Quote from: oramac on July 19, 2007, 09:25:30 PM
I never said that Christians had a great track record.  But the ideals, if followed as they are taught, are sound.  Much like communism.  In theory, it's actually a great idea.  In practice, however, corruption makes it fail every time.

Islam is the same.  The only difference is that persuasive, almost hitler-esque, members of the Islamic community are surfacing at this point in time and encouraging the radical behavior, much as the kings encouraged the christian behavior during the crusades.

damn terry...now you and I appear to be agreeing...   I may make an intelligent Christian out of you yet...

Quote from: spcterry on July 19, 2007, 09:29:59 PM

Quote from: oramac on July 19, 2007, 09:25:30 PM
I never said that Christians had a great track record.  But the ideals, if followed as they are taught, are sound.  Much like communism.  In theory, it's actually a great idea.  In practice, however, corruption makes it fail every time.

Islam is the same.  The only difference is that persuasive, almost hitler-esque, members of the Islamic community are surfacing at this point in time and encouraging the radical behavior, much as the kings encouraged the christian behavior during the crusades.

damn terry is off of the percocet, his posts are freakin intelligent 

Mehhhhh....... not under this pope.  Hasn't impressed me much   I'll go back to church when he dies   ( I am, by baptism/family tradition Roman Catholic)

It's been a good weekend seeing all the family, I'm not ready for politics/relgion yet.  

your al by baptism by religion by whatnot, but the question uis ( in my drunken state lol) what are you? what is spcterry? only spcterry can answer that

I do not believe

your choice

go to this page. check it out. spend some time actually reading it. then come back and try to tell me God doesn't exist.

www.myspace.com/kristyreynolds 

ive just attempted to skim through 10 pages of postings trying to keep up with this topic..
First off let me say im amazed that it didnt get farmed.
Second Im amazed it built up to 10 pages in one day.  I dont think the helmet law discussion reached that mile marker.

Third  As an offshoot to this post and to kinda see where everyone stands i wouldnt mind seeing a survey  on what religions make up the board.. just to see where everyone is coming from.    

I myself am a Taoist.  I finally settled into this choice after trying out multiple religions throughout different parts of my life.

Wether or not i believe in a god or some higher being doesnt fully matter.   What i belive matters, is how people act in their believe towards other religous sects.   In other words if you are a christian i doubt god intended it to be a giant club where you must go out and recruit everyone else.  If you are muslim dont go out and kill those who dont follow your idea's.  I highly doubt thats what a greater power had in mind.  If this was so he/she would have made everyone to think the same..

Im sorry if this covers somehting already said but like i mentioned earlier.  10 pages .....wow......im not reading through all of that at 12:00 at night.

 

Everyone should believe in something. Me, I believe that I'm going to have another beer, just after I get to the bottles hop and grab a carton. 

Not to be a negativey nelly. But most of the bible including the Jesus story goes back to pegan mythology.  There was a time I believed that Jesus existed but the facts and science do not support this.  One example is Christmas.  150 years ago it was just a pegan holiday. The modern Santa is a product of the coca cola company

Quote from: jserio on January 08, 2008, 10:04:37 PM
go to this page. check it out. spend some time actually reading it. then come back and try to tell me God doesn't exist.

www.myspace.com/kristyreynolds 

Ummm.... Is that gods myspace page? Cause asside from GOD having a page I dont see what that site proves  The baby was sick and GOD cured him? Well.... who shook him to that point. Was GOD not watching that day.. ? Was that just GOD messin around? Yea.. he likes to do that....

now you have cancer, now you dont.. haha! GO GOD! Healing and smiting all willy nilly like   

I believe that there is Gs in my garage , i can feel it , touch it , smell it , ride it , its there ,
I beleive that the feeling of love and hate flows thro my body . i feel it when i start to become enraged and protective , when i want to stop people hurting the people i care about , i also no the feeling of staring into a girls eyes . and where the only to people that matter , theres the feeling of wanting to be that close
I believe wen i pick up my drum sticks , and hit that first beat ,the feeling of overwelming passion , and power i feel when im in the flow

3 things . One i no is there , i can touch it , ..... two arnt there , they dont  smell , taste ,but there , there , i feel the power and the change in me .

I think these are the to feeliings. some people will pull out a book and recite a million pages to prove God doesnt exist , Another will Swear on the lords name , and say hes felt him through his body

There will never be a right answer , Personally , i dont think any ones there , but if people choose to beieve and have faith , then so be it , its something they care and believe

Quote from: nastynate6695 on January 08, 2008, 10:06:11 PM
....if you are a Christian i doubt god intended it to be a giant club where you must go out and recruit everyone else.  

Actually, as a Christian, I believe I am expected to spread the teachings of Christ.  It is, by our beliefs, only by believing that Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and was raised up to fulfill God's proficy that a soul can have everlasting life.  Also, our faith is confirmed by our acts (not God's).  Therefore, if we believe, we must work to help others find redemption, we must do charitable acts, we must be forgiving, loving, and while some Christians might disagree, Jesus teaches us to be tolerant.  However, I don't want to force anyone to accept Jesus.  I merely want to tell others about his teachings, my beliefs, and allow them to make their own decisions.  Sadly, many 'Christians' don't share my views.

