Who Believes In God?

[undertheice]

Unfortunately, for many folks your description is accurate. But it doesn't have to be that way. I am hopeful that for every zealot there are 10 moderates that try to focus on the charitable, loving, judge-not side of religion rather than focus on eternal hell-fire and damnation.

it's not a matter of the people involved, it is the very essence of religion. it is the believers against the non-believers, the faithful against the pagans, the saved against the damned. religion is designed to bring together only those who will accept some divine truth and to exclude all others. the love lasts only until the last possibility of conversion is exhausted, then the hatred rears its head. hatred masked by concern for the souls of the unenlightened, disgust couched in terms of a sincere desire to lead all of mankind to an understanding of whichever version of god is in favor at the moment and a deep need to see the unbelievers suffer in order to justify the fairy tales of the faithful. religion is that ultimate club and the only requirement to join is that you voluntarily submit to the concept of eternal slavery and resign yourself to the fact that you have no power over your own destiny. believe and there is joy, believe and there is success, resist and there is no hope, resist and your anguish is assured; these are the basic tenets of religion.

 

[ace1059]

it's not a matter of the people involved, it is the very essence of religion. it is the believers against the non-believers, the faithful against the pagans, the saved against the damned. religion is designed to bring together only those who will accept some divine truth and to exclude all others. the love lasts only until the last possibility of conversion is exhausted, then the hatred rears its head. hatred masked by concern for the souls of the unenlightened, disgust couched in terms of a sincere desire to lead all of mankind to an understanding of whichever version of god is in favor at the moment and a deep need to see the unbelievers suffer in order to justify the fairy tales of the faithful. religion is that ultimate club and the only requirement to join is that you voluntarily submit to the concept of eternal slavery and resign yourself to the fact that you have no power over your own destiny. believe and there is joy, believe and there is success, resist and there is no hope, resist and your anguish is assured; these are the basic tenets of religion.

haha im guesing you were a christian but know u are disgusted of it. i disagree with all of that, religion does not stop loving and they don't hate. "eternal slavery"...u say this as being a christian is a bad thing and the religion bounds us in chains.

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:12-13

 

[CannabisAficionado]

it's not a matter of the people involved, it is the very essence of religion. it is the believers against the non-believers, the faithful against the pagans, the saved against the damned. religion is designed to bring together only those who will accept some divine truth and to exclude all others. the love lasts only until the last possibility of conversion is exhausted, then the hatred rears its head. hatred masked by concern for the souls of the unenlightened, disgust couched in terms of a sincere desire to lead all of mankind to an understanding of whichever version of god is in favor at the moment and a deep need to see the unbelievers suffer in order to justify the fairy tales of the faithful. religion is that ultimate club and the only requirement to join is that you voluntarily submit to the concept of eternal slavery and resign yourself to the fact that you have no power over your own destiny. believe and there is joy, believe and there is success, resist and there is no hope, resist and your anguish is assured; these are the basic tenets of religion.

Man, seriously, thanks for that post, you couldnt have explained it better, thats exactly my view of religion specially christianity, the hatred, the hypocrisy, its really bad. they dont realize it but its there.

 

[CannabisAficionado]

to CannabisAficionado

ohhh ok i understand, but what part of the bible can u not accept? the old testament is not only part of the christian religion but the base of Judaism, and parts of muslims (whatever there religion is called..sry).. the new testament is is not only supported with evidence but there are records (like the crucifixion ect) and tons manuscripts, theres more but i dnt want to rag on about it......and one last thing from your last comment you said
hears what someone told me...

what i dont understand in the bible. first why is there an old testament and a new: why would god say, ohh no i was wrong, im going to change the laws, i dont like how it works, so now i want to change the laws, i dont want them to be like that anymore, how can a God all powerful and perfect do that, why didnt he make the laws like the laws of the new testament from the beggining. Christianity condemns even judaism, the jews who are gods people according to the bible, jews dont believe jesus is the mesiah, so gods people, the jews are going to hell too according to the new testament.
christianity leaves no choice, why is that christians want you to be miserable if you dont believe what they do just to prove theyre right, which they cant. at least other religions dont try to convert you the way chrisitanity does, making you fear everything and telling you that the world is evil and all that stuff. the world is wonderful, just enjoy, why should we worry for that stuff, why cant we be sincere and accept that we dont know anything and that the only thing we have access to is some books, a tv and a computer. but thats the trick christianity, the faith, thats why christianity hooks you up so easy and wont let go, because it doesnt give you the chance to doubt, if you doubt youre not having faith and that will take you farther from god, you cant leave room for doubt or question, you better believe that it is like that or prepare for hell
I must admit, christianity can make you feel good, thinking you got god behind you back and that eveyone who does not agree with you is screwed, it makes you feel special.

