This has led to heated debate, and has caused people to use offensive terms that have caused threads to be closed many times in the past.
… more I'm not going to stop this line of conversation, but I'm just making a pre-emptive warning to everyone right now - to be respectful to people in your responses, and don't use offensive terminology, on either side of the issue. Please heed my advice above. Thanks.
It's the way that people go about saying things that's the problem, not the beliefs themselves. Heck, there were a few threads I posted in … morewhere my views were more right wing leaning (such as the gun thread, where I posted that I really enjoyed shooting a pistol at a firing range, just about everyone in my area hunts, and I believe that Americans do have a right to own rifles and pistols). A lot of people didn't agree with me, but that was OK, since I know that it's a sensitive subject. But the thread was discussed in a civil manner, people from both sides of the issue posted their views on it without insulting the other, and it never derailed into needing to get locked.
It's not OK to say that people lack morals, are ignorant, call them idiots, say they're degenerates, say their behavior is unnatural, or other words such as these. Those are insults, either to people, groups of people, or their belief system, and go against the forum g… [view original content]
I cleaned those posts out of the topic. Please be respectful everyone. Hearing voices in your head is nowhere the same as feeling auras coming from objects. Objects having auras is a long held spiritual belief.
How nice. You tell about your beliefs and the first thing people are going to tell me is how mentally unstable I'm supposed to be.
No wor… moreries guys, I'm still deemed sane by even the professionals.
Also I don't hear voices in my head so don't worry.
Respectfully, I do feel that Clord does have a point.
Unfortunately, nowadays when someone claims to be religious, and they dare to share their belief in this scientific and politically correct world today, they are often times treated with contempt.
And when it comes to ridicule, Christians are usually the one's who bear th brunt of such attacks.
Not Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims, but Christians.
It is sad when one particular belief system is singled out like that.
But then again, Jesus did say: "If they persecute me, they will persecute you."
Now I'm in no way disparaging other religions or beliefs.
Far from it!
I'm just merely acknowledging a problem that has come about, especially in recent years.
And I've tried to do so as civilly as possible, and I hope others can appreciate that.
I cleaned those posts out of the topic. Please be respectful everyone. Hearing voices in your head is nowhere the same as feeling auras coming from objects. Objects having auras is a long held spiritual belief.
Respectfully, I do feel that Clord does have a point.
Unfortunately, nowadays when someone claims to be religious, and they dare to share t… moreheir belief in this scientific and politically correct world today, they are often times treated with contempt.
And when it comes to ridicule, Christians are usually the one's who bear th brunt of such attacks.
Not Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims, but Christians.
It is sad when one particular belief system is singled out like that.
But then again, Jesus did say: "If they persecute me, they will persecute you."
Now I'm in no way disparaging other religions or beliefs.
Far from it!
I'm just merely acknowledging a problem that has come about, especially in recent years.
And I've tried to do so as civilly as possible, and I hope others can appreciate that.
At least no one ever denies anyone rights to be a Christian. I'm a member of the Universal Life Church. People ridiculing my religion is so commonplace, it's not even funny. Even trying to get people to just view it as a legitimate religion is like pulling teeth. I actually live in a state where there have been multiple rulings that it's not a legitimate religion. So, according to the state of New York, I can't be a member of the Universal Life Church, because it's not seen as a religion at all.
Because of the ridicule, I've been tempted to just abandon it and be agnostic, but I'm sticking by it since it fits my religious beliefs the best. I believe that every religion ever created is ultimately the same, as they are all compatible, even science, since human language is up for interpretation, but science isn't (and the laws of science don't nessecitate the need for there to not be an outside force controlling things, whether that force is a spiritual being or God is ultimately just the universe(s) itself/themselves).
Respectfully, I do feel that Clord does have a point.
Unfortunately, nowadays when someone claims to be religious, and they dare to share t… moreheir belief in this scientific and politically correct world today, they are often times treated with contempt.
And when it comes to ridicule, Christians are usually the one's who bear th brunt of such attacks.
Not Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims, but Christians.
It is sad when one particular belief system is singled out like that.
But then again, Jesus did say: "If they persecute me, they will persecute you."
Now I'm in no way disparaging other religions or beliefs.
Far from it!
I'm just merely acknowledging a problem that has come about, especially in recent years.
And I've tried to do so as civilly as possible, and I hope others can appreciate that.
One memory that really sticks with me from my childhood is of this Muslim girl that moved to our school district. She was bullied and harassed mercilessly, just for daring to wear a hijab. It was really sickening.
I know that's just a personal anecdote, but I imagine the experience is far from unique. My Muslim friends often feel like they're completely at the mercy of America's political moods.
Respectfully, I do feel that Clord does have a point.
Unfortunately, nowadays when someone claims to be religious, and they dare to share t… moreheir belief in this scientific and politically correct world today, they are often times treated with contempt.
And when it comes to ridicule, Christians are usually the one's who bear th brunt of such attacks.
Not Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims, but Christians.
It is sad when one particular belief system is singled out like that.
But then again, Jesus did say: "If they persecute me, they will persecute you."
Now I'm in no way disparaging other religions or beliefs.
Far from it!
I'm just merely acknowledging a problem that has come about, especially in recent years.
And I've tried to do so as civilly as possible, and I hope others can appreciate that.
