Arkhangelsk

"Religion is for people afraid of going to Hell. Spirituality is for people who have already been there."

This is a statement I heard someone make recently, and it rang with a sort of truth to me.

Your thoughts?

What I fail to understand, is how theists go around saying some of the most vile, hateful statements I've ever heard spewed from a human beings mouth.

How do you support a book, a person, a god, a group, ANYTHING that tells you its okay to kill, okay to judge, okay to ostracize an individual for having different beliefs, different skin color, different orientation.

And to be clear: I am not asking what your Bible says. I already know. I am asking, how can YOU the individual in good conscience follow anything that supports what in your right mind you know to be wrong?

Upon a count of the Old Testament, God is responsible for the deaths of over Six Million humans, Satan is technically zero, perhaps with the exception of the seven sons and three daughters of Job and even these Satan shares with God since God allowed Him to do it as a part of a bet.

So, I should love and worship God because he could wipe out my entire culture on a whim? He is a Jealous God whom I should fear?

Does this sound like Battered Wife Syndrome to anyone else?

"No, no...he does it because he loves us so much...."

New Covenant, is that like he promises too change, even though God is infallible? Or is the interpretation this week, God showed us his wrath, so that we may know his grace? Why did six million people have to die so I would know that God had a nice side?

Assuming its real, of course, not that it is. But when we get 'dropkicked' straight to H-E-double hockey sticks, since there will be billions of us, we could totally take over the joint, use our science to invent Air Conditioning, and in general have a great time doing what we want while all those guys upstairs get harp music and clouds for all eternity, and we don't have to deal with them for all eternity.

Cheers!

I get that you have faith and all that good stuff, but the Church proclaims the Age of Reason to be six years of age. If a child does something sinful prior to that, it's considered invalid.

On that same note, the cognitive and intelligence levels increase more rapidly after fifteen years of age. Lets say we agreed not to teach evolution, and you agreed not too teach Religion until eighteen years of age, besides basic education such as mathematics, reading, etc. How would you respond?

If faith is based on Truth, than a sound mind would come to the conclusion naturally that Religion is true and therefore accept all the doctrines, instead of an emotional attachment from Childhood rearing.

I propose this as an intellectual debate, not an attack on faith, nor an attack on science, not "My book is more true than your book."

I assert that Sarah Brightman is God.

And I can prove it through logic: Firstly, in logic, to make the claim for somethings existence, you must first define what it is you are claiming existence for. No Judeo-Christian has ever defined god as a "what", merely described traits, such as 'slow to anger, merciful, etc.

The closest definition that we can all agree on, would be: Creator of the Universe, but thats like calling calling Jesus a carpenter, it doesn't define him as the Son of God.

I assert that somehow Sarah Brightman is involved in a causality loop where she will and she has gone back before the big bang and caused it, just like Stewie in Family Guy.

All religions describe God as the most beautiful thing in all creation, Sarah Brightman is Beautiful in form and in voice, she has even been described as an Angel. Not a coincidence, I assure you.

And finally: None can deny that she exists, you can perceive her with all five senses!

And yet they don't realize that Wiccan's would NEVER attempt to raise the dead and they believe any harm you place on another is returned to you sevenfold? And how is using an ability you possess an attempt to usurp God? That must there argument against reason as well.

http://m.aol.com/news/default/getContent.do?link=h...

Okay so somebody posted a question about 'What if Islam is right' and I posted that in Muslim belief Jesus will renounce the resurrection on the final day before all his followers, affording them a chance to convert and enter heaven.

I am neither Muslim nor Christian, and within minutes my response was voted down, I simply noted what was consistent with Muslim belief within the context of the question.

Since apparently I struck a nerve, I'm very curious as to Christian point of view on this. NOT a bunch of scripture and bible passages I already know, I mean how do you feel about this Islamic Concept, whether it be true or false?

This dream was from about 10-12 years ago actually, but its always been in the back of my mind, because it was so vivid and real, and I generally don't remember my dreams.

A little background would be that I was in High School at the time, and I was a big fan of hip-hop at the time, especially Tupac, who had been killed a couple of years before, and his album 'The Don Killuminati had come out about a year before.

The Dream: I'm seeing a Male Lion running across the grasslands like a scene out a nature documentary running towards a bull or large, dark colored creature with horns thats threatening his pride behind him. I can vaguely see some lionesses and cubs towards the left of the image.

The whole scene itself looks like it being overlapped with a translucent parchment or old scroll if that makes sense. Than I hear a voice and 'see' text over the whole thing, it was more like the 'voice' when you read something, and it stated: "Makaveli means Lion. Blood. Sacrifice."

Just like that, with the periods and everything indicating strongly they were separate words.

So what's you're take on it? And no it hasn't been a recurring dream, just one that I've never forgotten.

Which is why the rapture was both true and yet did not happen.

Discuss!

First off, I am not looking for 'awww's or pity, I simply wish to know others experience in related matters.

My father recently passed away, and I am inheriting a bit of money, as a result I have been keeping it under wraps from people. I haven't been able to express my grief to anyone so I go around with a mask of normality, even if I feel like dying inside.

However, I'm afraid I've developed a proficiency at it. To the point where I feel nothing towards other people, or their problems, whereas I was once compassionate. I am moving out from a very negative situation into a far more favorable one, and I should be excited, yet its just another day to me.

I would say I'm afraid of this change in myself, yet I feel very little right now. I am however concerned, because I don't want this to last forever. So, is this numbness natural, like a survival mechanism? Or do people just turn colder as they age?