1730 replies to this topic

[Devilfish]

Tht reminds me of a relevant article I read once.

Yes, I know it's Cracked, but don't let that deter you. It's actually pretty good.

[jonnykun]

ooh nice devlifish...cracked...interesting site. but the article was actually very good. pretty unbiased, and talked about both sides of the story. in my opinion, believe what you will, and respect what everyone else believes. it's not your place to criticize or force others to believe what you do.

[zenkai]

i believe in god. i have bible studies every week and i enjoy them a lot

[Sweeney]

i believe in god. i have bible studies every week and i enjoy them a lot

What's your favourite bit?

[zenkai]

What's your favourite bit?

At the end of each study we answer questions about what we just read and answering the questions are probally my favourite bit. (off topic but what ps3 games do you have, if you got modern warfare 2 can i add you)

[Sweeney]

At the end of each study we answer questions about what we just read and answering the questions are probally my favourite bit. (off topic but what ps3 games do you have, if you got modern warfare 2 can i add you)

I mean, your favourite bit of the bible
(And, I don't have it, no)

[zenkai]

I mean, your favourite bit of the bible
(And, I don't have it, no)

oh lol, umm the last book( Revelations) and the first book(Genesis)

[chobitz]

What's your favourite bit?

The books edited out
Seriously its much more interesting then the stuff kept in. The Gospel of Judas, heck all of the Gnostic parts are much more interesting.

One story has Jesus as a little kid bringing mud birds to life. When another kid tattles on him for 'working on the sabbath' and surprisingly not for bring inanimate items to life, he strikes the kid blind. When Joseph threatens to spank him for his bratty ways Jesus basically says "do you KNOW who I am? at least I didn't kill him".

In the Gospel of Thomas (my favorite edited out book of the bible), Jesus tells off the apostles as being fame whores and only following him for the babes and wine (well maybe not in those words but in that idea LOL).

He also tells his followers that no one will find His Father by following a man, holy or otherwise. So yeah he was saying don't follow ministers, rabbis, priests as they know no more than anyone else. I wonder why church elders got rid of that part hmm?

[Devilfish]

Hell, as long as I mentioned Cracked anyway:

The 9 Most Badass Bible Verses
The 6 Raunchiest, Most Depraved Sex Acts (From the Bible)
5 Superpowers From the Bible That Put Marvel and DC to Shame

Yeah, it'd all horribly offense if you want to look at it that way, but it's just comedy. Made me laugh at least.

I have to say I really, really like the Song of Songs. And not because it all naughty in a fifth-grade sort of way. It's actually a very beautiful tale of courtship (and consummation, I suppose). Who knew the bible could be so freaking romantic?

It may or may not be the Good Book, but it's certainly a good book.

[jcrdude]

I mean, your favourite bit of the bible
(And, I don't have it, no)

Figured I'd chime in for no particular reason.

I enjoyed Song of Solomon.

If you modernize it a tad... that would make for an incredibly entertaining movie... most likely rated R... awesome

[Devilfish]

Well, there you go, that makes two of us. Sex still sells

Edited by Devilfish, 25 January 2010 - 05:02 PM.

[Mr. Hobo]

Well I think we can all agree Sunscorch is a closet theist

[luvsmyncis]

What's your favourite bit?

Oooo oooo ooo.
I like the bit about loving your enemy. To do good to those who hate you.
Everyone conveniently forgets that. But I really believe your reward will be great when you give freely, expecting nothing in return, and when you're kind to people who crap all over you. Not when you die, but just in everyday life.
Of course, you don't have to believe in God to be a graceful person.

But I hate the Prodigal Son. I can't even talk about it.

Figured I'd chime in for no particular reason.
I enjoyed Song of Solomon.
If you modernize it a tad... that would make for an incredibly entertaining movie... most likely rated R... awesome

How dare you cheapen the discussion with your tomfoolery!

Well I think we can all agree Sunscorch is a closet theist

Edited by punkrockbigmouth, 25 January 2010 - 10:21 PM.

