Topic: TOP TEN REASONS TO BELIEVE IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
the_one_for_u's photo
Thu 10/21/10 01:36 AM
yeah what he said you spend to much time doing this when you should read as well as do this

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 04:14 AM


"The way of a fool

is right in his own eyes:

but he that hearkeneth

unto counsel is wise."




no photo
Thu 10/21/10 04:20 AM



TOP TEN REASONS TO BELIEVE IN THE CHRISTIAN FAITH



1. The credibility of Its Founder: Peter spoke for Jesus' closest followers when He said, "Lord, to Whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that Thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God." (John 6:68-69)



2. Reliability of Its Book: The integrity of this historical and geographical Record is supported by archeology. The Bible continues to speak not only with spiritual power but also with convincing prophetic accuracy.



3. Explanations for life: It is the Christian faith that reflects a caring attention to detail so evident in the species and ecosystems of the natural world. It is Christ Who clothed Himself in our humanity to feel what we feel and then to suffer and die in our place.



4. Its continuity with the past: The Christian faith offers continuity with our deepest ancestral roots. Those who trust Christ are accepting the same Creator and Lord worshiped by Adam, Abraham, and Solomon.



5. Its foundational claim: The first Christians were witnesses. They risked their lives to tell the world that with their own eyes they had seen an innocent Man die and then miraculously walk among them 3 days later.



6. Its power to change lives: Not only were the first disciples dramatically changed but so were their worst enemies. Paul was transformed from a killer of Christians into one of their chief advocates. (Galatians 1:11-24)



7. Its analysis of human nature: The Bible says that society's real problems are problems of the heart. In an age of information and technology, failures of character have scandalized institutions of the family, religion, and the arts.



8. Its view of human achievement: Generation after generation has hoped for the best. We have conceived technologies that will deliver us from the oppressive slavery of work. Yet we are as close as ever to what the New Testament describes as the end times. (Matthew 24:5-31)



9. Its impact on society: From rooftops to necklaces to earrings, we see the sign of the cross, bearing visible witness to Christ's death. Social relief agencies have been fueled by the direct or residual values of The Bible.



10. Its offer of salvation: No other faith offers everlasting life as a gift to those who trust the One Who has overcome death for them. No other system offers assurance of forgiveness and adoption into the family of God.




"Suffer me that I may speak;

and after that I have spoken,

mock on."

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 05:27 AM
Top 1 reason why I never try to "convert" anyone....

1. John 6:44

MiddleEarthling's photo
Thu 10/21/10 06:06 AM


1. Lack of knowledge
2. Lack of ability to reason
3. Fear of death
4. Peer pressure
5. Cultural bias
6. Natural stupidity
7. Willingness to follow a leader
8. Unwillingness to think for one's self
9. Lazyness
10. likes being part of the "in" crowd


I gotta hand you the brevity award. drinker

The Bible is the stupidest mythology on Earth and there isn't a sane reason to believe that it's anything more than superstition.

It's a shame that the Christians feel such a need to try to sell this crap to other people. If they could just learn to keep it to themselves they'd be much happier.

They call this the "General Religion" forums, but no one ever gets to truly discuss religion in general because it's always nothing but the constant proselytizing of Christianity.

It's the most selfish religion on Earth. Save for maybe the other two Abrahamic religions.



no photo
Thu 10/21/10 08:56 AM


1. Lack of knowledge
2. Lack of ability to reason
3. Fear of death
4. Peer pressure
5. Cultural bias
6. Natural stupidity
7. Willingness to follow a leader
8. Unwillingness to think for one's self
9. Lazyness
10. likes being part of the "in" crowd


I gotta hand you the brevity award. drinker

The Bible is the stupidest mythology on Earth and there isn't a sane reason to believe that it's anything more than superstition.

It's a shame that the Christians feel such a need to try to sell this crap to other people. If they could just learn to keep it to themselves they'd be much happier.

They call this the "General Religion" forums, but no one ever gets to truly discuss religion in general because it's always nothing but the constant proselytizing of Christianity.

It's the most selfish religion on Earth. Save for maybe the other two Abrahamic religions.


