What I don’t understand about Christianity

JeeperDon said:
[My 2¢ - Religion here on SF should be as restricted as politics threads. No one can be moved on either issue.]
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Restricting freedom of speech/writing about certain topics is...... well, bull butter. LOL Instead of saying people like me, David, Lara, and others can't discuss something we feel strongly about..... the folks who drop in to stir the pot, insult and mock should be kicked out. They want to have a convo, join in, ok. But if they are obviously doing it to bait others or insult.... out!
 

and people who feel strongly on other side can discuss that too.

Report anyone to Matrix who you feel is insulting others, he can decide if anyone needs to be out - but no, any topic or stance you dont agree with isnt obviously t o bait anyone. :whistle:
 
I resent my parents and their ignorance forcing me to go to church. Not to learn about god but to support my dad and his ministry. Not once did my dad spend time with me to talk about god or anything else for that matter.
My mother had her own problems trying to forge an identity for herself without overshadowing my dad. First and foremost was my dad's image in the community.

I see god represented as a fake father who cannot be proven outside of one's faith. Without faith Christianity cannot exist on its own merits. Sort of like the invisible dad who brought me into this world but failed to stick around as a father.

Got me to thinking maybe the Southern Baptists were wrong and if they were wrong then my dad was wrong too. I turned to psychedelics in search to fill the void inside of me. A tiny window of time opened long enough to begin my quest for moment by moment permanence in time and space. I live my life without regard to the past or future tense for it is the moment I live that truly matters.

I was wrongly led to believe that Jesus was the answer to all of life's problems without an inkling of happiness being any other way. I went against the grain in finding my own way to salvation without Christianity and I couldn't be more satisfied.
 

Mr. Ed said:
Right away they tell you, you are flawed, dirty and sinful. The remedy is Jesus Christ, to be like him. Rather than recognizing a persons individual assets you must tailor your life after Jesus. First of all not even identical twins are exactly a like so how is it that Christian’s should subscribe to be like Jesus?

Perhaps to be like Jesus is to have the faith of Jesus and not the actual person? Faith is a mystery to me. I cannot force myself to believe in things so hypothetically impossible no matter how much I try, when logically speaking the context is so emphatically impossible such as the rapture of believers meeting Jesus in the sky, or the concepts of sin, heaven and hell as incentives to surrender yourself to Jesus.

Maybe people need religion including Christianity because they are told from day one that they are incapable of caring for themselves, that you must rely on powers greater than your own in order to survive. So it is with religion and Christianity, instead of teaching humans how to be self-sufficient, religion capitalizes on human weakness by persuading people into believing they are insufficient without god. How convenient that religion has the answers to all of mankind’s problems, even those created by religion if you have the faith to sustain the power religion has over you.

I recall when I first questioned the validity of religion, when in actuality I questioned my parents motive for forcing me to be like them, scared to live their life outside the jurisdiction of church and religion. It has taken me a lifetime to sort through the BS of religion and becoming my own person. This is why I am adamant in teaching people to question everything because what you believe is who you are, perhaps if given a choice you might realize that you have been fooled like many others including myself.
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The Bible and its stories have served humans for generations, and cannot be completely dismissed. For example, it details and gives examples of what justice is, of how we should fit together as a society, what life goals will bring happiness and which will not, respect, love, and the indignities of our lives. It's all in there, and it's valuable stuff.

Of course, it's not flawless, and when you get to the Old Testament there's some downright evil in there.

As such - and the point of my posting - is that as a non-believer, you can separate the Bible from aspects of faith in a God. Not believing in a deity does not invalidate the lessons in the Bible. In fact, from a non-believer standpoint, the Bible simply documents the life lessons of humans up to the point they were written. People well knew what murder was, what having a spouse meant, and so on.

But there are some things we instinctively do, or feel, as humans. We are, all us, self-serving to some degree. We all have a desire to live comfortably, and to have a good life (whatever one defines as "good"). And sometimes, achieving those things impinges on others, or disadvantages them. So we have rules, and laws etc. But my point is, one could (and I think the Bible does) generally describe such selfishness as sin. Since we are born with instinctive behavior, we are therefore born with sin.
 
Here we go again. Another religious post by Mr. Ed. I would like to suggest that he takes Nathan’s advice. Let him find his own answers or at least, the ones he is seeking.
 
Gardenlover said:
Did the mind create itself?
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Everything you think you know about god was created by you and you alone. What I know and understand about god was formed and created by me. You believe god is the creator of life but that is a belief you nurtured throughout your lifetime detailed to your belief system.

It's hard to imagine what is real in this world when our minds are conditioned to believe based on faith.
 
