Do You Have a Religion, and Why?

[Painman]

I believe in a God; not as an entity that watches overus but more of a truth that permeates and governs the universe.In a sense, to me,God IS the universe, the manifestation of that truth. Whatever that truth may be, the creature that I am is incapable of fully grasping it, yet capable of sensing it and feeling tied to it.

 

[Gaard]

Back in my early 20s (a couple of decades ago) I went to a Protestant church twice a week for a couple of years. I even took private Catechism classes with the minister (Yeah, I know what you guys are thinking....SHUT UP The classes came to an abrupt end when the minister had enough of me looking at his wife's fine cleavage )

Anyway, I decided, after spending 2 hours (mass twice on Sundays), where the minister spent the whole mass(es) explaining how wrong the other religions were, that it just wasn't for me.

My wife drags me to an all Hispanic Catholic church now and then, since our son died, but I just go to support her. I feel like a hypocrate walking in, and I've told her this, but I figure what's one more hypocrate in a house full of hypocrates.

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: Klixxer

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I believe that the story of the Garden of Eden is the story of the individual. Every human is born with immense and unlimited potential especially the ability to experience animal bliss and joy. Human potential is destroyed in infancy by evil. Evil is the ability humans have, owing to the abstraction of language, to create the notion of good and bad, concepts that have no meaning in reality at all, and to apply these abstractions to each other in the form of put-downs and pain. The result is that we are thrown from the garden of even by the feeling that we are sinful, bad and evil, just as our God Parents said and had us to believe by withdrawing their love when we persisted in joy. We all chose emotional death in order to physically survive and that was our original sin, one that we could not avoid.

The result, therefore, is that each human is separated from his or her true self in the sense that that self was never able to develop. What develops instead is the ego, the defense and excuse for oneself, the thing that maintains the discipline of living as a lie, the thing that provides false satisfactions to replace what was lost. The result is that we live in various degrees of amnesia with occasional bouts of doubt.

The degree of sleep and the pressures of doubt vary from person to person and sometimes somebody happens along that is so intensely dissatisfied with the illusion as to become a real seeker. And occasionally too, some of these seekers find what it is they were looking for. How they experience first contact with the real depends on the language they speak. A Buddhist will experience enlightenment and a Christian God. Rarely somebody will wake up on the psychiatrist's couch and experience himself.

But all of these things are the why and wherefore of religion. Religion is a bridge and God is a state of being. Religion is nothing more than a path and attitude given by those who became real to help you to become real too. But because of our disease, we make our religion a disease also in the form of mechanicality. There is nothing but attachment to the bridge and little in the way of crossing. It has become such a circus act that many have turned away.

But God is real and He's not going to go away. It's just that how you go about finding Him may have to change. Religion can be a religion, but it can also be a science. One can actively engage in the process of remembering when we bought into the lie. When that happens, the fact that it is a lie will be internally clear and we can know we're OK with absolute certainty out to 99.999%.

An insightful answer about your beliefs, but i wonder one thing, please do not take it as critizism because it is not meant to be, it would be far from me to critizise others beliefs, but when you say that religion can be a science, i wonder how you have come to that conclusion.

IMO, the more we learn (through science), the more we know that the beliefs taught by scripture (aka religions) are false, or am i misinterpreting what you are saying?

I read your words more carefully this time and no I'm not offended. I believe that what people experience as God other people experience as something else. In other words I think that man is capable of a transcendental experience of tremendous proportions, an experience that annihilated duality and in which the observer and the observed become and are one. I believe this experience is felt or often described as an experience of oceanic love and infinite joy. Personally I think it is a property of the human mind and a gift of evolution. But because of the collapse of the subjective objective barrier, the disappearance of self and not self in the infinite ocean of being, there is nobody and no separate thing and therefore no real questions. I am I am infinite being and nothing else matters. Whether it is all God or only Me looses all meaning. One cannot say and one has no need to say whether what one has discovered is God or ones inner true self.

But back here is the dualistic world we make a big deal of such things. If it's just neuro-chemicals than it's not God and so on. But this is like robots examining a corpse to try to understand life. God is know directly through being when one dies to ones false self.

