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Originally posted by spamandham
You've earned a permanent ignore.
Originally posted by Graystar
Timothy 4 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
1 Timothy 4
Instructions to Timothy
1The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 7Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives' tales; rather, train yourself to be godly.
1 Peter 4:3 (New International Version)
New International Version (NIV)
Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society
3For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.
And we wonder why we can't find a cure for Aids. Don't believe what they tell you it is God's creation not man's
[edit on 8-12-2005 by Graystar]
Originally posted by snafu7700
regardless of what you've been told, christianity is not even allowed in the school systems anymore, so your kids are growing up happily ignorant of the word of god.
why is it that when you go to any other thread, your claims must be substantiated with proof (ie source links or quotes), but when the discussion centers around christianity, anything goes? people can make wild, outlandish remarks with no supporting data. a double standard maybe? i for one am sick of it. say anything you want about my religion, but support it with facts so that we can have an honest discussion....not with crude remarks and name-calling.
Originally posted by snafu7700
in other words, theories, by definition, are just that: theories. none of them have been proven, and yet they are taught as fact.
second, in regards to the virgin mary, i think flyer has corrected your obvious lack of knowledge. that's what is so great about this site....you learn something new all the time.
which just means that they actually care about your eternal soul. you dont have to agree with them or even humor them if you dont want to ....thats the great thing about this country. if they bother you so much, ignore them or tell them to go to hell....of course, i would hope you'd think about the irony of such a statement.
there is alot of talk here about how horrible the bible is, but nobody bothers to back it up with actual scripture. if you want to have this debate, lets do it right....show me what it is that you find offensive, instead of just spouting the same old unsubstantiated garbage over and over.
Originally posted by djohnsto77
Well at least in a religion like Christianity, the people who do this think they're saving the eternal soul of the people they try to convert. There's no such incentive to convert people to atheism.
Originally posted by obsidian468
djohnsto77 wrote:
Well at least in a religion like Christianity, the people who do this think they're saving the eternal soul of the people they try to convert. There's no such incentive to convert people to atheism.
And Atheists think that they're helping people stop making rash decisions based on the (mostly) distorted perception of the Bible that is presented by the modern media and modern religious groups.
Fact is, trying to coerce someone away from their personal beliefs is rude, inconsiderate, and a violation of personal rights. How would you feel if someone tried to convince you that your child/wife/pet/other person that's close to you wasn't worth loving? You'd feel insulted. That's the way I feel every time someone tries to convert me to their religion. I believe what I believe, and it's a very close, personal thing for me, as I feel all religion should be. It's something to be believed in, and held close to one's own heart. It's not something to be touted as a means to change the way other people percieve the world, start wars, create laws, and remove the science from the scientific community.
I'm not going to take sides in this debate, however, anyone who has really studied theology understands that as the stories in the Bible were told again and again, and passed through word of mouth, they changed with each new interpretation. As it has been translated and retranslated over the years, printed in perpetual new editions, and constantly revised by each sect of Christianity, it has changed greatly. The teachings of the Bible are also open to a great deal of personal interpretation. Fact is, through this 2000 year old game of "Telephone" that the Bible has been through, we have no clue what it originally stated. For all we know, the original Golden Rule simply stated, "drink beer and eat cheetos."
This is the point of most Atheists and Agnostics - essentially, we can't use the Bible as a true tool of faith, because it has been so warped, distorted, and changed over the years that we can't really ever determine it's original wording or meaning. Faith lies solely on the shoulders of the faithful, and no outside source can really be trusted to be correct.
Watch the film "Dogma"... it brings up a lot of good points regarding faith and religion, and even though it's a ficticious film that simply deals with religious themes, there's a lot of valid real-world advice in it.
FlyersFan wrote:
And yes, I subscribe to the thought that atheism IS a religion.
It USED to be said to be a way of thought ... but I believe it
is a religion for many and it has followers.
Yes, it is a religion. The simplest definition of religion is a series of beliefs based on faith. Just as Christians have faith in their belief in God, Atheists have faith in their belief that there's nothing out there.
It's all religion from where I stand.
snafu7700 wrote:
maybe you could provide a link that proves darwin correct while youre at it? last time i checked, it was still a theory with no data to prove it correct.
how about some proof that the big bang happened? more unproven theory.
how about any proof at all of how this universe and all of its matter was formed without a supreme being?
Regarding Darwinian theory, there is scientific evidence to support it, yet there is (and may never be) any outright proof.
The Big Bang - once again, scientific evidence supports it (and other scientific evidence goes against the theory).
The last point you make - there is no scientific evidence to support it one way or the other.
Fact is, many scientific theories fall under the jurisdiction of faith just as much as any religion does. Science itself has often been referred to as a religion, and in some regards it is. The religion of science, however, is more often based on faith in inconclusive scientific evidence that supports a theory, rather than a single religious text that most likely differs wildly from the original stories. It is up to a person to choose their faith in this regard.
Personally, I think that in the long run, science will win out.
And finally, to wrap this up, my own thoughts on this. More than anything, this is a publicity stunt. It's a group of college students who wish to encourage people to take a second look at their religious beliefs, and the text that founds those beliefs. Most Christians, and furthermore most religious people in general, don't really understand their religion, and rather follow and believe what they are told in regards to it. Now, this isn't a steadfast rule, as several of the religious people on this site have proven, but it does apply to a large number of religious people. The number of religious debates I have entered into (I find debating religion can be quite enlightening, so long as there's no attempt at conversion, only at understanding), and self-proclaimed "devout Christians" were lost in the debate within a few minutes when I simply mentioned a few of the slightly obscure points of Christianity. To quote "Dogma" for a moment, "Speak the name of the voice of God, and she looks at you like you have two heads, but then refer to something from a Charleton Heston film, and suddenly everyone's a theology expert." That statement holds a lot of truth.
Everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs, no matter how much anyone else may disagree with them. The point that you finally step over that line is when you try to force your personal beliefs onto another person. I hold this belief true for EVERYONE, regardless of religion or lack thereof. I'm just as offended by an Atheist trying to convert me as I am by a Christian trying to convert me, as I am by a Jew or Muslim trying to convert me. It doesn't matter to me what you practice. Just practice it, live by it, and don't push it on others.