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Your mother being a Christian doesn’t make you one. It’s a personal decision.
It was no decision, I believed in being good for Jesus because my Mother told me about Jesus. Even after I stopped believing in your god, I believed in being good for Jesus.
Thrill, are there people that you treat with love (kindness, gentleness, patience, etc.?). Even the bible says that if you love others, you are loving God.
I'll be frank, Pleroo. When I am walking and see a homeless person I try to do my best to get them some food. I try not to give them money because they usually buy booze or drugs instead. But I would never invite a homeless person into my home or give them a $200 jacket in my car. My wife and I donate scads of stuff to Salvation Army and not for the tax write-off, believe me, because it is nothing. That's the extent of my helping the down-and out as per the way Jesus commanded. I socialize very little because I am old now. But I am kind to people and respectful of them like to the grocer and to workers who come into my home. I always tip them because I know life is hard and bills are skyrocketing. But again frankly, I wouldn't leave my comfort zone to try to help someone if it meant endangering my life. If someone sued me without cause I'd sue him back. Most of Matthew 5-7 like this
Quote:
But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
to me it is foolishness. It sounds noble on paper but in real life it is unlivable. Even churches sue like Pastor Bayless Conley did in Anaheim did to get land to build a bigger, nicer Cottonwood Church. He said God wanted him to sue because God wanted him to have that bigger church. Such nonsense is beyond my ken.
It was no decision, I believed in being good for Jesus because my Mother told me about Jesus. Even after I stopped believing in your god, I believed in being good for Jesus.
That’s just it. Christianity is not “being good for Jesus”, but rather Jesus being perfect for us. That is, doing what we cannot do for ourselves. Faith in the blood of Christ is what makes you a Christian. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, allowing us to be one with the Father.
That’s just it. Christianity is not “being good for Jesus”, but rather Jesus being perfect for us. That is, doing what we cannot do for ourselves. Faith in the blood of Christ is what makes you a Christian. Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, allowing us to be one with the Father.
Clamber off that high horse before you get bucked. You are not the arbiter of what Christianity "is."
You're a typical, mass-market, one-dimensional fundie.
I'll be frank, Pleroo. When I am walking and see a homeless person I try to do my best to get them some food. I try not to give them money because they usually buy booze or drugs instead. But I would never invite a homeless person into my home or give them a $200 jacket in my car. My wife and I donate scads of stuff to Salvation Army and not for the tax write-off, believe me, because it is nothing. That's the extent of my helping the down-and out as per the way Jesus commanded. I socialize very little because I am old now. But I am kind to people and respectful of them like to the grocer and to workers who come into my home. I always tip them because I know life is hard and bills are skyrocketing. But again frankly, I wouldn't leave my comfort zone to try to help someone if it meant endangering my life. If someone sued me without cause I'd sue him back. Most of Matthew 5-7 like this
I'm not asking if you do any certain thing. Just, are there people you treat with love? Your wife, for instance? And, treating people with respect, whether they are homeless or those working for you, doesn't that seem like love to you? So, again, if you're loving others, even the bible says that is loving God.
Quote:
to me it is foolishness. It sounds noble on paper but in real life it is unlivable. Even churches sue like Pastor Bayless Conley did in Anaheim did to get land to build a bigger, nicer Cottonwood Church. He said God wanted him to sue because God wanted him to have that bigger church. Such nonsense is beyond my ken.
So what's your assessment?
My assessment is that there's a lot in the bible that's foolishness.
I’m one of them. But jimmie has me on ignore, and John (jghorton) told me long ago he wouldn’t respond to anything I have to say. They’ve heard my story: 40+ years as a person whose entire life was dedicated to, grounded in and led by Christian beliefs founded on a sincere faith in the Bible as the word of God, and the immense grief and distress I experienced when I lost that faith. It’s apparently easier for them to dismiss me as never having been one of them and shun me as damnable and unworthy of their time. Though they insist I was never one of them, I believe they see me as a traitor and is anyone hated more than a traitor?
I can tell you one thing, Pleroo: Christians fear one thing and ONE THING ONLY:
the REAL TRUTH about their religion!!!!!
