|
|
|
|
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/26/2008 2:03:13 PM | christ's teachings initiated an awareness of the interconnectedness of all creation and our obligation to each other. however, what i see now from many who claim to follow those teachings scares me to death.
I'm with you on that... Condemning and "not suffering a (insert type of human here) to live" contradicts Jesus's version of the Golden Rule.
With that being said, It is only that which contradicts the Golden Rule that I ignore... I can and have learned from the parables, metaphores and teachings attributed to Jesus... Maybe not Christ tho. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/28/2008 8:32:44 PM |
It always cracks me up when people say they refuse to go to Church or to believe the Bible because of hypocrites
Does it also crack you up that some of the posters said that they decided to ignore Christianity because none of the various Christian sects are able, or willing, to explain why their dogma contradicts the Bible?
If so, then you are, in your own little way, a part of the reason that some people stay away from Christianity.
Look around you at the different Christian beliefs. They can't all be right because they do not agree with each other.
Have you already made up your mind as to which one is right, and which one we should all support so that you and your ilk will no longer laugh at [or judge] us?
Or do you not care if your choice is correct--you are still "saved" because you support something [whether or not that something is right or wrong]?
If so, then we are all "saved" as well because we all believe something--whether or not that something is right or wrong.
What's your point? | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/28/2008 10:50:32 PM | Well, you apparently missed my point as I was referring to hypocrites not differences of opinion. You also took the liberty of trying to put words in my mouth something that your "ilk" always seem to do. Not that I owe you an answer, but as to Christian beliefs not agreeing with each other, I am assuming that you mean various denominations. No, I do not have one that I feel is more true than the rest. I do believe there are some absolute Truths that a Church needs to have. Then there are things that denominations disagree on that I feel are too minor to worry about.
Now what was your point? | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 12:41:37 AM | Most I have talked to that have chose not to believe are more upset with someone Other than God who either (mis)represented God or Tought (force-fed and guilt-tripped and such, moreso I'm sure) God to be this heinus jerk or task master or puppet-master. Or whatever rigamaroll they had a problem with.
I've been through hard times wich I dont care to divulge in-you understand-but I do understand that I'm given a chance to draw my strength from Christ or I can turn my back on Him and frump it out and be sarcastic because when someone is sarcastic, they usually are searching for deeper happiness and peace within themselves. Hm.
I chose to draw from Him and within my spirit myself in which He gave me in the first place to grow stronger and with more courage in life than whine like a li'l **** and turn my back on something that does allow me to work through things like a strong person does.
I believe still. After all the bs in my life. You pick what you want.
 | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 4:55:29 AM | "when someone is sarcastic, they usually are searching for deeper happiness and peace within themselves"
^^ why cant they just be sarcastic? Why do you have to read something deeper into it? Does it make you feel comfortable that people are sarcastic because they are 'lost and unhappy'?......
Personally I believe in a higher being or beings if you like... but I refuse to attend a man-made construction and be told what I should believe in before I am accepted into the 'arms of god'.....
Its like being told 'If you dont believe in Santa Claus, you'll get no presents!'...
I believe that If Im a good person, that should be enough. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 5:08:34 AM | Ok. Firstly: someone not believing in god because they're upset with with someone who thinks god's a jerk? Really? I'm sorry, but this doesn't even make sense. It's probably just unclear wording though, so I'll leave it alone.
The bigger problem is viewing the motivations of others through the prism of one's own bias. This is tantamount to me strolling in here and saying 'Most believers I know are egotistical weaklings who can't face the fact that humanity isn't as special as we've always assumed we were'. Besides being****sh in the extreme, with this statement I'd be assuming that I know more about their motivations then they do, which of course is a very hard thing to accomplish with one person, let alone with all or most of a group of people.
someone Other than God who either (mis)represented God or Tought (force-fed and guilt-tripped and such, moreso I'm sure) God to be this heinus jerk or task master or puppet-master. Or whatever rigamaroll they had a problem with.
I'm sure you're sure. I'm also sure that in a majority of cases, you're wrong. It is entirely possible to come to the conclusion that a given hypothetical god would be a jerk, a task master or a puppet master (or indeed, all three) without some insidious 'being lead astray'. I'm sure most who feel that way would support their views with observations from the world around them, their own lives, or your very own holy book, and that 'That guy over there told me so, and I see no reason not to believe him' wouldn't come up too often.
Further, I'm not sure it even needs saying that 'force-fed, guilt tripped, and such' tactics of indoctrination have been the bread and butter of religious institutions for centuries, so there's really no high ground to be found with a blanket accusation of such.
I've been through hard times wich I dont care to divulge in-you understand-but I do understand that I'm given a chance to draw my strength from Christ or I can turn my back on Him and frump it out and be sarcastic because when someone is sarcastic, they usually are searching for deeper happiness and peace within themselves. Hm.
