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We have all fallen short of the glory of God. If we have all fallen short... then we are all sinners until we repent and turn from our old ways. When people TRULY become a Christian their whole life changes. They no longer live for themselves and humanist things, but they try to put more emphasis on bringing glory to God. The TRUE Christians motto is: "It's not about me."
Look up the definition of evil. Not the bible definition. But the legal term for evil. What is it?
Look up the definition of evil. Not the bible definition. But the legal term for evil. What is it?
"The intentional commission of a wrongful act, absent justification, with the intent to cause harm to others; conscious violation of the law that injures another individual; a mental state indicating a disposition in disregard of social duty and a tendency toward malfeasance."
From the 'define Evil 'post
"The best I can come up with is someone whose trangressing of the Golden rule goes beyond the normal mischief, thoughtlesness and selfishness that is the evolved and acquired instinct of humans, and even beyond the vicious and harsh responses of those who, from fear or dogmatic delusion, feel they need to do to others that which they certainly wouldn't want done to themselves
It is the actions of those who go beyond that for no real purpose other than pleasure in the feeling or power they get or the satisfaction of causing misery to others."
Oh yeah! Sorry beachmel...misread it. Even so, a couple of inches disappearing without trace in seconds???
Yeah, I know....seems weird.... by the way...I'm a she....lol. I've seen it many times since then and it doesn't seem like much of a miracle now. LOL.... more of a disappointment, especially to my kids...and it probably wasn't just few seconds, but at the time, in my state of mind, and given the fact that I had just railed to "God", pleading with Him to make it go away, I chose to take it as an answer to my prayers.
I just had a little phrase come to my mind....."God always answers prayers.....but sometimes.....the answer is NO". I come from a family of people who are non-believers. Most of them are the kind of people who don't care who they screw over and use to get whatever they want. I don't know if they are the way they are because they don't believe or if they refuse to believe because they wouldn't be able to do the things they do to others IF they had to acknowledge that "someone" was watching them at all times. I just know this, I am not at all like them and even though, over the years, I have been tempted to do some of the bad/selfish things they do, it is my belief that has kept me in check. It is the fact that, in my heart, I feel someone is there...watching what I do, knowing what I'm thinking, that has kept me in check.
Maybe I'm wrong, I could be.....LOL...it's not as if I've never been wrong before. Maybe I'm just not that type of person....I don't know. I just know that I choose to give credit to someone/something else for not being a terrible person. It's all I knew growing up....all I've seen from my family throughout my life...
Yeah, I know....seems weird.... by the way...I'm a she....lol. I've seen it many times since then and it doesn't seem like much of a miracle now. LOL.... more of a disappointment, especially to my kids...and it probably wasn't just few seconds, but at the time, in my state of mind, and given the fact that I had just railed to "God", pleading with Him to make it go away, I chose to take it as an answer to my prayers.
I just had a little phrase come to my mind....."God always answers prayers.....but sometimes.....the answer is NO". I come from a family of people who are non-believers. Most of them are the kind of people who don't care who they screw over and use to get whatever they want. I don't know if they are the way they are because they don't believe or if they refuse to believe because they wouldn't be able to do the things they do to others IF they had to acknowledge that "someone" was watching them at all times. I just know this, I am not at all like them and even though, over the years, I have been tempted to do some of the bad/selfish things they do, it is my belief that has kept me in check. It is the fact that, in my heart, I feel someone is there...watching what I do, knowing what I'm thinking, that has kept me in check.
Maybe I'm wrong, I could be.....LOL...it's not as if I've never been wrong before. Maybe I'm just not that type of person....I don't know. I just know that I choose to give credit to someone/something else for not being a terrible person. It's all I knew growing up....all I've seen from my family throughout my life...
I have to say that this is one of the best arguments for religon (as distinct from a 'Creator'). It makes people behave better.
I have a bit of a problem with people only doing what's good because of a divine CCTV. It may be a good short term answer but I wish we'd do it because we didn't want to than because we'd be afraid of punishment - and no hope of 'getting away with it'.
You see I have two problems.
(1) the Gott is with uns syndrome. It's fine to do good things because you think God might be watching, but if the bods at the top tell you God wants you to do things that you might normally consider bad, but it's good because He says so. And to NOT do them because you don't like them is disobedience...well, you see the problem?
(2) The Savage syndrome. Named after a deconvert whose natural violence and arrogance was held in check only by his faith. Since he had never been able to build up a godless morality, he had nothing to fall back on when he deconverted. It's like disease - free people that suddenly come up against infection. They have no immunity or resistance. Mercifully, this is not too common, from what I've read.
P.T. Barnum touched on the subject but I think we need to add you can’t fool all the people all the time. It now looks like 16 to 25% of the US population recognizes the lies of the past and thus don’t follow the killing myth of Christianity. It is a good start, I hope the number continues to grow.
I have to say that this is one of the best arguments for religon (as distinct from a 'Creator'). It makes people behave better.
