Christianity

[gold eagle]

Actually several religions have the proselytation of their beliefs in effect. It is not just Christianity. Leaders of various faiths have long espoused the value of promoting what they hold to be true.
sftlook - what about if you AND your girlfriend surprise them in just that fashion. :0

[stflook]

Which religions have that? I'm not an expert here, so forgive the stupid question. I find it interesting that Christianity is the only one that has had that philosophy abused so badly, and so many times. There must be something different about it.

sftlook - what about if you AND your girlfriend surprise them in just that fashion. :0

I'd have the camera handy. All's I need now is a girlfriend. I'd get some of that leather stuff for both of us, just to add to the effect. I'll post the picture when I go through with this. It oughta be priceless!

[redsdemon]

Maybe I miss something but didn't Eve seduce Adam into eating the fruit? Not quite seduce but he loved her so much that she could convinced him to eat the fruit. I see in this that even though Eve was naive and was convinced to eat the fruit Adam loved Eve enough to defy God. Love is more powerful than ANY other source. It might be looking into it to far for meaning but God sent Adam out because he loved Eve more than God and Eve didn't want to be stuck under the power of someone who would place in front of her that she couldn't EVER have. It wasn't greed, it was contempt for someone who would refuse to show the respect that everyone deserved. She disliked that he would say he loved them but make them bow to him. Unfortunately many men were made in "his" image. Woman has an instinct to get all she can to share with her family. Power is needed and respect is wanted. She is needed to create more life and, because of instincts, to take care of her husband. Doesn't she deserve to be equally respected. Both God and woman give life. Man assists and is needed for love, care, and reproduction. He also deserves equal respect.


Wow, that was deep!!

[[WebCarnage]]

Maybe I miss something but didn't Eve seduce Adam into eating the fruit?

You have to remember that this was a story written by people. Now, obviously you must know about the distinction between men and women back in the day. And blaming the woman for death was reasonable...for, a man could never do such a selfish thing - stealing from the tree of knowledge - right? . Thats the problem with religion, so many books, so many paths... all of them right in a certain way. And it's tough deciding which one to choose, when to choose it, and how to execute it.

Originally posted by: Alcatraz
OK, this argument won't help me, but I've always been of the opinion that science requires that something come from something. If nothing was there in the first place, then what caused the big bang?

I suppose there was always something, I mean,...you say what caused the big bang, but I could just come back at you asking: What caused God's existance? Christianity says there was always a god, so I guess, there were always combustible particles...

I have the same hopes as you as well, family, friends, future, success, happiness...all that. But I also have hope in God. I mean, what do you think will happen to you when you die?

I think, and this might sound a bit far fetched, that when you die, you create your own 'personal' heaven. Now this can include anything and anybody... but you are no longer on earth living, but rather, anywhere at anytime living. Sort of like a dream... or having a form of schizophrenia.

That's also true, religion doesn't matter that much. But if you want a God you should probably have a religion and Judaism and Islam are two structured. Not eating pork? Praying to Mecca? Those are rules employed by humans, not something that will help your belief in God.

Yes, exactly the same as saying going to church every Sunday, and repenting your sins in a booth with a stranger. Not to mention door-to-door converting/preaching... Christianity mate, also has rules emplyed by humans...

[Alcatraz]

[WebCarnage]
I think, and this might sound a bit far fetched, that when you die, you create your own 'personal' heaven. Now this can include anything and anybody... but you are no longer on earth living, but rather, anywhere at anytime living. Sort of like a dream... or having a form of schizophrenia.

I always figured heaven would be like that anyway, except more official and real. Ever read anything by C.S. Lewis?

[WebCarnage]
Yes, exactly the same as saying going to church every Sunday, and repenting your sins in a booth with a stranger. Not to mention door- to-door converting/preaching... Christianity mate, also has rules emplyed by humans...

Maybe I should defend Christianity here, but I don't really want to. Door to door converting is weird... confessing to a priest isn't all that great... and I don't really like church. Basically, I dislike all religious rules employed by humans, but that doesn't leave me with much of a religion, does it?

