A question for Atheists

[Logan's Runt]

That's because God does not do these things and anyone says so is an idiot, or badly misinformed. *sigh*

Aye, my point exactly. My idea of the Ultimate is similar to yours, but some Christians seem to believe in a god that does those things.

 

[squeekness]

Make your choice, and let your chosen speakers (the church folk and parents) do the spreading of the religion. You see me on the street, I will ignore you. Plain and simple. It is not your duty to do anything. Isn't that what churches were made for?

Not really. When you go to church, they tell us it is our individual duty to spread the Gospel. It's just not something I feel that comfortable doing. My beliefs do not exactly square with that of the church so I think it's best that I do things passively. If someone asks me what I think I say it, but I won't go hunting you down.

 

[redmarvel]

Make your choice, and let your chosen speakers (the church folk and parents) do the spreading of the religion. You see me on the street, I will ignore you. Plain and simple. It is not your duty to do anything. Isn't that what churches were made for?

No, Churches were made for the faithful to get together and reconfirm their faith. We are all supposed to help spread the word and show mankind the right way. (That said, I wouldn't walk up to a complete stranger on the street and start trying to preach to him)

 

[Spider-Fan]

Not really. When you go to church, they tell us it is our individual duty to spread the Gospel. It's just not something I feel that comfortable doing. My beliefs do not exactly square with that of the church so I think it's best that I do things passively. If someone asks me what I think I say it, but I won't go hunting you down.

I have no problem with that...I just hate the people who pester me on the subway when I want to listen to my iPod.

 

[Carcharodon]

Do you celebrate Christmas and Easter? If yes why?

In my opinion as a Christian if you do not believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ then you shouldn’t celebrate his birth or the day he rose from the dead. There is no other reason to celebrate these holidays because they are Christian holidays not Secular.

They're actually based on pagan rituals and celebrations. They're okay in my book.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

I sense a certain anger and defensiveness in your post, and that's because deep down in your heart of hearts...when you're alone in your bed, looking up at the ceiling... after pleasuring yourself... you cry silently and you pray to God for forgiveness. And He will always forgive you. Because He loves you. And there's still time to save your everlasting soul.

YOU NEED TO KNOCK BEFORE ENTERING!

 

[squeekness]

Aye, my point exactly. My idea of the Ultimate is similar to yours, but some Christians seem to believe in a god that does those things.

And that is where they and I disagree. I'm a little more of a hippy Jesus freak, I guess. Loving everyone and accepting everyone and doing my best not to pass judgement or fore my views on anyone. I refuse to belong to the church of "you can't come in here". Jesus was willing to talk to and spend time with anyone, not just the mighty pure. I try to be that way myself.

 

[Logan's Runt]

Not really. When you go to church, they tell us it is our individual duty to spread the Gospel. It's just not something I feel that comfortable doing. My beliefs do not exactly square with that of the church so I think it's best that I do things passively. If someone asks me what I think I say it, but I won't go hunting you down.

Squeeks, I think you do more in the way of spreading that gospel by your actions in these threads and on this board in general than any of the bible thumpers who scream about Jesus.

 

[Symbiotic]

No, Churches were made for the faithful to get together and reconfirm their faith. We are all supposed to help spread the word and show mankind the right way. (That said, I wouldn't walk up to a complete stranger on the street and start trying to preach to him)

Agreed. I'm a Christian, but I hate that stuff and personally would refuse to do it. (Pretty much why I skipped my youth group to go see Harry Potter.)

 

[Kebab gud]

Oh, please! AIDS is not God's punishment against gays. A non-promiscuous gay couple could live together in peacful monogomy and never contract the disease. Lots of straight people got AIDS from being promiscious. If it's a punishment at all (and I don't think it is), it's against sleeping around, not orientation.

i never really understood why people call AIDS a "Gay disease".. 90% of all people who get AIDS get it via Blood Transfusion..
infact only 0,5% get it via Anal sex, just to bad there are figures that say how many of them are gay..

 

[Spider-Fan]

No, Churches were made for the faithful to get together and reconfirm their faith. We are all supposed to help spread the word and show mankind the right way. (That said, I wouldn't walk up to a complete stranger on the street and start trying to preach to him)

Happens to me on a daily basis. I have grown weary of it. That and my father's way of "spreading the faith" as he calls it.

If people come to you or it comes up in convesation, that is fine. When you approach me about it or try to force it upon me, I don't want to hear it.

 

[Logan's Runt]

i never really understood why people call AIDS a "Gay disease".. 90% of all people who get AIDS get it via Blood Transfusion..
infact only 0,5% get it via Anal sex, just to bad there are figures that say how many of them are gay..

Where did you get this statistic...and do you mean by interacting with infected blood or actual 'I need a pint of blood' transfusion??

 

[squeekness]

Squeeks, I think you do more in the way of spreading that gospel by your actions in these threads and on this board in general than any of the bible thumpers who scream about Jesus.

Thanks. I have been told that by more than one person and I really do try. You will win more converts by kindness just as Jesus did than by the sword. Throwing a Bible at someone is only going to give them a bruise, not make them listen, lol.

i never really understood why people call AIDS a "Gay disease".. 90% of all people who get AIDS get it via Blood Transfusion..
infact only 0,5% get it via Anal sex, just to bad there are figures that say how many of them are gay..

Yeah, I hear ya. What about that young girl who got it from her dentist? I suppose that was punishment for something, right? Wrong! I don't get angry much, but that kind of unrational thinking, gets me a bit riled.

