-
- 1,448
Jesus, people. I stopped posting on this thread because it was like beating my head against a brick wall. Pointless and stupid. Half the people are trying to PROVE that the Bible is fact and the other half are trying to Prove that the Bible is fiction. Good luck, folks! I don't give a crap either way. Like I have said from the beginning of this thread.......I will treat people the way that I want to be treated. That's it and that's all.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-04-08 01:15 AMLike 0 -
- 1,199
Cain - that was a perrrrfest post and was perfectly timed.
Thank you.
I love that you "quoted" a teaching of Jesus (treat others as you want to be treated) but, didn't quote it in the context of one needing to accept the whole of the bible to see the benefits of it's council.
I think that is perhaps the lesson I (and hopefully others) can take away from this thread. Regardless, of your belief system - be cool to your neighbors and work for good. But, don't use religion to bring about social changes - 'cause that irritates some of your neighbors.
Cain, you're OK.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-04-08 11:15 AMLike 0 -
- 1,199
Quoting myself --- that's funny...
Prada, in the spirit of Cain's post and her sorta slapping me in the face and waking me up to the audacity of making these types of arguments I'm gonna let this go and agree with you that with faith it is easy to accept the bible as authentic. Yet, without faith one deservedly doubts it.
A few questions I have -- and I'm not trying to accuse or belittle you or anyone --Would you prefer to live a life of faith (not blind faith) and find contentment and fulfillment in the practicing of a religion? Or, do you find more contentment being uncertain and questioning?
Again, understand I'm not belittling someone or calling into question their morals or their worth as a person.... But, I gotta wonder... Why do some people grow up (in America) exposed to the traditional Christian teaching of mainstream religions and then as adults become:
--Religious Right nuts that use religion as a weapon
--Non-practicing "christians" who neither read nor care about the bible
--"Spiritual" people who search and look for inspiration everywhere, believe in God and respect the bible but don't embrace it as the word of God
--Those opposed to any belief in a higher power and reject all forms of worship.
I believe it is good and proper to question authority, especially religious authority. I wonder though - how can I be exposed to the same bible message and choose to believe and another person from the same basic society can be exposed and not believe. This is not an intelligence issue - it's a faith issue. Why do I believe and why do others not? Did something happen to them? Were you nonbelievers exposed to religious hypocrisy? Did something happen to erode the faith you once had? Did you not get a prayer answered? Did you not like the idea of some unseen spirit imposing moral restrictions? Did you seek to escapee from some feeling of responsibility? Did you seek freedom from something? How did you arrive at your present perspective?
Please don't take offence at my questions - I'm not implying anything is wrong with not having faith - I'm just wondering... was it always that way or did something change? If something did change, what was it?
Because there are many other people who went the other way... they lived a life and were happy without practicing any religion and never thought about spiritual matters, then something changed and they "found Jesus". Most of these convert types have a definite moment in their life they can pinpoint as to when they "saw the light". I'm not trying to discount the veracity of this conversion or belittle its impact on their lives - just making the point that people BECOME believers sometimes instantly with no personal meditation, study, research, prayer, etc. However, it seems that those who reject religion and the bible's authenticity usually don't have a moment they can pinpoint as the moment when they arrived at that place in their lives. So, what happened - did they "lose" faith or did they never faith to begin with?
Folks are passionate about their beliefs - just read the first post in this thread. Both sides of the game get all fired up. I'm wondering where it all stems from. I've always lived on the sidelines and remained neutral - I don't vote, I don't debate politics, I speak about my faith and offer others (politely and quietly) the opportunity to be exposed to bible teachings and if they don't want to hear it - I move on.
As Cain said, just treat others well and mind your own bees-wax. Why is that so frickin' difficult for most of society?12-04-08 03:27 PMLike 0 -
- 5,909
Without going into some useless bore of a story that has driven me into my present state, I'll just answer some of your questions and get straight to the point without flowery prose.Quoting myself --- that's funny...
Prada, in the spirit of Cain's post and her sorta slapping me in the face and waking me up to the audacity of making these types of arguments I'm gonna let this go and agree with you that with faith it is easy to accept the bible as authentic. Yet, without faith one deservedly doubts it.