BaptistFundie put me on ignore because the information I was giving him about the REAL TRUTH of Christianity was so jolting to him it was probably rocking his world and he couldn't stand having his Christian foundation cracking by the truth about his religion. So like most other Christians around here he put his fingers in his ears and wouldn't hear it anymore.
Christians cannot stand up to the REAL TRUTH about their religion. Truth is power. Here are some examples:
1. Jesus DOES NOT show up in the historic record. There isn't a single person who wrote about him or the fabulous miracles he performed or the immense supernaturals events that occurred during his crucifixion. Even Roman trial records don't record a Jesus Christ being crucified and the earthquakes and dark skies and dead bodies rising when he died.
2. There isn't a single mention anywhere of the 12 apostles or Paul outside the Christian faith.
3. There isn't a single fragment of any of the New Testament dated any earlier than 150 CE, and that fragment is P52, a credit-card size piece of parchment that has about 12 words from what looks like John's gospel at Jesus' trial. The earliest copy we have of the New Testament dates to the Council of Nicaea in 325 CE, a full 300 years after Jesus.
4. Constantine was the real savior of Christianity, he and his son Theodosius. They saved Christianity from disappearing into the dustbin of history.
5. Most of the Christian dogma appeared 200 years after Jesus. Nothing prior to that can be verified as having been written down by any apostles. The gospels got more and more elaborate and refined as they progressed from Mark to John, showing an undeniable pattern of growth and change in dogma to suit prevailing beliefs.
I could go on and on and I HAVE gone beyond this in dozens of threads. Just check my history. It's all in the history books what I am saying. That's why Christians around here dread to converse with me. I've challenged them time and time again to disprove ANYTHING I've said about the history of Christianity and they cannot.
I am telling the REAL TRUTH about Christianity!!!!!
I can tell you one thing, Pleroo: Christians fear one thing and ONE THING ONLY:
the REAL TRUTH about their religion!!!!!
...
Thrill, I'm sure you know that is not true of all Christians. Mainly just those who are (or like myself, were) of a more "fundamentalist" mindset.
I've become a pretty pragmatic person when it comes to religion. If your loss of "Christian" faith has benefited you, then I'm happy for you. For myself, it was a necessary step in the process of releasing me from irrational ways of thinking that were very detrimental to my mental health. In my experience, not all people (not even all fundamentalists) take their religion to heart in a way that is harmful to themselves or others, however, and it benefits them in ways that are important to them. I'm curious if you would agree with that?
So Mystic, what will happen to us if we don't actually love God or are just indifferent to Him? I don't particularly love God and I certainly don't repent of sins anymore. I don't think there ARE such things as sins. These are just learning experiences to hopefully make us better people. I mean I've never heard a word from Him even in the quiet of my room when I contemplate Him. Far as I can see He was the spark plug for life here and then left us on our own. He doesn't talk to us in any meaningful way--and I am not talking about those Christians who have conversations with Him in their heads or one-way talks out loud with Him--I mean conversations that even a non-believer can hear. He doesn't interact with us. We as a human species are still here so we must be doing something right. I'd say there are 20% bad people out there but 80% of us are decent and keep the world running.
So my question again: if we're just indifferent to God like I am now, because He had absolutely no impact on my life other than through Christianity to screw it up pretty badly, what will happen to me when I die? I'd really like to know. That is a sincere question, not mocking.
Darnnit where's Mystic? I want to butt in and say some stuff here! About what happens to a fella that doesn't love God in the afterlife....psst, it's all good stuff.
But, I can say I agree...mistakes or going down some dead end path, all learning situations...not
'sins'...just missing the mark. Yup.
Funny you would say in the quiet of your room because that IS where He has spoken to me in full sentences...and picture me not breathing, stunned and motionless, not even blinking ...
first x effected for 2 full years dramatically Oct 2005...being aware also of the electric
charge in the room, the barometric pressure change, goes hand in hand when
the Divine Presence is felt or that 'veil' lifts.
It's like a bubble of stardust falling all around....even my dog acts differently around me
for a few hours afterwards walking around still stunned cuz...
I am in the Zone!!!
These 'mystical' exps do happen still...not just to Sister Faustina and St. Theresa of Avila or Jacob...they still happen to certain nuts like us.
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And, treating people with respect, whether they are homeless or those working for you, doesn't that seem like love to you? So, again, if you're loving others, even the bible says that is loving God.
