boo to religion

[BuddyLee]

atheist

who says im an atheist? lol. and my question is why should you believe in something in which you have never seen before. only mere stories that are imbedded into your head. everyone as i said before was brainwashed as a child to believe in what their parents believed in (in most cases). whether you like the fact or not its true just as death is.

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by BuddyLee
who says im an atheist?

I didn't mean you - I meant the people who sue because the very word God offends them or over a Christmas tree or something.

as i said before many religions use FEAR as a tactic to convert people. they say that if you do this and that then you will burn in an everlasting hell.

"Burning in hell" used to be a scare tactic to make people behave themselves. As we (collectively) became more sophisticated, we scoffed at the notion and churches started talking about love and faith instead because it played better. You'll find very few ministers these days preaching about burning in hell.

Frank should get in here - he gives great religious conversation.

 

[BuddyLee]

yeah

i think that the scare is still in the minds of the people though. they wont commit a crime for fear of going to hell for say. i also hate the people with nothing better to do than take GOD or CHRISTMAS TREES out of things. boo to them and get a life.

 

[Christy]

Buddy, were you raised Catholic? Southern Baptist? :shrug:

 

[BuddyLee]

neither

i wasnt raised on a religion. i wasnt baptist but we did attend a baptist church once or twice and we left after that because we had no time to go.

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by BuddyLee
they wont commit a crime for fear of going to hell for say.

What's wrong with that?

 

[BuddyLee]

what

what ever do you mean? whats wrong with what? committing a crime or going to hell? elaborate a lil more

 

[vraiblonde]

What's wrong with not committing a crime because you're afraid you'll go to hell?

 

[Penn]

Re: what

Originally posted by BuddyLee
what ever do you mean? whats wrong with what? committing a crime or going to hell? elaborate a lil more

BuddyLee, I guess this is going to the heart of what is pizzing you off: The notion or often threatened idea that you'll go to hell if you commit a capital crime, namely murder.
Depends on how deeply you believe. My clergy at the church I belong to preach the idea that even if you have committed a heinous crime of taking another life, in the exception of time of war, you can repent(confess to God) your crime - and still be saved.
I think the "fear tactics" some church clergy have used in the past was directed at "non-believers".

Like "if you refuse to confess your sins, you are going to fry".

So, what's a rational guy supposed to think? "Heck, if I commit capital crimes over and over, all I have to do is repent to God and I'll be saved".

Uhh, it doesn't work that way, I'm told.

There is a thing called "the Day of Atonement", where you'll be judged by the Lord for past crimes. He's going to open the "Big Book" and look at your "Rap Sheet" - and no, it's not about music!

If you've been "faking it", as we talked about before, all the repenting and confessing in the world isn't going to help.

Believe it or don't believe it. It's your choice. Is there something to it, or can you leave it to chance and take the other road?

 

[Ken King]

Originally posted by BuddyLee
boo to religion it is the cause of all evil!!

Religion is the cause of all evil - man created religion - man is the cause of all evil. It has nothing to do with religion, we are simply evil.

 

[Dymphna]

Re: how do you know?

Originally posted by BuddyLee
i mean what if me and a loooooooooooot of people started to worship a tree

That depends what the tree is telling you to do? If it is telling you to respect all life and care for your environment and the animals etc. that's not really a problem. If it's telling you to kill the lumber workers and road builders that's a problem.

 

[tlatchaw]

Hmmmm. A loooooooot of people followed the Nazis, a loooooooot of people believed the slavery was OK (and still do in some parts of the world), a looooooooot of people feel that its OK to steal because it's just cheating on your taxes. What the Bible tells us is right from wrong and just because a looooooot of people do doesn't make it right.

Look to the story of Daniel. He was persecuted for praying to God and not the king. For this crime he was thrown into the lion's den. God spared him and saw him released. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stood up for the Lord and were thrown into a furnace that no one should have survived and yet the Lord brought them out unscathed. I know that you will likely doubt the veracity of these stories because they come from the Bible, but I accept them as truth, as do our Jewish and Muslim friends.