I'm sorry, you're understanding is that you have a great deal fewer choices than you actually have. I don't think I've ever heard of sarcasm as a belief system unto itself before. I guess I can see the appeal, but I think it would wear pretty thin. My point is this: Believing offers many more choices than Christ. Not believing offers many options besides 'frumping and sarcasm'.
I'm also going to take issue with your definition of sarcasm, mainly because I like Dostoyevsky's better. "the last refuge of modest and chaste-souled people when the privacy of their soul is coarsely and intrusively invaded."
I chose to draw from Him and within my spirit myself in which He gave me in the first place to grow stronger and with more courage in life than whine like a li'l **** and turn my back on something that does allow me to work through things like a strong person does.
I believe still. After all the bs in my life. You pick what you want.
Sigh. So, is it Jesus that's telling you to look down on those who don't believe as you do, or are you winging it with that one? How fortunate we all are, believers and non-believers alike, that we don't live in the world as you see it. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 6:03:09 AM | ""but I expected smart aleck answers and that is what I got, because most people really do not have a clue to why they believe the way they do. ""
you say that,,, but then you dont explain y u believe as you do. you say you expected smartaleck answers and then you offer one yourself with just a wee bit of edge just to............. to what? make yourself appear superior to other posters? | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 6:04:55 PM | | Well, my introduction to my pagan beliefs was a slow approach. I stopped following my catholic teachings at an early age. No one ever wanted to explain why and they made it seem wrong that I was even asking questions. So I stopped. Then I started taking lessons in anthropology and started seeing the similarities among many belief systems around the world. That some how led me to Wicca and the practice of modern neo-paganism that basically says that it's the world and nature that is the origin of spirituality and that believing the way I wanted to and how I felt was right was not a wrong way to think. Asking why was completely OK. So the more I looked in to it the more I decided this reflected my own way of thinking. I don't ignore christianity. It's so prevelant in our society it cannot be ignored. Everything closes for christmas. No one closes for the winter solstice. I believe that Jesus of Nazareth existed as a real person. And like many special individuals in both ancient and modern history the cosmos sent him with a message for humanity. That we should be good to eachother, treat eachother like brothers, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give a roof to those who have no place to go. There have been others in human history that have said the same thing. Interstingly they seem to all meet the same fate. I just think his lessons have been lost in the need to make rules rather than to take to heart what Jesus was telling us. So..that's my story for what it's worth. | |
|
| |
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 7:07:39 PM | Well, here is one last shot at answering the OP. It is a simple answer. I would still wager
many won’t get it.
No, it is not a set-up to debate you, I just want to know why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision?
So all of you folks who decided you NEEDED to argue / debate / criticize any of the folks who
decided to play along and do as the OP ask, add your own names and your own actions to the list of reasons why ...
many here have made up their minds that there is no God or have decided that Christianity is not for them.
You folks will never “get it” because you never can simply listen nor resist a chance to hear your own
voices spout off at “non-believers” Thanks for illustrating this point so clearly . | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/29/2008 7:48:32 PM | I am a factual person who likes things in black and white. "Blind faith" requires you to be blind to facts.
You said "I see many here have made up their minds that there is no God or have decided that Christianity is not for them" I am not sure why you only used christianity in reference to god. Many religions believe in a "god" that are not christian.
I do believe in a higher power as most certainly there has to be something greater than human life form. The Bible is a nice story but only an interpretation. God did not write it. I know there is "something" above me....not sure what it is or should it be called God or by another name. I live by one rule. I treat others as I wish to be treated. It works well and it does give me comfort knowing something over me is in control. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/31/2008 8:11:12 AM | Actually religious people brought me to this point.
People who live "religious" lives and quote scripture but don't even know the basics of their religion.
Nor do they live their lives according to the beliefs they espouse.
Seeing this at a young age, I decide to some exploring.
What I found was that most religions don't practice the love and tolerance that they preach...
And that none provide real (i.e. non-faith based) explanations for the natural world.
Faced w/ believing what other people told me to...and believing what I could test and find falsifiable...I chose the latter.
Never looked back... | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/31/2008 10:03:08 AM | it seems like the more intolerant that someone is, the more they talk about acceptance
the more dishonest they are, the more they talk about honesty
the more arrogant they are, the more they talk about humility
the more they hate, the more they talk about love
the more hypocritical they are, the more they tell others to practice what they preach. | |
|
| |
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/31/2008 5:46:51 PM |
You also took the liberty of trying to put words in my mouth
Not true at all.
I quoted you…
It always cracks me up when people say they refuse to go to Church or to believe the Bible because of hypocrites
I asked a question regarding that quote…
Does it also crack you up that some of the posters said that they decided to ignore Christianity because none of the various Christian sects are able, or willing, to explain why their dogma contradicts the Bible?
