Religion Christianity: Conceptions and misconceptions

[Pararousia]

You said that your god's "moral attributes are [...] mercy and loving-kindness, and love. Since the god of the Bible can hardly be called full of mercy & love (as can be seen by numerous examples), & since Christians believe in the god of the Bible, it's rather improbable that you're a Christian.

Your lack of understanding of the OT economy in no way negates God's character or His love for us who believe. And, yes, there was only one way to accomplish what needed to be accomplished and God took that way by having Christ die on the cross for your sins and mine.

On the other hand,...if you think I'm not a Christian because I believe in the God of the Bible, a God you say doesn't exist, perhaps I don't exist either! There! Now you have an argument for not listening to Christians! We don't exist! :relief:

 

[Doc]

Maybe God is really just a scientist, and we are really just the experiment. I mean the dinosaurs were probably an experiment too right? Of course I could see why God wiped them out and started over with its hypothesis with bipedal mammals instead of a bunch of cold blooded reptiles. I mean come on, how do you explain the coming of the Massiah to a raptor when all it does is eat meat and kill other dinosaurs all day long? There not really a possibility of evolution now is there?

*I'm in a silly mood today.

Doc :wave:

 

[bossel]

Your lack of understanding of the OT economy in no way negates God's character or His love for us who believe.

Ah, you see, this sounds much different. Then "mercy and loving-kindness" are not general features of your god, but only very limited (to those who believe & don't sin without repentance) ones. An arsehole to non-believers, but a loving daddy for the faithful.

And, yes, there was only one way to accomplish what needed to be accomplished and God took that way by having Christ die on the cross for your sins and mine.

But in how far does this coincide with omnipotence. You know what omnipotence means?

if you think I'm not a Christian because I believe in the God of the Bible

Did I say so?

a God you say doesn't exist, perhaps I don't exist either! There! Now you have an argument for not listening to Christians! We don't exist!

Hmm? Must be religious logic. Because you believe in something that doesn't exist, you don't exist either? :?

 

[Mycernius]

Maybe God is really just a scientist, and we are really just the experiment. I mean the dinosaurs were probably an experiment too right? Of course I could see why God wiped them out and started over with its hypothesis with bipedal mammals instead of a bunch of cold blooded reptiles. I mean come on, how do you explain the coming of the Massiah to a raptor when all it does is eat meat and kill other dinosaurs all day long? There not really a possibility of evolution now is there?

*I'm in a silly mood today.

Doc :wave:

You must listen to some of Eddie Izzards' Dressed to Kill tour.
God to Jesus "you're to go down there and spread the word"
Jesus to God "They'll eat me. I'm not going down there for 64 million years"
I am paraphrasing.

 

[No-name]

How do you guys know there wasn't some dinosaur messiah that came just before the dino-doomsday? Maybe this is just one in a series of redemption stories?

 

[PRIZMATIC]

As is told "ancient" - In any Scriptus we see only reflection in our world of the True Scriptus,hidden in "God"...The True cannot be described,as it True in All and always...

 

[Tsuyoiko]

Maybe this is just one in a series of redemption stories?

I would put the emphasis there on 'stories' (no offence meant Sabro :sorry: )

 

[Mycernius]

How do you guys know there wasn't some dinosaur messiah that came just before the dino-doomsday? Maybe this is just one in a series of redemption stories?

Could be interesting stories for feeding the 5000.

"And Jesusaurus said, "I've only got this 5 Brontosaurus's to feed us all. And a loaf of bread"
And, lo, it took them 4 weeks to feed the 5000, and their families, and their friends, and the odd passerby, and the next country.
And, lo, the Raptors said it was a miracle. That the bread could mop up all the juice.
But look up in yonder sky. What is the light that appears to get bigger in the firmament?
It is my........" Manuscript cuts off at this point. Reasons unknown

 

[Doc]

Yet here's the question, how could the dinos write? They all had claws.

Doc :wave:

 

[No-name]

Jesusasurus....(LOL)

 

[Mycernius]

Yet here's the question, how could the dinos write? They all had claws.

Doc :wave:

They stratched into rocks. I thought that was obvious. Didn't you know the pencil sharpener was taken from fossilised remains of dino claw sharpeners

 

[No-name]

Q: Since Jesusaurus is one with the triune godhead...couldn't we refer the chief diety (theos) as a thesaurus?

 

[Pachipro]

If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men.

After reading this entire thread I can only answer as I have quoted above. To have hope only in Jesus Christ and to think that by accepting HIM, regardless of past transgressions, we would be saved into everlasting salvation and granted entrance into heaven, while those who have never heard of him or refuse to believe in him, would be banished into hell, or refused entrance into the kingdom of heaven, is beyond my comprehension.

Is this the type of "god", or son of God" we should believe in? I think not as Jesus Christ, being only a prophet and spiritual being and therefore, human, would not condone such thinking. IMO these words were spoken about him, but NOT by him.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Therefore, those that have never heard of him will perish? Quite unfair and very ungodlike in my opinion.