 

[undertheice]

haha i'm guessing you were a christian but now u are disgusted of it.

nope. i was a lifelong agnostic, a seeker if you will. searching for some rhyme or reason to the universe, wondering if there was some truth out there. a few years back i made the leap of faith and concluded that the god myth was the stuff of childish fantasy, that an ordered chaos is the closest to truth i would ever find and i shed any delusions i may have had that the goal of the universe was anything other than entropy.

all gods die. as surely as they were born in the minds of men, they will fade and wither and become nothing more than an historical footnote. the power they hold always proves itself to be illusory, the love they claim is always found to have existed long before they came into being and the hatred they engender always overwhelms their positive aspects. better to claim your acts for yourself than to attribute them to fairies and elves.

 

[ace1059]

what i dont understand in the bible. first why is there an old testament and a new: why would god say, ohh no i was wrong, im going to change the laws, i dont like how it works, so now i want to change the laws, i dont want them to be like that anymore, how can a God all powerful and perfect do that, why didnt he make the laws like the laws of the new testament from the beggining. Christianity condemns even judaism, the jews who are gods people according to the bible, jews dont believe jesus is the mesiah, so gods people, the jews are going to hell too according to the new testament.
christianity leaves no choice, why is that christians want you to be miserable if you dont believe what they do just to prove theyre right, which they cant. at least other religions dont try to convert you the way chrisitanity does, making you fear everything and telling you that the world is evil and all that stuff. the world is wonderful, just enjoy, why should we worry for that stuff, why cant we be sincere and accept that we dont know anything and that the only thing we have access to is some books, a tv and a computer. but thats the trick christianity, the faith, thats why christianity hooks you up so easy and wont let go, because it doesnt give you the chance to doubt, if you doubt youre not having faith and that will take you farther from god, you cant leave room for doubt or question, you better believe that it is like that or prepare for hell
I must admit, christianity can make you feel good, thinking you got god behind you back and that eveyone who does not agree with you is screwed, it makes you feel special.

lol im sorry u feel that way....Just because the followers of christianity arnt right and dont do the right thing, doesn't mean the religion is bad. its not like it say in the bible "go annoy some atheist" and other religion DO force there beliefs on others, mormons force there religion on others, even in the schools they do it. Muslims in the middle east KILL christian people because of there religion, so please dont say Christians are the only ones "forcing there religion on people" and makin them the "bad guy"

and to answer your Question on the old testament, because its history. There are many verses in the bible that teach good lessons, especially the psalms.lol the law was changed because he wanted to have a PERSONAL relationship with you, thats why he sent his son to die, when Jesus died it was a sacrafice for all sins, the curtain was ripped in the temple..so know ALL can go to God to talk.. and your wrong i doubt my faith all the time, but its always renewed

 

[CannabisAficionado]

lol im sorry u feel that way....Just because the followers of christianity arnt right and do bad things, doenst mean the religion is bad. its not like it say in the bible "go annoy some atheist" and other religion DO force thees on others, mormons force there religion on others, even in the schools they do it. Muslims in the middle east KILL christian people because of there religion, sodt say Christians are the only ones "forcing there religion on people"

and to answer your Question on the old testament, because its history. There are many verses in the bible that teach good lessons, especially the psalms.lol the law was changed because he wanted to have a PERSONAL relationship with you, thats why he sent his son to die, when Jesus died it was a sacrafice for all sins, the curtain was ripped in the temple..so know ALL can go to God to talk.. and your wrong i doubt my faith all the time, but its always renewed

