Misc All Things Religious

[Arcc]

I am sure god doesn't exist, I am as sure it does not exist as you are that it does, unless of course you admit that you believe there is a chance that god is not real...

Jesus lived 2000 yrs ago, in a time where there was no reliable way to document anything, his life is told in books written decades and centuries after his death.....there is little to no actual evidence of Jesus outside of the bible.....he may not even have been a real person. Though I do think someone similar to a " Jesus" did actually live though obviously he was not the son of god etc....still the point is these stories and the religion that grew around them are in no way proof there is a god and certainly do not provide any real evidence of any sort that there is a god.

There were hundreds if not thousands of religions that existed before Christianity and frankly Christianity borrows from many of them.....

Thankfully you continue to be drawn to debate something you are for sure does not exist. That means there is hope.

 

[Arcc]

Working on the sermon for tomorrow and I'm drawn to 2 Corinthians 7:11. I wonder how long has it been since Christians of this nation actually did what the Corinthian believers did after they were rebuked by Paul. They searched their hearts, faced themselves, answered for their faults and with very sincere desires turned from their sins. When was the last time we Christians actually stopped and searched every part of our lives and tested it against Gods standard.

 

[Downeastnc]

Thankfully you continue to be drawn to debate something you are for sure does not exist. That means there is hope.

Its my nature to debate.....and honestly I am not one of those militant atheist that wants to end religion, so its not like I have that as a goal, I could care less how you choose to believe. There is no chance I will ever believe in a god, I just like debating the philosophical side of the issue....

 

[Arcc]

Its my nature to debate.....and honestly I am not one of those militant atheist that wants to end religion, so its not like I have that as a goal, I could care less how you choose to believe. There is no chance I will ever believe in a god, I just like debating the philosophical side of the issue....

I'm sure there has been millions who have said there is no chance for them to ever turn to Christ, some I'm sure have ended up in remote countries preaching the gospel. There is always hope.

 

[Iceagewhereartthou]

Max Lucado: What is the answer to racism? This profound yet simple promise

Judging a person according to skin color is an ancient sin. For that reason, God gave this ancient solution.

www.foxnews.com

This article overlaps with the political discussion but I put it here due to the religious veiw. This is a powerful reminder to all of us of a basic foundational principle often forgotten. All of us, every color, are God's children and made in His image.

 

[Bham 99]

 

[Cad Wedge NC]

Its my nature to debate.....and honestly I am not one of those militant atheist that wants to end religion, so its not like I have that as a goal, I could care less how you choose to believe. There is no chance I will ever believe in a god, I just like debating the philosophical side of the issue....

Sorry, but my Bible tells me that one day you will believe and you will bow down and confess Him as God. Trust me, I have heard the testimonies of more "hard-core" atheists than you, who finally realized that God was real. I posted a video here of one a while back.
There will be a time in your life when you will have to make a real choice. You will know when that time comes. I really pray that will you make the right decision. God may not give you another chance. We are not promised tomorrow.

 

[Cad Wedge NC]

Its my nature to debate.....and honestly I am not one of those militant atheist that wants to end religion, so its not like I have that as a goal, I could care less how you choose to believe. There is no chance I will ever believe in a god, I just like debating the philosophical side of the issue....

Just curious... Do you believe in ghosts, paranormal activity, spirits, or maybe aliens?

 

[Downeastnc]

Sorry, but my Bible tells me that one day you will believe and you will bow down and confess Him as God. Trust me, I have heard the testimonies of more "hard-core" atheists than you, who finally realized that God was real. I posted a video here of one a while back.
There will be a time in your life when you will have to make a real choice. You will know when that time comes. I really pray that will you make the right decision. God may not give you another chance. We are not promised tomorrow.

Meh I can also post tons of videos of former hard core believers that went atheist in fact the numbers say more believers are becoming atheist than vice versa.....

In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace

The religious landscape of the United States continues to change at a rapid clip, with both Protestantism and Catholicism experiencing losses of population share.

www.pewforum.org

 

[Downeastnc]

Just curious... Do you believe in ghosts, paranormal activity, spirits, or maybe aliens?

Well I believe there are other intelligent lifeforms out there in the universe just that its extremely unlikely they have been to Earth.....but nope on ghost and spirits etc.....