A few questions I have -- and I'm not trying to accuse or belittle you or anyone --Would you prefer to live a life of faith (not blind faith) and find contentment and fulfillment in the practicing of a religion? Or, do you find more contentment being uncertain and questioning?
Again, understand I'm not belittling someone or calling into question their morals or their worth as a person.... But, I gotta wonder... Why do some people grow up (in America) exposed to the traditional Christian teaching of mainstream religions and then as adults become:
--Religious Right nuts that use religion as a weapon
--Non-practicing "christians" who neither read nor care about the bible
--"Spiritual" people who search and look for inspiration everywhere, believe in God and respect the bible but don't embrace it as the word of God
--Those opposed to any belief in a higher power and reject all forms of worship.
I went to a Roman Catholic Preschool.
I went to a Roman Catholic Elementary School.
I went to a Roman Catholic Middle School.
I went to a Roman Catholic UBER Snooty Same Gender High School.
I even did a Few Years at a Roman Catholic University.
After devoting myself to some form of scholarly endeavour that links me to Roman Catholicism I Fall into the "Non-practicing christians who neither read nor care about the bible".
I have read, and studied the bible, and can confidently say I have a decent grip on its teachings.
I have received all of the sacraments up to confirmation.
Unfortunately, being that I was young, my lack of decision making skills was exploited and I was not able to decide for myself whether or not I wanted to undergo those sacraments.
I do feel that there is some credibility to the bible.
I just think we put it up on a pedestal and exagerate the majority of it.
Like some old fishermans tale.
I do feel that there is wisdom to be learned from the bible.
But Understand, I do believe in some form of divinity that helped sparked life.
Whether his name is Allah, God, YHWH, or Ronald Mcdonald.
Whatever.
But when people start using it to impose restrictions upon the will of others, I feel that it has crossed the line.
When that Happens, I feel like doing, not such nice things in retaliation.
Just to Scare the Sheep a Little.
Maybe I get off on that, Regardless it's hella fun.12-04-08 03:58 PMLike 0 -
- 2,774
I know I said I was out but I had always planned on reading Alex's posts anyway. This is just to say to Prada, amen. Even though I do accept the Bible as infallible and absolute Truth, I have no right to impose my belief as such on others and can not expect others who don't hold such belief to "fall in line" I also grew up Catholic and had all year sacraments through confirmation. But at a certain point after reading and studying the bible I realized I don't agree with some things the Catholics believe. So I moved to follower of Jesus in general.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-04-08 07:16 PMLike 0 -
- 1,199
I see more smart people come OUT of organized religion than I see go INTO organized religion. Must be the.... hmmmm??? I wonder.
PS: All hail mighty Ronald McDonald (if you're confused read a few posts back)12-04-08 09:26 PMLike 0 -
- 1,199
I gotta comment on some of these avatars...
prada, what is that?
Serenityseeker, I hope you find serenity, 'cause you're avatar is just downright creepy. It's freakin' me out.
Gregerator, come on man- Put a little effort into and be a little bit more original.
Cain, that's gutsy putting your face on there. I don't know why but that intimidates.
Cerealkiller, (if your still out there) love the smoking baby, I can't believe your friends the mods didn't ban that.12-04-08 09:33 PMLike 0 -
- 2,774
I use wap 99% of the time. I don't even remember what my avatar is.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-04-08 10:14 PMLike 0 -
- 1,448
Intimidation was not my intention with my avatar.I gotta comment on some of these avatars...
prada, what is that?
Serenityseeker, I hope you find serenity, 'cause you're avatar is just downright creepy. It's freakin' me out.
Gregerator, come on man- Put a little effort into and be a little bit more original.
Cain, that's gutsy putting your face on there. I don't know why but that intimidates.
Cerealkiller, (if your still out there) love the smoking baby, I can't believe your friends the mods didn't ban that.
Lol. I would say the same thing to anyone on this forum online, just like I would to their face. So, it's only fair that they can say it to my face as well. 