Brevity IS the soul of wisdom. Thx.
And we agree on the rest of what you wrote...except I don't think Jews are all that selfish. Well, I've never heard them proselytize anyway.

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 08:58 AM



1. Lack of knowledge
2. Lack of ability to reason
3. Fear of death
4. Peer pressure
5. Cultural bias
6. Natural stupidity
7. Willingness to follow a leader
8. Unwillingness to think for one's self
9. Lazyness
10. likes being part of the "in" crowd


I gotta hand you the brevity award. drinker

The Bible is the stupidest mythology on Earth and there isn't a sane reason to believe that it's anything more than superstition.

It's a shame that the Christians feel such a need to try to sell this crap to other people. If they could just learn to keep it to themselves they'd be much happier.

They call this the "General Religion" forums, but no one ever gets to truly discuss religion in general because it's always nothing but the constant proselytizing of Christianity.

It's the most selfish religion on Earth. Save for maybe the other two Abrahamic religions.


hmmmm.... selfish you say?... hmmmm........ Yep it's a selfish belief :D that's why we are to love thy neighbour as thyself. And we are to help others when we know of them being in need. We love everyone unconditionally to what they have done in their lives. No segregation, no favouritism, no nothing along those lines. Just love them, forgive them of their trespasses against us, help them when they are in need. Yes i totally agree, very very selfish.



I've said it before and it's still true, YOU are an anomoly among christians.

RKISIT's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:01 AM
i'm really wanting to post something but i'll type nothing further

msharmony's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:07 AM

Top 1 reason why I never try to "convert" anyone....

1. John 6:44



"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.



one reason also that I have visited this particular thread less often


the subliminal judgements about what is INTELLIGENT and what is not, as an intelligent person myself, border on ridiculous


belief and faith have little to do with intelligence, much more to do with experience, and people come to their beliefs through their EXPERIENCES,, plain and simple

I cant give anyone else the experiences which have lead to my faith in God and the Bible, and I cant take the experiences of others which have lead them to refute the Bible or deny God

this particular thread rarely seems to teach anyone anything, unlike other threads where people might read and learn something they didnt know,,,

when it comes to faith, or lack of, most of us tend to have already decided at this point in our life that we know all we need to ...

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:09 AM



By reading your posts through my time on here, who are you to judge what's intelligent or not?


And who are you to claim to speak for God? huh

You have a sick demented book that you claim is the "Word of God".

Moreover, you demand that only your interpretations and conclusions about this book are correct.

You have twisted every verse of these ancient scriptures into the most hateful statements you possibly can. And it's totally uncalled for.

You are proselytizing "Cowboyianity, that has absolutely nothing at all to do with any man (or demigod) named Jesus. You've created your own version of hate.

You don't speak for God, and you most certainly don't speak for Jesus.

You're just a hateful person on the Internet trying to use religion to support your religious bigotry. Shame on you.

This is precisely what this ancient myths of jealous God's cause. They create people like you who judge others in the name of God and condemn them for not accepting YOUR PERSONAL VIEWS of the mythological God that YOU CREATE.

You've created your own monster God.


Kinda laying it on a little thick, aren't you? Yeah, christianity is crap and hateful ect ect ect, but not every christian is so.
I really don't think Cowboy is a bad person. He may be confused and ignorant of reality, but evil? No, I don't think so. Give him a break. He's only doing what he feels is right and I've not seen him once belittle anyone else. How many of us can say that about ourselves?

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:14 AM

Top 1 reason why I never try to "convert" anyone....

1. John 6:44


You're just trying to make my table wobble again...

msharmony's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:22 AM




By reading your posts through my time on here, who are you to judge what's intelligent or not?


And who are you to claim to speak for God? huh

You have a sick demented book that you claim is the "Word of God".

Moreover, you demand that only your interpretations and conclusions about this book are correct.

You have twisted every verse of these ancient scriptures into the most hateful statements you possibly can. And it's totally uncalled for.

You are proselytizing "Cowboyianity, that has absolutely nothing at all to do with any man (or demigod) named Jesus. You've created your own version of hate.