 

[EastAtlwx]

I used to be a strong believer of God & what the Bible claims to be true.. that is until I decided to actually be receptive and dig into what people who thought otherwise.. I think it was like 2-3 weeks or less For me to arrive at the conclusion that the probability That the Christian god exists is extremely low.. things just don’t add up when you let down your ignorant guard..

 

[LickWx]

Yall probably would have never guessed it, but I am muslim . I know God is real, I see god in the miracles of this world. Life, the weather, nature. God is in every atom , every life form, and every star in the heavens above.

God loves you all, even if you dont lo

Now you may wonder , whats it like being Muslim in a rural area of the south? Actually , a whole lot better than you could ever imagine.

 

[Downeastnc]

I used to be a strong believer of God & what the Bible claims to be true.. that is until I decided to actually be receptive and dig into what people who thought otherwise.. I think it was like 2-3 weeks or less For me to arrive at the conclusion that the probability That the Christian god exists is extremely low.. things just don’t add up when you let down your ignorant guard..

I dont consider believers ignorant, the conditioning is strong, its very very hard to accept and walk away from something you have been taught to believe your entire life. It was tough for me as a young teenagers when I realized it was all not true....even after I had determined that the god I was taught about was not not real I still had a hard time with it. Also since my grandfather was a preacher I had to stay in the closet with my non belief for a long time. Being Holiness Pentecostal meant they would think Satan or demons had me and would have tried to lay hands on me etc etc etc and exercise the demons that were causing me to lose my faith.

 

[Arcc]

I used to be a strong believer of God & what the Bible claims to be true.. that is until I decided to actually be receptive and dig into what people who thought otherwise.. I think it was like 2-3 weeks or less For me to arrive at the conclusion that the probability That the Christian god exists is extremely low.. things just don’t add up when you let down your ignorant guard..

I was taught in a Christian home, accepted Christ early, and then had to face what I actually believed in my late teenage years. Was quite a war for a few months when I was faced with a choice. I made the choice to believe when I was at the crossroad I knew would be the course I would take for my life. Now my faith is stronger than it was. So I agree, everyone needs to let their ignorant guard down. It will either make you or break you, but the faith will never be your faith until you wrestle for it.

 

[Iceagewhereartthou]

I dont consider believers ignorant, the conditioning is strong, its very very hard to accept and walk away from something you have been taught to believe your entire life. It was tough for me as a young teenagers when I realized it was all not true....even after I had determined that the god I was taught about was not not real I still had a hard time with it. Also since my grandfather was a preacher I had to stay in the closet with my non belief for a long time. Being Holiness Pentecostal meant they would think Satan or demons had me and would have tried to lay hands on me etc etc etc and exercise the demons that were causing me to lose my faith.

Ouch, not the best example. Maybe that atmosphere contributed to your loss of faith.

On your first sentence, you may be surprised, but I agree conditioning is a concern. A fairly large number of Christians are indeed conditioned. I would say some conditioning happens due to control, some to poor understanding of God Himself, and multiple other reasons, Some are also due to parents who may have good intentions for their children, but don't do a good job of balancing the sharing of their own faith with understanding their children will have to make their own choice. After all, faith cannot be forced. However, I hope you recognize that conditioning absolutely happens the other way too; and encompasses the vast majority of places and entities in our society.

As for being taught to believe something your entire life, I would just add that there are too many examples of people changing beliefs as they grow up, or even forming views opposite of what they grew up with to say that is a sweeping factor. You are one example, I am another. I grew up in an agnostic household. Apparently you and I were exposed to different evidence or interpreted it differently. I became a Christian as the evidence for God became overwhelmingly more convincing for me than anything in the secular/scientific school of thought was.

 

[Downeastnc]

Ouch, not the best example. Maybe that atmosphere contributed to your loss of faith.

On your first sentence, you may be surprised, but I agree conditioning is a concern. A fairly large number of Christians are indeed conditioned. I would say some conditioning happens due to control, some to poor understanding of God Himself, and multiple other reasons, Some are also due to parents who may have good intentions for their children, but don't do a good job of balancing the sharing of their own faith with understanding their children will have to make their own choice. After all, faith cannot be forced. However, I hope you recognize that conditioning absolutely happens the other way too; and encompasses the vast majority of places and entities in our society.

