Fellow atheists, let's accept the free gift

Originally posted by CLPrime
This would be an oxymoron.

edit on 18-11-2012 by CLPrime because: (no reason given)

Not really. If I'm holding a gift that I just bought for you, you have to at some point take it, or receive it.

Originally posted by icepack
reply to post by Hydroman

 

i guess some christians do advertising and recruting this way. with slogans, it is for free. but if you do start to take being a christian seriously, you will realise, it would be a life with sacrifices and hardship.

You are still misunderstanding. I'm not talking about being a christian. I'm talking about being saved.

reply to post by CLPrime


He understands the concepts. He just wants to troll Christians and get a reaction so he can flame any Christian that responds.

Originally posted by JDmOKI
Why would I click on this post? what a waste of time. why are you attacking Christians on ATS??? I'm not even Christian and i find this post dumb. You don't just accept the gift, you live it. But atheist are so smart....right?

this is a troll post at its finest

Show me where I made an attack on christians. I'm asking, if it is truly a free gift, can't I just take it then without stipulations? If not, is it really a free gift?

Originally posted by icepack
reply to post by Hydroman

 

i think, you don't know what you are talking about. if you become a christian, you will go with compassion, pity, forgiveness, the duty to love your enemy etc. this is not easy if you do it in a serious way. because it is hard, you will get a reward. as the saying: nothing is for free.

WOW I didn't know that to have those things in your character you had to be Christian......pfft
2th

Originally posted by Hydroman

Ok, so when christians say, "I am saved" they aren't saved yet? They don't really know what they are talking about?

It's often safe to assume that the average 'Christian" has no idea what they're talking about. They may very well be saved, if they have sincerely responded in faith to the true Gospel. If they have done that, then they are spared God's wrath...which is Biblical salvation. Life is a whole other matter.

A question I've pondered quite often.

And it's one that's answered once you remove all the man-made doctrines and mistranslations from God's Word.

And does he?

God has always, and will always, do everything he has planned and purposed to do. And he succeeded in saving all mankind as soon as he raised his Son from death.

Originally posted by JDmOKI
reply to post by CLPrime

 

He understands the concepts. He just wants to troll Christians and get a reaction so he can flame any Christian that responds.

This is why I left this site several months ago. I would pose a question about religous beliefs then get blamed for being a troll. Is that the best response you can come up with, calling names? If you're not going to contribute, you can leave.

reply to post by Hydroman


Yes? you aren't buying anything and you just change you mind set and how you live your life afk....religion. Are you really that ignorant of Christianity/religion? I'm betting on trolling

Originally posted by CLPrime
God has always, and will always, do everything he has planned and purposed to do. And he succeeded in saving all mankind as soon as he raised his Son from death.[

What's the point of spreading the gospel then? We'll all find out after we die, and even better, we'll all get to live in heaven.

Originally posted by JDmOKI
Yes? you aren't buying anything and you just change you mind set and how you live your life afk....religion. Are you really that ignorant of Christianity/religion? I'm betting on trolling

Why do you have to change your mindset? If I give someone a free gift, it should be just that...free. No stipulations.

reply to post by Hydroman


Ok. What you think is that Atheists can accept salvation, stay an atheist, and still go to heaven. and you claim to not be a troll...

reply to post by Hydroman

You are still misunderstanding. I'm not talking about being a christian. I'm talking about being saved.

what is riding you ? if you want the gift from jesus, you have to become a christian first, logic. if you don't ask jesus to come into your life, there will be no gift. as i said, this "free" gift is probably some kind of propaganda for recruting. this is why i asked, where you got the information from.

Originally posted by JDmOKI
Ok. What you think is that Atheists can accept salvation, stay an atheist, and still go to heaven. and you claim to not be a troll...

Here's where you get confused. You think that atheists say, "We're so smart, we KNOW that gods do not exist."

That is not the case. We just don't believe they do, but they very well could. Who knows? (Well many people think they do know)

Why can't an atheist just be on the safe side and say, "I don't believe that gods are real, but why not accept a free gift of salvation just in case?" What can it hurt?

Originally posted by icepack
what is riding you ? if you want the gift from jesus, you have to become a christian first, logic. if you you don't ask jesus to come into your life, there will be no gift. as i said, this "free" gift is probably some kind of propaganda for recruting. this is why i asked, where you got the information from.

Ok. We are told by christians that their god offers a free gift of salvation. That's what I'm talking about. Receiving this free gift. What you are saying is that there is a stipulation in that you have to become a christian to receive it. Therefore, nobody else can receive unless they become a christian? It's not exactly free, you have to do something to receive it. That's my point, I guess.

reply to post by Hydroman


I have a problem with atheists, I'll admit. I take the agnostic point of view. I know nothing and I accept that i know nothing. might be a god, might not. I'm still gonna live by the golden rule "One should treat others as one would like others to treat oneself.

reply to post by Hydroman


Sounds more like an agnostic to me.
next line

reply to post by JDmOKI


And that is all anyone needs to do, we do not need churches/mosques or anything like that. The bible or any other holy book could just say what you have just said.
Religion is about control over other people and dividing people If it was just "treat people how you want to be treated" the world would be a better place.

reply to post by Hydroman

We are told by christians that their god offers a free gift of salvation.

i don't know, what christians you are talking about here. to my knowledge, this is pure propaganda to bait people. people, who say it is free, are no real christians, because they are not honest.
being a christian, is basically a service for humanity. christian help poor or troubled people, because they are rewarded with a gift from jesus. this gift is a feeling, the feeling a higher power is with you and "loves" you. have you ever had the good feeling, when you did a favour for someone or helped someone ? or have you never done this or was this feeling disturbed ?

reply to post by Hydroman


The Gospel is the good news of what God has done. Who wouldn't want to spread it? Especially since, when someone accepts it, they are spared from God's wrath and receive an inheritance in His Kingdom. That's two things: an awesome bit of news, and an awesome benefit in accepting it.

I would love to pose a question to all Christians. I would love to ask, did the success of Jesus' death and resurrection depend on him telling people about it after? Or did it just depend on the fact that he had died for our sins and was raised victorious over death?
The obvious answer, to me at least, is that Jesus' victory depended only on his death and resurrection. He didn't have to tell anyone about it...the victory would still exist, regardless. But telling people has the added benefit of allowing them to receive salvation from God's wrath. That's why he made known what had been done.


ETA: ironically, it's now time for me to go to church. I'll be back in a couple hours.

Originally posted by MsAphrodite
reply to post by Hydroman

 

Sounds more like an agnostic to me.
next line

I'm an agnostic atheist. I don't know if gods exist, but I don't believe they do. Many atheists are this way.