 

[Logan's Runt]

Its amazingly sad how so many Christians fail to understand that they turn more people away from the 'Word' with all their efforts to bring people to it. Personal beliefs are at the core of who a person is, and naturally people maintain a certain level of defensiveness about them. As soon as someone tries to tell a person what to believe, the walls go up and the message, good or not, automatically gets deflected. Not many die hard Christians seem to understand that hitting someone over the head with 'believe or burn' is going to temper most 'non believers' ever more steadfastly against what they have to say.

You have to understand many delicate things about the human psyche in order to talk to them about their beliefs. Surprisingly enough, the kinds of experiences that brought me from a starkly anti-Christian angry atheist to where I am today, were highly critical and intellectual discussion courses. They threw out all pretense of what was actually true and simply dissected Christianity from all aspects. Instead of making the faith system look like nothing, it allowed me to find areas where my own ideas about the Ultimate coincided and were more in line that I had ever imagined, and allowed me to see that there are ways that even the most varied belief systems can find common ground. I have great respect for Christianity (as well as other religions), but I get upset when I see it being used as a weapon or used with the idea that it is the ONLY way to whatever is ultimately in the role of God.

Bump because its relevant.

 

[jaguarr]

i never really understood why people call AIDS a "Gay disease".. 90% of all people who get AIDS get it via Blood Transfusion..
infact only 0,5% get it via Anal sex, just to bad there are figures that say how many of them are gay..

This is true, and it has seriously cut into the time I can spend playing with other people's blood.

jag

 

[Moviefan2k4]

Wilhelm scream, you're thinking about things so one-dimensionally... you assume these things are punishments, when in fact it's proven time and time again that suffering builds the character of Godliness. God loves us, but He has to test us... He doesn't want riff-raff up in Heaven messing things up ... He's got to make sure you can hold your own. Not be raping people and stuff... molesting children and killing people and stuff... can you imagine that going on in Heaven? It would undermine His power. Because once you get into Heaven, it looks really bad if you get sent down to Hell.. So, yeah, He's got to test you.

Unless you've been reformed by prison and prayer, you have to go to the Devil, who's into that kind of stuff... only not as punishment, as pleasure. But, he kinda helps God out, in a way, because he's so evil that even though you did the stuff he likes, he'll still mess you up good. Forever.
Imagine that, pain FOREVER. Like... a human life... that's not long. The rising and falling of the mountains over a thousand years? Nothing compared to forever. You can't comprehend forever anymore than you can comprehend infinity, what's beyond the edge of the universe... God. And the Devil, in a way, but he's underground.

See, you go through all these hardships in life so that you can just relax in Heaven...and just be in Peace everlasting. It's kinda like a job, only one that you have for your personal life! And the big boss is God. It's hard, no kidding but the rewards... think of the rewards - after you die! You've got to stop living in this moment, while you're alive, and instead just think about the future, after you're dead. Does that make sense?
Because when you're DEAD, is when things are going to get REALLY GREAT! If you're still in good with the Main Man.

Sure, rich people have got it pretty easy, yeah... but maybe God gives them cancer or something... or right before they die, they feel really lonely and sad about their lives of reckless sexual indulgence and selfishness! So sad that it's a worse feeling than any physical suffering you could imagine. And stuff is SO amazing in Heaven, the people that suffered more on Earth aren't bitter at the people who got it so easy. They just forgive and forget, because it's so great there. Who could stay mad about something like that? And God loves gays, definitely... that's why he gave them the biggest test of all - AIDS!

I sense a certain anger and defensiveness in your post, and that's because deep down in your heart of hearts...when you're alone in your bed, looking up at the ceiling... after pleasuring yourself... you cry silently and you pray to God for forgiveness. And He will always forgive you. Because He loves you. And there's still time to save your everlasting soul.

:heart:

MovieFan knows what's up

While I agree with some of your sentiments, I find myself opposed to some of your views. I don't believe that AIDS is some sort of punishment from God. Also, I don't believe that everything negative is a test from God, which is what your post seemed to insinuate. God does test people, but I highly doubt it's in some of the ways you've mentioned. God loves everyone, be they murderers, rapists, psychos, molesters, etc. He loves us even when we can't love ourselves or each other. God is equal parts love and justice. With regards to heaven, I think your view is kinda off; for Christians, our lives here are simply a training ground for what we will be doing in the afterlife. We are called to love above all else, and leave the judgment to God. There's a fine line between evangelism and "Bible-thumping"; battling the temptation to cross that line is never easy, but with God, all things are possible, through Christ that redeemed us.

 

[Carcharodon]

This is true, and it has seriously cut into the time I can spend playing with other people's blood.

jag

Dude. Just...dude.

 

[Kebab gud]

Where did you get this statistic...and do you mean by interacting with infected blood or actual 'I need a pint of blood' transfusion??

It is statistics provided by the UN..

Yup.. Oral isn't safe! but it sure safer then Blood transfusion :P

 

[Logan's Runt]

It is statistics provided by the UN..

Yup.. Oral isn't safe! but it sure safer then Blood transfusion :P

Wow.

 

[Wilhelm-Scream]

This is true, and it has seriously cut into the time I can spend playing with other people's blood.

jag

Aw.

 

[Symbiotic]

This is true, and it has seriously cut into the time I can spend playing with other people's blood.

jag

well crap. ain't that a shame.

 

[AhabTheArab]

thats a crazy stat. like mind blowingly crazy.

*backs out of thread slowly*

 

[Carcharodon]

When were those statistics taken? I see no date.

 

[Kebab gud]

When were those statistics taken? I see no date.

Hell do i know.. its also missing one line.. (Childbirth 2,500 )

EDIT: 2005 and is from the US goverment

 

[jaguarr]

Dude. Just...dude.

Sorry....my sense of humor has been horribly dark, lately, for some reason.

Aw.

Wil, you always know how to cheer me up. Of course you are right; i can still take a lot of pleasure in watching other people play with their OWN blood.

jag