The Christian religion

[I_Dont_Know859]

I'm not for or against religion. If it helps you get off drugs you no longer want to be addicted to or help you through a rough time in your life, then by all means go for it. Unfortunatly, religion has been used more to judge/condemn people for being different, which is ironic because that is the opposite of what Jesus was all about. He preached to any person, whether they were rich, poor, black, white, educated, uneducated. This was different from the norm of the time, where it was only the pastor that was allowed to hold a bible and it always benifited the rich and privilaged, while the poor were in multiple cases scared into paying condolences so they and their family members could make St. Peter's list, a.k.a. get into heaven.

Even within the Bible itself, it is pro-comformist, anti-individual thought. Take the following quote for instance:
"And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,... because thou believest not my words,..."Luke 1:20

I doubt God ever told anyone that they did not have the right to think on their own. The Bible shouldn't be directly interpreted in my opinion. When they say "a frog in his throat" they don't actually mean he has a toad in his throat!

If anything, good events in life are heaven and bad events in life are hell on earth. War is hell. Love is heaven.

Heaven and Hell aren't places you go, they're adjectives.

well i guess your going to be in for a rude awakening when you die.

 

[I_WANT_WII]

wow this thread doesn't have flaming! I am a christian myself, not just a cultural christian but yeah, a real one.

 

[Trickz]

Hmm, just wondering, is there any point in the Bible where God tells someone everything that happened before people recorded things? I believe that God started everything, and let evolution do the rest. I believe in Jesus too of course, but there are things that I don't get. But believing without seeing is the defenition of faith.

 

[NateTheGreat]

well i guess your going to be in for a rude awakening when you die.

So you have experience with death? You've died before and know what it's like to go to heaven or burn in hell? So that would mean you've been reincarnated, which isn't a Christian belief/trait. Interesting.

 

[The_Mitch]

well i guess your going to be in for a rude awakening when you die.

that sounded kinda rude too me. instead of saying he is going to go to hell when he dies, why dont you try and disprove what he is saying just like he is trying to disprove what you are saying? comments like that are what turns people away from Jesus

 

[I_Dont_Know859]

So you have experience with death? You've died before and know what it's like to go to heaven or burn in hell? So that would mean you've been reincarnated, which isn't a Christian belief/trait. Interesting.

hey easy nate. no i havent died last time i checked and yeah jesus was perfectly clear how you end up in heaven or hell. i can pull up bible verses for you if you like. but god gave us the gift of free will so everything is your decision my friend. I'll keep you in my prayers.

 

[I_Dont_Know859]

that sounded kinda rude too me. instead of saying he is going to go to hell when he dies, why dont you try and disprove what he is saying just like he is trying to disprove what you are saying? comments like that are what turns people away from Jesus

well mitch nate was saying what he thought of what heaven and hell was and i was saying mine. i'm just saying what would happen if he died right now things wouldnt be to pretty for him. sorry but the truth can hurt sometimes.

 

[The_Mitch]

hey easy nate. no i havent died last time i checked and yeah jesus was perfectly clear how you end up in heaven or hell. i can pull up bible verses for you if you like. but god gave us the gift of free will so everything is your decision my friend. I'll keep you in my prayers.

quoteing scripture doesnt work when trying to convince someone that God exsists because that person doesnt believe what the Bible says so why would 1 verse change their mind?

 

[NeMeZyZ]

church girls are the freakiest

 

[I_Dont_Know859]

quoteing scripture doesnt work when trying to convince someone that God exsists because that person doesnt believe what the Bible says so why would 1 verse change their mind?

yeah i know, its like i said before its up to that individual. besides it doesnt hurt to have scripture backing up what your saying. dont you agree?

 

[I_WANT_WII]

how are churchs girls freaky?

 

[Ezekiel86]

I'm not for or against religion. If it helps you get off drugs you no longer want to be addicted to or help you through a rough time in your life, then by all means go for it. Unfortunatly, religion has been used more to judge/condemn people for being different, which is ironic because that is the opposite of what Jesus was all about. He preached to any person, whether they were rich, poor, black, white, educated, uneducated. This was different from the norm of the time, where it was only the pastor that was allowed to hold a bible and it always benifited the rich and privilaged, while the poor were in multiple cases scared into paying condolences so they and their family members could make St. Peter's list, a.k.a. get into heaven.