You don't speak for God, and you most certainly don't speak for Jesus.

You're just a hateful person on the Internet trying to use religion to support your religious bigotry. Shame on you.

This is precisely what this ancient myths of jealous God's cause. They create people like you who judge others in the name of God and condemn them for not accepting YOUR PERSONAL VIEWS of the mythological God that YOU CREATE.

You've created your own monster God.


Kinda laying it on a little thick, aren't you? Yeah, christianity is crap and hateful ect ect ect, but not every christian is so.
I really don't think Cowboy is a bad person. He may be confused and ignorant of reality, but evil? No, I don't think so. Give him a break. He's only doing what he feels is right and I've not seen him once belittle anyone else. How many of us can say that about ourselves?



I agree regarding Cowboy. I actually admire his heart and his spirit quite a bit. I would love to get back to the youthful faith and innocence he emits,,,

Abracadabra's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:34 AM

Kinda laying it on a little thick, aren't you? Yeah, christianity is crap and hateful ect ect ect, but not every christian is so.
I really don't think Cowboy is a bad person. He may be confused and ignorant of reality, but evil? No, I don't think so. Give him a break. He's only doing what he feels is right and I've not seen him once belittle anyone else. How many of us can say that about ourselves?


But he does belittle other people all the time. He accusing them of being enemies of God. That's an ignorant thing to judge anyone of.




no photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:46 AM


Top 1 reason why I never try to "convert" anyone....

1. John 6:44



"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.



one reason also that I have visited this particular thread less often


the subliminal judgements about what is INTELLIGENT and what is not, as an intelligent person myself, border on ridiculous


belief and faith have little to do with intelligence, much more to do with experience, and people come to their beliefs through their EXPERIENCES,, plain and simple

I cant give anyone else the experiences which have lead to my faith in God and the Bible, and I cant take the experiences of others which have lead them to refute the Bible or deny God

this particular thread rarely seems to teach anyone anything, unlike other threads where people might read and learn something they didnt know,,,

when it comes to faith, or lack of, most of us tend to have already decided at this point in our life that we know all we need to ...


ummm...you do realize how stupid that bible quote is, don't you? It absolves me of any responsibility for my own end fate. If, say, I were to die now, most of you good christians would agree I would not end up in Heaven. At which point, I could absolutely truthfully say, "But 'The Father' never drew me." And since your holy book says no one can come to Jesus unless 'The Father' draws him, this means that God always intended that I die and go to Hell. Which makes God, my supposed creator, pretty much an a-hole, doesn't it?

Same thing if God gave YOU experiences that gave you faith, but not me. Or anyone else, for that matter. What you are saying, in effect, is that it's never any humans fault for not having faith in God.
I contend that punishing any being for what is not their fault is an evil act. Thanks again for confirming that your God is evil.

Fun with logic...

Now please, show me where I'm all wrong with some brilliant cognative dissonance. Christians are really good at that.

No offense intended. No really, I mean it. I'm just saying...

Abracadabra's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:47 AM
rofl


Look at how silly this fable truly is!


John.14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.



John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.


No one can get to the Father but by Jesus, but no one can get to Jesus buy by the Father. whoa

So clearly humans have no choice in the matter. You can't get to Jesus by choice like the Christians have claimed. Their very own fable rejects this notion. The only thing you can do is wait to be drawn in by the Father.

Jesus taught this in other verses as well when he spoke about lost sheep. He said that he would go out looking for his lost sheep, he never suggested that he expects them to come looking for him.

Of course, we can't truly say that Jesus taught any of this because we have nothing from Jesus. All we have to go by is these convoluted rumors written by other men. Men who often disagree with each other, and even contradict their very own claims.

The mere fact that Jesus did not agree with the teachings of the Torah is really all the evidence that we truly need to conclude that Jesus could not possibly have been the son of the God of Abraham.

So we can reject those rumors right off the bat. If we can connect the teachings of Jesus with anything, the closest philosophy that was popular in those day would have been Mahayana Buddhism.

