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Press Junketeer  Posts: 411 Joined: 10 Aug 2008     | |
Muckraker  Posts: 226 Joined: 29 Apr 2008   | Sorry, I mistakenly clicked post. Ignore this. |
Muckraker  Posts: 229 Joined: 13 Oct 2008   | Christianity is garbage. it was used as a form of control over a mass of uneducated idiots who thought that an eclipse meant that "god is angry" also their is the fact that Christianity is the biggest con in the universe. they have managed to convince people that the world was made in seven days by a magic man in the clouds who has a big book of rules that you have to follow, and if you don't he will send to hell. a place of fire and burning for ALL ETERNITY! but he loves you. and god needs your money! he may be all powerful but god can't handle money! religions pay no taxes and have trillions of dollars they use to prey on the down trodden and confused. if left unchecked religions will panic the world into another dark age. THINK ABOUT THE BIBLE! how much sense does it actually make people!? |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2490 Joined: 3 Mar 2008    | I think it's great. If a bunch of guys can write a book and have a fanbase on a world scale thousands of years after the first publication, who am I to argue? |
Muckraker  Posts: 329 Joined: 12 Sep 2008   | No, I won't learn Hebrew because i don' even know where to start, and what would be the point. |
Muckraker  Posts: 266 Joined: 24 Jul 2008  | Just a thought, If god's so smart, why'd he put the "you pressed the big red button so now i'm gonna kick your species' ass forever" tree there in the first place? |
Anonymous Source Posts: 5 Joined: 15 Sep 2008 | As an Atheist I don't care what religious folks do as long as it's not affecting me. I understand that people need faith to understand the unknown. Not knowing things causes fear, and knowledge even if it's fake brings security. The problem is when people take faith too far. Terrorists and other extremists who use their faith to justify their actions is where I start to have a problem. Now on to the question. Why all the hate on christianity? Well its always taken out of context. Some of their community harass people for their own personal life choices (i.e. abortion and homosexuality). This is not true for all christians but the whole will always be judged by the individual. |
Muckraker  Posts: 321 Joined: 9 Jul 2008     |
I agree with this sentance here. I was born Atheist and i doubt that will change. But because I have no religion doesn't mean I hate other faiths. Those that have chosen to be a Christian or who were born in Christian families have simply chosen that way of life and what they do has not affected me. I hold nothing against them, The only thing i don't understand if how despite the bible supposidenly teaching us respect for all walks of life there are some religious types who can't tolerate such things like homosexuallity for example. Now I know this is not represeititive of them all but people who fancy the same sex have also done nothing wrong and thier choice should be respected as it does not reflect badly upon society. However sometimes my respect for other religions does get straned, at my Uni there is a Christian girl in my group of friends who constantly calls me out simply because I speak my mind, act random and so on. I do not target her or anyone else, I have nothing against her but shes appartnely terrified of me. I have told her that I have no problem with her and that if i can happily accept her for who she is then she should easily be able to do the same. While I know it's one person and not everyone it's still sad that petty squabbling over differences continues. Excuse the rant guys, i just want to bring my two cents to the table. |
PROBATION  Posts: 3934 Joined: 24 Apr 2008   |
Im no expert, but i imagine that without the ability to perform wrong he could not grant humans free will. Once again, not a believer, but i do like to play devils advocate. Har Har. User was put on probation for: Kid loses Xbox, runs away, dies in a field.. (7 days) |
Press Junketeer  Posts: 423 Joined: 17 Sep 2008 | I just want to say that I hope you all realise that Aetheism and Christianity and all other religion are pointless without evidence. Christianity requires you to believe the Bible and Genesis, well I read Genesis like it was a story that was missing a lot of dialogue and explaination but it was interesting. Aetheism requires you to reject the Bible and generally accept evolution and the Big Bang theory, which sounds good and all but without any definitive evidence I can't follow this belief system, that's what it is, due to these. What I can say is that "God" as an idea and as words in a book are just that, words and an idea. I am God. Let me clear this up before I get banned. You are also God. We are all evidence of the "existance" of God but not in the way people think. Due to the fact that "man" wrote the Bible, that "man" still believes in God, that "man" has created many God's and that man is the only "evidence" of any God or the Big Bang for that matter, I think it safe to say that man is God and when people fully realise that for all it's possibilities then we will be better off. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2804 Joined: 22 Aug 2008  |
That's generally the accepted reason. The problem then becomes is that because he knew "human nature" as he designed it and he knew what could happen if Luci got in and started wagging his tongue, he could have very well predicted that exactly this was going to happen. I'm not sure I like the omniscient god knows everything that has and ever will be scenario, because then he knew exactly what would happen when he plopped the tree down. In effect, God orchestrated the fall of Man himself, which I find to be a bit..well, douchey. |
Pulitzer Laureate  Posts: 739 Joined: 8 Jul 2008 | You know what, I'm going to give a short answer and say: http://uk.youtube.com/user/Yokeup Pretty much that. |
Press Junketeer  Posts: 403 Joined: 19 Sep 2008 | I believe in the power of pies, and how much better they are than church. |
PROBATION Posts: 3934 Joined: 24 Apr 2008 |
But then again, a world without the choice to do evil, aka Morals (think, if you can only choose one, morals don't exist), is by definition Amoral. So if he did know, he had no 'choice' as it were. If he was making people in his image, then free will had to be included in there. Hence, the tree, hence the fall. Once again, i'm swinging wild here, any actual faithful can step in and correct me would be great. User was put on probation for: Kid loses Xbox, runs away, dies in a field.. (7 days) |
