limits, or a Machiavellian approach -- malicious compliance and so forth.

 

[celesul]

Here's a question. Which type is most likely to argue with the religious Christians and get told they are going to Hell?

I got told I was just this morning. He said he'd pray for me. Bah. If being an atheist, not based on actions, results in going to Hell, then god would be psychotic (thus being a bad guy to pray to), and Socrates would also be in purgatory, which would be much better than dealing with the harp dictator ESTJs. ^.^
I recommend against indulging the argumentative tendencies of someone who believes the entire bible word for word (complete with the sucky translations). It's kind of like walking into a brick wall. It's rather annoying and doesn't get you anywhere.

 

[SillySapienne]

Great job guys. High fives all around.

...seriously

no wonder why I've gravitated to this type in the past.

 

[The Ü™]

I believe in the Users.

Oh, my User.

 

[SillySapienne]

I tend to get vehemently hated on/attacked by, dogmatic Christians....oh well.

Yup, I would say 75-80 % of all the people who have publicly showed their contempt for me, (which mind you, has been a consistently low figure my entire life), just so happened to have been, by their own definition, "Christians".

I find this humorously ironic.

 

[Colors]

Depending on the circumstances, that might not be that high of a percentage (if you live in the US, for instance, which has is ~78% Christian).

 

[The Ü™]

Depending on the circumstances, that might not be that high of a percentage (if you live in the US, for instance, which has is ~78% Christian).

Yes, but the majority are not practicing. Church attendance in the US is quite low. Most people just observe the major Christian holidays, such as Xmas and Easter.

 

[Nocapszy]

Is this for serious?

Are those percentages in the OP or...

I can't think of what else they might be.

I'm embarrassed to be ENTP if that's the case though. Well... maybe I should just be embarrassed to... wait a second; what's the use in finding the correlation?

 

[Colors]

Yes, but the majority are not practicing. Church attendance in the US is quite low. Most people just observe the major Christian holidays, such as Xmas and Easter.

Yeah. You wonder how many of those people would switch from Christianity if it weren't for the matter of convenience. They don't seem to be very dedicated to the church establishments.

A lot of cultural and religious traditions are intertwined, which complicates matters too... My relatives who have converted to Christianity still practice traditional ancestor worhip, etc.

 

[The Ü™]

But as Substitute said, there's a difference between being a Bible thumper and being a believer in the ideas of Christ, which are quite valid from a humanistic and even logical standpoint.

Many of the Christians I know don't force their beliefs upon other people, and they are rather spiritual in a good way -- they aren't dogmatic. They are followers of Jesus in that they agree with his ideals, such as "love thy neighbor as you love thyself."

And most of the SJs I've seen are not really religious and not avid churchgoers. They're just more into the social traditions that just so happen to be established around religion.

 

[Nocapszy]

wait a second; what's the use in finding the correlation?

Hey I wonder what the ratio would be for those types prone to committing necrophilia.

Or who drive bulldozers. That would be an interesting statistic.