And another unrelated note, I don't think the old testament is entirely true. I mean the Garden of Eden story doesn't account for dinosaurs or facts that science has already proved. The bible has to be taken with a grain of salt, just like today's media.

[[WebCarnage]]

And another unrelated note, I don't think the old testament is entirely true. I mean the Garden of Eden story doesn't account for dinosaurs or facts that science has already proved. The bible has to be taken with a grain of salt, just like today's media.

Proving that only science can be trusted 100% mate. And religion should be taken lightly - yet the morals and virtues should be taken into heart.

Which I think religion was intended for. "To many bad people, lets say: eternal damnation for all those who are bad people" and viola...problem (sumwhat) fixed. Then this obviously could go on for not eating meat - for 'back in the day' meat got infected so much more easily for they didn't have refrigeration as we do or antibiotics...so "No eating meat or you are damned to eteral hell" ...and viola...no meat/pork/whatever eating.

[Alcatraz]

Which I think religion was intended for. "To many bad people, lets say: eternal damnation for all those who are bad people" and viola...problem (sumwhat) fixed. Then this obviously could go on for not eating meat - for 'back in the day' meat got infected so much more easily for they didn't have refrigeration as we do or antibiotics...so "No eating meat or you are damned to eteral hell" ...and viola...no meat/pork/whatever eating.

I never thought of that, and how come the Christians back in olden times didn't have those meat rules? Sounds like a conspiracy! But I do wish rules would be updated with the times. Some things just don't apply, but people insist on making them and end up stuck in the past.

[rcgreen]

Religion isn't supposed to keep up with modern times.
It is meant to point to some universal truth that
remains valid regardless of circumstances.

Read a science textbook from 20 years back.
Today they have "disproven" all the stuff
that they swore was "scientifically proven fact".

The stuff that they teach today will be denied
20 years from now.
Science is a method of study, not a body
of absolute knowledge, and certainly not a
reliable basis for morality IMHO.

[stflook]

This is a good point. However, not much has been discovered to support any of Christianity's claims. That's not my argument, though. My argument is with the lessons it's trying to teach. Many of it's lessons are very good ones, such as treating each other with decency, and maintaining as nonviolent a life as possible. It's a wonderful way to govern the weak-minded, and to give them hope and faith in something (I don't mean to imply that all Christians are weak-minded. That's certainly not the case.). I just think that some of the messages are wrong. So far, I seem to be wrong on the Adam and Eve argument, and possibly the knowledge argument. However, Christianity, like any other religion, preaches blind faith, which I think is wrong. If I'm going to believe in it, I'm going to learn about it. The only problem is that one of the best ways I learn is to argue. Being that it's a big no-no to argue with God, I'm not in the best position.





I also think that Christianity's messages have been taken way too far, too many times. Millions upon Millions of lives have been taken in the name of somebody who preaches peace. Christianity preaches persuasion of other cultures to believe in Christ, and too many times, that has been taken so far that all other rules and values have been forgotten. Many wars have been fought in the name of a religion that preaches quite hard against wars. There are many ways to interpret the Bible, but I find it hard to believe that there is any way to interpret it to be encouraging such violent behavior, even if it is against "heathens".

[Dr Toker]

There is no such thing as a holy war.I don't care who is fighting it. When Jesus came for us, he said to turn the other cheek. STFLOOK> Man wages war. Not God. This whole "war on terror" is begining to look like a "holy war" on our side now. With all the God Bless America stuff going around. But you know what? How can we expect to have God bless to us when all we do is curse His name. How about this. America Bless God. Then maybe we would be in a different situation. Our dirty,filthy, sin filled life is coming back on us.

As for blind faith...I would like to know where it tels you in the BIible to have blind faith. I know it says " if you have yet the faith of a mustard seed you can move mountains." and it goes on about how we should have the faith of a child. You should want to be informed. God wants us to know as much as we can. But you will see once you open the eyes of your heart, that God is out there. You will begin to see past all the religion , regulation, and over all cynism. Because all of this your talking about is all the things i don't like about MAN's god.
But when you look at the Bible, you see the undeniable truth. All creation screams of his existence. If I tell you one thing STF. Don't look at man for god. Look at God for God. I am that I am.