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-04-08 11:58 PMLike 0 -
- 5,909
It's the almighty Madonna!
She was doing Yoga on a moving platform to the song "Strike a Pose" at one of her concerts.
And yes, she's face down. I didn't rotate the image or anything.Last edited by xxxxpradaxxxx; 12-05-08 at 07:38 AM.
12-05-08 07:33 AMLike 0 -
- 1,199
Prada - I read the first line and was really cofused...
I wasn't thinking the singer. I was thinking Mary, bible Madonna.
It struck me as delicious irony that you of all people would be reverent of THE Madonna and then further irony to call that pic a representation of her.
It took me a second to understand you were referencing the singer - but for that one second it was the funniest post I'd ever read.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-05-08 10:58 AMLike 0 -
- 5,909
-
- 1,199
You're like this "used to be catholic" person referring to the "almighty Madonna".
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-05-08 06:31 PMLike 0 -
- 5,909
I remember on one Occasion when the "Almighty Madonna" stated she was bigger than Jesus.
Hahaha
If thats the Truth- then I would Definitely consider her Almighty.
But I guess in this day and age it's not to hard to be bigger than Jesus.
Structured Religion is Decaying-
Even Cartoon Characters Have Become Deified.12-08-08 10:14 AMLike 0 -
- 3,284
This thread still has not gone anywhere godddamnit.
All these quotes and such lead to a dead end. How people believe in Jesus and the Bible is just plain insanity. How do you not question the existance of Jesus alex? Your a smart man. As I said before there is NOT ONE shred of evidence OUTSIDE of religious literature that he existed yet you still insist he's real. There is no proof except what you are being told. Don't you see that? As I said before if such a man was alive performing all these miracles don't you think somebody would have heard about him? Come on lets be real here.
The question of the tree being in the garden was quickly doused with a smoke screen of words. The fact of the matter is it's bs. It's so blatanly obvious. The Bible is a fable. There's no heaven or hellll, no Devil, right or wrong, sinners, snakes, Adam and Eve etc etc.
People feel a need to believe in something and label themselves when the truth of the matter is NOTHING matters. There's no such thing as Karma or sin. People regularly screww others over and rise to the top. Think they are living with bad Karma? Heck no they are going through life happy and not losing sleep while others fret and talk about how god/karma will pay them back. No it won't. If you can sleep at night thats all that matters. Live the way you want and do what you want. Reading the Bible and believing in some guy in the sky is not going to make you any better of a person or bring you closer to anything. It's a lie. Most people who go to church are hypocrites any way. But they feel better about themselves because they go to some brick building and listen to some moron quote scripture and talk about some fictitious character.
People openly criticize Scientology and call them wackos but criticizing Christians is not very politically correct. Only thing that seperates Scientology from Christianity is that Christianity has been around longer. They both subscribe to a belief system inspired and made up by man and thats a fact.
Your being lied to. It's all a lie. We are free to say do and act any way we want without fear of punishment from god. You want to covet some dudes wife covet her all night long if thats what you want. You want to steal go steal. Want to you use gods name in vain godddamnit use it all day long.
Heck if I were to see luvitlo and his wife in public I'd probobly flip up her 10' long skirt, slap her on the asss and tell her to find a real man. A man that will treat her as an equal not a piece of property to be controlled.
Where's that biggot golfnut been hiding. I know him and his wife read these things. Golfs going through some financial crisis maybe gods punishing him for being homophobic.
I smoke and get drawn back into this whole religious mess. Lord help me.
I love you pradaLast edited by cereal killer; 12-12-08 at 11:35 PM.
12-12-08 11:30 PMLike 0 -
- 662
Hey pothead, I ain't been hiding anywhere! I find it funny that you continue to call me out over and over again. You are all talk. I pray to GOD that I might run into you someday.
I didn't say crisis. Too tight to justify spending that kind of dough on a phone. It's called being a responsible adult.12-13-08 11:17 AMLike 0 -
- 5,909
That was Hilarious!