At least no one ever denies anyone rights to be a Christian. I'm a member of the Universal Life Church. People ridiculing my religion is so… more commonplace, it's not even funny. Even trying to get people to just view it as a legitimate religion is like pulling teeth. I actually live in a state where there have been multiple rulings that it's not a legitimate religion. So, according to the state of New York, I can't be a member of the Universal Life Church, because it's not seen as a religion at all.
Because of the ridicule, I've been tempted to just abandon it and be agnostic, but I'm sticking by it since it fits my religious beliefs the best. I believe that every religion ever created is ultimately the same, as they are all compatible, even science, since human language is up for interpretation, but science isn't (and the laws of science don't nessecitate the need for there to not be an outside force controlling things, whether that force is a spiritual being or God is ultimately just the universe(s) itself/themselves).
Yeah, that and they're doing something that no other religion has done before (at least none of which I'm aware) in the form of open minister ordination. I'm sure eventually the Universal Life Church will be able to gain wide acceptance, but I somehow have doubts that it will be in my lifetime.
Well, actually being an atheist here, where I live, is a bit easier but not without problems.
Some people think that I'm Stalin or Mao when I mention that I'm in fact atheist. Also when someone mentions that "this is a Christian country" or when our goverment gives special rights to religious schools, then I can't really do much but, laugh at how absurd this situation is. Ofically of course I have the same rights like everyone else, but in some way I don't.
Example: Some of the privilged (this is not just me being pissed about the situation, it is a sad fact) Christian schools have high quality education, meanwhile if you want to have non-state (state education is really really bad over here) non-Christian quality education, well then you gona have to pay for it. A lot.
So yeah, sometimes being an atheist is not that different.
I don't know if there is any point of this ramble. But I felt that I should let it all out.
At least no one ever denies anyone rights to be a Christian. I'm a member of the Universal Life Church. People ridiculing my religion is so… more commonplace, it's not even funny. Even trying to get people to just view it as a legitimate religion is like pulling teeth. I actually live in a state where there have been multiple rulings that it's not a legitimate religion. So, according to the state of New York, I can't be a member of the Universal Life Church, because it's not seen as a religion at all.
Because of the ridicule, I've been tempted to just abandon it and be agnostic, but I'm sticking by it since it fits my religious beliefs the best. I believe that every religion ever created is ultimately the same, as they are all compatible, even science, since human language is up for interpretation, but science isn't (and the laws of science don't nessecitate the need for there to not be an outside force controlling things, whether that force is a spiritual being or God is ultimately just the universe(s) itself/themselves).
One fifth of students attending Catholic schools are not Catholic, but of course most Catholic school students are Christian. For those who aren't Christian, I'm sure that these kids aren't open about their religious beliefs in these schools. I'd imagine the amount of bullying for being different would be quite high. I went to a Catholic school, and the nuns didn't really do anything about bullying, but this was in the 1980s and 1990s. With the recent anti-bullying climate, the nuns would likely stop bullying now, at least I'd hope so.
In my experience with Catholic schools though, they were really good in some areas and lacking in others. I switched to public school my second year of middle school. I was way ahead of the rest of the kids in English, but way behind the kids in science. I was on par with the class in the rest of the subjects.
Well, actually being an atheist here, where I live, is a bit easier but not without problems.
Some people think that I'm Stalin or Mao when… more I mention that I'm in fact atheist. Also when someone mentions that "this is a Christian country" or when our goverment gives special rights to religious schools, then I can't really do much but, laugh at how absurd this situation is. Ofically of course I have the same rights like everyone else, but in some way I don't.
Example: Some of the privilged (this is not just me being pissed about the situation, it is a sad fact) Christian schools have high quality education, meanwhile if you want to have non-state (state education is really really bad over here) non-Christian quality education, well then you gona have to pay for it. A lot.
So yeah, sometimes being an atheist is not that different.
I don't know if there is any point of this ramble. But I felt that I should let it all out.
I've been a christian all of my life. I believe in God, heaven, hell, Jesus came to earth to bear our sin on a cross so in his death we may live. I believe all men, believers or nonbelievers were born with a part of God in them. I know that Satan is real, and he's here on earth wrecking havoc on all of us. I believe that someday all of us will be judged by God in heaven. One day Jesus will return to call us home. The day will come where pain and sorrow is no more, and eternal life with the creator begins.
We all sin, and we all know it. But the greatest thing about sin is that God forgives. " And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”" God does not condemn us for our sins, he understands we are imperfect creatures that fall into temptation. We deserve eternity in hell for our sins, but God's love overcame that. God's love overcame our insecurity, our short comings, our failures, and impasses. All we have to do is accept him as our God and Savior, and live a life in him and his word. Yeah, life is going to suck sometimes, it always does. But the beauty of it is that one day, none of this will matter. One day, we will die, only to be reborn in God. This pain will melt away and our sins will be no more as we enjoy our everlasting life with our eternal Savior.
The question came up with me and my friends, "Are you afraid of not knowing what's going to happen in your future. My initial reaction was, Yes, I am afraid. But as that day wore on and the question came up again, my opinion had changed. No, I am not afraid of not knowing what's going to happen to me. Because God knows. That's the thing, we don't know what will happen, but God does. We have to trust that he has a plan for us and that his love abounds in the darkness of this world, and his grace is enough to overfill out cups. The beauty of life is that we know we don't know what will happen, but we always know God knows.