I made a statement conditional on your answer…
If so, then you are, in your own little way, a part of the reason that some people stay away from Christianity.
I made an observation…
Look around you at the different Christian beliefs. They can't all be right because they do not agree with each other.
I asked a question…
Have you already made up your mind as to which one is right, and which one we should all support so that you and your ilk will no longer laugh at [or judge] us?
I asked another question…
Or do you not care if your choice is correct--you are still "saved" because you support something [whether or not that something is right or wrong]?
I made a statement conditional on your answer…
If so, then we are all "saved" as well because we all believe something--whether or not that something is right or wrong.
I asked a question…
What's your point?
So, you are being dishonest when you say "You also took the liberty of trying to put words in my mouth"
----------------------------------------------------
No, it is not a set-up to debate you, I just want to know why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision?
Not entirely true. Maybe it was not a "set-up to debate", but "why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision" was not your only intention. Your own words are proof...
I expected smart aleck answers and that is what I got, because most people really do not have a clue to why they believe the way they do
I think most on here who dog Christians just like being smartasses.
I created this thread for the purpose of seeing if any of the critics of Christianity really have studied this in depth or were just blowing hot air. So far, the latter seems to be the case
I wanted to see who was just a smart aleck punk and who actually had studied the matter and had something to say
I am kind of curious as to why so many of you who have given up on Christianity gravitated to the religion section of a singles site.
You know, I think it is pretty sad that many of the people who have answered my original question here claims to have given up on God because they were/are horny. It would be hilarious if it were not so pitiful.
If anyone wants to look seriously at one of the best arguments for God's exitence, I recommend highly a book called "the God who is there" by Dr. Francis Schaeffer.
It always cracks me up when people say they refuse to go to Church or to believe the Bible because of hypocrites.
-----------------------------
Now what was your point?
I am forced to conclude that is a mocking and facetious question. My point was in plain English, and no parables or word plays were involved. It should have been easy for anyone to figure out what it was if they really wanted to know. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 1/31/2008 7:09:07 PM | "not suffering a (insert type of human here) to live"
I HAVE MISSED A FEW POSTS ON THIS THREAD, but i see some flamer tossed out the "suffer the witch to live" nonsence and then seemed to take it literally.
anyone who takes the bible literally as a whole is an idiot. you have to be able to decipher the symbolism in it to begin to get a grasp on the deeper teachings. the majority of ppl are not capable of doing this. theologians can. some of it is fairly straight forward,, > love they neighbor as thyself, thou shalt not kill, adultery, etc. but most of it is symbolic.
as well, much of it has been altered, and reinterpreted as it fit the governing body of the period, and as it began to fully reach the populations. the original passage of "thou shall not suffer the witch to live" is usually taken out of context and used to berade the nature based religions, i.e. PAGANS. like the rest of the book, this passage has been altered and thereby the original intent and meang was changed. the original passage said "shall not suffer the alchemist" meaning "he who made medicines", and did so intentionally to cause harm. the passage is about intent to do foul play under the guise of medicinal assitance. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/1/2008 7:23:01 PM | None of my decisions involving Christianity has been an easy row to hoe , so to speak. It has been a gradual evolving process, which has gone full 360 degree through my journey of life.
Being raised in a very strict, fundementalist family, the Church I was raised in believed you loss your salvation through every act of sin. I grew weary of that, and in my late teens started to with draw from those beliefs. For I was not then, and am not now ,perfect in any way shape or form. At first, I didnt reject " Christianity as such, more like started to believe it was an impossible way for me to live. So why even attempt to?
Gradually, I started to pull right away from any beliefs in Christianity and for many years , lived as an agnostic, sometimes flirting with aetheism. It was in my late 40`s, that I started to become unsatisfied with those beliefs though, there seemed to be something pulling me all the time to the conclusion that there had to be a God , creator or something out there more important than my self.
It was while reading the Bible, to debate a Christian I worked with, that I realized that what had driven me from my Christian beliefs, had not been Gods word, but rather the misinterpretation, or what I had been taught, that was faulty in the first place! We didnt have to be perfect, without sin, God didnt hate us because of our sin. Rather, he sent his son to die for us , a great act of love actually, for sinners just like me.
Reading Hebrews facinated me. " For we have a high priest who though sin free, had been tempted him self", we are told. So he did understand my struggles after all. He didnt hate Catholics, everybody different than what I had been taught as a child. In fact what struck me while reading the Bible was how well Christ had treated others with divergent views than hismself. The woman at the well, the tax collector etc..
It was the same Bible I had been taught way back when, but now I was reading the whole passage, not just a verse here and there taken out of context in order for some Church to 'prove' its faulty doctrine .