As for being taught to believe something your entire life, I would just add that there are too many examples of people changing beliefs as they grow up, or even forming views opposite of what they grew up with to say that is a sweeping factor. You are one example, I am another. I grew up in an agnostic household. Apparently you and I were exposed to different evidence or interpreted it differently. I became a Christian as the evidence for God became overwhelmingly more convincing for me than anything in the secular/scientific school of thought was.

No but Holiness Pentecostal is not for the weak of heart lol...lots of people flopping around on the floor or running around full of the "spirit" etc....and honestly this was a fairly tame Church of God....I distinctly remember wondering why I never seemed to catch the spirit and do all that stuff. now I understand why ( no such thing as god ) but back then I felt like I was doing something wrong, I was told all I had to do was open my heart and listen to the lord.....and well I never heard/felt anything.

I actually enjoyed church on a certain level as I had a crush on a few girls there and I only saw them at church....that was my sole motivation, well that and the food afterwards....and my best friend was a youth leader with the Catholics Youth Org and that group was chuck full of hot little Catholic girls and I did many many memorable and eventful lock ins with that group......?

As for the conditioning part its very real, and your example not withstanding if you waited till everyone was 18 years old to introduce them to religion in general and then gave them access to ALL religions with no bias towards any given one then I suspect the number of people that went on to become extremely religious would be rather low....but maybe I am wrong.

 

[Shaggy]

So speaking of conditioning. My 4 yr old is learning the pledge of allegiance and he likes to say it at home alot. When I say it I leave out the "under god" part. It was never in the original first 8 versions of the pledge anyways.

My wife also athiest says we cant do that because he has to say it correctly at school.

Why should I have to teach my son to say the pledge with reference to god? Why is my son being conditioned to believe in something that isn't real by a school system(next year when he starts K he is pre-K now) that is suppose to remain impartial?

 

[Arcc]

As for the conditioning part its very real, and your example not withstanding if you waited till everyone was 18 years old to introduce them to religion in general and then gave them access to ALL religions with no bias towards any given one then I suspect the number of people that went on to become extremely religious would be rather low....but maybe I am wrong.

That depends on the situation. If you could do that example in a perfect world, I'd imagine the group would near 100% religous. However by "perfect" I mean absent of conditioning. The Western world is heavily skewed secular at this point and will condition a child from birth by the things taught, books read, movies watched, news heard and by the action of people in general that there is no God. So the test wouldn't be a true one. As someone trying to raise his children by a godly standard, the head winds of this world are great.

 

[Downeastnc]

That depends on the situation. If you could do that example in a perfect world, I'd imagine the group would near 100% religous. However by "perfect" I mean absent of conditioning. The Western world is heavily skewed secular at this point and will condition a child from birth by the things taught, books read, movies watched, news heard and by the action of people in general that there is no God. So the test wouldn't be a true one. As someone trying to raise his children by a godly standard, the head winds of this world are great.

I guess I am bias as I know that my beliefs were 100% driven by indoctrination and conditioning, I raised my son without religion, not because I want him to be a atheist but rather to not influence him as much as possible. We caught flak for not having a baptism etc.....my wife, my brother ( Shaggy on this forum for those that dont know ) both my brother in laws one of them is married and his wife are all atheist, all of us come from religious households and were all raised to be Christians.....so thats 6 people I know that all left the church, I know zero people that went from atheist to religious as adults.....to be fair though I know almost no one that was raised atheist etc...the few I do know are still atheist.....

When we moved to where we live now my son became friends with the two boys next door.....they are now his two best friends and in a extremely religious household, they go to a Christian school etc...we however get along great with the parents and often sit outside at a firepit together etc, religion doesnt come up. His friends invited my son to go to their church several times and I told him it was up to him but he declined......ironically the youngest neighbor boy recently came out to my son as having become atheist and was asking questions etc....I told my son to tread carefully and just be a supportive friend....

 

[Rain Cold]

So speaking of conditioning. My 4 yr old is learning the pledge of allegiance and he likes to say it at home alot. When I say it I leave out the "under god" part. It was never in the original first 8 versions of the pledge anyways.

My wife also athiest says we cant do that because he has to say it correctly at school.

Why should I have to teach my son to say the pledge with reference to god? Why is my son being conditioned to believe in something that isn't real by a school system(next year when he starts K he is pre-K now) that is suppose to remain impartial?

Do you have him cross out In God We Trust from the currency before using it?