General Music Chat

I'm always amazed by people who say things that have never experienced any religious experiences that can't be explained by science, and that what they say is based upon complete disbelief that religious experiences cannot possibly exist because they cannot be explained by logical fact....People who exist within purely scientific boundaries are akin to being in a jail cell. ALL things are possible when you BELIEVE, when you are open to religious experience, when miracles can happen in your life. People who believe in BOTH science AND religion are some of the luckiest people on Earth...

Oh this thread is going to be bad..duck and cover.

Bob, there's an opposite side of that coin. On the other side, people who don't believe in religion see those who do exactly the same way you see non-religious people. They see you as stuck in a prison of rules and regulations based on nothing more than what a 2000 year old book and a bunch of people tell you is truth.

It's all the same, you can choose to believe or not.

My issues with religious people have been the attitudes of many of them- I've been cursed at, told that I'm a demon, told that I'm a heathen, and told many times that I'm going to hell- not because of any action or words that were immoral, but simply because I refuse to prescribe to religion. The intolerance and harassement I've experienced only served to turn me off even more to any form of religion.

And let's face it, almost all wars and genocides in our history have been based at some extent on religion. Many of today's wars are. If not the religion directly, than because of tensions created hundreds and even thousands of years ago, all still because of religion.

There certainly have been plenty of wars based on expansion, secession, and political strife, but they are not the majority.

Through all of that, what still strikes me the hardest about many religious people is the outright hostility and condescending manners they address me personally, when I've always been nothing but honest, moral, and accommodating. I've never attacked someone because they were religious, I'm a live and let live kinda guy. I don't appreciate when people shove religion down my throat, and tend to get nasty when they do (to my face.. online discussions are nothing more than unloading and discussing, notably)

People aren't afraid to get a little paint on their hand. People are terrified to think their death will be the end so they believe. Pretty simple really.

Deuteronomy 30:11-20 (NLT)

"This command I am giving you today is not too difficult for you to understand or perform. It is not up in heaven, so distant that you must ask, 'Who will go to heaven and bring it down so we can hear and obey it?' It is not beyond the sea, so far away that you must ask, 'Who will cross the sea to bring it to us so we can hear and obey it?' The message is very close at hand; it is on your lips and in your heart so that you can obey it.

"Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death. I have commanded you today to love the LORD your God and to keep His commands, laws, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and become a great nation, and the LORD your God will bless you and the land you are about to enter and occupy. But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to serve and worship other gods, then I warn you now that you will certainly be destroyed. You will not live a long, good life in the land you are crossing the Jordan to occupy.

"Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, that you and your descendants might live! Choose to love the LORD your God and to obey Him and commit yourself to Him, for He is your Life. Then you will live long in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

That's great if that works for you George. But for me a real God would never say 'worship me and no other or you will be destroyed'. A real God would only be able to love and never create fear. But I'm simple like that.

People aren't afraid to get a little paint on their hand. People are terrified to think their death will be the end so they believe. Pretty simple really.

+1
Jimmy is wise.

REVISED:
"Now listen! Today I am giving you a choice between prosperity and disaster, between life and death. I have commanded you today to love me, your dictator Saddam Hussein your God and to keep His commands, laws, and regulations by walking in his ways. If you do this, you will live and become a great nation, and Saddam will bless you and the land you are occupying. But if your heart turns away and you refuse to listen, and if you are drawn away to call for new leadership, then I warn you now that you will certainly be tortured destroyed (and so will your family). You will not live a long, good life in the land you are currently occupying.

Not everyone that believes in god is a bible quoting type or interested in you own personal salvation.
Some know better for other reasons and those people won't be trying to get you to do much of anything, they'll just watch you reap what you sow because "faith" is that way. "You have to let people make their own choices, right or wrong".
And you don't need any proof other than that which you already have...you're just not smart enough to connect the dots and see the bigger picture.

Everyone is an atheist until the bullets start flying, then it's a trench full of believers and last minute religion shoppers like black Friday at Walmart.

"Shop Smart, shop S-Mart" -Bruce Campbell

That's great if that works for you George. But for me a real God would never say 'worship me and no other or you will be destroyed'. A real God would only be able to love and never create fear. But I'm simple like that.

and this is exactly how i've felt about it for as long as i can remember.

what kind of serious insecurity issues does god (all knowing and all powerful fella he is) have that he needs the "worship" of us mere mortals?

my problem w christianity is the belief that if you DON'T accept christ as your saviour.....bad news for you, you're gonna spend eternity getting a major schvitz!

c'mon now.....ghandi is frying in hell and hitler, charles manson, and noriega sit at god's hand in heaven as long as they checked off the box that says "yes, i accept christ as my saviour!" before they kick off????

wow.....that's some system. think i'll pass on THAT one.

That's great if that works for you George. But for me a real God would never say 'worship me and no other or you will be destroyed'. A real God would only be able to love and never create fear. But I'm simple like that.

Its obvious you don't understand God... You 'think' you understand... But all you do is re-write what conveniences you...

You aren't afraid to touch wet paint, but it paralyzes you to think of reading that lil ol book we call the bible. If you actually read that book, you'd get that God is NOT about fear.

You don't understand God... Therefore how can you intelligently comment?

That's great if that works for you George. But for me a real God would never say 'worship me and no other or you will be destroyed'. A real God would only be able to love and never create fear. But I'm simple like that.

Its obvious you don't understand God... You 'think' you understand... But all you do is re-write what conveniences you...

You aren't afraid to touch wet paint, but it paralyzes you to think of reading that lil ol book we call the bible. If you actually read that book, you'd get that God is NOT about fear.

You don't understand God... Therefore how can you intelligently comment?

Uh, I think I've read that book quite a few times.
Raised Pentecostal.
Also, if you've seen the research, atheists are generally more well-informed about the bible's contents than it's proponents!
If you wanna be an atheist, just READ the thing.

Everyone is an atheist until the bullets start flying, then it's a trench full of believers and last minute religion shoppers like black Friday at Walmart.

Buhhllsshhiit.

That's great if that works for you George. But for me a real God would never say 'worship me and no other or you will be destroyed'. A real God would only be able to love and never create fear. But I'm simple like that.

Its obvious you don't understand God... You 'think' you understand... But all you do is re-write what conveniences you...

You aren't afraid to touch wet paint, but it paralyzes you to think of reading that lil ol book we call the bible. If you actually read that book, you'd get that God is NOT about fear.

You don't understand God... Therefore how can you intelligently comment?

Uh, I think I've read that book quite a few times.
Raised Pentecostal.
Also, if you've seen the research, atheists are generally more well-informed about the bible's contents than it's proponents!
If you wanna be an atheist, just READ the thing.

Good for you Mike. But I am thoroughly convinced that you cherry picked whatever suits you. I suppose If I handed God in a bottle to you , no doubt you'd have a negative comment about that bottle and even condemn it , saying it had no beer in it ...