Press Junketeer  Posts: 443 Joined: 18 Sep 2008    | Well this has gone on WAY longer then I thought it would. I'm not complaining! I've read some great responses, made some friends on this forum, and even re-thought my entire view on evangelizing. Now, let's remember to stay on topic! This thread, as stated in the OP, isn't a debate about if Christianity is right or wrong. You can start your own thread, or message me if you want to have that kind of discussion. A few responses are fine, I just don't want to get this thread locked. |
Muckraker Posts: 226 Joined: 29 Apr 2008 |
Ok at least it seems you have made an attempt to try and incorporate something other than a misconceived opinion. I won't learn Hebrew because i don' even know where to start, and what would be the point. -generalizations should be avoided but this question is simply an opinion and I have no way of changing anyones opinion that is not based in facts. - I addressed this in a previous post to you. But since you obviously ignored it, I will divulge further. Who can honestly say why god chooses to speak through an individual to write his text. But this theme is a constant throughout the scripture, God has opted to reveal his word to people that have the signs and wills to support a firm belief in god. The reason for this is fairly simple would you be more inclined to believe me if I told you that god literally wrote the bible. A supporting observation on this might be the fact that god gave his scriptures to people, not solely for the purpose of writing but to exhibit his connection with humanity. - Evil exists because of man. Man choose to disobey god, and this disobedience in itself caused the very existence of evil (think of it like a clean hand that touches a dirt object, where everything you now touch is besmirched and will suffer from the effects of that first touch). Many may argue the presence of the serpent proves the existences of evil before man, but man had free will straight from the beginning, and the serpent only represented temptation. God allows evil to exist because man allows evil to exist, and because god has given us free-will, so we are in essence the governors of our own life. -While your statement is a strongly opinionated, this instance illustrates another common theme in the old testament. That while the Israelites followed gods word they were undefeated on the field of battle, but as the followers fell away from gods grace, god ceased to favor them and they were left to their own defense which was abnormally weak. If you attempt to argue that the Jewish people were fighting on their own accord, it is simple preposterous the think that such a small group of people could somehow have accomplished anything let alone establish a kingdom and defeat multiple armies, that as historical records account were substantially larger. It is to a degree negligent to ignore the fact that somehow the success of the Jewish nations was directly dependent on how closely they followed the teachings of god. |
Muckraker Posts: 226 Joined: 29 Apr 2008 |
At least you put your faith in something. |
Muckraker Posts: 226 Joined: 29 Apr 2008 |
To give us the ability to choose. |
Muckraker Posts: 226 Joined: 29 Apr 2008 |
- I have thought about the bible, read the bible and analyzed the bible, and made a clear decision, have you?? |
Infamous Scribbler  Posts: 526 Joined: 9 Oct 2007 |
No, it really doesn't. The only requirement to be an atheist is to lack a belief in a God. You don't have to accept evolution or the Big Bang theory to be an atheist, but most atheists generally accept them as the best explanation. Also, evolution has tons and tons of evidence to it, which would hardly put it on the same belief system as religion. Same goes with the Big Bang, but it has far less evidence to support it. As to the original question posed, Christianity gets singled out simply because it's the first religion that people in the West think of when they think about religion. Since I am assuming you are from the Western world, Christianity is by far the most popular religion there, therefore, the spotlight gets shined upon it much more often than other religions. |
Gone Gonzo  Posts: 2935 Joined: 13 Aug 2008  | Uh... Hippo24? As for my actual views on the topic. Atheist. As such I think all religion is a load of bollocks. I consider all the religions past and present, then consider the fact that only one of them could be right if any at all. I then consider the state the world is in at the moment, I would think any kind and caring all powerful entity would do something about us humans raping the planet dry. But he/she/it apparently doesn't care, so if such a God does exist, I don't honestly care, I certainly don't think such a god deserves our worship. Oh and the Norse gods are way cooler than Jesus or God will ever be. Smiting people for building a tower too high? Meh. Travelling to the land of giants and having a competition with the corporeal embodiment of fire involving drinking the entire ocean? Fucking awesome. |
Copy Clerk Posts: 78 Joined: 1 Aug 2008 | @Iron Ninja: On the "only one religion out of how many?" argument, think of it this way. Over the centuries, countless theories of medicine have been proposed. All but one of them are certainly wrong, but that doesn't mean there IS no correct theory of medicine. In fact, I can be 100% confident in saying that such a theory exists, or will exist in the future. Religion is the same way - the number of incorrect answers doesn't rule out the correct answer. On the state of the world: Christianity promises "new heavens and a new earth," which sounds pretty eco-friendly to me. It also asserts that God thinks humans are special, and we have been doing WAY better on quality of life in the past 100 years than at any point in history. On the problem of evil in general: This is a legitimate issue, with compelling arguments on both sides. The most convincing one in my view is that an omniscient God has access to more facts than you do. It would be arrogant to assume that the financial markets cannot be saved, just because I personally couldn't think of a plan to fix them. Why assume that God must not exist, if you can't think of his reason for doing X or Y? On Norse gods: If you're the hero, they are pretty awesome. If you're Joe Suburbia, Jesus is a much better deal. :-P |
Muckraker  Posts: 336 Joined: 8 Dec 2007 | How can religion be correct at all when there is no real reason for us to think about something else creating us? I don't get it. |
Gone Gonzo Posts: 2935 Joined: 13 Aug 2008 | Apologies to everyone else for the format of my quoting, but it was originally broken up into points like this before I quoted anyway.