Just compare the moral teachings that were attributed to Jesus in the gospels with the moral teachings of Mahayana Buddhism including their concept of a Bodhisattva and it's clear that Jesus was far more likely a Buddhist than he was the demigod of the God of Abraham.

It's really that simple.

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:48 AM





By reading your posts through my time on here, who are you to judge what's intelligent or not?


And who are you to claim to speak for God? huh

You have a sick demented book that you claim is the "Word of God".

Moreover, you demand that only your interpretations and conclusions about this book are correct.

You have twisted every verse of these ancient scriptures into the most hateful statements you possibly can. And it's totally uncalled for.

You are proselytizing "Cowboyianity, that has absolutely nothing at all to do with any man (or demigod) named Jesus. You've created your own version of hate.

You don't speak for God, and you most certainly don't speak for Jesus.

You're just a hateful person on the Internet trying to use religion to support your religious bigotry. Shame on you.

This is precisely what this ancient myths of jealous God's cause. They create people like you who judge others in the name of God and condemn them for not accepting YOUR PERSONAL VIEWS of the mythological God that YOU CREATE.

You've created your own monster God.


Kinda laying it on a little thick, aren't you? Yeah, christianity is crap and hateful ect ect ect, but not every christian is so.
I really don't think Cowboy is a bad person. He may be confused and ignorant of reality, but evil? No, I don't think so. Give him a break. He's only doing what he feels is right and I've not seen him once belittle anyone else. How many of us can say that about ourselves?



I agree regarding Cowboy. I actually admire his heart and his spirit quite a bit. I would love to get back to the youthful faith and innocence he emits,,,


Yeah....he really is cute, just like a little kid...:smile:
But I'm thinking at some point, he should start growing up a bit...
Just my opinion...

msharmony's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:53 AM



Top 1 reason why I never try to "convert" anyone....

1. John 6:44



"No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.



one reason also that I have visited this particular thread less often


the subliminal judgements about what is INTELLIGENT and what is not, as an intelligent person myself, border on ridiculous


belief and faith have little to do with intelligence, much more to do with experience, and people come to their beliefs through their EXPERIENCES,, plain and simple

I cant give anyone else the experiences which have lead to my faith in God and the Bible, and I cant take the experiences of others which have lead them to refute the Bible or deny God

this particular thread rarely seems to teach anyone anything, unlike other threads where people might read and learn something they didnt know,,,

when it comes to faith, or lack of, most of us tend to have already decided at this point in our life that we know all we need to ...


ummm...you do realize how stupid that bible quote is, don't you? It absolves me of any responsibility for my own end fate. If, say, I were to die now, most of you good christians would agree I would not end up in Heaven. At which point, I could absolutely truthfully say, "But 'The Father' never drew me." And since your holy book says no one can come to Jesus unless 'The Father' draws him, this means that God always intended that I die and go to Hell. Which makes God, my supposed creator, pretty much an a-hole, doesn't it?

Same thing if God gave YOU experiences that gave you faith, but not me. Or anyone else, for that matter. What you are saying, in effect, is that it's never any humans fault for not having faith in God.
I contend that punishing any being for what is not their fault is an evil act. Thanks again for confirming that your God is evil.

Fun with logic...

Now please, show me where I'm all wrong with some brilliant cognative dissonance. Christians are really good at that.

No offense intended. No really, I mean it. I'm just saying...



Im not offended, just more proof that people are stubborn in their faith or lack of,,,

If I say to you, I cant be a lawyer unless I pass the bar, does that mean it is not my 'fault'(your word, I choose the word 'responsibility') that I am not a lawyer

of course to take the verse out of context as if the meaning infers some singular requirement, it makes little sense

taken in the CONTEXT of the BIBLE and its teachings, however, it makes perfect sense because the rest of the book tells us which actions, words, choices are pleasing to God (and therefore likely to cause his APPROVAL and blessing)

we are responsible for our actions and words, our CHOICES, and though the experiences we are born into our not ours to decide, it is certainly our CHOICE of what we do with them and every experience thereafter ,,,,and those choices lead to more experiences,, and so on

so that , because of our choices being individual, we will have individual experiences and interpretations of those experiences which will lead us to our BELIEFS.....

msharmony's photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:55 AM






By reading your posts through my time on here, who are you to judge what's intelligent or not?


