For Those of You That Aren't Religious....

[catlingirl]

I grew up in the Lutheran Church. Was involved in the youth group etc but after a while i felt like I kept hearing the same thing over and over again. Quit going after graduating high school. Dh found a Church of Christ, which was weird to me. Quit going after a while because I didnt feel comfortable there. He stopped going about a year or 2 before I did. Haven't gone to church in about 5 or 6 years. Sometimes the thought comes up but being too shy is keeping me from going. And being worried about being treated badly. I know stupid excuse,

 

[b23hqb]

Fear is not respect. Fear is fear.

If you fear nature you are afraid of it. See, words have meanings. You can't just change what a word means to try to weasel out of it. If you mean that you respect God then say that. Don't use one word then say it means something totally different. That's dishonest.

For the nature analogy, I respect nature so I am careful to avoid poison ivy, snakes, and other threats. When I go to Alaska and there's a sign warning that there is a grizzly danger, I fear those bears and don't proceed.

I've been gone for five days, haven't even looked at this site, didn't miss it at all, and you still remain ignorant of what words mean outside of your thought pattern:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear

transitive verb
1 arrchaic : frighten
2 archaic : to feel fear in (oneself)
3to have a reverential awe of <fear God> (like fearing God)
4: to be afraid of : expect with alarm <fear the worst>

Full Definition of FEAR
1
a : an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger
b (1) : an instance of this emotion (2) : a state marked by this emotion
2: anxious concern : solicitude
3: profound reverence and awe especially toward God
4: reason for alarm : danger

Check out #3.

The believing, saved Christian falls behind door #3. The other definitions define you perfectly, and everyone else's worldly fears.

Everybody that doesn't buy #3, they should be shaking in their boots for your "fear" of what is heading their way.

 

[mamatutu]

I grew up in the Lutheran Church. Was involved in the youth group etc but after a while i felt like I kept hearing the same thing over and over again. Quit going after graduating high school. Dh found a Church of Christ, which was weird to me. Quit going after a while because I didnt feel comfortable there. He stopped going about a year or 2 before I did. Haven't gone to church in about 5 or 6 years. Sometimes the thought comes up but being too shy is keeping me from going. And being worried about being treated badly. I know stupid excuse,

No, not stupid. Hotcoffee has talked about this very thing, and we all know how devout she is. I feel the same way. We can be religious and believe without going to church. JMO.

 

[MMDad]

I've been gone for five days, haven't even looked at this site, didn't miss it at all, and you still remain ignorant of what words mean outside of your thought pattern:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fear

transitive verb
1 arrchaic : frighten
2 archaic : to feel fear in (oneself)
3to have a reverential awe of <fear God> (like fearing God)
4: to be afraid of : expect with alarm <fear the worst>

Full Definition of FEAR
1
a : an unpleasant often strong emotion caused by anticipation or awareness of danger
b (1) : an instance of this emotion (2) : a state marked by this emotion
2: anxious concern : solicitude
3: profound reverence and awe especially toward God
4: reason for alarm : danger

Check out #3.

The believing, saved Christian falls behind door #3. The other definitions define you perfectly, and everyone else's worldly fears.

Everybody that doesn't buy #3, they should be shaking in their boots for your "fear" of what is heading their way.

I noticed you left out the definition of the verb "fear." Dishonest of you as usual. Here it is just so we can all be clear:

1fear
verb \ˈfir\

: to be afraid of (something or someone)

: to expect or worry about (something bad or unpleasant)

: to be afraid and worried

 

[MMDad]

By the way, B23, thanks for giving an awesome example of exactly what makes people resist religion. Your in your face holier than thou attitude coupled with your hateful racist attitude and dishonesty demonstrate the hypocrisy that drives people away from church.

 

[b23hqb]

By the way, B23, thanks for giving an awesome example of exactly what makes people resist religion. Your in your face holier than thou attitude coupled with your hateful racist attitude and dishonesty demonstrate the hypocrisy that drives people away from church.

I left nothing out. All the others uses of the word, as nouns or verbs, point out what you say as well, including those that include the one you refuse to accept.

Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell? If so, is heaven for one set of people, while hell would be reserved for the only other set? The God of the Bible states as much. Which side will you fall on, and for what reason? Where is my hateful racist attitude and dishonesty? Point out, please, where I or anyone else, has constrained the only definition of "fear" to the definition you are running away screaming from. Can you still not comprehend that a definition of fear is "to have a profound reverence and awe especially toward God, to have a revential awe of" thingy? Once you simply accept that long held definition, about 5,000 years worth, maybe you can move on and make sense.

I'm not being dishonest about anything - you simply do not want to accept a definition of a word that has three or four definitions, or how it is used in the Bible.

 

[Radiant1]

Theologically, fear of the Lord has always been understood as reverence and/or awe, which is widely misunderstood by those who don't know any better or those whom choose the now conventional definition to suit their needs.