Firstly, there is a much more obvious way to see which medicine is the correct one. The number of incorrect answers doesn't rule out the correct answer, I agree with you there, but there is honestly no way a Christian (or someone of any other religion) can rightfully claim that their answer is the right one.
From that I ascertain that god is a dumbass.
Who said anything about financial markets? I was talking about the rampant destruction we humans deal to our planet on a daily basis. Finance is a petty worry compared to the plight of the rain forest, coral reefs, The ice caps and the like.
Yeah... Except unlike Christians and their bible, I recognise that the Norse Mythology is just a collection of stories used to teach moral lessons, and had all powerful deities with smiting powers to maintain a reason for people to follow the rules. |
Press Junketeer Posts: 403 Joined: 19 Sep 2008 | What I don't get is that the Bible is meant to be the whole truth and nothing but the truth, but so many facts stated in it have been proven wrong by archaeology, science etc, eg. Jericho never had walls around it, a flood never covered the earth (and building a boat to house two of every animal is just ridiculous). Some people get around this by saying that some of the Bible is symbolic, and some of it is real, which makes absolutely no sense, cuz then anyone can just pick and choose what is real and what is fantasy. |
Beat Writer  Posts: 182 Joined: 31 Aug 2008 |
I quite enjoy the way people wield their gigantic baton of misinformation as said fact. Jericho: Flood: Ark: Scary yeah? I sort of like watching all the raging here. I especially like it because most of it is originating from middle class white people who have never really even tasted persecution from the church. Similarly they still disprove a religion they by and large have reconstructed in their own head, jumping to hundreds of conclusions not only about Christianity and the mechanics of the faith itself, but also to the nature of the Bible as well as scientific evidence and the idea that it cannot be reconciled with the Bible. It's cool if you "hate" Christianity on the internet, but also know that I'd treat your viewpoint with much more respect than you treat mine. I don't spout generalised crap on the nature of agnosticism/atheism and I'd appreciate it if you left the theology to the actual Christians here instead of typing "I mean, God loves everyone so we shouldnt go to hell lol because penn and teller said so = bible is illogical and flawed". It's like cheating in a game of solitaire. To the majority, I have no argument with you; ask and discuss away, I'm mainly having a go at the "smart" guys characterised as the above. |
Press Junketeer Posts: 403 Joined: 19 Sep 2008 |
I don't hate Christianity that much, and I wouldn't do it because its cool (I'm not some inbred teenager). Your article you dug up from the bowels of the internet proved absolutely nothing, as there are far more illogical factors about Noah's ark than how he built it. Penn & Teller are as much a bunch of prats as right-wing ministers, so don't go acting like I spooge everytime the fatass makes one of his extremist points. We all face subtle, indirect persecution from the church, as the effects of their morals have seeped into the laws of Western countries, into everything from censorship and drug laws. I get told what I can and cannot do based on some book from years ago. I'm so damn sorry to be middle class and white, maybe I should travel back to before I was born and tell my mother to shag someone else and become a homeless heroin addict. I'm also not ignorant of what the Bible preaches as I have read the entire book from start to finish. Humanity has the potential of deductive reasoning, and blind faith destroys this. |
Beat Writer  Posts: 131 Joined: 12 Dec 2007 | < |
I think Michael Chrichton used the word "MANIFEST" in his book Sphere.
God and man are two different metaphysical beings.
We are created in His image...but He definitely is not stupid.