yeah your first point is right, its not christianity, it is all religions that do that.
you say it doesnt say in the bible to force your religion unto others, but in fact thats exactly what it says, not with those words, but they tell you to become fisher of men and bring as many people to the church, its just like an affiliate program, the more fish you bring the closer you are to god lol, thats why the church is such a good business, that verse in the bible about being fisher of men or should i say affiliate program lol, just kidding. and i agree about the lessons you say, i think that the bible and specially what jesus said in the bible is absolutely beautiful, like i said i like the morals it teaches and all of that, but if you study buddhism or any other religion you can find the same stuff and the same kind of message. I know youre probably not the kind of christian im referring to most of the time, you wouldnt be in this forum in the first place. but the only thing we are going to ever agree on, is the fact that theres a higher power that created us all, call it God or creator or whatever. The difference between your side and my side is that im open to the possibility that youre right and that i could be wrong. christianity wont allow that for you. It is your duty to convince me that youre right, you are to become a fisher of men, if you suceed you will be closer to god and he will be in your favor. As for me what do i get if i convince you of my point of view, well i dont get nothing, im not even offering answers, maybe youre just better with believing what you believe feeling secure and special with god in your favor. im just telling you why i think christianity is bad, i dont represent a group of people or any religion and i dont claim to have god behing my back, only my own personal opinion.

And what do you mean because its history. oh so he wanted to have a personal relationship with us, so he said ok, im going to say that everyone is damned and that they need to be saved, then ill send my son to die in a horribly way to save the, just to show them that i love them, and they will love me because i saved them, but i was the one that condemned them all in the first place, but dont tell. come on God has to be somethin more complex than that, why would something so extraordinary do someting like that, for me, watching this world is something that tells me that God is something too big to fit in my mere human understanding, so i wont even bother trying to understand. i cant understand calculus, how can i expect to understand God. the bible explains everything in a very touching way, i just dont buy it, i dont think is that simple, so simple like god whispering on johns ear while he writes a part of the bible. whats the difference between that and santa bringing my toys lol.

 

[ace1059]

but thats the thing, God would do something like send his son (Jesus) to die just for you.!!...thats why it was the ultimate gift...and why he did it? like a said to have a personal relationship with his creation,,,and because hes God, he can do watever he wants lol

if you suceed you will be closer to god and he will be in your favor

thats not true, God didnt say that

i mean by history that its actually history... the old testiment was written by abraham and some others but i forgot the names.thats why its in there. Some peple found the scrolls andput them in the bible...its not like God had a perfect order he wanted them to be in.


one last thing..i was laying in bed thinking and i was thinking if God didnt exist and if NOTHING was ever created, like nothing existed ...and i got this really weird feeling.. and it was like i could barely think of it ...like i had to focus really hard...it was really weird...just thought i would share that and if anyone else has thought of that

 

[ace1059]

oh and God bless u all! ...its easter! (he rose today from the dead..jesus)

 

[iblazethatkush]

oh and God bless u all! ...its easter! (he rose today from the dead..jesus)

God bless u too, Ace. And Happy Easter. I haven't been to a service in over a year. I think I'm gonna go today later

 

[ace1059]

haha ok i was at church today and the little band they have were playing there music and one of the speakers blew out...it was really loud lol

 

[grapefruit]

God IS NOT a list of rules, or types of prayers or a building or dead worthless traditions that you need to practice or dressing a certain way..GOD IS NOT RELIGION!!!! JESUS did not come to die for a religion to be made...he came that we might recieve the HOLY SPIRIT so that we could be in a RELATIONSHIP with HIM! a living, day to day, real relationship. God is creative, never doing anything the same way twice. God does Not want a bunch of clones following him. he wants people to be who they were truely meant to be...themselves!!

 

[1puff2puff3puff]

God IS NOT a list of rules, or types of prayers or a building or dead worthless traditions that you need to practice or dressing a certain way..GOD IS NOT RELIGION!!!! JESUS did not come to die for a religion to be made...he came that we might recieve the HOLY SPIRIT so that we could be in a RELATIONSHIP with HIM! a living, day to day, real relationship. God is creative, never doing anything the same way twice. God does Not want a bunch of clones following him. he wants people to be who they were truely meant to be...themselves!!

BEAUTIFULLY STATED!!!!!