With that having been said, however, it's true that *some* Christians do use fear tactics in an attempt to sway hearts. Example:

Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell? If so, is heaven for one set of people, while hell would be reserved for the only other set? The God of the Bible states as much. Which side will you fall on, and for what reason?

^^^This is what MM means by example of why people resist religion. People are naturally rebellious by nature and when confronted with such things are prone to give the big f you.

 

[b23hqb]

Theologically, fear of the Lord has always been understood as reverence and/or awe, which is widely misunderstood by those who don't know any better or those whom choose the now conventional definition to suit their needs.

With that having been said, however, it's true that *some* Christians do use fear tactics in an attempt to sway hearts. Example:


^^^This is what MM means by example of why people resist religion. People are naturally rebellious by nature and when confronted with such things are prone to give the big f you.

Disagree. MM does not know what he/she means. All MM knows is that it does not know anything about the Word.

If MM purposely ignores what words mean, so be it.

Why are you defending MM, by the way? Is MM not capable of apologizing (i.e. - defending) for their/his/her own statements?

The Bible is a hard hitting Book. THE BOOK. The TRUTH. Believe it or not.

 

[Radiant1]

Disagree. MM does not know what he/she means. All MM knows is that it does not know anything about the Word.

If MM purposely ignores what words mean, so be it.

Why are you defending MM, by the way? Is MM not capable of apologizing (i.e. - defending) for their/his/her own statements?

I wasn't so much defending MM as much as I was agreeing with him on a certain point, the same as I did for you.

The Bible is a hard hitting Book. THE BOOK. The TRUTH. Believe it or not.

No shit. I certainly believe it, but I don't particularly believe your interpretation of it or certain practices of what you think is found therein.

 

[ReadingTheNews]

What happens if you don't accept Jesus as your savior?

What, indeed? Especially for those that lived before Christ did? Noah, Moses, Adam, etc? Since they couldn't have accepted Jesus as their savior, are they in Heaven?



Also, HotCoffee said:

God will sort them out and their punishment will be far more severe than the punishment of the regular pervs.

Which seems absurd. I was taught that all sin is equally bad in God's eyes, 'pervs' are 'pervs', whether they hold religious positions or not.



And b23hqb said, in part:

The Bible is a hard hitting Book. THE BOOK. The TRUTH.

No it isn't. It may have been some sort of truth many many years ago, before being translated and re-translated into the Shakespeare versions we have today, but it certainly isn't to be taken absolutely literally by any stretch.

 

[MMDad]

they should be shaking in their boots for your "fear" of what is heading their way.

Do you believe there is a heaven and a hell? If so, is heaven for one set of people, while hell would be reserved for the only other set? The God of the Bible states as much. Which side will you fall on, and for what reason?

I really don't know where I got the idea that you are all about fear. It's not like your own words are peddling exactly that: "Believe my way or burn in hell!!!" "If you don't believe exactly what I believe then you will face the vengeance of God!!!"

Right, no fear there. None at all. As I said, you are a perfect example of what drives so many people away from church.

 

[PsyOps]

I really don't know where I got the idea that you are all about fear. It's not like your own words are peddling exactly that: "Believe my way or burn in hell!!!" "If you don't believe exactly what I believe then you will face the vengeance of God!!!"

Right, no fear there. None at all. As I said, you are a perfect example of what drives so many people away from church.

If you swallow a gallon of gasoline it will kill you. If you point a gun at your head and pull the trigger it will kill you. If you commit mass murder you will likely get the death penalty.

Now, what keeps you from doing all of those things? Nature has its way of dealing with things. God is nature and has His way of dealing with things.

 

[ProximaCentauri]

If you swallow a gallon of gasoline it will kill you. If you point a gun at your head and pull the trigger it will kill you. If you commit mass murder you will likely get the death penalty.

Now, what keeps you from doing all of those things? Nature has its way of dealing with things. God is nature and has His way of dealing with things.

As much as you would like to think that "God" nature, you have absolutely no evidence to support this claim. And as much as you and your surrogate b23hqb would like to think that it is right for any "God" to impose a penalty of eternal damnation and suffering simply because a human does not "believe" and pay homage to that "God", there is no evidence that this "belief" makes you a better human, and no evidence that humanity as a whole is better off for your belief system. In fact there is much evidence to the contrary.

You have swallowed this narrative and it now makes perfect sense to you. Just as Muslims have swallowed theirs. You are two peas in a pod, neither of which possess the ability to recognize and see outside of this poisoned belief system and mindset. You are both essentially poison to the prosperity of humanity as a whole.

One would be better off to believe in Kim Jong Un, who gives one a "choice" to "believe" in him or not, with the penalty of death, because at least Kim Jong Un does not decree that you will suffer eternal torment in hell. In effect, this "God" of yours is no different than Kim Jong Un, only he does one-up him by making his penalty eternal. I fail to understand how anyone would aspire to eternal life in a celestial North Korea.