[Ives]

i used to be an atheist up the fucking ass, and it was fun, but i can say ive turned to the dark side in recent.

i don't believe in a christian god, i just believe in the wholeness of the universe, that in itself is god, and a god in a much more powerful way than the notion of the father who has a love/hate relationship with images of himself (seems a little narcisstic to be a divine entity and so strongly morally focused on your fellow children.) i had two near death experiences, one in early october and early november, that got me more onto that way of thought.

the first nde i had was a powerful presence, something you just can't articulate in words. the way it did fucked me over so badly i was really out of it for a month. somehow, i had managed to quit drugs, quit drinking, quit smoking, but i couldn't seem to escape my own mind. the liberation i felt was so fucking great, better than grade a peruvian blow, better than sex, better than anything else pleasurable combined times a million, that i literally felt trapped by being alive. i was ready to just die, man.

my liver blew the fuck out in november, and thats when i really got to a point of transcendence above the trapped way of thinking. thats when i got to have an encounter with god that really shook me (dont mind the lack of detail, i cant explain shit about what happened with out either looking like a total loony). i felt like at that moment i had to go back, had to change the way i felt. i was given the offer to leave or stay, but i realized with what i had now there was a real purpose to my life now, a real fufillment only i can know.

what did i realize? god, i suppose, is just a term to throw around to describe the amazing reality i could feel in my heart (and i still can) in every moment. i used to be an angry guy, always seeking, always looking for the next moment rather than taking the moment i had then and running with it. i suppose you could say this kinda surrendering to the existence of everything comes at the cost of free will, but what i have is much more powerful than the whole notion of free will - its allowing yourself to grow and work hard without feeling shitty, and it makes you the king of the world.

this post will lead to a couple blowoffs, more than likely, and thats fine, none of this is logical (probably), most of it is just anecdotal and wacky at that, but i guess its a mangled way of saying ive cleared out some open space for reality, and i think that even if you dont believe in god itself as the egomaniacal fuck, there still is room for god in a much more deep sense, much more powerful than following a holy book.

[chobitz]

Ives, I too was what I called an 'angry atheist' until I had a weird sorta NDE.

I was 22 and sick as a dog. It was so bad I had to move back home. I went to my doc over and over with nausea, severe pain and a fever. The doc said it was a kidney infection, a staph infection, kidney stones and each time a new round of meds. NOTHING worked. The last visit the doc told my parents it was 'in my head' and to take me to a shrink.

One night I couldn't sleep. I was in so much pain AND too weak to even scream. I knew I was dying. I wasn't delirious tho just really pissed that this was it. I had a shitty life and boy was I mad that if there was a god he/she/it took such a fun time torturing me just to die young and in pain.

Suddenly I felt very calm and for the first time in months I felt no pain! I can't say the next was a conversation or anything that easy to explain but I felt the urge to say "OK I give it up to god. live or die my life is in your hands". All my anger had gone with the pain.

At the same time my mom told me she had a dream to take me to the ER NOW. She woke my dad up , they took me to the ER where I coded twice. Up to each time I coded I was coherent and pain free.

After testing the experts sat my parents down and said they thought it was end stage non Hodgkin's lymphoma and saw a huge mass in my abdomen. I went into surgery and they removed what the experts said looked like a huge malignant tumor.

After TEN biopsies , the doctor didn't believe the first nine, it was found to be benign. I had all the markers for cancer and for some reason it wasn't. I am in a few medical journals because of the case.

Its 20 years later and no cancer. I'm not in perfect health, but thats just life. I realized that the vengeful god of the bible is a fallacy. God is loving, and IMO gave me a second chance at life.

Surprisingly I've told this story to a few Christians, and I have gotten very angry responses. Ranging from "why would god save you if you aren't saved" or "god doesn't save atheists" or even "how do you know it wasn't the devil" the last was from a minister!

So I don't usually tell my story. But after reading your story I had to tell you that you are not alone.

[Joanna]

... kay so I've been trying to make it so Im not watching this topic anymore... and I can't figure it out. ughh. Too many emails. lol.

[Devilfish]

Surprisingly I've told this story to a few Christians, and I have gotten very angry responses. Ranging from "why would god save you if you aren't saved" or "god doesn't save atheists" or even "how do you know it wasn't the devil" the last was from a minister!