He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Therefore, all the people in the world that have never heard of him or believe in another religion like Islam, Buddhisim, or Judiasim, AS THEY WERE TAUGHT AND BROUGHT UP, is condemened? Quite unfair and cruel if you ask me.

And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.

This is the only scripture in the whole entire world we are to believe? Who is to say who loved darkness rather than light? The writings of of a mere mortal so that the church may control mankind and make him believe he has only one life and this is it? Sorry, but I cannot swallow this even though it was what I was brought up to believe.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

Again, I say, not like a loving GOD who is supposed to have unconditional love for all his "children" IMO. Seems more like a "Type A Personality" and control freak to me.

Don't get me wrong here. I believe that there was a mortal human called Jesus Christ. He tried to teach man that "God" is within us all and that if we follow the golden rule of "Doing unto others as we would have them do unto us" and eight of the 10 Commandments (Scratch out "Thou shalt have no other gods before me", and "Remember the sabbath and keep it holy" as I believe these were inserted by the Church and Pope) that we would live a healthy and fruitful life with many lives before us so that we may learn from our mistakes in this life and not repeat them in the next life. ie reincarnation. ("My fathers house has many mansions".) Check out this link for another view about Christ's teachings if you dare. You will find what he has to say about the qouted passage.

What I choose to believe about why we are here, why we are born, and why we will be re-born again goes way beyond what I was taught as a child brough up in a strict Catholic home. I choose freedom. To believe what is in my heart and to not follow the teachings or writings of people who are to trying to control humanity by making us believe what they want us to believe. My intuition, logic, and experiences tells me that they are lying to us. And if they ARE telling the truth? Well I guess I will be banished to hell forever. Or when I die, it will be "lights out". End of story.

Either way, I will know I went as a free thinking person. ("Free will as God intended us to have. Or so I was taught.) And if I am condemned to hell for having "free will" like HE gave us (or so I was taught) then HE lied to us. We did not have free will to begin with and it was only a fallacy.

Quite illogical if you ask me. Thus I have given up on religion and choose to follow my own heart as the church always taught me that God gave us free will to think as we choose.

 

[Doc]

They stratched into rocks. I thought that was obvious. Didn't you know the pencil sharpener was taken from fossilised remains of dino claw sharpeners

Well I guess you learn something everyday then huh?

Doc :wave:

 

[Tsuyoiko]

I choose freedom. To believe what is in my heart and to not follow the teachings or writings of people who are to trying to control humanity by making us believe what they want us to believe. My intuition, logic, and experiences tells me that they are lying to us. And if they ARE telling the truth? Well I guess I will be banished to hell forever. Or when I die, it will be "lights out". End of story.

Either way, I will know I went as a free thinking person. ("Free will as God intended us to have. Or so I was taught.) And if I am condemned to hell for having "free will" like HE gave us (or so I was taught) then HE lied to us. We did not have free will to begin with and it was only a fallacy.

I totally agree with this Pachipro. The Christian viewpoint to me seems like god has said, "Here, take this car. It's yours to drive wherever you want. But if you don't drive it to this destination you will suffer eternal damnation." I'd rather have fun driving where I feel like, and take my chances that the threat is an idle one!

 

[Revenant]

It's not so much rebellion, or a 'I'll take my life the direction that I want to' thing that has me not a part of the Christian faith, it is just a massive disagreement between my idea of a God of Love, as one who would love even those who intentionally ignored God, as opposed to punishing them.

I really do believe that all people search for happiness, and that none would reject happiness were they to know a better way to happiness. If someone rejected God, they would at least to themselves have a very valid and rational reason for doing so.

 

[No-name]

The point about belief then is two fold: 1. Do you believe in God? 2. Do you like the cirmcumstances he has created? If you answer no to #2, than you immediately reassess #1?

 

[Revenant]

Sort of. Christianity was the faith I was brought up in. It was in the questioning and rejecting of things that I had simply accepted before that I have decided to just do an overhaul of my beliefs, starting from square one and seeing where philosophy, science, and my feelings take me.

 

[No-name]

I guess the difference was that I was a late convert. It doesn't seem to me that my "belief" would have any kind of effect on the existence of anything. The objective fact of existence or non-existence is not directly effected by my subjective beliefs. (The truth is, is that the spoon does not exist...)??? If God does indeed exist-- I need only to decide how to respond to Him. If there is no God, then any response is irrelevant.

 

[Mars Man]

Of course as all of you kind people know, the point I'd always throw out on the table is that are more than only one god-model. There have been many god-models which have died out with the cultures and civilizations that carried them. There are a number of very different god-models alive and well today, that automatically preclude the others. So even if a thinker were to draw the question, "Does a god exist?", they would then be forced to think, "Which god exists?"

Along with that, I would like to propose that our thinker then asks, "Well, how can we know that that particular god-model is correct?", then set out to ascertain the validity of the particular god-model being looked at, by measuring it against the greater of all known-to-be-trues, known-to-be-untrues, and unknowns.

No one living today came up with the major god-models on the market. And it can be said with very fair confidence that none of those responsible for those god-models had availability to the knowledge we have today. So, it is right to question those models; and all of them should be tested fairly and free from persecution or discrimination.