EPTI'm much happier now.
edit: music and religion always remembers me of this:
http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103772/?autoplay=true
Jesus Christ - Page 3
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WeSt
Portugal918 Posts
I'm much happier now. edit: music and religion always remembers me of this: http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/103772/?autoplay=true | ||
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Sky
Jordan812 Posts
On September 06 2009 01:57 Triple7 wrote: Of course the world was not created in 7 days, nor was Jonah swallowed by a whale, but the Bible aims to give answers, not history. Scientists have given us the real story of creation, but everyone will eventually ask themselves what their purpose on Earth is, and no man of science will have the answer. ...and neither will a man of faith. | ||
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Triple7
United States656 Posts
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Foucault
Sweden2826 Posts
They may be basing their life around a lie, which obviously is in the eye of the beholder but I dunno. I don't really care, as long as they are not too extreme. Most of us live 70-100 years and people find comfort in christianity. What's the big deal | ||
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Kyo Yuy
United States1286 Posts
On September 04 2009 07:04 Bosu wrote: I agree christians shouldn't worry about finding all of gods answers and just try to be good people. You know, like atheists. Unfortunately, many people tend to lump morals and beliefs into one group and make generalizations about them. Sadly, there are selfish and altruistic atheists, just as there are selfish and altruistic Christians. I don't think it's proper to say that "all atheists are good people," nor is it correct to say that "all atheists are bad people." Same goes for Christians, Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jews, and so forth. Someone commented earlier that discussing religion on the Internet tends to be rather fail. And while I agree that's generally the case, I find that the posters on TL tend to do a much better job at maintaining civility than many other sites on the Internet. I also like how there are different schools of religious thought on the site, and it's not as simple as "the majority of TL is [insert religious/philosophical belief here]." I also find the OP to be rather thought provoking and does raise a lot of questions. I do learn a lot from other people's experiences and I can see how those experiences shaped their beliefs. Perhaps what bothers me the most in my own faith journey is the idea that Christianity is almost completely centered on the idea of salvation through faith in Christ, and that good works often come second to that (as another poster in the thread pointed out). And that leads to many Christian groups who are very condescending towards other people, and even other Christian groups, as they feel that their belief in Christ gives them justification to act as they please. I am personally trying to figure out what God wants me to do in life. Yes, this means I am definitely a theist, and it means that I feel a sense of divinity calling out to me and guiding me through my life. And while some individuals would be quick to say that I am simply deluding myself or that I am communicating with some subconscious or super ego, that is not what I believe. I cannot prove that God is present in my life nor am I out to justify that belief. I am simply stating that this is my belief. I, like many other individuals in this thread, am conflicted with Christianity's concept of an all loving God that will only save those who follow in a certain set of beliefs. How can someone who loves everyone and everything condemn those who do not prescribe to a certain faith? It does appear to be very paradoxical. And yet this is the very belief that most Christian groups preach. This idea of "religious exclusivity" is extremely prominent in many divisions of faith, and what's sad is that it is present even among Christian denominations. I've heard people say that Catholics are led by Satan, and at the same time I've heard that non Catholic denominations cannot be saved without the grace of the Catholic Church. There is a lot of controversy in religious debate, and most people try to avoid the issue altogether. Unlike many individuals in the world, I have not quite settled on one firm set of beliefs just yet. However a lot of people I have talked to, have encouraged me to keep searching and keep asking questions, because making quick and rash decisions is often a bad idea. I've learned in my years of college to try to keep an open mind about everything. Oddly enough, the idea of keeping an open mind was actually reinforced to me by a few atheists, even though that concept has started leading me on a path towards theism with a strong bias towards Christianity. My study of science has, in many ways, made me feel more religious. People often see science as the "enemy" of religion, but science does not really work that way. Science is often portrayed to the general public as an absolute truth, a collection of black and white facts, and the idea that something "either is or is not." I have learned that in reality, science operates quite differently from this popular notion. Sickness is not defined by a binary of "sick/not sick" - doctors determine a patient's DEGREE of sickness based on the severity of symptoms and the concentration of pathogens in the body. We've also learned, in recent years, that light is both a particle and a wave. This conflicts with our popular notion that most things are EITHER a particle OR a wave. There are many more examples of these scientific concepts, but one thing is for certain - science does not operate on an absolute scale. Although the word "absolute" is sometimes used, it is typically defined RELATIVE to a reference point (e.g. the Kelvin temperature is absolute, RELATIVE to the temperature at which energy stops moving). Although science is often seen as the opposition to religion, in my case, science was one of the catalysts that drove me on a path to learn more about religion. Any way, let me express that the purpose of this post is not to say that anyone is wrong or that they need to believe what I believe. I just thought I'd share my own personal experiences with faith and I hope that people can gain something out of it. | ||
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Mindcrime
United States6899 Posts
On September 04 2009 06:55 alexpnd wrote: Religion, in this case Christianity, is the breaking down and understanding of human reality. The 10 Commandments refer to emotional/physical/spiritual states a man can get into if he breaks one of these. In psalms it even says don't sleep with a married woman or fear the beatings from the husband. Honestly when you take away the fluff its straight forward... think about it,,, its bizarre that we are here in the first place, why not document and clarify in which way to live this existance to the fullest. I'm not saying the bible is perfect, I don't believe that dogma, but I'm saying it's meant as an eye opener for the regular man or woman. In Psalms? Really? That's ironic. | ||
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Physician
United States4146 Posts
On September 04 2009 05:23 BackHo[BLACK] wrote: (many) And they're great people, but to put it bluntly, extremely ignorant about their faith. So very true, and it also across every other religion out there. | ||
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Track
United States217 Posts
Also, to those who think these topics are useless, censoring discussion on any subject is hardly the route to a solution. Even if a solution is not what you're after, it provokes stimulating thoughts and an exchange of ideals. To those who can't be mature and diplomatic in discussion, it's tossing the baby out with the bathwater to ban discussion of it for all of us. For my own beliefs, as I posted in a previous blog, I was a Pantheist/Deist for a good bit of my life, and now I'm more like an extremely liberal Christian, heavily dosed with logic and reason. I disregard paranormal and supernatural claims such as in the Bible, and I view Jesus as a more metaphysical savior then a literal come-back-from-the-dead manifestation of God. I also do not reject(note: REJECT. Why is this word so hard to spell for some people?) other Gods which have no less substantiation than Christianity. The Christian belief system simply fits mine rather better(it should be noted, by "belief system" I'm referencing the modern manifestation of the belief system, NOT what is espoused in the Bible. I wouldn't even want to meet someone who believed that everything encouraged in the Bible is moral.) | ||
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