I have a bit of a problem with people only doing what's good because of a divine CCTV. It may be a good short term answer but I wish we'd do it because we didn't want to than because we'd be afraid of punishment - and no hope of 'getting away with it'.
You see I have two problems.
(1) the Gott is with uns syndrome. It's fine to do good things because you think God might be watching, but if the bods at the top tell you God wants you to do things that you might normally consider bad, but it's good because He says so. And to NOT do them because you don't like them is disobedience...well, you see the problem?
(2) The Savage syndrome. Named after a deconvert whose natural violence and arrogance was held in check only by his faith. Since he had never been able to build up a godless morality, he had nothing to fall back on when he deconverted. It's like disease - free people that suddenly come up against infection. They have no immunity or resistance. Mercifully, this is not too common, from what I've read.
It makes me wonder though, did I start out believing that things were bad and then looked for a justification for not doing them?.... Or was it the "fear factor" that made me realize they were wrong? LOL Looking back, as a young child, I don't remember ever thinking that my family (I'm the youngest of 9) were doing the right things....always just KNEW what they were doing was wrong. Did I gravitate toward "God" because it justified my way of thinking? LOL.....boggles the mind. Do we really need churches to tell us to "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you".... that should just be common sense, shouldn't it? sigh....another day. As for your (1)...oh I hear ya! It breaks my heart to see folks so caught up following their "religious" teachers that they become blind sheep...and end up doing things that are bad. Why anyone would fail to see that their "preachers" are simply human....and can be WRONG is beyond me. It's sad... I've had friends who were molested by ministers.....had their marriages broken up, were seduced by ministers, turned their backs on the rest of the community by them....unbelievable. I just don't get it and it makes me sad.
I remember leaving my church....and I helped BUILD that church!....because a new assistant pastor was hired...awful, man. We got into it on more than one occasion....He said, "You have NEVER shown me any respect!" I said, "If you had EVER done anything to EARN my respect, I would gladly have given it to you! You and people LIKE you are the very reason people will NOT come to church. You stand up here expecting people to show you respect JUST because you are a minister..... I got news for you buddy, if you became a minister just so you'd be "respected", you got another thing comin pal! Being a minister does not, SHOULD not automatically make people respect you. You have to EARN respect just like anyone else!" I then phoned the pastor of our church and let him know I was GONE....and would not come back ever again, unless that man was out of there. Well....long story short, he was gone in 2 weeks....not because of me, mind you, but because so many people had already gone to the pastor and even more complained after I left. I was the pianist... It took almost 2 years before I stepped foot in a chuch again and ended up leaving for good about 4 years ago. Different reasons..... though....many members of "my" church became this cliquey, arrogant, holier than though, better and fancier than though church....ick. They can't even see how wrong they are and it breaks my heart.
Thanks for that. I feel a lot happier about your situation, though I could wish you'd had a more considerate brand of parent. It's clear that you have your own values and it doesn't matter who it is that falls short, they fall short.
If you have a religion of any kind because it is needful for you that's ok. Just so you don't switch the ol' brain off and just accept what anyone tells you. I'm just glad that you didn't become religious just because something made you angry at Athe.
Thanks for that. I feel a lot happier about your situation, though I could wish you'd had a more considerate brand of parent. It's clear that you have your own values and it doesn't matter who it is that falls short, they fall short.
If you have a religion of any kind because it is needful for you that's ok. Just so you don't switch the ol' brain off and just accept what anyone tells you. I'm just glad that you didn't become religious just because something made you angry at Athe.
Honestly, I've always viewed myself as more "spiritual" than "religious"....but no, it wasn't anger....just a feeling that things weren't right....and I didn't want to live in a way that I felt was wrong...I mean, that just doesn't make sense to me.
"The intentional commission of a wrongful act, absent justification, with the intent to cause harm to others; conscious violation of the law that injures another individual; a mental state indicating a disposition in disregard of social duty and a tendency toward malfeasance."
From the 'define Evil 'post
"The best I can come up with is someone whose trangressing of the Golden rule goes beyond the normal mischief, thoughtlesness and selfishness that is the evolved and acquired instinct of humans, and even beyond the vicious and harsh responses of those who, from fear or dogmatic delusion, feel they need to do to others that which they certainly wouldn't want done to themselves
It is the actions of those who go beyond that for no real purpose other than pleasure in the feeling or power they get or the satisfaction of causing misery to others."
Gosh, that wasn't too far off, was it?
not at all, but do you see anything about god, religion, or the bible in there?
Not believing in any one of those things does not make you evil. Just because someone chooses to live a live that does not involve religion does not make them evil.
People of faith say numerous things are evil. Heck, using the internet is probably considered evil in some religion. Just because a religion says its so, does not make it so.
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Maybe I'm just not that type of person....I don't know. I just know that I choose to give credit to someone/something else for not being a terrible person. It's all I knew growing up....all I've seen from my family throughout my life...