911 said:
Here we go again. Another religious post by Mr. Ed. I would like to suggest that he takes Nathan’s advice. Let him find his own answers or at least, the ones he is seeking.
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Thank you sir, if you don't want to read my posts you can certainly place my status on ignore. I'm guessing you won't because you had rather complain than take any action on your own behalf.
 
@Mr Ed - the way to win friends and remain in the family- no discussion on religion or politics. We all are too different and head strong in whatever we believe, to change.
 
Capt Lightning said:
If there was a creator, why did he make things so complex and error prone?
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To challenge us, test our patience, use our wisdom and knowledge, enjoy our accomplishments, use our discernment, use work ethics, fortitude to strengthen our will and courage, to practice self-control, etc. Our Creator didn't want to create a bunch of robots to do everything for us. He gave us a brain for a reason and wants us to exercise it.
 
Science claims to have proven Modern Homo's come from the interbreeding of 2 different races.
The out of Africa theory was a separation of species into 4 or 5 intermingling continuously for many
1000's of years.

I'm sort of thinking "In our image" was sort of a thought, not a hairy ape like very early ADAM (man.)
Since every living form of life contains DNA of the first microbe that bells ringing. Later "DNA"
was twisted out of the Bible Adam's name. Maybe the Apple was the acidic effect.
 
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It's very hard to reconcile the concept of an interested, micro-managing, all-powerful, all-loving God with the horrors of the holocaust.

Micro-managing, you ask? Why would I say that? Here's why: How many times have we seen news clips of families clinging to their children, proclaiming, "God saved my child from that school shooter!" and preachers loudly praising God after XYZ disasters. ("40 homes destroyed in the tornado, only 12 dead, thank God it wasn't worse...")

Let me get this straight: He "saves" some in those shootings/natural disasters (while allowing dozens of others to die), but declines a little early tweaking when Hitler, Pol Pot, Stalin, and others began their murdering rampages? What about arranging a crib death or aggressive case of the flu, automobile accident, or malfunctioning weapons? Better yet, setting up some situations that would turn those hearts from these horrific actions.

How about arranging a big hoedown on the other side of town so people would fortuitously be where the tornado isn't going to hit?

God seems surprisingly laissez-faire about the fates of this planet and its inhabitants, especially given His (supposed) deep early involvement.

Just sayin'.

p.s. Nobody would be happier than me to have Him show up and set things on a better path.
 
Who_so_ever said:
This. A part of their minds believe or wonder, otherwise they wouldn't spend so much time & energy trying to tear down God, the Bible, believers, etc. As for some of the scripture taken out of context or twisted..... well, we know who is responsible for that. So, it's meaningless.

This is what blows my mind:
1. Why get so aggressive denying His existence? I bet they don't spew such anger & sarcasm about the toothfairy!:ROFLMAO:
2. Why go out of their way to "discuss" someone that they claim doesn't exist? :LOL:
3. Why is it so important to them that they get obsessive about trying to convince others or teaching them He isn't real?
4. Why do these folks bring up God or Christianity then attack people. If people done you wrong, why you go and blame God for it. He didn't do it. lol
5. And, most important, if people would study the Word themselves..... why on earth would they hate Christ? Why would they get angry at His teachings?

Pearls & swine.....
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  1. I don’t personally believe in God, but I strive to approach the subject without hostility. To each their own, as everyone walks their own path.
  2. Discussions about religion often mirror those about politics—seldom do people change their perspectives. Conversations may be long and impassioned, but rarely do they lead to shifted convictions.
  3. Similar to political debates, there is a deep-rooted desire among individuals to be right. In the case of religion, however, I believe this is compounded by the almost total absence of empirical evidence for the existence of a god. Adding to this challenge is the sheer number of deities across different cultures, which makes determining the "correct" one all the more daunting.
  4. When it comes to Christianity, I feel that some Christians inadvertently undermine their faith by proclaiming their beliefs but fail to live in alignment with them. The saying, "If you talk the talk, you should walk the walk," comes to mind.
  5. This ties closely to the previous point. While we’re not here to discuss politics, I see parallels in the wider world today—many individuals professing Christian values, yet not embodying them in their actions.
Please know there’s no malice intended here—just my humble perspective shared in good faith.
 
Capt Lightning said:
If there was a creator, why did he make things so complex and error prone?
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At one point things were in prefect harmony, but the creator gave us free will, which allows us to love but sadly also to hate. Although free will introduced all kinds of problems into the world, the creator also provided us a way to get back to the state of prefect harmony, but will not force anyone to chose this path.
 

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