Even within the Bible itself, it is pro-comformist, anti-individual thought. Take the following quote for instance:
"And, behold, thou shalt be dumb, and not able to speak,... because thou believest not my words,..."Luke 1:20

I doubt God ever told anyone that they did not have the right to think on their own. The Bible shouldn't be directly interpreted in my opinion. When they say "a frog in his throat" they don't actually mean he has a toad in his throat!

If anything, good events in life are heaven and bad events in life are hell on earth. War is hell. Love is heaven.

Heaven and Hell aren't places you go, they're adjectives.

Glad to hear your thoughts on this Nate!

Kudos to RPGMasterTurk91 as well for your synopsis on the misinterpretation of religions texts too

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” - Mahatma Ghandi.

I think that summarises what some of us are trying to say, am I right?

Personally, I don't considermyself particularly religious. My Dad was born a Muslim, and my Mum was raised a Christian. While Dad didn't have any religious influence over us, as when he came to Australia from Turkey he pretty much abandoned the idea of religion, Mum raised us as Christians.

A thought that entered my head when reading Nate's comment was that maybe religion is something that dehumanises us? Once again I know I'm setting myself up for a flaming to the K-Zone but I'm not trying to insult anyone, it's an interpretation. I say this, because as stated before, religion has people thinking as a collective, instead of individuals, and it is a humanly trait to strive to think independantly with our higher level of conciousness.

Then again, I'm probably going to hell for saying that!

Better ask the grandkids to put a shotgun and rocket launcher in my coffin, I'll need it when I get to the afterlife

 

[NateTheGreat]

hey easy nate. no i havent died last time i checked and yeah jesus was perfectly clear how you end up in heaven or hell. i can pull up bible verses for you if you like. but god gave us the gift of free will so everything is your decision my friend. I'll keep you in my prayers.

Ok, how about this. You worship God and I'll worship...my laptop that I'm using right now; both seem to suit us and our wants/needs. You pray to God that I don't go to hell and I'll pray to my laptop that you don't get a virus. Showing me passages from the Bible would mean as much to me as telling error messages I get every once in a while would mean to you, to be honest.

 

[Ezekiel86]

Finally i found the paper! i asked an Orthodox Christian this question and he stood there puzzled. He said to me after thinking about it for 4 minutes (and yes these were his exact words, i wrote them down to take note of this): "well, in order to spread Christianity, the people with great religous power changed what was in the bible to make it look more interesting and inviting. By doing this, Christianity got more converts ever since then.

can u respond to this if u have an answer anyone? im really curious to your explanation of why the bible has changed so many times and yet this has not been deemed corrupt? persuade me, im ready to listen

remember, try to keep away from making a debate out of my comments in this thread and do not flame, as these are friendly comments; im not badmouthing any religion

Interesting convo buddy! I do agree though, the whole message behind the holy book then becomes something like chinese whispers (the story is told with a slight variation, then that variation is varied again with the next telling, and this is repeated X number or times until the final announcement/publication only to reveal the final message is absolutely nothing like the original).

I have respect for those who devote themselves to religion, although I would not consider myself to be a religious person.

One thing which does bother me is when religious people keep trying to push their beliefs off onto you. I get plenty of it at the supermarket I work at as there's alot of old Christians coming through, who tell me about god and stuff. While I respect their beliefs, (and I do myself believe there is a higher being, although I don't know what exactly it is) I wish they would just leave me alone and in turn, repsect my thoughts and beliefs too.

 

[I_Dont_Know859]

Ok, how about this. You worship God and I'll worship...my laptop that I'm using right now; both seem to suit us and our wants/needs. You pray to God that I don't go to hell and I'll pray to my laptop that you don't get a virus. Showing me passages from the Bible would mean as much to me as telling error messages I get every once in a while would mean to you, to be honest.

as you wish