Quote from: frankieG on January 09, 2008, 03:07:58 PM
Not to be a negative nelly. But most of the bible including the Jesus story goes back to pegan mythology.  ...  One example is Christmas.  150 years ago it was just a pegan holiday. The modern Santa is a product of the coca cola company

This is only partially true.  Christmas, as a holiday, has always been Christian.  It is short for Christ's Mass, and was a Catholic Mass that celebrated the birth of Jesus.  It, like many other Christian holidays, was later tied to a Germanic pagan holiday in an effort to convert those people to Christianity. 

Easter is another example of a Christianized holiday.  Easter (Esther) was a originally a holiday that celebrated a pagan goddess.  The eggs given on that day were a sign of health and fertility.  Once again, the Catholic church came along and tied the crucifixion and resurrection to this pagan holiday in another effort to convert those pagan individuals. 

Finally, there's Halloween.  Formally know as "All Hallows Eve", it was the evening that preceded "All Saints Day".  This holiday was fabricated to coincide with another pagan celebration of, I believe, druid origins.Anyway, that's just a clarification on Frankie's observation. 

Jesus lived.  I think it's impossible to dispute that.  I think all you can argue is, was he the Son of God and does he still live?  That argument led to his crucifixion, and it is still, obviously, debated today.

no matter what relegion you are or aren't, there's one common fact in every religion: FAITH. it even applies to agnostics. when you open the door to your garage, you expect your car/motorcycle to still be there, where you parked it. this is faith. you have faith that they will be there when that door goes up, even though at that moment before it goes up, you cannot see into the garage, you believe they will be there. now, could you prove to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that when you closed that door that your belongings were still there? if there's no windows, no way to see into your garage how can you convince me you have a motorcycle? how do you know it doesn't dissappear when you close the door? you can't. that's why we have faith. everyone does.

Quote from: oramac on January 09, 2008, 10:38:05 PM

Quote from: nastynate6695 on January 08, 2008, 10:06:11 PM
....if you are a Christian i doubt god intended it to be a giant club where you must go out and recruit everyone else.  

Actually, as a Christian, I believe I am expected to spread the teachings of Christ.  It is, by our beliefs, only by believing that Christ is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, and was raised up to fulfill God's proficy that a soul can have everlasting life.  Also, our faith is confirmed by our acts (not God's).  Therefore, if we believe, we must work to help others find redemption, we must do charitable acts, we must be forgiving, loving, and while some Christians might disagree, Jesus teaches us to be tolerant.  However, I don't want to force anyone to accept Jesus.  I merely want to tell others about his teachings, my beliefs, and allow them to make their own decisions.  Sadly, many 'Christians' don't share my views.

Quote from: frankieG on January 09, 2008, 03:07:58 PM
Not to be a negative nelly. But most of the bible including the Jesus story goes back to pegan mythology.  ...  One example is Christmas.  150 years ago it was just a pegan holiday. The modern Santa is a product of the coca cola company

This is only partially true.  Christmas, as a holiday, has always been Christian.  It is short for Christ's Mass, and was a Catholic Mass that celebrated the birth of Jesus.  It, like many other Christian holidays, was later tied to a Germanic pagan holiday in an effort to convert those people to Christianity. 

Easter is another example of a Christianized holiday.  Easter (Esther) was a originally a holiday that celebrated a pagan goddess.  The eggs given on that day were a sign of health and fertility.  Once again, the Catholic church came along and tied the crucifixion and resurrection to this pagan holiday in another effort to convert those pagan individuals. 

Finally, there's Halloween.  Formally know as "All Hallows Eve", it was the evening that preceded "All Saints Day".  This holiday was fabricated to coincide with another pagan celebration of, I believe, druid origins.Anyway, that's just a clarification on Frankie's observation. 

Jesus lived.  I think it's impossible to dispute that.  I think all you can argue is, was he the Son of God and does he still live?  That argument led to his crucifixion, and it is still, obviously, debated today.

I am 100% with you.  A man named Jesus did live and dedicate his life to the lord.  Scholars from all of the Ivy leagues have validated this.  Man, being the insecure creature that it is, is more than willing to believe that Jesus was the son of god because it validates his existence.  Man wants to believe that there is meaning to existence and that we aren't just a random evolution based purely on circumstance.  I'm neither validating nor refuting the 'position' of Jesus, I am rather torn at this point as far as religion and seriously contemplating converting to Judaism.

a pastor at a church i went to put it this way:
"By claiming to be Christian and follow Christ, I can afford to be wrong. Let's say for arugments sake that I do all things I'm commanded to in the Bible. I live what I and other Christians believe to be a Godly life. However, at the end of my life, after I die, there really is nothing. No afterlife, no Heaven or Hell. Looking back at my life would I have lost anything by living the way I chose to even if it turned out there was no afterlife? The answer is simple, no. Now, take the flip side of that. Let's say I chose not to believe. I chose to break every Christian commandment I can just because I can and don't believe in God, Jesus or Heaven and Hell. Once again, at the end of my life, I die, but I discover there is indeed an afterlife. Heaven and Hell DO exist. But, since I chose not to obey God and try to live a Christian life, I'm going to Hell. Boy, wouldn't that suck? As a Christian, I can afford to be wrong. Can you afford to be wrong by denying Jesus?"

The one thing that impresses me about modern Judaism, at least in the states, is their tolerance and acceptance of other religions.

ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL:
The problem to be faced is: how to combine loyalty to one's own tradition with reverence for different traditions.

If you were to really celebrate christs mass it would be in september not december, it's an amazing coincidence that christmass is celebrated 3 days after the winter solstice a day of signifigance in pagan religion.

Every "Christian" holiday was engineered by the church to coincide with pagan celebrations.