That used to happen through religion and surrender to the will of God and doubtless still does. But in this modern age of doubt, where God has become a fairy tail, the possibility of this transcendental experience happening is being lost. It is something of a conundrum for me. When you look at the reaction to religion expressed in this thread you can see the dilemma humanity is in. Most religious people haven't got the slightest idea what their religion was for and because they practice mechanically and without real modesty they never really die to what is false. In turn they turn the rest of the world off to religion.

That is why, in my personal opinion we need to take a more direct approach: The advent of language created duality and abstracted man from the instant and unified experience of life. Infinite being became thoughts and things. I became separate from the world. I learned that I was worthless at a very young age. I became a false ego in order to survive in a world of insane adults. Through therapy, though sitting under the Bo tree and feeling, a man can tell himself his own story and remember his past. When the rage fury hate is released there comes the sadness and grief. And with grief comes the healing. When one remembers what happened one can actually see the lie, that we really are and were always nothing at all but perfect.

So I'm saying that the scientific practice of feeling the truth of what you really feel, in a systematic therapeutic setting, leads from man to God. Religion is a reflection of this very thing. Feeling worthless = being in a state of sin. Forgiven = seeing it was a lie. Dying and resurrection. Remembering an letting go. The kingdom of heaven = unity of being. Hell = life as a false self. And on and on.

There is one truth and it has many expressions.

As in any science though, one has to do the experiment to know if the results are true. And the experiment involves yourself.

 

[Ozoned]

What does my religion have to do with p&n?

 

[Perknose]

Originally posted by: Ozoned
What does my religion have to do with p&n?

I think we're all at least a bit curious at makes our forum mates tick. Religious viewscan beone piece of that puzzle.Like it or not, laughable as it may seem, we are a community of sorts. Now put that knife down, Ozoned, and let that poor goat go. The entrails announce that Baal has been appeased.

 

[przero]

"Do You Have a Religion, and Why?"

Religion? Nah, try not to anyway.

Personal relationship with Jesus Christ? You bet! I'm Southern Baptist, but I concentrate on the "Relationship" with Him.

"Why"?

Because I've seen His work in people's lives. He Lives!

 

[Klixxer]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam

Originally posted by: Klixxer

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
I believe that the story of the Garden of Eden is the story of the individual. Every human is born with immense and unlimited potential especially the ability to experience animal bliss and joy. Human potential is destroyed in infancy by evil. Evil is the ability humans have, owing to the abstraction of language, to create the notion of good and bad, concepts that have no meaning in reality at all, and to apply these abstractions to each other in the form of put-downs and pain. The result is that we are thrown from the garden of even by the feeling that we are sinful, bad and evil, just as our God Parents said and had us to believe by withdrawing their love when we persisted in joy. We all chose emotional death in order to physically survive and that was our original sin, one that we could not avoid.

The result, therefore, is that each human is separated from his or her true self in the sense that that self was never able to develop. What develops instead is the ego, the defense and excuse for oneself, the thing that maintains the discipline of living as a lie, the thing that provides false satisfactions to replace what was lost. The result is that we live in various degrees of amnesia with occasional bouts of doubt.

The degree of sleep and the pressures of doubt vary from person to person and sometimes somebody happens along that is so intensely dissatisfied with the illusion as to become a real seeker. And occasionally too, some of these seekers find what it is they were looking for. How they experience first contact with the real depends on the language they speak. A Buddhist will experience enlightenment and a Christian God. Rarely somebody will wake up on the psychiatrist's couch and experience himself.

But all of these things are the why and wherefore of religion. Religion is a bridge and God is a state of being. Religion is nothing more than a path and attitude given by those who became real to help you to become real too. But because of our disease, we make our religion a disease also in the form of mechanicality. There is nothing but attachment to the bridge and little in the way of crossing. It has become such a circus act that many have turned away.

But God is real and He's not going to go away. It's just that how you go about finding Him may have to change. Religion can be a religion, but it can also be a science. One can actively engage in the process of remembering when we bought into the lie. When that happens, the fact that it is a lie will be internally clear and we can know we're OK with absolute certainty out to 99.999%.

An insightful answer about your beliefs, but i wonder one thing, please do not take it as critizism because it is not meant to be, it would be far from me to critizise others beliefs, but when you say that religion can be a science, i wonder how you have come to that conclusion.