And don't go thinking I am sitting here being able to say all this goo because my life is perfect and nothing bad has ever happened to me, because that's a lie. A lot of crap has happened in my life and there was a long period where I didn't want to be here anymore. At a very young age, I was diagnosed with a disease called Crohn's. For a long time I was angry at God and the world, I felt like I'd been abandoned by the God I loved and trusted so much. But now I see that that was just a bump in the road, and God still loves me. He never stopped loving me and never will. Just because I have Crohn's, my parents are divorced, my family always fights, I always feel alone, and I feel like I'm worthless. I am so much more in God's eyes. Each and every one of us, we're his children and every day he calls our names, begging for us to return to him. In God's eyes we are all special, we're all worth so much more than this world will ever amount to.
I believe God is a just God and all of his anger is done out of the righteousness of his heart.
God has given all of us skills and tools we can use in this world, weather that's writings, speaking, running, music, anything really. God gives us skills we can use to glorify him.
I'm going to end it here, because I could probably go on for a good page or two.
Well, actually being an atheist here, where I live, is a bit easier but not without problems.
Some people think that I'm Stalin or Mao when… more I mention that I'm in fact atheist. Also when someone mentions that "this is a Christian country" or when our goverment gives special rights to religious schools, then I can't really do much but, laugh at how absurd this situation is. Ofically of course I have the same rights like everyone else, but in some way I don't.
Example: Some of the privilged (this is not just me being pissed about the situation, it is a sad fact) Christian schools have high quality education, meanwhile if you want to have non-state (state education is really really bad over here) non-Christian quality education, well then you gona have to pay for it. A lot.
So yeah, sometimes being an atheist is not that different.
I don't know if there is any point of this ramble. But I felt that I should let it all out.
Well looking at this thread i almost didn't post. There are a lot of religiously intolerant people in the internet (or at least they are VERY loud). But seeing as you all (or at least most) seem respectfull then ill throw in my two cents.
I am a Roman Catholic. I believe that there is a God, Heaven and Hell. I believe that Jesus Christ his only son sacrifiesed himself to free us of sin. I believe in a god of compasion and mercy. I fully believe in the new testament and most of the old one. I sadly do not go to church every week but i pray every night and in the morning at school. And share in almost all of its beliefs.
I however believe in free will and i will not hate other for having other beliefs. I hope you guys respect my beliefs as i do.
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
We deserve eternity in hell for our sins,
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
I've been a christian all of my life. I believe in God, heaven, hell, Jesus came to earth to bear our sin on a cross so in his death we may … morelive. I believe all men, believers or nonbelievers were born with a part of God in them. I know that Satan is real, and he's here on earth wrecking havoc on all of us. I believe that someday all of us will be judged by God in heaven. One day Jesus will return to call us home. The day will come where pain and sorrow is no more, and eternal life with the creator begins.
We all sin, and we all know it. But the greatest thing about sin is that God forgives. " And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”" God does not condemn us for our sins, he understands we are imperfect creatures that fall into temptation. We deserve eternity in hell for our sins, but God's love overcame that. God's love overcame our insecurity, our short comings, our failures, and impasses. All we have t… [view original content]
I'm an atheist, but I'll respect your beliefs as long as they're reasonable and not extremely stupid or extremely extremist. I do believe in life after death though, but I think it's more of a personal heaven kind of thing because I've heard stories by people who have died but came back to life. My aunt died having an operation and was revived later. She said she saw a bunch of our family who had died and there was a tunnel and stuff. Another woman I forgot her name but is a friend of my mother said she died having an operation and found herself in a field with her family before being sent back. So yeah.
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
I can't. I can't force you to believe in what I believe, all I can tell you is what the Bible says.
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
The truth is, we do. God is a perfect God who demands perfection. It was our sin that drove us apart, and we do deserve damnation for it. God created us all in his image, and our selfish desires slandered that image. To pay for that sin, God sent Jesus, God on earth, so we don't have to pay for our sins, so that sin would be washed away, and we would be forgiven, by our God and creator.
I know that Satan is real,
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
We deserve et… moreernity in hell for our sins,
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
I can't. I can't force you to believe in what … moreI believe, all I can tell you is what the Bible says.
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
The truth is, we do. God is a perfect God who demands perfection. It was our sin that drove us apart, and we do deserve damnation for it. God created us all in his image, and our selfish desires slandered that image. To pay for that sin, God sent Jesus, God on earth, so we don't have to pay for our sins, so that sin would be washed away, and we would be forgiven, by our God and creator.
Well, l'm a quite honest person when it comes to religon, politics etc. And I'm nearly certain that as a follower of "scientific skepticism" I would not be welcomed.
Wouldn't it be easy to abuse such a system by telling them what they want to hear?
I mean, savings are huge if they believe that you "believe enough" what they talk about.
It is not about bullying, but that is a factor for sure (although bullies must be a bit more catious now. If you bully the wrong person that could mean real trouble for you, as people can use lethal force here in case of self defense). May main problem is that I just can't be "fake". I will not pretend that I'm muslim or christian. If anyone asks me, I will openly say that I'm atheist, and I will not pray to any sort of god. Even though if they say I must. And in those schools you must do that. So this is why I chose private education.