Trust me, life jumps up and kicks you between the cheeks. Just when you think you've been through a rough time you find out how much rougher life can be. If you have developed solid faith you'll come through much better than if you become angry and doubtful at every turn. Unfortunately most of us (especially me) have to knocked down pretty far before we start looking up.

 

[T.Rally]

Originally posted by tlatchaw
Hmmmm. A loooooooot of people followed the Nazis, a loooooooot of people believed the slavery was OK (and still do in some parts of the world), a looooooooot of people feel that its OK to steal because it's just cheating on your taxes.

Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Struck a nerve. Do you sincerely believe that cheating on taxes is stealing? Its your money in the first place and in the second place tax law is created by bureaucrats to take your money. That is stealing.

 

[jlabsher]

Originally posted by T.Rally
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Struck a nerve. Do you sincerely believe that cheating on taxes is stealing? Its your money in the first place and in the second place tax law is created by bureaucrats to take your money. That is stealing.

Hey T Ralley, don't drive on any public roads, if your house catches fire don't call the fire dept to put it out, don't send your kids to public school, don't drink city water, etc. That is what YOUR money is being stolen for.

 

[T.Rally]

Originally posted by jlabsher
Hey T Ralley, don't drive on any public roads, if your house catches fire don't call the fire dept to put it out, don't send your kids to public school, don't drink city water, etc. That is what YOUR money is being stolen for.

What are you talking about? I never said anything about public services. For the money I pay in taxes, it's not worth it. If you feel you're not paying enough, pay some for the rest of us. I'll keep mine, thanks.

 

[Tonio]

Re: Re: boo to religion

Originally posted by Ken King
man is the cause of all evil. It has nothing to do with religion, we are simply evil.

Well, I won't go that far, Ken. There's a lot of good in the human race, too. To paraphrase writer Harlan Ellison, humans have the capability to commit atrocities like Dachau and My Lai, but we also have the capability to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling and land people on the moon.

Sure, religion has been used for tremendous good AND tremendous evil. For every Mother Teresa who helps people in need, there's a Tim LaHaye who peddles anti-Semitism disguised as piety. But that's not religion's fault. I suspect their lives would have followed those paths even if religion didn't exist.

 

[Ken King]

Re: Re: Re: boo to religion

Originally posted by Tonio
Well, I won't go that far, Ken. There's a lot of good in the human race, too. To paraphrase writer Harlan Ellison, humans have the capability to commit atrocities like Dachau and My Lai, but we also have the capability to paint the Sistine Chapel ceiling and land people on the moon.

Sure, religion has been used for tremendous good AND tremendous evil. For every Mother Teresa who helps people in need, there's a Tim LaHaye who peddles anti-Semitism disguised as piety. But that's not religion's fault. I suspect their lives would have followed those paths even if religion didn't exist.

Sure there is a lot of good, but without man there would be no religion and therefore no evil.

 

[tlatchaw]

Re: Re: Re: boo to religion

Sure, religion has been used for tremendous good AND tremendous evil. For every Mother Teresa who helps people in need, there's a Tim LaHaye who peddles anti-Semitism disguised as piety.

Why do you feel that Tim LaHaye is anti-semitic?

 

[tlatchaw]

Originally posted by T.Rally
Whoa, Whoa, Whoa. Struck a nerve. Do you sincerely believe that cheating on taxes is stealing? Its your money in the first place and in the second place tax law is created by bureaucrats to take your money. That is stealing.

While I agree with your position that we pay way too much in taxes, I don't think that intentionally lying about what you have done with your money in order to get over on the government is the right thing to do.

However, I always find every single deduction I can. Hey, I can spend the money more wisely than the government can!

 

[T.Rally]

Originally posted by tlatchaw
However, I always find every single deduction I can. Hey, I can spend the money more wisely than the government can!

I like to call it the "WIDD" method, when in doubt deduct.