And who are you to claim to speak for God? huh

You have a sick demented book that you claim is the "Word of God".

Moreover, you demand that only your interpretations and conclusions about this book are correct.

You have twisted every verse of these ancient scriptures into the most hateful statements you possibly can. And it's totally uncalled for.

You are proselytizing "Cowboyianity, that has absolutely nothing at all to do with any man (or demigod) named Jesus. You've created your own version of hate.

You don't speak for God, and you most certainly don't speak for Jesus.

You're just a hateful person on the Internet trying to use religion to support your religious bigotry. Shame on you.

This is precisely what this ancient myths of jealous God's cause. They create people like you who judge others in the name of God and condemn them for not accepting YOUR PERSONAL VIEWS of the mythological God that YOU CREATE.

You've created your own monster God.


Kinda laying it on a little thick, aren't you? Yeah, christianity is crap and hateful ect ect ect, but not every christian is so.
I really don't think Cowboy is a bad person. He may be confused and ignorant of reality, but evil? No, I don't think so. Give him a break. He's only doing what he feels is right and I've not seen him once belittle anyone else. How many of us can say that about ourselves?



I agree regarding Cowboy. I actually admire his heart and his spirit quite a bit. I would love to get back to the youthful faith and innocence he emits,,,


Yeah....he really is cute, just like a little kid...:smile:
But I'm thinking at some point, he should start growing up a bit...
Just my opinion...



I think he is young, but not a kid.

I also think being grown has to do with being responsible for oneself and contributing to the world around you, which I dont know him well enough to say that he is/does or not....

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 09:59 AM


Kinda laying it on a little thick, aren't you? Yeah, christianity is crap and hateful ect ect ect, but not every christian is so.
I really don't think Cowboy is a bad person. He may be confused and ignorant of reality, but evil? No, I don't think so. Give him a break. He's only doing what he feels is right and I've not seen him once belittle anyone else. How many of us can say that about ourselves?


But he does belittle other people all the time. He accusing them of being enemies of God. That's an ignorant thing to judge anyone of.






Really? You really think that's belittling? I'm thinking that's more indicative of your insecurities than of his attacks.
No, wait, that's not entirely fair either. However, I don't think accusing someone of being an enemy of God is belittling. In his mind, I'm sure it falls under "statement of fact".

In any case, he can accuse me of that all day, and I'd agree. If God is, as is described by christianity, than I'll be His enemy forever.

no photo
Thu 10/21/10 10:04 AM

rofl


Look at how silly this fable truly is!


John.14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.



John 6:44 No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.


No one can get to the Father but by Jesus, but no one can get to Jesus buy by the Father. whoa

So clearly humans have no choice in the matter. You can't get to Jesus by choice like the Christians have claimed. Their very own fable rejects this notion. The only thing you can do is wait to be drawn in by the Father.

Jesus taught this in other verses as well when he spoke about lost sheep. He said that he would go out looking for his lost sheep, he never suggested that he expects them to come looking for him.

Of course, we can't truly say that Jesus taught any of this because we have nothing from Jesus. All we have to go by is these convoluted rumors written by other men. Men who often disagree with each other, and even contradict their very own claims.

The mere fact that Jesus did not agree with the teachings of the Torah is really all the evidence that we truly need to conclude that Jesus could not possibly have been the son of the God of Abraham.

So we can reject those rumors right off the bat. If we can connect the teachings of Jesus with anything, the closest philosophy that was popular in those day would have been Mahayana Buddhism.

Just compare the moral teachings that were attributed to Jesus in the gospels with the moral teachings of Mahayana Buddhism including their concept of a Bodhisattva and it's clear that Jesus was far more likely a Buddhist than he was the demigod of the God of Abraham.

It's really that simple.


Which reminds me of a funny joke.
What did the Taoist say to the hotdog vender?

Make me one with everything.

just a bit of levity in an otherwise humorless forum..