Is God pleased with the US government? (terrorism, billion, religion)

[NC~Mom]

Originally Posted by terribletomcat

We have free choice. He wants us to do things because we want to. The Bible tells us of things to come and it is being fulfilled each day. God won't fix things for us and he knows the hearts of men will just become more evil and corrupt.

Fix the hearts of men then....or is this some sort of evil experiment?

[terribletomcat]

Originally Posted by RoaminRed

Why is this in the politics section rather than the religious section? And no, there is no god so he doesn't care one whit about what this country is doing.

Do you honestly deep down in your heart believe that? If so, what do you think happens to you when you die?

[Reactionary]

Haaziq and Jzer21 - "The Founding Fathers were deists"...

Exactly. Wrong.

Religious Affiliation of U.S. Founding Fathers
Episcopalian/Anglican = 54.7%
Presbyterian = 18.6%
Congregationalist = 16.8%
Quaker = 4.3%
Dutch Reformed/German Reformed = 3.7%
Lutheran = 3.1%
Catholic = 1.9%
Huguenot = 1.9%
Unitarian = 1.9%
Methodist = 1.2%
Calvinist = 0.6%

Religion of the Founding Fathers of America

[paperhouse]

Originally Posted by terribletomcat

Do you honestly deep down in your heart believe that? If so, what do you think happens to you when you die?

your corpse rots. The electrical impulses that were your brain/mind/soul stop firing. Same as before you were born.

[terribletomcat]

Originally Posted by NC~Mom

Fix the hearts of men then....or is this some sort of evil experiment?

Man chose his own path. He still chooses it today. God wants us to serve him but he won't force it on us. He promises a glorious afterlife but you have to turn your life over to him while you are here to ever see that next life. So many people struggle with accepting something that they can't see, hear, or touch. I don't see the wind, yet I see the effects of it as it goes by.

[terribletomcat]

Originally Posted by paperhouse

your corpse rots. The electrical impulses that were your brain/mind/soul stop firing. Same as before you were born.

Doesn't it make you sad to feel that way? I can assure you with absolute certainty that there is an afterlife. Hell is just as real as Heaven. I guarantee you that if you find a quiet place, get on your knees, and just open your heart to the one that is watching over us, your confidence in what you just wrote will be shaken. God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, but he won't force you to believe and go to Heaven either.

[paperhouse]

Originally Posted by terribletomcat

Doesn't it make you sad to feel that way? I can assure you with absolute certainty that there is an afterlife. Hell is just as real as Heaven. I guarantee you that if you find a quiet place, get on your knees, and just open your heart to the one that is watching over us, your confidence in what you just wrote will be shaken. God doesn't want anyone to go to hell, but he won't force you to believe and go to Heaven either.

You can't assure me of anything except death. Please don't waste your time trying to convince me otherwise. Religion was created to explain the unexplainable. Greek and Roman mythology used to be a religion. The bible itself was assembled by men seeking to control others. There is not one iota of proof that a god-like creature exists. There is also no proof that a god-like creature does not exist. I have made my choice and I am perfectly happy with it.

[Haaziq]

Originally Posted by Reactionary

Haaziq and Jzer21 - "The Founding Fathers were deists"...

Exactly. Wrong.



Religion of the Founding Fathers of America

Haha..nice move, but you're still wrong. Deism rejects the triune God (father, son, holy spirit). They have Christian titles, but do some research on the people individually. A lot of the beliefs in even their own religions they rejected. Hitler was baptized a Catholic and most Catholics say he wasn't a real one or he wasn't a representation of Catholocism. Do some research on the actualy Founding Fathers instead of pulling out numbers. Nice try though.

[macmeal]

Originally Posted by Haaziq

Actually, no it wasn't founded on Christian ideology or values. The Founding Fathers were deists and only believed in a creator but didn't follow a certain religion. Christians just happened to be the first religious group to inhabit America, which made it Christian majority and has remained that way to this day. That's why there is separation of church and state. The Founding Fathers did not favor any one religion.

I'd argue with this to a point. While the "founding fathers" espoused no specific denomination, and were careful to be inclusive, they did assume a basic set of "christian values", and their "God" was pretty obviously the "God" of Christian tradition.

I happen to believe that it wasn't "Christians" in general who founded our system, but a very odd little splinter group af a FEW christians, who happened to have a way-out, "over-the-top" view of personal freedom, long before it became fashionable. This rather unique viewpoint was what made the freedom of America possible. No other 'group", I don't believe, would have come up with this degree of freedom written into its laws....not Catholics, not Jews, not Lutherans, not Muslims, nor Hindus, nor Baptists. It was the unique position, I think, of acknowledging "christian values" (without naming them as such), while at the same time guaranteeing the rights of others who disagreed, that made America special.

BTW, I'm a Catholic....and my "group" certainly wasn't 'wanted' here at first, but it was ALLOWED, and the Catholic Church has flourished in America, even though this isn't a "Catholic" nation. And it wasn't as if Catholics would have done the 'same' if THEY'D started America...there are many "Catholic" nations, and their record of "religiuos freedom for all" isn't very inspiring. I guess we don't need to go over the Muslim idea of religious tolerance....but really, no place has much more tolerance than we have, and I believe the founders did have a "christian" basis for their beliefs....

[RoaminRed]

Originally Posted by terribletomcat

Do you honestly deep down in your heart believe that? If so, what do you think happens to you when you die?

Yes, I do. And when I die, I'll be dead, just like all the other dead people before me. I'll either be cremated or buried and I'll rot or be scattered to the wind. Nothing more, nothing less. This is it -- make the best of it.

And no, it doesn't make me sad. This is a great and wondrous planet to live on, and there are a lot of really cool people to meet and intriguing things to see. Everyone lives, everyone dies, no exceptions. Why should that make me sad?