So here you have three choices: schools of any larger church (usually free, ok to high quality education), state (free, but very bad), private (expensive, innovative and high quality + maybe becuse of this system religous people tend to go to their faith's school rather then a private school. And I guess I kinda know why: Private schools tend to be left-leaning and liberal, in a state where most religous people tend to be quite conservative.)
To add insult to injury: If all atheists would say that they are a religious group, they would be accept offical and would recieve funds if they want to establish their school(s). Otherwise? Hell no.
One fifth of students attending Catholic schools are not Catholic, but of course most Catholic school students are Christian. For those who… more aren't Christian, I'm sure that these kids aren't open about their religious beliefs in these schools. I'd imagine the amount of bullying for being different would be quite high. I went to a Catholic school, and the nuns didn't really do anything about bullying, but this was in the 1980s and 1990s. With the recent anti-bullying climate, the nuns would likely stop bullying now, at least I'd hope so.
In my experience with Catholic schools though, they were really good in some areas and lacking in others. I switched to public school my second year of middle school. I was way ahead of the rest of the kids in English, but way behind the kids in science. I was on par with the class in the rest of the subjects.
I'm an atheist, but I'll respect your beliefs as long as they're reasonable and not extremely stupid or extremely extremist. I do believe in… more life after death though, but I think it's more of a personal heaven kind of thing because I've heard stories by people who have died but came back to life. My aunt died having an operation and was revived later. She said she saw a bunch of our family who had died and there was a tunnel and stuff. Another woman I forgot her name but is a friend of my mother said she died having an operation and found herself in a field with her family before being sent back. So yeah.
I know that Satan is real,
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
We deserve et… moreernity in hell for our sins,
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
The truth is, we do. God is a perfect God who demands perfection. It was our sin that drove us apart, and we do deserve damnation for it. God created us all in his image, and our selfish desires slandered that image.
Truth is, heck no we don't. If a perfect god does exist, and he can make a perfect creation (hence him being a perfect god), but instead he creates an imperfect creation, and then decides to punish said creation for not being perfect, then your god either doesn't make any logical sense or he is an evil entity.
To pay for that sin, God sent Jesus, God on earth, so we don't have to pay for our sins, so that sin would be washed away, and we would be forgiven, by our God and creator.
How does killing your son equate to saving everyones' souls? Yet another sign of a god that revels in death and suffering. Instead of sending a man to be tortured and killed (because he created humans incorrectly, mind you) why not just. . . I don't know, apologise for being a terrible creator and forgive everyone their sins? Come to think of it, if I even hear from the god of the abrahamic religions he had best have a really well thought out apology.
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
I can't. I can't force you to believe in what … moreI believe, all I can tell you is what the Bible says.
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
The truth is, we do. God is a perfect God who demands perfection. It was our sin that drove us apart, and we do deserve damnation for it. God created us all in his image, and our selfish desires slandered that image. To pay for that sin, God sent Jesus, God on earth, so we don't have to pay for our sins, so that sin would be washed away, and we would be forgiven, by our God and creator.
Dude, I can't make you believe the truth. All I can do is show you the light.
How does killing your son equate to saving everyones' souls? Yet another sign of a god that revels in death and suffering. Instead of sending a man to be tortured and killed (because he created humans incorrectly, mind you) why not just. . . I don't know, apologise for being a terrible creator and forgive everyone their sins? Come to think of it, if I even hear from the god of the abrahamic religions he had best have a really well thought out apology.
In the old times, God demanded a sacrifice every year from people. They would go to the synagogues and sacrifice the best calf they had, and that would cover their sins until next year when they had to give another sacrifice. You see, our offerings to God were still imperfect. God still saw sin, so he sent pure perfection to earth to be sacrificed on our behalf, so instead of having yearly sacrifices to cover our sins, one sacrifice would cover all mans sins, if they believe in him.
Truth is, heck no we don't. If a perfect god does exist, and he can make a perfect creation (hence him being a perfect god), but instead he creates an imperfect creation, and then decides to punish said creation for not being perfect,
And Yet the truth is, yes we do. Our God created us perfect in his image, with so sin, no guilt, no doubt, no impurities. It was our own foolishness that drove us apart and out of the Garden of Eden.
I've got some gripes with this. . .
The truth is, we do. God is a perfect God who demands perfection. It was our sin that drove us apa… morert, and we do deserve damnation for it. God created us all in his image, and our selfish desires slandered that image.
Truth is, heck no we don't. If a perfect god does exist, and he can make a perfect creation (hence him being a perfect god), but instead he creates an imperfect creation, and then decides to punish said creation for not being perfect, then your god either doesn't make any logical sense or he is an evil entity.
To pay for that sin, God sent Jesus, God on earth, so we don't have to pay for our sins, so that sin would be washed away, and we would be forgiven, by our God and creator.
How does killing your son equate to saving everyones' souls? Yet another sign of a god that revels in death and suffering. Instead of sending a man to be tortured and killed (because he crea… [view original content]
Oh God and Oh God You Devil have me convinced that no matter where I go when I die I'm going to meet George Burns, and since I'm a fan of his, I'm fine with that.
I'm a Christian (specifically, a Baptist), but I wouldn't necessarily call myself all that religious. Just recently, I've begun praying more and started actually reading the Bible, so that I could figure out my own interpretation on it. I want to one day get back into Church, but I'm not quite ready to go back, yet.