IMO, the more we learn (through science), the more we know that the beliefs taught by scripture (aka religions) are false, or am i misinterpreting what you are saying?

I read your words more carefully this time and no I'm not offended. I believe that what people experience as God other people experience as something else. In other words I think that man is capable of a transcendental experience of tremendous proportions, an experience that annihilated duality and in which the observer and the observed become and are one. I believe this experience is felt or often described as an experience of oceanic love and infinite joy. Personally I think it is a property of the human mind and a gift of evolution. But because of the collapse of the subjective objective barrier, the disappearance of self and not self in the infinite ocean of being, there is nobody and no separate thing and therefore no real questions. I am I am infinite being and nothing else matters. Whether it is all God or only Me looses all meaning. One cannot say and one has no need to say whether what one has discovered is God or ones inner true self.

But back here is the dualistic world we make a big deal of such things. If it's just neuro-chemicals than it's not God and so on. But this is like robots examining a corpse to try to understand life. God is know directly through being when one dies to ones false self.

That used to happen through religion and surrender to the will of God and doubtless still does. But in this modern age of doubt, where God has become a fairy tail, the possibility of this transcendental experience happening is being lost. It is something of a conundrum for me. When you look at the reaction to religion expressed in this thread you can see the dilemma humanity is in. Most religious people haven't got the slightest idea what their religion was for and because they practice mechanically and without real modesty they never really die to what is false. In turn they turn the rest of the world off to religion.

That is why, in my personal opinion we need to take a more direct approach: The advent of language created duality and abstracted man from the instant and unified experience of life. Infinite being became thoughts and things. I became separate from the world. I learned that I was worthless at a very young age. I became a false ego in order to survive in a world of insane adults. Through therapy, though sitting under the Bo tree and feeling, a man can tell himself his own story and remember his past. When the rage fury hate is released there comes the sadness and grief. And with grief comes the healing. When one remembers what happened one can actually see the lie, that we really are and were always nothing at all but perfect.

So I'm saying that the scientific practice of feeling the truth of what you really feel, in a systematic therapeutic setting, leads from man to God. Religion is a reflection of this very thing. Feeling worthless = being in a state of sin. Forgiven = seeing it was a lie. Dying and resurrection. Remembering an letting go. The kingdom of heaven = unity of being. Hell = life as a false self. And on and on.

There is one truth and it has many expressions.

As in any science though, one has to do the experiment to know if the results are true. And the experiment involves yourself.

Your elegance with words amazes me, and i do cherish your elegance and i understand what you are saying even though i would probably be more blunt.

Your experiences are not unlike my own. but i seperated myself from this "now" in a battle to keep my own sanity from what was happening around me at the time and it was my way of handling the situation.

If that makes any sense.

 

[TheBDB]

Originally posted by: przero
"Do You Have a Religion, and Why?"

Religion? Nah, try not to anyway.

Personal relationship with Jesus Christ? You bet! I'm Southern Baptist, but I concentrate on the "Relationship" with Him.

"Why"?

Because I've seen His work in people's lives. He Lives!

What does a personal relationship with Jesus entail? I'm not trying to be rude, I am just curious.

 

[Ozoned]

Originally posted by: Perknose

Originally posted by: Ozoned
What does my religion have to do with p&n?

I think we're all at least a bit curious at makes our forum mates tick. Religious views can be one piece of that puzzle. Like it or not, laughable as it may seem, we are a community of sorts.  Now put that knife down, Ozoned, and let that poor goat go. The entrails announce that Baal has been appeased.

So your saying that I posted in a secular thread?
Whats next then, nude pictures?

 

[mastertech01]

Originally posted by: wkabel23
No, a lot of reasons why, but among the top reasons is the fact Christianity is hypocritical.

Is Christianity hypocritical, or is it many who claim to practice it? Are you an American Citizen, or do you declare yourself an alien because there are too many hypocritical Americans? Just curious..


