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Not the same. The politicians work for you--you have a relationship with them wherein they are supposed to be doing what you ask them to because you are paying them to do that.
Let me see if I have this correctly. "God" gave me a brain and intelligence. But I'm not supposed to use it? Such as knowing that humanoid fossil found recently in South Africa is certainly older than the creation story in Genesis says the world is? Hmm. I need to ponder this. OOPs! Thats right! I'm not supposed to ponder such things!
This is the god of the book, the book where intelligence is never even mentioned much less seen as a virtue. Blind dumb obedience without thought or questioning is the theme.
Christians who evangelize are doing so out of good intention usually. However, in my belief, a lot of it is misguided.
You have absolute free will in deciding what to do, so no amount of persuasion is necessary. You will not fry in hell for not being persuaded.
Whenever a Christian tries to convert me, I feel flattered that he or she cares so much about me to do it. I once was in their shoes, so I know what they are trying to do, and I have no ill will toward them. I let them know I'm flattered, and I wish them well. I do not argue with them or engage in any kind of combative conversation because I won't change their minds, and they won't change mine. I don't even WANT to change their minds, because I know they are choosing what they are comfortable with.
I am choosing what I am comfortable with, which is let everybody make their own choice and don't try to coerce, convince, or persuade others to be like me. Free will for all!
Whenever a Christian tries to convert me, I feel flattered that he or she cares so much about me to do it.
I guess it all comes down to a question of perspective. Whenever a Christian tries to convert me, I'm automatically offended at their complete and total disregard for my own religion. The implication that I have to be wrong (because, obviously, they cannot be anything but right) is deeply offensive. To me, anyway.
In addition, when confronted or bested in an argument, Christians do come to a character judgment of you. I recently ran some unwelcome JWs off my property by simply out-logic-ing them at every turn. My time here on C-D as an intern, learning how real-life Christians do respond to various levels of logic and truth, has armed me well in the real world where they cannot hide behind some online name, or by simply not responding to direct logical questions.
I'm now sure that many Christians here feel they are achieving some level of success in the war on Satan and non-believers by purposefully irritating us with troll posts, or with regurgitations of the exact same answers asked and answered on previous threads or posts. They feel if they can keep us off guard or furtively searching for that past link we already provided, then they have achieved some greater goal.
But in fact, to apprentice here as a neophyte intern, to initially try to honestly respond to a Christian post with facts or logical argument, only to have it rammed back down our throats, or to be relentlessly insulted by association, is very instructive. Very much so. What they have acheived is to better arm us as to what to expect. The very anonymity that "protects "them, else we might end up driving burning crucifixs into their lawns, means they are uncommonly honest here in what they truly believe deep down.
So when we do encounter them live and face to face, at a cocktail party for instance, where they cannot escape, we then know how they think. Or when they invade my private property to try to foist off their silly ideas on me with an inane comic book showing a roman soldier riding on a saddled Brontosaurus (that one still brings a good hearty laugh...), well, then we got 'em good, guys! We've learned all the right armor-penetrating projectiles, all the right strategies and all the right comebacks.
Oooopss! Strategic error I'm afraid, to have shown all your weak arguments and bad armor.
And so, those hapless JWs were last seen quickly retreating into their cars, slamming the doors, and me saying, very politely (I'd never even raised my voice, in fact smiling through all my answers..):
"Why the rush to leave? I haven't even begun to answer your questions yet! Come back!"
In addition, when confronted or bested in an argument, Christians do come to a character judgment of you. I recently ran some unwelcome JWs off my property by simply out-logic-ing them at every turn. My time here on C-D as an intern, learning how real-life Christians do respond to various levels of logic and truth, has armed me well in the real world where they cannot hide behind some online name, or by simply not responding to direct logical questions.
I'm now sure that many Christians here feel they are achieving some level of success in the war on Satan and non-believers by purposefully irritating us with troll posts, or with regurgitations of the exact same answers asked and answered on previous threads or posts. They feel if they can keep us off guard or furtively searching for that past link we already provided, then they have achieved some greater goal.
But in fact, to apprentice here as a neophyte intern, to initially try to honestly respond to a Christian post with facts or logical argument, only to have it rammed back down our throats, or to be relentlessly insulted by association, is very instructive. Very much so. What they have acheived is to better arm us as to what to expect. The very anonymity that "protects "them, else we might end up driving burning crucifixs into their lawns, means they are uncommonly honest here in what they truly believe deep down.
So when we do encounter them live and face to face, at a cocktail party for instance, where they cannot escape, we then know how they think. Or when they invade my private property to try to foist off their silly ideas on me with an inane comic book showing a roman soldier riding on a saddled Brontosaurus (that one still brings a good hearty laugh...), well, then we got 'em good, guys! We've learned all the right armor-penetrating projectiles, all the right strategies and all the right comebacks.
Oooopss! Strategic error I'm afraid, to have shown all your weak arguments and bad armor.
And so, those hapless JWs were last seen quickly retreating into their cars, slamming the doors, and me saying, very politely (I'd never even raised my voice, in fact smiling through all my answers..):
"Why the rush to leave? I haven't even begun to answer your questions yet! Come back!"
Tooo good and tooo much attention for and to them. I just tell them I don't believe in ghosts...holy or otherwise. Sometimes I tell them I'm not superstitious and when they respond that Christianity isn't superstition...then I tell them about the ghost bit.
Tooo good and tooo much attention for and to them. I just tell them I don't believe in ghosts...holy or otherwise. Sometimes I tell them I'm not superstitious and when they respond that Christianity isn't superstition...then I tell them about the ghost bit.
Here's the REAL DEAL: Anyone who would be offended by Christian friends telling them that they will pray for their benefit, needs to get a thicker skin. If that's your worst problem...you've got no problems.
When the JWs stop by my house I usually invite them in...and when they see the strippers walking around, naked, drinking & getting high, laughing and making out with each other in the hot tub, and a video of one of them playing on the TV...they get all out of sorts. Then when I ask the strippers, who, for some reason are 90% Wiccan, to tell them about their theology, they usually "have another appointment".
One time a JW lady came with a young girl (I think it was her daughter) that was very beautiful. One of the girls tells her "You're sooooo hot!", and then another asks, "Did you ever think of dancing, you should come in with us tonight...you'd make a ton of money". You could tell they were looking at her with the same thoughts a kid has when they look at an ice cream cone. The older lady shook her head, said , "Oh, no, no, no ,no", got up, took her by the arm, and they were out of there in a flash. Funny, those two never came back. I wonder why?
Rafius,
It's not a matter of what He could or couldn't do...He COULD compel anything He wants...He created the whole Universe out of nothing. He has given us free will...and so that is what we have. He could force our beliefs...but He wouldn't...not because He can't...but because He gave us the promise of having free will...and He CANNOT break His promise, and still be an honest God.
oh yeah, it can even get some folks to accept some truly wierd notions. The characters in comic books do some truly strange things as well, but no one seriously suggests we worship them.
oh yeah, it can even get some folks to accept some truly wierd notions. The characters in comic books do some truly strange things as well, but no one seriously suggests we worship them.
The difference is: We view the comic book characters as something we made...and view God as something that made us (and everything else). That's why man worships Him and not the comic book characters. I'd have thought you smart guys would have figured that out.
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