Religion

squiggley1 · 08-29-2011, 02:09,

I'm christian Methodist but I refuse to believe certain things in the bible seeing as it would have been really easy for the pope to just write stuff in about what they thought was pure not actually what god thinks :p

Cerce · (This post was last modified: 08-29-2011, 02:23 by Cerce.)

If god can do anything can he make a rock that is too big for himself to carry? - Yes. However, if he can make it too big, he can make himself larger as well, or just make the rock smaller.

If christianity has one god then how come there is the son, god and the holy spirit (and jesus talks to god, so none of that they are the same thing unless jesus is crazy) - There is One God. He is God the Father. Jesus is the Son of God and Man, sent here to sacrifice himself for us and explain God in a matter that a human can understand. The Holy Spirit is God within us, also known as the Holy Ghost and the Helper.

How come there was a religion that was before christianity that is nearly identical, including a virgin mother? - If you are refferring to Zietgiest and his various references to earlier religions, you must understand that he lists as references the same people various times for the same thing. Also, the Egyptians, if that is what you are reffering to, quite basically said that so that they could have something for Christians to come to (kind of how like some of the churches of today exlude some Christian doctrines and put in some native ones - wich is wrong in every sence of the word).

If christians are so against gay rights then do they also wash one of their hands before the other? because that is next to it in the bible. - You are referencing the Old Testimate. However; us Christians do tend to wash our hands. In the New Testimate, Romans 1:18-25 references the various sins of people who fell out of the favor of God and fell into sexual immorality, such as laying with men as they would with women.

Full verse:

18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

And Squig? If you don't believe in what is written in the Bible, then what is there to believe? It's like saying "I don't believe Jesus lived because someone could have written that he did instead of him actually existing". That is completely wrong.

No scripture goes back to Him withought it's work being done.

**yottabyte** · 08-29-2011, 02:30,

I'm officially still a christian, but personally I don't care too much about religion. I don't see any reason to question all this stuff. My version is: you are on planet earth, do what you want with your life, just get on with it.

Cerce · 08-29-2011, 02:51,

Why can't you do that and still serve God, yotta?

SirSuba · 08-29-2011, 02:58,

This is a side question, but why do certain churches push their religion on others?
This is a US question mainly. It should not be up to a religion to decide what is right in a society (gay marriage, abortion)

TehCthulhu · 08-29-2011, 03:19,

(08-29-2011, 02:58)SirSuba Wrote: This is a US question mainly. It should not be up to a religion to decide what is right in a society (gay marriage, abortion)

I'm afraid that is one of the consequences of democracy. Even if the laws are not supposed to come from religious morality, if the majority of the voters belong to a certain religion, well...

I also wish there were fewer laws that seem to be directly created from religious teaching, but sadly I don't think most people are ready to elect secular politicians, despite the second largest (and not by a little) religious demographic in the country is "agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion".

bowser956 · 08-29-2011, 04:08,

I'm buddhist.

Cerce · (This post was last modified: 08-29-2011, 04:35 by Cerce.)

(08-29-2011, 03:19)TehCthulhu Wrote:
(08-29-2011, 02:58)SirSuba Wrote: This is a US question mainly. It should not be up to a religion to decide what is right in a society (gay marriage, abortion)

I'm afraid that is one of the consequences of democracy. Even if the laws are not supposed to come from religious morality, if the majority of the voters belong to a certain religion, well...

I also wish there were fewer laws that seem to be directly created from religious teaching, but sadly I don't think most people are ready to elect secular politicians, despite the second largest (and not by a little) religious demographic in the country is "agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion".

Firstly: Agnostic, atheist, or simply having no religion is 15% of America's population as opposed to 76% being Catholic or Protestant allone - not counting other Christian sects. As a result, laws will be passed in favor of the majority.

Seccondly: We do not 'push our religion on America'. America takes a pat on the back and some prayers to spur them on as molestation and verbal assault. I still don't understand what is so wrong about voting to save lives, or voting against the joining of two peoples that, according to Science, makes them in essence, walking dead.

The Scientific Requirements for Life are as fallows, if you want a non-religious point of view:
1) made of 1 or more cells
2) contain DNA as genetic material
3) respond to stimuli
4) metabolize
5) reproduce- here lies the problem.
6) evolutionary change

Also, on the argument that 'A fetus does not live'...

1) made of 1 or more cells-at no point does a fetus have less than one cell.
2) contain DNA as genetic material-both the sperm and egg contain compliments for each other as far as genetic material and DNA.
3) respond to stimuli-If a sperm can move on its own swimming up the birth canal then it responds to stimuli when it enters the egg
4) metabolize -of course he/she needs food from the mother to survive at all times during development and it has to go somewhere.
5) reproduce - It firstly reproduces cells to create itself, and, after it is born, and achieves a certain age, can reproduce
6) evolutionary change-humans have evolved, therefore that which is the beginning of a human also evolves.

Now, no, I don't 'hate gay people' or am homophobic. I love gay people - no homo (no pun intended). It is the act of being gay that defiles the original purpose of sex, and that is 1. to show affection to your spouse, and 2. the act of reproduction.

If you would like a more biblical reason, God formed us in our mother's womb, and knew us before we even knew ourselves. Therefore, every single fetus, reguardless of stage or activity, has a potential future in God's plan.

Homosexuality is an outright defilement of what God intended to be pure, loving, and special. Today's society has turned what was once an act of pure love, an act between one man and one woman that were deaply in love, into a thing to have fun with. It's now a game, a source of pleasure, something to flaunt. It is no longer special or loving in today's world. I have fought, will fight, and continue fighting to back God in all things.

Now, I'm sure someone will say TL Grin

R or 'Your starting a flame war here', so I will not continue unless asked.

I'd like to know a Budhist's point of view on these subject matters, if possible.

geckosquid · 08-29-2011, 04:36,

Wow. I have to say, this is the first religious discussion I've ever witnessed that hasn't blown up into a fight over beliefs.

I love this community...

Personally, I just believe that anything is possible, and some things are more likely than others. Nobody's wrong; they just have a different set of answers to the resounding question: What is the nature of existence?

I call this Whateverism.

Cerce · 08-29-2011, 05:10,

20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

I highly doubt that this world was created by a big bang. Or by a meteor crashing into the earth. Science in and of itself cannot describe the beggining of the world. Therefore, that is out of the question.

Most of the major religions (Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Jewish, etc.) believe that the world was created by God for a purpose; usually to serve said God. That is the nature of existence, from my point of view. To serve God. All have the same idea with that, but there is only one road to truly doing as God would have you do.