Jesus is not a religion, and God is not a book... There are thousands of churches that claim to be Christian, but it is not the church that makes their members Christians. Hypocritical behavior is judged by opinion... opinions of believers and non believers alike. Jesus said that we need our daily bread, our daily cleansing, for no man is perfect or without sin. So yes there are hypocritical sinners amoung the Christian faith. Many hope to one day to be more LIKE Christ, but know they shall never be absolutely so. All men learn by thier mistakes.

You may be of any faith you like, it is purley up to you how you live it. Only in the end will you know if you have chosen wisely. If you think I would hate you because you do not believe as I do you are very wrong. If you think I would hate you because you hate me for what I believe, you are very wrong. If you get all giddy and happy making fun of me for what I believe, enjoy yourself. Have all the fun you like. I will feel sadness for you, even though you may feel great joy in your freedom to be a non believer in God, your freedom and abiiity to declare he does not exist, to blaspheme Him, to curse Him, to riducule Him. The world bears witness to your actions now, and I can only feel great sadness in knowing you have full knowledge of whom He is, and will bear full responsiblity for that and for the blood of all those whom you take down with you by your actions.

I will not be your judge, for I believe you will stand before Him, and you will have by then either changed your heart and have turned to him, or you will be prepared to answer to him. He gave us all freedom of will.

There are, and always will be many unanswered questions for the religious. I choose not to identify myself with any Church, because I believe that is where Christianity breaks down. When a given set of people within a given Church believe they interpret the bible correctly and all others are wrong. I believe Christ speaks to us and thru us in the spirit, and that every man recieves and understands the word of God in a way that he is led by the spirit. Every passage can have a different purpose for every man. Legalism can be a very damaging effect of religion. I believe if you reach out to the Lord and ask for his help in every issue in your life and allow him to live in everything you do, you cant help but be respected by those whom are religious or not. Its when you allow the nature of man to intervene when you fail. And we men of this earth are so easily tripped up. Then we are called hypocrits.

I think the non believer feels he is incapable of being a hypocrit, simply because he has no standard to compare his behavior. If you believe in anything goes, by what standard would you be judged? Who is to say you are wrong, simply because you think differently than someone else? They consider themselves innocent by virtue of absence of truth. If there is no scientific fact to back up an assertion, then it is purely opinion, and no one is right. You simply only have to opt out of ethical or moral standards.

These threads are all seen by believers as what they really are... baiting. An attempt to bring them down to your level so you can beat them with experience. But there will always be those whom are brave enough to stand up and speak what they believe to be truth, because in their hearts they feel great sorrow for those whom carry so much hatred in their hearts toward God that they would open a thread with the intention of stabbing the religous in the back with deep swords of anger towards them. They feel the pinch of your pain and hope that with thier words that maybe just one person will not be destroyed by your hatred. IMHO

Peace

 

[TheBDB]

How come people will shove their religion down your throat when you don't want to hear it, but when you ASK them to share their beliefs they claim you are baiting them because you hate god? :Q

 

[mastertech01]

Originally posted by: TheBDB
How come people will shove their religion down your throat when you don't want to hear it, but when you ASK them to share their beliefs they claim you are baiting them because you hate god? :Q

It may be I am wrong about THIS particular thread as it hasnt grown much, but there are only a few thousand in the past 5 years that would be a good example. Perhaps this time I simply misinterpreted the OP comment

"
Interesting. I am definitely surprised how many aethiests there are here, pleasantly surprised. The few that I was hoping to hear from, however, have not yet replied . . ."

If so I appologise.. I did however make a valid attempt to share my beliefs as requested.

 

[Klixxer]

Originally posted by: mastertech01

Originally posted by: wkabel23
No, a lot of reasons why, but among the top reasons is the fact Christianity is hypocritical.

Is Christianity hypocritical, or is it many who claim to practice it? Are you an American Citizen, or do you declare yourself an alien because there are too many hypocritical Americans? Just curious..


Jesus is not a religion, and God is not a book... There are thousands of churches that claim to be Christian, but it is not the church that makes their members Christians. Hypocritical behavior is judged by opinion... opinions of believers and non believers alike. Jesus said that we need our daily bread, our daily cleansing, for no man is perfect or without sin. So yes there are hypocritical sinners amoung the Christian faith. Many hope to one day to be more LIKE Christ, but know they shall never be absolutely so. All men learn by thier mistakes.