Am a Protestant (Baptist). I believe in God, I believe in Heaven, and all that. I don't go to church, but I really, really want to, and I pray nearly every day.
This really, really surprised me. That article is from the Catholic Herald, the diocesan newspaper for my diocese. I know people mentioned in that article personally, the high school I'm in right now is mentioned. I did not ever expect this to be brought up anywhere. You can imagine my shock when I hovered my mouse over the link.
Speaking from being in a present day Catholic high school, there is quite a bit of non-Catholics. The easy way to check if someone is Catholic or not is at Mass see if they get up for Eucharist. One of our math teachers, I didn't have him, but my friends did, is Jewish. I know a couple of Muslims and Hindus in there. In Catholic schools, religion classes, retreats, & services are mandatory. The only thing that isn't is receiving Reconciliation or the Eucharist, because that's reserved for those who follow the faith. There's also tuition differences for non-Catholics, being more expensive, as well as for Catholics who aren't a part of the diocese that the school is.
One of the benefits I find is that Catholic schools are by extension private schools is that they aren't as large as public schools and you can generally get to know people better. Plus, if you like missing class time, Mass and other stuff is very nice for that. Some other things I enjoy is that in history & English we can link back to what we know from the religion classes and have a better understanding of them (for example understanding the symbolism in The Inferno better or some more of the details the Habsburgs and the Reformation in that ilk).
One fifth of students attending Catholic schools are not Catholic, but of course most Catholic school students are Christian. For those who… more aren't Christian, I'm sure that these kids aren't open about their religious beliefs in these schools. I'd imagine the amount of bullying for being different would be quite high. I went to a Catholic school, and the nuns didn't really do anything about bullying, but this was in the 1980s and 1990s. With the recent anti-bullying climate, the nuns would likely stop bullying now, at least I'd hope so.
In my experience with Catholic schools though, they were really good in some areas and lacking in others. I switched to public school my second year of middle school. I was way ahead of the rest of the kids in English, but way behind the kids in science. I was on par with the class in the rest of the subjects.
In the old times, God demanded a sacrifice every year from people. They would go to the synagogues and sacrifice the best calf they had, and that would cover their sins until next year when they had to give another sacrifice. You see, our offerings to God were still imperfect. God still saw sin, so he sent pure perfection to earth to be sacrificed on our behalf, so instead of having yearly sacrifices to cover our sins, one sacrifice would cover all mans sins, if they believe in him.
I respect your beliefs and all, but as someone who grew outside of religion, this sounds bananas. Why would an omniscient being demand or expect sacrifice from his own creation? God sounds needy,, even petty. That's always bugged me, even about my own former religion. Like, God gets pissed we don't obey him so he drowns his own world.
Dude, I can't make you believe the truth. All I can do is show you the light.
How does killing your son equate to saving everyones' so… moreuls? Yet another sign of a god that revels in death and suffering. Instead of sending a man to be tortured and killed (because he created humans incorrectly, mind you) why not just. . . I don't know, apologise for being a terrible creator and forgive everyone their sins? Come to think of it, if I even hear from the god of the abrahamic religions he had best have a really well thought out apology.
In the old times, God demanded a sacrifice every year from people. They would go to the synagogues and sacrifice the best calf they had, and that would cover their sins until next year when they had to give another sacrifice. You see, our offerings to God were still imperfect. God still saw sin, so he sent pure perfection to earth to be sacrificed on our behalf, so instead of having yearly sacrifices to c… [view original content]
Dude, I can't make you believe the truth. All I can do is show you the light.
How does killing your son equate to saving everyones' so… moreuls? Yet another sign of a god that revels in death and suffering. Instead of sending a man to be tortured and killed (because he created humans incorrectly, mind you) why not just. . . I don't know, apologise for being a terrible creator and forgive everyone their sins? Come to think of it, if I even hear from the god of the abrahamic religions he had best have a really well thought out apology.
In the old times, God demanded a sacrifice every year from people. They would go to the synagogues and sacrifice the best calf they had, and that would cover their sins until next year when they had to give another sacrifice. You see, our offerings to God were still imperfect. God still saw sin, so he sent pure perfection to earth to be sacrificed on our behalf, so instead of having yearly sacrifices to c… [view original content]
As a Roman Catholic Christian, I believe in God the Holy Trinity and all that. But there are those like the Westboro Baptist Church who misuse religion and attack our country and our faith and beliefs, as if they depend on God and the KJV Bible to destroy America. So to them and the WBC freaks, I say, in the words of the Riddler in "Batman: Arkham Knight": Your belief in mindless superstition based on the Bible verses you misread is about as overrated as picketing the funerals of soldiers, celebrities, and loved ones who were taken from us too soon, you outdated 17th-century anachronisms!
Hello there.Before I begin I would like to say that I know that I decided best for myself.I have tried being roman catholic christian,budhist,muslim.And now I decided that religion is not necessary in my life.So,yes, I am atheist.However I do respect what others think about religion because it is humans personal choice.As long as you respect me as long I will respect you.Simple as that
While I respect your beliefs, I don't see how WBC misinterprets something like Leviticus 20:13 - ""'If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
As a Roman Catholic Christian, I believe in God the Holy Trinity and all that. But there are those like the Westboro Baptist Church who mis… moreuse religion and attack our country and our faith and beliefs, as if they depend on God and the KJV Bible to destroy America. So to them and the WBC freaks, I say, in the words of the Riddler in "Batman: Arkham Knight": Your belief in mindless superstition based on the Bible verses you misread is about as overrated as picketing the funerals of soldiers, celebrities, and loved ones who were taken from us too soon, you outdated 17th-century anachronisms!
