Tigers of Old said:All I'll say on the matter is if you're at a party and you want to stop it dead in it's tracks... bring up Politics or Religion. Are their any more polarising subjects than these two?
tigersnake said:I’m of the firm belief that people should be able to practice whatever religion they want, as long as it doesn’t negatively impact on others, and as long as they don’t try and foist it on others. I personally am an atheist. I believe we walk the earth, do the best we can, treat others as we want to be treated, then its over. I personally don’t see any problem with that, people do live on, but only in the memories of those still living. I reckon the human obsession with life after death is based on our ego-centredness. People think they can’t possibly just end because they are the centre of their own universe.
I don’t deny that I hold a lot of values that are known as Christian, like ‘do unto others’, but I believe that those values were formed over centuries by community leaders trying to guide others to do the right thing, not some greying bearded bloke sitting in a cloud. Also, I accept that I might be wrong, if I ever see any evidence of gods existence, I’m willing to consider it on its merits.
As for this thread, and Jayfox’s comment about homosexuality being identified as a sin in the bible, that annoys the hell out of me. The bible says all kinds of strange things are sins. It says things like ‘if your wife runs away, pierce her ear with skewer so if she runs away again people will know she belongs to you’, and ‘if you have a bung eye, gauge it out’. The bible says a lot of weird kooky stuff, so if you adhere to the principle that ‘the bible says so’, you’re in for some strange times. My point is that Christians and Muslims of various pursuasions pick and choose what to abide by in their respective instruction manuals depending on expediency, pragmatism, politics, whatever.
jayfox said:What I believe is that I am not perfect, just forgiven. And the only way to receive forgiveness, and eternal life, is if you belive that Jesus is God's son, who died on the cross and rose again on the third day to save us from our sins.
rosy said:jayfox said:And the only way to receive forgiveness, and eternal life, is if you belive that Jesus is God's son, who died on the cross and rose again on the third day to save us from our sins. ........
I get tempted every day and sometimes I fail and sometimes I don't but the wonderful assurance I have is that if I am truly sorry I am forgiven no matter what I have done. This assurance is open for anyone who chooses to put their faith in Christ.
I'm not an atheist, I've just never seen any evidence that God and Jesus exist. Maybe I haven't been tapped on the shoulder yet for some reason, who knows?
rosy said:I'm not meaning to open a can or worms here but pedophiles are the scum of the earth in my opinion. Would priests who stoop to such low acts do so because they know they can be remorseful, till the next time, and all will be forgiven by the God they believe in?
jayfox said:rosy said:I'm not meaning to open a can or worms here but pedophiles are the scum of the earth in my opinion. Would priests who stoop to such low acts do so because they know they can be remorseful, till the next time, and all will be forgiven by the God they believe in?
I agree Rosy that pedophiles are the scum of the Earth and if it was up to me I would annihilate them. However, if a pedophile was to truly repent and change his ways then God would forgive him. That is the absolutely amazing thing about God's grace. He will forgive us no matter what we have done and all we have to do is ask for it. We are never too far away from God for him to accept us. I also do not believe in paying pennance for sins as Jesus taught us in the New Testament that he had paid the penalty for our sins so it was no longer necessary.
tigersnake said:I’m of the firm belief that people should be able to practice whatever religion they want, as long as it doesn’t negatively impact on others, and as long as they don’t try and foist it on others. I personally am an atheist. I believe we walk the earth, do the best we can, treat others as we want to be treated, then its over.
tigersnake said:As for this thread, and Jayfox’s comment about homosexuality being identified as a sin in the bible, that annoys the hell out of me. The bible says all kinds of strange things are sins. It says things like ‘if your wife runs away, pierce her ear with skewer so if she runs away again people will know she belongs to you’, and ‘if you have a bung eye, gauge it out’. The bible says a lot of weird kooky stuff, so if you adhere to the principle that ‘the bible says so’, you’re in for some strange times. My point is that Christians and Muslims of various pursuasions pick and choose what to abide by in their respective instruction manuals depending on expediency, pragmatism, politics, whatever.
Phantom said:jayfox said:rosy said:I'm not meaning to open a can or worms here but pedophiles are the scum of the earth in my opinion. Would priests who stoop to such low acts do so because they know they can be remorseful, till the next time, and all will be forgiven by the God they believe in?
I agree Rosy that pedophiles are the scum of the Earth and if it was up to me I would annihilate them. However, if a pedophile was to truly repent and change his ways then God would forgive him. That is the absolutely amazing thing about God's grace. He will forgive us no matter what we have done and all we have to do is ask for it. We are never too far away from God for him to accept us. I also do not believe in paying pennance for sins as Jesus taught us in the New Testament that he had paid the penalty for our sins so it was no longer necessary.
Those 3 sentences have inspired more crimes against humanity than I have time in my life to write about. "I can do what I want when I want in the name of God, and if crimes are committed in the process then I will beg for God's forgiveness and get it."
Sheesh! :
cassady said:jayfox says, 'in my opinion those people have completely missed the teachings of their faith and are after a vehicle for their own agenda.'
so you read minds too, man?