You may be of any faith you like, it is purley up to you how you live it. Only in the end will you know if you have chosen wisely. If you think I would hate you because you do not believe as I do you are very wrong. If you think I would hate you because you hate me for what I believe, you are very wrong. If you get all giddy and happy making fun of me for what I believe, enjoy yourself. Have all the fun you like. I will feel sadness for you, even though you may feel great joy in your freedom to be a non believer in God, your freedom and abiiity to declare he does not exist, to blaspheme Him, to curse Him, to riducule Him. The world bears witness to your actions now, and I can only feel great sadness in knowing you have full knowledge of whom He is, and will bear full responsiblity for that and for the blood of all those whom you take down with you by your actions.

I will not be your judge, for I believe you will stand before Him, and you will have by then either changed your heart and have turned to him, or you will be prepared to answer to him. He gave us all freedom of will.

There are, and always will be many unanswered questions for the religious. I choose not to identify myself with any Church, because I believe that is where Christianity breaks down. When a given set of people within a given Church believe they interpret the bible correctly and all others are wrong. I believe Christ speaks to us and thru us in the spirit, and that every man recieves and understands the word of God in a way that he is led by the spirit. Every passage can have a different purpose for every man. Legalism can be a very damaging effect of religion. I believe if you reach out to the Lord and ask for his help in every issue in your life and allow him to live in everything you do, you cant help but be respected by those whom are religious or not. Its when you allow the nature of man to intervene when you fail. And we men of this earth are so easily tripped up. Then we are called hypocrits.

I think the non believer feels he is incapable of being a hypocrit, simply because he has no standard to compare his behavior. If you believe in anything goes, by what standard would you be judged? Who is to say you are wrong, simply because you think differently than someone else? They consider themselves innocent by virtue of absence of truth. If there is no scientific fact to back up an assertion, then it is purely opinion, and no one is right. You simply only have to opt out of ethical or moral standards.

These threads are all seen by believers as what they really are... baiting. An attempt to bring them down to your level so you can beat them with experience. But there will always be those whom are brave enough to stand up and speak what they believe to be truth, because in their hearts they feel great sorrow for those whom carry so much hatred in their hearts toward God that they would open a thread with the intention of stabbing the religous in the back with deep swords of anger towards them. They feel the pinch of your pain and hope that with thier words that maybe just one person will not be destroyed by your hatred. IMHO

Peace

You are very firm in your belief, and no matter how much you try to give the non-believer the benefit of the doubt, you still see him as a lesser person than you, it is a shame.

Somehow, you believe that your belief makes you better than those who do not believe, which, i guess is the very point of believing, just like it is better to be white than black, christian than muslim....

You think atheists have no standards at all? No, you moron, we all adhere to the standards set by man, i is what we call law, it is not from the bible, it does not come from god, it is a set of rules that men has agreed to follow.

Now go follow your christian purity laws, and hope to god your wife never has a period. If you ever touch your keyboard again without dunking it in water, you are a lost child.

I have no tolerance for the less tolerant.

 

[glugglug]

I am god. That truth is self-evident.

 

[TheBDB]

Originally posted by: mastertech01

Originally posted by: TheBDB
How come people will shove their religion down your throat when you don't want to hear it, but when you ASK them to share their beliefs they claim you are baiting them because you hate god? :Q

It may be I am wrong about THIS particular thread as it hasnt grown much, but there are only a few thousand in the past 5 years that would be a good example. Perhaps this time I simply misinterpreted the OP comment

"
Interesting. I am definitely surprised how many aethiests there are here, pleasantly surprised. The few that I was hoping to hear from, however, have not yet replied . . ."

If so I appologise.. I did however make a valid attempt to share my beliefs as requested.

Hehe you are certainly right that these threads usually turn to flame fests. I just thought your post was fine until the last 2 paragraphs when it started getting weird.

 

[burnedout]

Originally posted by: Klixxer

You are very firm in your belief, and no matter how much you try to give the non-believer the benefit of the doubt, you still see him as a lesser person than you, it is a shame.

Somehow, you believe that your belief makes you better than those who do not believe, which, i guess is the very point of believing, just like it is better to be white than black, christian than muslim....