Good point.
While I believe that God loves all people, I also believe he has certain standards he wants people to follow.
Just curious, which Bible did you just quote?
While I respect your beliefs, I don't see how WBC misinterprets something like Leviticus 20:13 - ""'If a man has sexual relations with a man… more as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Good point.
While I believe that God loves all people, I also believe he has certain standards he wants people to follow.
Just curious, which Bible did you just quote?
I'm an atheist, but I'll respect your beliefs as long as they're reasonable and not extremely stupid or extremely extremist. I do believe in… more life after death though, but I think it's more of a personal heaven kind of thing because I've heard stories by people who have died but came back to life. My aunt died having an operation and was revived later. She said she saw a bunch of our family who had died and there was a tunnel and stuff. Another woman I forgot her name but is a friend of my mother said she died having an operation and found herself in a field with her family before being sent back. So yeah.
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No worries, I just wish to hear his point of view on the subject, I'm not one to start a fight ^^
Edit: I got my answer so it's all good.
How nice. You tell about your beliefs and the first thing people are going to tell me is how mentally unstable I'm supposed to be.
No worries guys, I'm still deemed sane by even the professionals.
Also I don't hear voices in my head so don't worry.
It goes both ways. I am doing my part.
I cleaned those posts out of the topic. Please be respectful everyone. Hearing voices in your head is nowhere the same as feeling auras coming from objects. Objects having auras is a long held spiritual belief.
Respectfully, I do feel that Clord does have a point.
Unfortunately, nowadays when someone claims to be religious, and they dare to share their belief in this scientific and politically correct world today, they are often times treated with contempt.
And when it comes to ridicule, Christians are usually the one's who bear th brunt of such attacks.
Not Hindus, Buddhists, or Muslims, but Christians.
It is sad when one particular belief system is singled out like that.
But then again, Jesus did say: "If they persecute me, they will persecute you."
Now I'm in no way disparaging other religions or beliefs.
Far from it!
I'm just merely acknowledging a problem that has come about, especially in recent years.
And I've tried to do so as civilly as possible, and I hope others can appreciate that.
You been paying attention to the world? Muslims experience a whole lot of attacks and discrimination, especially in the US and the UK.
At least no one ever denies anyone rights to be a Christian. I'm a member of the Universal Life Church. People ridiculing my religion is so commonplace, it's not even funny. Even trying to get people to just view it as a legitimate religion is like pulling teeth. I actually live in a state where there have been multiple rulings that it's not a legitimate religion. So, according to the state of New York, I can't be a member of the Universal Life Church, because it's not seen as a religion at all.
Because of the ridicule, I've been tempted to just abandon it and be agnostic, but I'm sticking by it since it fits my religious beliefs the best. I believe that every religion ever created is ultimately the same, as they are all compatible, even science, since human language is up for interpretation, but science isn't (and the laws of science don't nessecitate the need for there to not be an outside force controlling things, whether that force is a spiritual being or God is ultimately just the universe(s) itself/themselves).
Worse than Muslims? Not in my experience.
One memory that really sticks with me from my childhood is of this Muslim girl that moved to our school district. She was bullied and harassed mercilessly, just for daring to wear a hijab. It was really sickening.
I know that's just a personal anecdote, but I imagine the experience is far from unique. My Muslim friends often feel like they're completely at the mercy of America's political moods.
I guess t comes with stigma of being a relatively new religion.
Yeah, that and they're doing something that no other religion has done before (at least none of which I'm aware) in the form of open minister ordination. I'm sure eventually the Universal Life Church will be able to gain wide acceptance, but I somehow have doubts that it will be in my lifetime.
Well, actually being an atheist here, where I live, is a bit easier but not without problems.
Some people think that I'm Stalin or Mao when I mention that I'm in fact atheist. Also when someone mentions that "this is a Christian country" or when our goverment gives special rights to religious schools, then I can't really do much but, laugh at how absurd this situation is. Ofically of course I have the same rights like everyone else, but in some way I don't.
Example: Some of the privilged (this is not just me being pissed about the situation, it is a sad fact) Christian schools have high quality education, meanwhile if you want to have non-state (state education is really really bad over here) non-Christian quality education, well then you gona have to pay for it. A lot.
So yeah, sometimes being an atheist is not that different.
I don't know if there is any point of this ramble. But I felt that I should let it all out.
One fifth of students attending Catholic schools are not Catholic, but of course most Catholic school students are Christian. For those who aren't Christian, I'm sure that these kids aren't open about their religious beliefs in these schools. I'd imagine the amount of bullying for being different would be quite high. I went to a Catholic school, and the nuns didn't really do anything about bullying, but this was in the 1980s and 1990s. With the recent anti-bullying climate, the nuns would likely stop bullying now, at least I'd hope so.
