Quote from: bettingpython on January 10, 2008, 05:20:51 AM
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.

Umm....BP.... if you look up just a few posts, I already said all that in great detail.  Thanks for the Cliff's notes!   

 

A little church won't hurt me. Maybe ill go for a change

honestly frankie, no one can "force" you to believe/not believe. that is your choice and yours alone. at least, if you go, try some different ones, and ask questions. and of those questions, ask how it relates to teh bible ( or whichever holy book they use), and where it can be found within it. perhaps ask questions of religious sholars in your area. but anyhoo take care, and god bless sir

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

+50,000,000
I really do wish more Christians thought and acted like you. It's really those types of Christians, Jews, Muslims, etc. that you speak of that have deterred me from organized religion. I feel that God is a personal relationship, that you chose to worship as you see fit. It is great to spread ideas and ideals, but imposing them on others is just plain wrong, no matter what religion you practice.
Organized religion has been influenced by so much politics throughout history, that it is difficult to tell what to believe in the bible, q'ran, torah, etc. People are so worried about following literal meaning, which was most likely placed there after the fact because it was good for some pope/rabbi/cardinal/shaman's political gain within the religious ranks. Not enough people concern themselves with the principles and true meaning of their religion. They are more concerned about following some rhetorical "to do" list of dogma written by man.

I can't help but think of all this as superstition, but I have no problem with people how think of it as factual. I just ask that they let me alone in my beliefs. That said this was a good read. 

see no one can force anyone to accept jesus. only oneself can do that

Thank God I'm an Atheist


J

Any of you who have 10 min to watch Tom Cruise talk about Scientology, check this out!

Thoughts...

Cheers,
J

Quote from: groff22 on January 21, 2008, 09:48:28 AM
Any of you who have 10 min to watch Tom Cruise talk about Scientology, check this out!

Thoughts...

Cheers,
J

i dont think i have enough money in my bank account to be allowed to watch this

Quote from: nastynate6695 on January 21, 2008, 05:02:08 PM

Quote from: groff22 on January 21, 2008, 09:48:28 AM
Any of you who have 10 min to watch Tom Cruise talk about Scientology, check this out!

Thoughts...

Cheers,
J

i dont think i have enough money in my bank account to be allowed to watch this

They do make you spend some coin 

But...  Scientology is not a religion  exactly

The word "Scientology" means "the study of knowledge or truth."

They only created classes and programs to better the way you and yours live and work with others... In Scientology there is no talk of GOD or superior beings or anything... as a matter of fact there are Catholic, Christian, Jewish etc.. Scientologists    I know and have meet many Scientologists... Kirsty Ally, John Trevolta and many more. I have gone to some classes and taken some courses.

I like Scientology to an extent, there are some truly AMAZING things that you can learn from it. But.. YEa... $$$$$$$$$ You will pay for it, all the classes and training costs BIG $$$

And just like anything with Scientology there is some good to it and some bad. Some things they do are VERY strange but some make SOOO much sense that I think everyone would agree with...

I am with a few others on here... To each his own! respect others choices and religions there is something to be learned from them all 

like tithes

Yea, but in some sects of Scientology the "tithes" can be EXTREME! Like..

Hey, make your kid come and work on our ship for 4 years and we will give you a few "free classes" then, we will brain wash your kid to stay with us and we will pay them only so they can give all their $ back to "Learn more" about the secrets of life 

Yea.. they have a ship where you go and learn and travel, its cool but some of the sacrifices you have to make for them are beyond what I would be comfortable with 

But like I said, I know of MANY people who are HUGE success and owe it all to Scientology  they have some EXCELLENT publications on everything from Family values to dealing with people at work. But not one thing in Scientology is religious  in the sense that "religion" means believing on a higher power... They leave that up to the individual 

Here is a cool description of Scientology.. Now, they do call it a religion. but if you look deeper into it like I have its not "religion" in the sense that most would think

http://www.religioustolerance.org/scientol1.htm

OK.. now I am off on a Scientology kick... This paragraph about sums up why I like "some" of what they believe...


Some religions try to help humanity by solving people's problems for them. Scientology is different — it believes in increasing the ability and intelligence of the individual so he or she can improve his own life, overcome those factors that hold him down, and solve his or her own problems. What's more, once one has accomplished this he or she naturally starts to reach out to help his family, friends and society.


I think in allot of other religions people are "trained" to believe that prayer and worship can make things better. Well.... ITS NOT! If God, Buda or whoever was so vein that they would only heal your grandma because 25 people prayed for her at your church on Sunday then 

Its up to us to help ourselves and others ON OUR OWN!

i do like the " core values" that most religions have, ( mine included)i accept all people regardless of how they look/act, so to me it DOES NOT matter what you look like or how you act ( the verse goes something like " god created man in his own image" also people do things i may not agree with, but i dont harm/hurt them or even talk bad to them or behind their back,  the verse goes something like this ( judge not. lest ye be judged"). i jsut wish people would at least pay attention to, if not live by some of teh rules in the ten commandments, like i dont know, not killing, not stealing( if you needed, and had not, someone would more than likely give it to you . usually a church or a group or a charity), also not coveting thy neighbors wife, or committing adultery , ( i am guilty of that  )etc,