The Christians Thread

[JDub]

Did you know the guy who wrote the song Amazing Grace was once captain of a slave ship? And then there was the apostle Paul, who had Christians put to death before he had his life-changing revelation. The point is, there's no point where you're out of reach of God's forgiveness. ;)

I see your point man, and I agree there are people who take an attack on their religion as an attack on them personally. And the reason these kinds of discussions degenerate into flamewars is because they tend to become a battle of egos, which is entirely contrary to the teachings of Jesus. Regarding all the difficulties you mentioned regarding the stories of the old testament, there have been many gifted minds throughout the centuries who have considered them and addressed them as well. For all the things you mentioned, (and many more that you didn't), there are a lot of perfectly plausible explanations and theodicies. I can go more in depth if you wish, if you're truly interested in hearing about it.

Thanks for the response. Really, all that stuff is silly to me. If I were to be a Christian I'd prolly follow the Jeffersonian Bible. Basically, it's the King James Bible minus everything except for Jesus's own words. Calling all the "miracles" like the burning bush, flood, and chronic inbreeding with no effect silly, isn't meant to be offensive. So, I hope I haven't offended anyone. I'm an atheist but I'd love to have intelligent, non-judgmental discussions with religious people without it getting heated or salty. I know I'm not the person I want to be. I'd like my presence to be a contagious graciousness. I'd rather find a way of working together on the positive commonalities between all faiths instead of fighting over texts written before people realized their own shit was causing cholera. Personally, I think all Religious Texts could be wiped from history but the principles those text try to instill would have still flourished. Maybe propagated through different stories and dogmas. But Religion is kind of relative. It's based on where you happen to be born. If Fred Phelps were born in India he would have probably ended up a radical Hindu zealot. Instead, he was born in the Midwest. So, I see people's religious beliefs as a result of circumstance.

 

[The Landslide]

The way I see it at the current time, the teachings of Christianity are just the best way to live your life, while the institution of the church seems like a failure. This mainly has to do with it being run by human beings. If you actually live your life according to the Bible (New Testament guys... this nonsense about not eating shrimp and whatnot has been overwritten by the New Testament) then you will have a great blueprint on being a good person. The problem is all the people in power who make claims to follow the Bible and then contradict themselves in privacy.

 

[JDub]

The way I see it at the current time, the teachings of Christianity are just the best way to live your life...

That exact same statement could be made for Islam if you had happened to be born in Yemen or something. But at the heart of every religion I've looked into, are the same principles. The problem is every faith wants to monopolize those basic principles for the exclusive benefit of their ranks. It's basically branding. All religions compete in propagating their brand. And just like in marketing they try to instill a sense of brand loyalty. But being a good person isn't something restricted to one belief or another. The best way to live your life is to be who you are. Not because of the threat of hell, or the reward of heaven. But because you are as unique and valuable as anyone else.

 

[Ramus]

It is so, i dont believe that someonee go burn in Hell just because he\she is gay, in the dark edges rigth handed people were persued, so yah don t think someone goes to hell for not believing in God, i think we simply can t assume anything for sure , living let live and be happy,

 

[glorybe26od]

It is so, i dont believe that someonee go burn in Hell just because he\she is gay, in the dark edges rigth handed people were persued, so yah don t think someone goes to hell for not believing in God, i think we simply can t assume anything for sure , living let live and be happy,