Hey Bible Thumper, It's not called being a responsible adult, its called being a low budget bigot.Hey pothead, I ain't been hiding anywhere! I find it funny that you continue to call me out over and over again. You are all talk. I pray to GOD that I might run into you someday.
I didn't say crisis. Too tight to justify spending that kind of dough on a phone. It's called being a responsible adult.Last edited by xxxxpradaxxxx; 12-13-08 at 11:38 AM.
12-13-08 11:23 AMLike 0 -
- 151
I am a very religious person, I even go to a southern baptist school. In doing so I have come to notice everything in this thread from the so called "Christians" to the point where I do not even associate with them, and I have now gone so far as to not even consider myself christian. (If you were to ask me what I believe I would tell you I am a follower of Christ, not of Christianity). The religious right are modern day Pharasees, focused so much on being the moral police, rather than �ruly loving and helping people like Jesus did. They are so intolerant of anything or anyone who is not like them, and believe me it is even worse inside of the religious community. I get told I'm going to **** because I have tattoos (only three, and they are all religious, christ based tattos), because I don't listen to worship music like Jeremy Camp and Michael W. Smith, and because I do not blindly follow what the pastor says. These people are not followers of Christ, nor do they know how to follow Christ. They are just simply people who think they are better, and feel like they have to be the moral police of the world. Through all of this though, I love these people (well try to, sometimes its hard) and will continue to do so because that is what Christ would do.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-14-08 11:22 PMLike 0 -
- 151
However I am not perfect and I fail at loving them, and I probably pass as much judgment on the Religious Right as they do to me. That is my take on it all. I do not want to sound self righteous in any way, because I am not in the slightest bit, I'm just angry with the church and what it has become thanks to the religous right. Honestly I am probably no better, but I just try to live my life like christ as much as I can.
Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com12-14-08 11:25 PMLike 0 -
- 3,284
-
- 1,647
Uhmmm...you've got some Catholic doctrine mixed in there. Also, the immaculate conception does not refer to Jesus, it refers to Mary. Catholics believe that somehow Mary didn't inherit original sin, as a descendent of Adam. She was born "clean", which is why she was chosen to be the mother of Christ.They are brainwwashed and live in fear of pisssing of some judgemental God who will condemn them to the burning fires in helll. They believe that snakes talk, they condemn incest as a sin YET in their little story of Adam and Eve it reeks of it. They turn their backs on child molestation yet condemn thoughts or acts of homosexuality. They beleive that some woman was impregnated by some magical event called the immaculate conception oooooh how interesting. They took something called pergatory (which by the way is the word of God *sarcasm*) and said there is now no such thing.
Yes your being brainwashed.
The "Religious Right" that you hold in contempt is actually made up of more "evangelicals" than Catholics.
Sorry you have such a dislike for "Bible Thumpers", but I'm a Christian and while I don't use the bible to "thump" anyone, I also don't walk around trying to hide who I am, for fear of attack.
Yes, there are some not-so-nice people, who claim the name of Christ. However, the Jesus that many of us have conceptualized in our heads is probably not the Jesus of the New Testament.
Jesus said some very tough stuff — hard sayings, that you probably would have a hard time swallowing. That's the truth. One of the things He said is that His followers would be "hated", because of Him. So, even when we're on our "best behavior" according to what you think that should be, we still will probably be like nails on a chalkboard to you — and so it is.
So, on my way out, I just wanted to say that a "hypocrite" is just a person who says one thing, and does something else — behavior that is not exclusive to Christians. It's a human thing, and most of us have been one, at one time or another. The challenge is to not live a hypocritical lifestyle. It's a challenge, believe me. When you master it, let me know.
So, watch how you judge, and be careful about lumping everyone in one basket. Deal with individuals. Because if any of what we "crazy Christians" say turns out to be true, then you may have to give an account for your own thoughts and deeds.
Blessings to you!Last edited by Tlynnsmith; 12-19-08 at 12:30 PM.
12-19-08 12:12 PMLike 0 -
- 5,909
- Forum
- CrackBerry Community
- Rehab & Off-Topic Lounge
The Religious right in this country......
LINK TO POST COPIED TO CLIPBOARD