In my experience with Catholic schools though, they were really good in some areas and lacking in others. I switched to public school my second year of middle school. I was way ahead of the rest of the kids in English, but way behind the kids in science. I was on par with the class in the rest of the subjects.
I've been a christian all of my life. I believe in God, heaven, hell, Jesus came to earth to bear our sin on a cross so in his death we may live. I believe all men, believers or nonbelievers were born with a part of God in them. I know that Satan is real, and he's here on earth wrecking havoc on all of us. I believe that someday all of us will be judged by God in heaven. One day Jesus will return to call us home. The day will come where pain and sorrow is no more, and eternal life with the creator begins.
We all sin, and we all know it. But the greatest thing about sin is that God forgives. " And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”" God does not condemn us for our sins, he understands we are imperfect creatures that fall into temptation. We deserve eternity in hell for our sins, but God's love overcame that. God's love overcame our insecurity, our short comings, our failures, and impasses. All we have to do is accept him as our God and Savior, and live a life in him and his word. Yeah, life is going to suck sometimes, it always does. But the beauty of it is that one day, none of this will matter. One day, we will die, only to be reborn in God. This pain will melt away and our sins will be no more as we enjoy our everlasting life with our eternal Savior.
The question came up with me and my friends, "Are you afraid of not knowing what's going to happen in your future. My initial reaction was, Yes, I am afraid. But as that day wore on and the question came up again, my opinion had changed. No, I am not afraid of not knowing what's going to happen to me. Because God knows. That's the thing, we don't know what will happen, but God does. We have to trust that he has a plan for us and that his love abounds in the darkness of this world, and his grace is enough to overfill out cups. The beauty of life is that we know we don't know what will happen, but we always know God knows.
And don't go thinking I am sitting here being able to say all this goo because my life is perfect and nothing bad has ever happened to me, because that's a lie. A lot of crap has happened in my life and there was a long period where I didn't want to be here anymore. At a very young age, I was diagnosed with a disease called Crohn's. For a long time I was angry at God and the world, I felt like I'd been abandoned by the God I loved and trusted so much. But now I see that that was just a bump in the road, and God still loves me. He never stopped loving me and never will. Just because I have Crohn's, my parents are divorced, my family always fights, I always feel alone, and I feel like I'm worthless. I am so much more in God's eyes. Each and every one of us, we're his children and every day he calls our names, begging for us to return to him. In God's eyes we are all special, we're all worth so much more than this world will ever amount to.
I believe God is a just God and all of his anger is done out of the righteousness of his heart.
God has given all of us skills and tools we can use in this world, weather that's writings, speaking, running, music, anything really. God gives us skills we can use to glorify him.
I'm going to end it here, because I could probably go on for a good page or two.
Wouldn't it be easy to abuse such a system by telling them what they want to hear?
I mean, savings are huge if they believe that you "believe enough" what they talk about.
Well looking at this thread i almost didn't post. There are a lot of religiously intolerant people in the internet (or at least they are VERY loud). But seeing as you all (or at least most) seem respectfull then ill throw in my two cents.
I am a Roman Catholic. I believe that there is a God, Heaven and Hell. I believe that Jesus Christ his only son sacrifiesed himself to free us of sin. I believe in a god of compasion and mercy. I fully believe in the new testament and most of the old one. I sadly do not go to church every week but i pray every night and in the morning at school. And share in almost all of its beliefs.
I however believe in free will and i will not hate other for having other beliefs. I hope you guys respect my beliefs as i do.
Can you explain how you know that? The evidence could potentially change my life. . .
I certainly don't deserve to burn for eternity for being created broken. Seems more like a bad craftsman, especially since the craftsman apparently knew he was making a broken creation.
I'm an atheist, but I'll respect your beliefs as long as they're reasonable and not extremely stupid or extremely extremist. I do believe in life after death though, but I think it's more of a personal heaven kind of thing because I've heard stories by people who have died but came back to life. My aunt died having an operation and was revived later. She said she saw a bunch of our family who had died and there was a tunnel and stuff. Another woman I forgot her name but is a friend of my mother said she died having an operation and found herself in a field with her family before being sent back. So yeah.
I can't. I can't force you to believe in what I believe, all I can tell you is what the Bible says.
The truth is, we do. God is a perfect God who demands perfection. It was our sin that drove us apart, and we do deserve damnation for it. God created us all in his image, and our selfish desires slandered that image. To pay for that sin, God sent Jesus, God on earth, so we don't have to pay for our sins, so that sin would be washed away, and we would be forgiven, by our God and creator.
I respect your beliefs but I have to ask.
How killing a person somehow redeems the mankind?
Well, l'm a quite honest person when it comes to religon, politics etc. And I'm nearly certain that as a follower of "scientific skepticism" I would not be welcomed.
It is not about bullying, but that is a factor for sure (although bullies must be a bit more catious now. If you bully the wrong person that could mean real trouble for you, as people can use lethal force here in case of self defense). May main problem is that I just can't be "fake". I will not pretend that I'm muslim or christian. If anyone asks me, I will openly say that I'm atheist, and I will not pray to any sort of god. Even though if they say I must. And in those schools you must do that. So this is why I chose private education.
So here you have three choices: schools of any larger church (usually free, ok to high quality education), state (free, but very bad), private (expensive, innovative and high quality + maybe becuse of this system religous people tend to go to their faith's school rather then a private school. And I guess I kinda know why: Private schools tend to be left-leaning and liberal, in a state where most religous people tend to be quite conservative.)