You think atheists have no standards at all? No, you moron, we all adhere to the standards set by man, i is what we call law, it is not from the bible, it does not come from god, it is a set of rules that men has agreed to follow.

Schon mal Bier von Weitem getrunken? Na, klar!

The man merely gave his opinion, yet you nevertheless attack him for it. And you claim tolerance? And YOU insinuate that I'm a troll in the other thread?

Now go follow your christian purity laws, and hope to god your wife never has a period. If you ever touch your keyboard again without dunking it in water, you are a lost child.

I have no tolerance for the less tolerant.

Deine Sprüche sind so alt, da sind ja noch Hakenkreuze dran!

 

[Riprorin]

Originally posted by: Klixxer

Originally posted by: mastertech01

Originally posted by: wkabel23
No, a lot of reasons why, but among the top reasons is the fact Christianity is hypocritical.

Is Christianity hypocritical, or is it many who claim to practice it? Are you an American Citizen, or do you declare yourself an alien because there are too many hypocritical Americans? Just curious..


Jesus is not a religion, and God is not a book... There are thousands of churches that claim to be Christian, but it is not the church that makes their members Christians. Hypocritical behavior is judged by opinion... opinions of believers and non believers alike. Jesus said that we need our daily bread, our daily cleansing, for no man is perfect or without sin. So yes there are hypocritical sinners amoung the Christian faith. Many hope to one day to be more LIKE Christ, but know they shall never be absolutely so. All men learn by thier mistakes.

You may be of any faith you like, it is purley up to you how you live it. Only in the end will you know if you have chosen wisely. If you think I would hate you because you do not believe as I do you are very wrong. If you think I would hate you because you hate me for what I believe, you are very wrong. If you get all giddy and happy making fun of me for what I believe, enjoy yourself. Have all the fun you like. I will feel sadness for you, even though you may feel great joy in your freedom to be a non believer in God, your freedom and abiiity to declare he does not exist, to blaspheme Him, to curse Him, to riducule Him. The world bears witness to your actions now, and I can only feel great sadness in knowing you have full knowledge of whom He is, and will bear full responsiblity for that and for the blood of all those whom you take down with you by your actions.

I will not be your judge, for I believe you will stand before Him, and you will have by then either changed your heart and have turned to him, or you will be prepared to answer to him. He gave us all freedom of will.

There are, and always will be many unanswered questions for the religious. I choose not to identify myself with any Church, because I believe that is where Christianity breaks down. When a given set of people within a given Church believe they interpret the bible correctly and all others are wrong. I believe Christ speaks to us and thru us in the spirit, and that every man recieves and understands the word of God in a way that he is led by the spirit. Every passage can have a different purpose for every man. Legalism can be a very damaging effect of religion. I believe if you reach out to the Lord and ask for his help in every issue in your life and allow him to live in everything you do, you cant help but be respected by those whom are religious or not. Its when you allow the nature of man to intervene when you fail. And we men of this earth are so easily tripped up. Then we are called hypocrits.

I think the non believer feels he is incapable of being a hypocrit, simply because he has no standard to compare his behavior. If you believe in anything goes, by what standard would you be judged? Who is to say you are wrong, simply because you think differently than someone else? They consider themselves innocent by virtue of absence of truth. If there is no scientific fact to back up an assertion, then it is purely opinion, and no one is right. You simply only have to opt out of ethical or moral standards.

These threads are all seen by believers as what they really are... baiting. An attempt to bring them down to your level so you can beat them with experience. But there will always be those whom are brave enough to stand up and speak what they believe to be truth, because in their hearts they feel great sorrow for those whom carry so much hatred in their hearts toward God that they would open a thread with the intention of stabbing the religous in the back with deep swords of anger towards them. They feel the pinch of your pain and hope that with thier words that maybe just one person will not be destroyed by your hatred. IMHO

Peace

You are very firm in your belief, and no matter how much you try to give the non-believer the benefit of the doubt, you still see him as a lesser person than you, it is a shame.

Somehow, you believe that your belief makes you better than those who do not believe, which, i guess is the very point of believing, just like it is better to be white than black, christian than muslim....

