[Knight Templar]

.... so why don't you just make some sens eand tell him you don't think he knows what he's talking about?

[jdjtcagle]

Your talking to the wrong person if you want me to make any sense, KT...

It's around today, and I partly agree with Trashman "Christianity has been questioned, inspected, disected and people far more smarter than you have been trying to undermine it for centuries."

[diamondgeezer]

And as I pointed out, it's rapidly dying a death. Church attendance is plummeting. Once people were not only allowed but encouraged to ask quesitons, religion began to unravel. Notice how hardline Islamic countries have religious police and so forth to keep people praying? One they stopped enforcing Christianity over here, people stopped giving a fig.

[jdjtcagle]

That's awefull about the religious police... is that's still today?? I haven't heard of it...
But you can't blame religion, you can only blame people...

[Grey Wolf]

Probably referring to Iran, most likely. Fanaticism and religion. Bad combination. But anyway....

Christianity, once you get down to the core of it, is really an interesting heterogenous mixture.  You have a base of Jewish custom, with a bit of Zoroastrianism and a good deal of the assorted religions of Northern Europe, added to convert the Germanic tribes. Also, entire sects of Christianity have been destroyed (ex.: Gnostics) because they didn't follow the lead of the majority of bishops.

And that's just the history of Christianity. We don't really need to go into YHWH's evolution from an early Hebrew tribal god up until the Roman conquest for the changes in the traditions of Judaism.

Logically, these facts suggest taking any of the dogma associated with any of the Christian, Muslim, or Jewish sects at face value is pure foolishness, and that any other writings should be taken with a grain of salt.

[aldo_14]

Saudi Arabia also has religious police IIRC.

[Ghostavo]

Religion loses it's beauty once it starts taking itself too seriously.

[Setekh]

Originally posted by diamondgeezer
And as I pointed out, it's rapidly dying a death. Church attendance is plummeting. Once people were not only allowed but encouraged to ask quesitons, religion began to unravel. Notice how hardline Islamic countries have religious police and so forth to keep people praying? One they stopped enforcing Christianity over here, people stopped giving a fig.

Interesting that you keep tabs on that. So, how has the world attendance rating been going? Got numbers?

[karajorma]

Originally posted by Setekh
Interesting that you keep tabs on that. So, how has the world attendance rating been going? Got numbers?

He's right. Christianity is doing well in the third world but a recent poll in the UK showed that church attendence was at its lowest ever.

Link to the BBC site

[TrashMan]

Originally posted by Knight Templar


Right, you just need to be into the whole Jesus thing... which by definition, makes you some sort of Christian afaik.

Since when? So by your definition every good persion HAS to be a Christian?
Please... everyone who is good can go to heaven. Muslims too (they do belive in one god too, and how do we not know that Alah and God aren't the same one?), Budhist, etc....
If you're good, you're in!!!!

@diamondgeezer   -    
As far as church attendance goes - it's not really that important. I know lot's of christians, who are all belivers, but don't go to Church anymore (they watch a transmission from the church on TV mostly). Praining God doesn't mean you HAVE to be in the church to do it. And the attendance does vary from church to church..


@An0n -
Anyway, if not a single faith is to your linking, why don't you just make a new one? Make yourself the centre of your faith and promiise your followers virgins  and eternal life...

[Ghostavo]

So why were pagans amongst others.... er... you know



(kill! kill! kill!)

[an0n]

Syb over on WS promised me virgins and armies, but he never delivered so I stopped worshipping him.


As for the Angels thing and pirating some of the general ideas GW stated: The concept of anything other than a singular, all-encompassing power in Heaven didn't even come around till they started the Crusades and were sucking up polytheistic religions left, right and centre. They added the concept of Angels so that all the barbarian scum could hold on to the false idea that their deities were still real, but part of a much larger picture. Otherwise they'd have had to lay some righteous genocide on their axe-wielding asses.


Trash: I would start a religion, but it's kinda hard to get people to follow you when you're not threatening them with eternal damnation and curious concepts such as Karma and cosmic balance. My religion would be: "See things for what they are and look past your cultural indoctrination or.....I...umm.....I revoke your tax-exempt status as Arch-Bishops of my new world order!"

My 'religion' wouldn't work, because it's based on the concept of questioning everything, so the members would be questioning why they had to question everything and it'd all fall apart.


And it may be worth noting that, with the exception of Taoism, Buddhism and a few other similarly-themed far-eastern religions (IE, ones that don't offer you a paradise or eternal damnation), every 'faith' in the world is based on a foundation of genocide and general intollerance of other cultures.

[Rictor]

See, but Karma is a force rather than an entity. Like gravity.

Karma isn't spiteful or merciful, it just is. Basically, its a way fo saying "it all works out in the end". Like a cosmic balance sheet.

Well, thats my belief anyway, and therefore the only one that matters to me. And I think its pretty close to the "official" version.

[an0n]

Karma = Poke someone in the eye, the universe stabs you in the head.

[Stealth]

Originally posted by TrashMan
An0n, why don't you just accept the fact that you can't explain Heaven with your puny liitle brain.

Christianity has been questioned, inspected, disected and people far more smarter than you have been trying to undermine it for centuries.

And it is still here.

*b.t.w - If in heaven you would feel endless happines & bliss, you wouldn't give a damn about other stuff (or your own free will). Brainwash?
The ultime drug?

Oh..you don't have to worry about going to Heaven tough....Slim chance of that happening...

dammmnnn man, a harsh post for sure!

insult the ideas in an argument guys, not the people presenting them

[an0n]

He would, but he can't.

[Stealth]

yeah, well this thread has potential, but the way it's going it's going to get closed REAL soon by an admin, and i'd hate to see that

... because i'm actually enjoying reading it

[Grey Wolf]

Actually, an0n, angels most likely have their roots in Zoroastrianism. That'd put their origin sometime in the first millenium BC, probably aroudn the time of the Babylonian Captivity.

[Knight Templar]

Originally posted by TrashMan


Since when? So by your definition every good persion HAS to be a Christian?
Please... everyone who is good can go to heaven. Muslims too (they do belive in one god too, and how do we not know that Alah and God aren't the same one?), Budhist, etc....
If you're good, you're in!!!!
 

Did you miss the whole New Testament? If you want to go to Heaven with GOD as in The One that is called I Am, The Father, The Lord, etc, with Jesus and all his cohorts, your dog Teddy that died when you were six, and so on... you kind of need to be beleive in the Jesus martyrdom-sacrafice shebang, which more or less, makes you a Christian.

I don't know what religon you're into, but only crazy people would think that Muslims, Jews, Christians, Buddhists, Atheists,.. , ... could all live in the same Heaven together.

[jdjtcagle]

KT is right...
What did you think happened??