Edit: Uh oh, the bombshells have dropped. Poop. :I Before you read that part down there, at least let me mention that there is this misrepresentation of non-believers in the church. It's almost as if they make us out to be miserable unhappy people who are empty and who need to feel the power of Christ. It's a little arrogant, yes, that feeling of "these people need to be saved by us, their heroes" and there are some ridiculous people out there, yes. I can't tell you how much I cannot STAND to have people say "God bless you" to me. Did I sneeze? It just feels like religion should be a lot more personal than it is. But of course, it's advertised on bumper stickers, radio stations, t-shirts, jewelry, and all manner of things. So yes, it does get a little over the top, but some may not realize it. But eh, it's out there, and its pretty darn public. So yes, it is in people's faces. A lot. I certainly know as well as you do, as I used to be a very devout Christian. I've even had what some people call a spiritual awakening. I'm not sure if you get what I mean by that, but it's been called that at my church plenty of times. It's basically that feeling of "oh my god, this is all real" and is then followed by a period of great urgency, stress, and an upheaval of regret. Christianity is a pretty stressful religion, especially when you get really into it as I did. So I understand 100% how Christians feel when it comes to spreading the gospel. As for that last bit, what I meant was that I was getting this vibe that I was attacking religion, though that wasn't the case at all. I was defending my beliefs as you all are defending yours. I didn't realize how badly worded it was, so I should have just put "I am attacking your beliefs about as much as you are attacking mine, which is not at all." I'm sleepy. >< Edit 2: What is there to lose? A great body of knowledge and understanding as to how the universe works. That and the satisfaction you get from atheism. Yes, I feel much more complete in atheism than I ever did in Christianity. There's nothing outside of myself needed to make me a happy person. That and it opened up a whole new understanding of the world for me. One in which I take my life very seriously as its the only one I have.
Lol no problem bro. I know how you feel, at least we are on the same page And yes I am very tired at this stage as well, I should probably go to bed Religion is a very touchy subject, but if you handle it correctly and voice your opinions in the correct way, it can actually be a very interesting topic, of course we all try to do that, but we are all only human and do slip up sometimes, so I apologise to anyone I potentially hurt with my posts
What 51 says is rather correct, even if I really just don't agree with it at all. Why risk going to hell if it does exist?
Why pretend to believe a doctrine you don't when God knows you're not sincere, and thus you go to hell anyway?
True you wouldn't want to risk it, but to those who don't really believe that would mean putting complete faith in whatever that religion says, even if you have different views. Christianity seems like a very "All or Nothing" religion. Either you believe everything in the Bible as true or you don't have complete faith and therefore cannot be a real Christian. That's why I don't consider myself as one, because even if I agree with some of what Christianity says, there are some things about life that I am adamant about and won't change my views on that are contrary to what other parts of Christianity says.....does that make sense??
Can't the "what if it's all true" argument apply to every other religion out there as well? Seems like a rather silly argument as it can go either way. Sorry, I want to get all my opinions in before the inevitable lock. :>
Yes that is true it CAN be used for other religions. But, I have had experiences that can tell me that I am on the right path, not only because of faith, but because I have been in the presence of a miracle. You of course don't have to believe it because you were not there, but My cousin, Who had a problem with her legs (One was noticibly shorter than the other and this was giving her intense back pains.) She Prayed to God in church with her dad one day, she lay on the floor and everyone put their hands on er, they all prayed and all of a sudden she felt a sensation in her leg. and when it was all over, her legs were the same length and she was healed. Some people might say, well that is impossible and I don't believe it, well then that's your choice. But that is the supernatural my friend. Luke 1:37 nothing is impossible with god. And with that I bid everyone good night! I'm really tired and I need rest, Hugs for everyone! Goodnight!
Weird things happen in this world... whether we know it or not, things some people may call a 'miracle', others will call 'Scientifically Explainable', as most things are. But things like that are either freaky science or supernatural.
Weird things are indeed bound to happen. These miracles aren't limited to Christianity, though. And this, among other things, leads me to assume that every religion basically worships the same malevolent force, yet differ in their interpretations of this entity.
That is a very interesting story, but being a skeptic, I always take thing with a grain of salt. There isn't a news article or anything on that happening per chance, is there? I'm curious as to how her doctor responded. xP
And I'd like to add that this, in turn, leads me to assume that the whole idea of 'you're going to hell if you don't believe' is nonsense.
I agree with this, too. By the Bible's logic, Gandhi, one of the greatest humans to ever exist, is now in the fires of hell... That makes no sense!
Yes, exactly. Not saying the bible is bad, but one has to admit it has been heavily edited throughout the centuries for political purposes.
It also makes me wonder what happened to those good people who came before Christianity. What about the Greeks who did good things, only they believed in Zeus?
Maybe it's being civlised now, but trust me, it's gonna go downhill and get locked eventually. This has happend to every single online discussion on Religion I've seen. As for the actual topic itself, all I'm gonna say is that while I am a christian, I do belive that everyone is entitled to their own belief's. I generally try not to push my belief's on others. Wheather or not I succeed at that is up for debate.
I'm pretty sure I've seen religious debates on this site which never got locked. Another proof of how awesome this community is. :3