You think atheists have no standards at all? No, you moron, we all adhere to the standards set by man, i is what we call law, it is not from the bible, it does not come from god, it is a set of rules that men has agreed to follow.

Now go follow your christian purity laws, and hope to god your wife never has a period. If you ever touch your keyboard again without dunking it in water, you are a lost child.

I have no tolerance for the less tolerant.

I feel very sorry for you. Honestly and truly.

mastertech, I'll keep your daughter in my prayers.

May God bless you.

Charlie

 

[SuperTool]

Don't really have a religion. I guess God to me is just an explantion for things that haven't yet been explained in other ways.

 

[Klixxer]

Originally posted by: Riprorin

Originally posted by: Klixxer

Originally posted by: mastertech01

Originally posted by: wkabel23
No, a lot of reasons why, but among the top reasons is the fact Christianity is hypocritical.

Is Christianity hypocritical, or is it many who claim to practice it? Are you an American Citizen, or do you declare yourself an alien because there are too many hypocritical Americans? Just curious..


Jesus is not a religion, and God is not a book... There are thousands of churches that claim to be Christian, but it is not the church that makes their members Christians. Hypocritical behavior is judged by opinion... opinions of believers and non believers alike. Jesus said that we need our daily bread, our daily cleansing, for no man is perfect or without sin. So yes there are hypocritical sinners amoung the Christian faith. Many hope to one day to be more LIKE Christ, but know they shall never be absolutely so. All men learn by thier mistakes.

You may be of any faith you like, it is purley up to you how you live it. Only in the end will you know if you have chosen wisely. If you think I would hate you because you do not believe as I do you are very wrong. If you think I would hate you because you hate me for what I believe, you are very wrong. If you get all giddy and happy making fun of me for what I believe, enjoy yourself. Have all the fun you like. I will feel sadness for you, even though you may feel great joy in your freedom to be a non believer in God, your freedom and abiiity to declare he does not exist, to blaspheme Him, to curse Him, to riducule Him. The world bears witness to your actions now, and I can only feel great sadness in knowing you have full knowledge of whom He is, and will bear full responsiblity for that and for the blood of all those whom you take down with you by your actions.

I will not be your judge, for I believe you will stand before Him, and you will have by then either changed your heart and have turned to him, or you will be prepared to answer to him. He gave us all freedom of will.

There are, and always will be many unanswered questions for the religious. I choose not to identify myself with any Church, because I believe that is where Christianity breaks down. When a given set of people within a given Church believe they interpret the bible correctly and all others are wrong. I believe Christ speaks to us and thru us in the spirit, and that every man recieves and understands the word of God in a way that he is led by the spirit. Every passage can have a different purpose for every man. Legalism can be a very damaging effect of religion. I believe if you reach out to the Lord and ask for his help in every issue in your life and allow him to live in everything you do, you cant help but be respected by those whom are religious or not. Its when you allow the nature of man to intervene when you fail. And we men of this earth are so easily tripped up. Then we are called hypocrits.

I think the non believer feels he is incapable of being a hypocrit, simply because he has no standard to compare his behavior. If you believe in anything goes, by what standard would you be judged? Who is to say you are wrong, simply because you think differently than someone else? They consider themselves innocent by virtue of absence of truth. If there is no scientific fact to back up an assertion, then it is purely opinion, and no one is right. You simply only have to opt out of ethical or moral standards.

These threads are all seen by believers as what they really are... baiting. An attempt to bring them down to your level so you can beat them with experience. But there will always be those whom are brave enough to stand up and speak what they believe to be truth, because in their hearts they feel great sorrow for those whom carry so much hatred in their hearts toward God that they would open a thread with the intention of stabbing the religous in the back with deep swords of anger towards them. They feel the pinch of your pain and hope that with thier words that maybe just one person will not be destroyed by your hatred. IMHO

Peace

You are very firm in your belief, and no matter how much you try to give the non-believer the benefit of the doubt, you still see him as a lesser person than you, it is a shame.

Somehow, you believe that your belief makes you better than those who do not believe, which, i guess is the very point of believing, just like it is better to be white than black, christian than muslim....

You think atheists have no standards at all? No, you moron, we all adhere to the standards set by man, i is what we call law, it is not from the bible, it does not come from god, it is a set of rules that men has agreed to follow.