That's... that's just terrible. That's the problem though, isn't it, when Christians forget the whole 'love thy neighbor' and 'do unto others' thing in favour of 'you're right because I said so, now go tell people'. I've heard many people say that it's not God and his teachings they have problems with, just the fanclub. I can see what they mean.

Right now, there's a huge row going on my country about the newly appointed archbishop. The previous one was the sort of intellectual Christian who tried to take religion to the people in a very positive, helpful way. The new one is more of the fire-and-brimstone, church-of-the-pure type of guy. A nice enough man who truly believes and wants to help, and he's very careful and respectful in his beliefs, but he's still saying gays are sick in the head and divorce is a sin. And I can't help but think, well, what are you all complaining about? My stomach churns when he says things like that, but he's right, isn't he? Not in what he says, obviously, but all that is also part of Catholic dogma. there's no way around it. I can see why people would want to 'update' those teachings and adapt them, because they don't work in today's society, but that's not how it works, is it? When you choose a religion, you sign up for the whole package. Why not just uphold all the Catholic virtues you like, be a good person, and not call yourself a Catholic? The teachings are what they are and I can't fault our poor new archbishop for not sugar-coating it.

it's the same in many religions. I've experienced it close up with Wicca. People pick and choose everything they like about it and ignore or explain away the rest. That's not how it works. Either do it right or don't do it at all. The virtues and teachings you hold dear don't die when you stop calling yourself by the label.

[chobitz]

See I think you can have god without religion. IMO religion is just man made not god made. God didn't create Christianity, heck neither did Jesus. Jesus was a Jew therefore he probably wanted his followers to be Jewish. But again thats if you believe Jesus existed and the bible to be truth.

Personally I don't think either.

So yes IMO I can believe in god and not be religious.

Not quite off topic but you gotta love the banner ads the one right now is advertising "learn biblical Hebrew online" hahaha

[Devilfish]

Yeah, well, I think it's really weird that people have this need to be part of a deity fan club even if they intend on breaking the rules from the start. A person with webbed toes is not a duck. He may want to be a duck, he may desperately call himself a duck and show his freaky stinky toes to everyone he pleases, but he's not a damn duck. He hasn't got a bill, or feathers, or any of that ducky stuff.

That's how I see religion. You can love your neighbor until you're blue in the face, and kudos for that, but until you start believing dudes humping dudes is a sin and Satan is out to get you, you're not a Catholic. You're just a Christian-inspired nice guy. Which sounds like it should be good enough for anyone, but for some strange reason, that doesn't seem to be the case. I think that's very, very strange.

[vin]

I do believe in god, however I am not like super religious.

I do not go to church .. and haven't for many many years.

I still believe that he is there somewhere though.

See I think you can have god without religion. IMO religion is just man made not god made. God didn't create Christianity, heck neither did Jesus. Jesus was a Jew therefore he probably wanted his followers to be Jewish. But again thats if you believe Jesus existed and the bible to be truth.

Personally I don't think either.

So yes IMO I can believe in god and not be religious.

Not quite off topic but you gotta love the banner ads the one right now is advertising "learn biblical Hebrew online" hahaha

^

exactly. i believe in god and i'm not religious

[Devilfish]

exactly. i believe in god and i'm not religious

Could someone define the word 'religious' for me then? Because I'm nine different kinds of confused.

[Mr. Hobo]

I think by non-religious they mean they don't practice a religion

[Boggart]

I'm dating someone who's super religious and while I'm open-minded about it, I don't practice any type of organized religion. And I think this might cause a strain in the future . Or I could just practice and not really believe it....

[jcrdude]

Or I could just practice and not really believe it....

This has saved many relationships that I'm aware of.

[Devilfish]

Ugh, please don't. My boyfriend and I really do not see eye to eye on the religion thing. We both do our thing and that works fine, no stress and no need to lie. Don't go faking something that important to him/her, it's really scummy and in the end it'll cause grief anyway.

Edited by Devilfish, 28 January 2010 - 11:20 AM.