To add insult to injury: If all atheists would say that they are a religious group, they would be accept offical and would recieve funds if they want to establish their school(s). Otherwise? Hell no.
I must say, I hate inequality.
What do you mean? Do you mean Jesus?
Where do I get a pair of necromancers of my own?
Haven't you watched those simpsons episodes? Of course satan is real!
I've got some gripes with this. . .
Truth is, heck no we don't. If a perfect god does exist, and he can make a perfect creation (hence him being a perfect god), but instead he creates an imperfect creation, and then decides to punish said creation for not being perfect, then your god either doesn't make any logical sense or he is an evil entity.
How does killing your son equate to saving everyones' souls? Yet another sign of a god that revels in death and suffering. Instead of sending a man to be tortured and killed (because he created humans incorrectly, mind you) why not just. . . I don't know, apologise for being a terrible creator and forgive everyone their sins? Come to think of it, if I even hear from the god of the abrahamic religions he had best have a really well thought out apology.
Dude, I can't make you believe the truth. All I can do is show you the light.
In the old times, God demanded a sacrifice every year from people. They would go to the synagogues and sacrifice the best calf they had, and that would cover their sins until next year when they had to give another sacrifice. You see, our offerings to God were still imperfect. God still saw sin, so he sent pure perfection to earth to be sacrificed on our behalf, so instead of having yearly sacrifices to cover our sins, one sacrifice would cover all mans sins, if they believe in him.
And Yet the truth is, yes we do. Our God created us perfect in his image, with so sin, no guilt, no doubt, no impurities. It was our own foolishness that drove us apart and out of the Garden of Eden.
Oh God and Oh God You Devil have me convinced that no matter where I go when I die I'm going to meet George Burns, and since I'm a fan of his, I'm fine with that.
I'm a Christian (specifically, a Baptist), but I wouldn't necessarily call myself all that religious. Just recently, I've begun praying more and started actually reading the Bible, so that I could figure out my own interpretation on it. I want to one day get back into Church, but I'm not quite ready to go back, yet.
Am a Protestant (Baptist). I believe in God, I believe in Heaven, and all that. I don't go to church, but I really, really want to, and I pray nearly every day.
This really, really surprised me. That article is from the Catholic Herald, the diocesan newspaper for my diocese. I know people mentioned in that article personally, the high school I'm in right now is mentioned. I did not ever expect this to be brought up anywhere. You can imagine my shock when I hovered my mouse over the link.
Speaking from being in a present day Catholic high school, there is quite a bit of non-Catholics. The easy way to check if someone is Catholic or not is at Mass see if they get up for Eucharist. One of our math teachers, I didn't have him, but my friends did, is Jewish. I know a couple of Muslims and Hindus in there. In Catholic schools, religion classes, retreats, & services are mandatory. The only thing that isn't is receiving Reconciliation or the Eucharist, because that's reserved for those who follow the faith. There's also tuition differences for non-Catholics, being more expensive, as well as for Catholics who aren't a part of the diocese that the school is.
One of the benefits I find is that Catholic schools are by extension private schools is that they aren't as large as public schools and you can generally get to know people better. Plus, if you like missing class time, Mass and other stuff is very nice for that. Some other things I enjoy is that in history & English we can link back to what we know from the religion classes and have a better understanding of them (for example understanding the symbolism in The Inferno better or some more of the details the Habsburgs and the Reformation in that ilk).
I am a Buddhist and I also follow the teaching of Confucius in order to reach enlightenment.
I respect all deities, religions and followers as long as they don't interfere in my quest for enlightenment.
I respect your beliefs and all, but as someone who grew outside of religion, this sounds bananas. Why would an omniscient being demand or expect sacrifice from his own creation? God sounds needy,, even petty. That's always bugged me, even about my own former religion. Like, God gets pissed we don't obey him so he drowns his own world.
It's no truth and calling darkness "the light" is really bold.
As a Roman Catholic Christian, I believe in God the Holy Trinity and all that. But there are those like the Westboro Baptist Church who misuse religion and attack our country and our faith and beliefs, as if they depend on God and the KJV Bible to destroy America. So to them and the WBC freaks, I say, in the words of the Riddler in "Batman: Arkham Knight": Your belief in mindless superstition based on the Bible verses you misread is about as overrated as picketing the funerals of soldiers, celebrities, and loved ones who were taken from us too soon, you outdated 17th-century anachronisms!
Hello there.Before I begin I would like to say that I know that I decided best for myself.I have tried being roman catholic christian,budhist,muslim.And now I decided that religion is not necessary in my life.So,yes, I am atheist.However I do respect what others think about religion because it is humans personal choice.As long as you respect me as long I will respect you.Simple as that
Peace
While I respect your beliefs, I don't see how WBC misinterprets something like Leviticus 20:13 - ""'If a man has sexual relations with a man as one does with a woman, both of them have done what is detestable. They are to be put to death; their blood will be on their own heads."
Good point.
While I believe that God loves all people, I also believe he has certain standards he wants people to follow.
Just curious, which Bible did you just quote?
Oh, he just quoted the Bible's 2011 New International Version, that's all.
Correct.
When i was a kid, i had dreams about Vietnam, never know right.