Now go follow your christian purity laws, and hope to god your wife never has a period. If you ever touch your keyboard again without dunking it in water, you are a lost child.

I have no tolerance for the less tolerant.

I feel very sorry for you. Honestly and truly.

mastertech, I'll keep your daughter her in my prayers.

May God bless you.

Charlie

Yeah, patronize me all you want you little POS.

For MT's Michelle, i don't know what to say, if it were my daughter. I don't even want to think about it.

 

[Tripleshot]

I believe in Jesus Christ, the reserected Son of God the Father, and I believe in the Holy Ghost. I believe them to be three different personages and they colectively form the Godhead, or the leadership of Devine eternal progression. I believe the societies of mankind throughout history have based their laws and self rule on the foundation of belief in the Diety I believe in, in one form or another. Agnostic or athiest aside, mankind left to his own design would still be dragging their knuckles thrugh swamps and eating berries. I think anyone who does not believe in God or a form of a higher power than themselves is delusional. To think all we are is an accident of nature is nuts. But if you have no faith, or are to lazy to search the truth, than thats OK. When you die, your Loving Heavenly Father will show you the error of your ways, and you will have a time to reconsider your lack of faith. He has provided a way for you to recieve exaltation in that he provided his only Begotten Son as a sacrifice for all mans sins. In that you may some day believe in Him, the path to everlasting life in the presence of your Maker mayt very well be your destiny. You may choose to begin the journey now and recieve your Heavenly Fathers choicest blessings, or wait and gamble your eternal progresion on your lukewarm unbelief.

It is sad there are so many who have lost their way posting here. But all is not lost. If you talk about it, perhaps the seed will be planted that will someday bring forth your desires to follow the Truth and Light that is in your Savior, Jesus Christ. :heart:

 

[CADsortaGUY]

Originally posted by: Tripleshot
I believe in Jesus Christ, the reserected Son of God the Father, and I believe in the Holy Ghost. I believe them to be three different personages and they colectively form the Godhead, or the leadership of Devine eternal progression. I believe the societies of mankind throughout history have based their laws and self rule on the foundation of belief in the Diety I believe in, in one form or another. Agnostic or athiest aside, mankind left to his own design would still be dragging their knuckles thrugh swamps and eating berries. I think anyone who does not believe in God or a form of a higher power than themselves is delusional. To think all we are is an accident of nature is nuts. But if you have no faith, or are to lazy to search the truth, than thats OK. When you die, your Loving Heavenly Father will show you the error of your ways, and you will have a time to reconsider your lack of faith. He has provided a way for you to recieve exaltation in that he provided his only Begotten Son as a sacrifice for all mans sins. In that you may some day believe in Him, the path to everlasting life in the presence of your Maker mayt very well be your destiny. You may choose to begin the journey now and recieve your Heavenly Fathers choicest blessings, or wait and gamble your eternal progresion on your lukewarm unbelief.

It is sad there are so many who have lost their way posting here. But all is not lost. If you talk about it, perhaps the seed will be planted that will someday bring forth your desires to follow the Truth and Light that is in your Savior, Jesus Christ. :heart:

Amen:heart:

CkG

 

[DoubleL]

I guess I don't have a religion but I have a strong belief in God, I don't talk about it or push it on anyone and wish I was a better person and had been a better person but you can't change the past, Why, I was that way when I was very young and then it got away from me, I guess alot of it was in the war when I was dead as they called it and they got me back, I won't go into all that but the feeling at the time was, Well better than sex at 16, It hurts to think at 18 the reason I didn't die is I just wasn't good enough for God and hope I was to good for the devil, I have always said that as a joke but deep down it isn't a joke, So now even when I know I am doing things that God doesn't like when I think about it I say I am sorry and when it is my time to go I have tried to make sure every friend I have can say he was a good man and help me at least once

 

[Zephyr106]

Convert or be damned Infidels!!! Amen.

Zephyr

 

[LunarRay]

dbl post!

 

[LunarRay]

That's an interesting question... A religion.. I don't think so.. do I have a savior... you bet.. Jesus Christ!

The why is easy.. Cuz I wish to be in Heaven with him when the time comes.