Looking back with hind sight, I would say now, that it was faulty teaching, interpretation, of what I thought God was, is what drove me from my Christian beliefs. It was reading the Bible, on my own, with the purpose of disproving it to my self, that convinced me it was a truly inspired work from God and that the God of Christianity was the truth. | |
|
| |
| |
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/2/2008 7:08:15 PM | I just want to know why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision?
This thread's been going for a while, so I thought I'd quote the original poster's question.
I don't believe in the Christian god or Jesus for the same reason I don't believe in Allah, Buddha, Zeus, Thor, Helios, Mithras, Dionysus, Loki, or any of the other 10's of thousands of gods that humans believe in and have believed in.
The funny thing is, Christians are just as atheistic towards all those above gods (except their own of course). If a Christian would honestly say why they are atheistic towards all of those other gods, then they will understand why I am atheistic towards their's as well.
The Christian god and Jesus are simply the current incarnation of humankind's pathological need to have a magical god to explain the unknown... it used to be eclipses, floods, and volcanoes, but with those things understood, the last mythical god has been relegated to those areas that science hasn't been able to touch... the spiritual nature of "good", "evil" and death.
James, Port Orchard, Washington, USA, Earth | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/2/2008 8:46:28 PM | OP, I am an atheist because I have taken the approach that I am going to unreservedly accept the supremacy of reason. I believe that I have a lifestyle and ethical outlook, which I verify each and every day by experience and the scientific method. I don't just reject the christian god, I reject all gods. Ask a christian if any of the hindu gods exist and you hear them reject each and every one of them, as do I.
If as an atheist I'm wrong, I'm just a chick who didn't buy the story because there wasn't a shred of concrete proof. On the other hand, if a theist is wrong, he or she is a person who bought into a fantasy.
I am independant of all arbitrary assumptions of authority.
Be well everyone........ | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/2/2008 9:30:25 PM | | You asked for people's honest responses then say that their responses basically don't meet your standards. Do you think THIS could be why people turn from Christianity? That they have real questions, real thoughts and real feelings that are dismissed as childish, wrong or "smart alek". Really! Ask a question and receive the answer or don't ask a question. You're clearly saying here "there are no real reasons to NOT believe that an old book is the undeniable written word of God, so try to prove me wrong *raspberry*". | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/3/2008 12:24:21 PM | There are many, many reasons that caused me to reject christianty. But ultimately, it was it's lack of compassion, love, and acceptance for all that seal it's fate for me.
It's much more than that of course, but that's it in a nutshell. And I just don't reject christianity by the way, I also reject all
religions that preaches their truth as being the only truth and the only way, at the exclusion of all others.
But I don't just "ignore" christianity either. First of all, how could I ignore it even if I wanted to when it's all around me?
And second of all, something that, in my opinion, has that much power and influence on people should never be ignored. I just wrote in another thread that I felt that ignorance was at the root of all evil, and this is no exception.
In my opinion, it is now more important than ever to keep a very close eye on christianity and on the people who claim to be
doing "god's" work in it's name.
So while I might reject christianity, I am not just going to ignore it and pretend it isn't what it is... in my opinion, that could prove
to be the gravest "sin" of all. But that's me, and this is just MY opinion...to each their own.
Love and peace 
JMHO | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/3/2008 5:40:47 PM | Sorry handsome you got it wrong...Jesus was a Jewish Rabbi and attended Temple every Friday night and Saturday morning for Shabbat services. Shabbat is a weekly holidays that some Jewish people observe. Christianity did not come into existance until after Jesus's death and resurection. Most Jesus followers were Jewish and the ones that were not had to convert to Judism before they could become a Christian. This isnot made up but in the BIBLE and histor books. | |
|
| What made you decide that Christianity should be ignored?
Posted: 2/5/2008 3:01:28 AM | ""I just want to know why you do not believe in God or Jesus and what brought you to this decision? ""'
there are any number of reasons one turns from christianity as a religion, usually its because of the fundamentalist notions.
i for one have not turned from god or jesus, i have however, turned away from christian churches. the worst thing to ever happen to faith is religion, the worst thing to happen to a faith based doctrine is the church leader and congregation.
sorry but i have a problem with a church building that does nothing to minister to the neighborhoods in which it sits. go to any of the big churches (usually pentacostals) that are in the larger cities. look at the neighborhoods in which they sit. how come year after year, more gets put into a building fund than gets put into ministering to the neighborhood inhabitants. I know that in detroit, the biggest churches ( predominantly black parishes) sit in the worst of neighborhoods and these churches spend more on security and sound systems than they do on reaching out to the poor and destitute of its neighborhood. AS A CHRISTAIN PERSON I TAKE HUGE ISSUE WITH THAT. i wont align myself with a church that does this.
ppl turn from xianity cuz the churches have prostituted the faith in the name of their own agendas which have nothing to do with the preachings and teachings in the bible. | |
|
|
|
Home
login 
