satinbutterfly
Miss Piggy
Actually... that's very amusing.
And if the path you choose is Christianity, then you believe all people who don't believe in Jesus are going to hell, and everyone else is wrong. Just sayin.
Will God be obsolete in 100 years?
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Actually... that's very amusing.
And if the path you choose is Christianity, then you believe all people who don't believe in Jesus are going to hell, and everyone else is wrong. Just sayin.
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Warning....lots of words.
I've never engaged an atheist in a discussion regarding the existence of God. As an atheist, I don't recall ever trying to persuade anyone to join my er..non belief. I think that as a group, we lack catchy quotes and slick brochures, we don't offer summer camp for kids or evolution study time. I think that we need a new marketing campaign or flashy slogan. Maybe I will start canvassing my neighborhood on Sunday mornings talking to my neighbors about the existence of space.
The one truism of religiosity (thank you for the word Pan) or dare I say mythology, spanning all cultures in time, is the belief that there has to be something bigger, some explanation of why we are here and to explain even natural phenomenon. A lightening storm can still be scary, even though today we know what causes it. No matter what culture, there is a mythology that has played out across the world from man's earliest beginnings. Sun gods, weather gods, moon gods, gods to sacrifice virgins for appeasement. I believe that the concept started at the beginning of sentience, a way to explain away the unexplainable due to lack of knowledge of our natural world and our own beginnings, and ultimately to assuage the fear of our ultimate demise.
I've never engaged an atheist in a discussion regarding the existence of God. As an atheist, I don't recall ever trying to persuade anyone to join my er..non belief. I think that as a group, we lack catchy quotes and slick brochures, we don't offer summer camp for kids or evolution study time. I think that we need a new marketing campaign or flashy slogan. Maybe I will start canvassing my neighborhood on Sunday mornings talking to my neighbors about the existence of space.
The one truism of religiosity (thank you for the word Pan) or dare I say mythology, spanning all cultures in time, is the belief that there has to be something bigger, some explanation of why we are here and to explain even natural phenomenon. A lightening storm can still be scary, even though today we know what causes it. No matter what culture, there is a mythology that has played out across the world from man's earliest beginnings. Sun gods, weather gods, moon gods, gods to sacrifice virgins for appeasement. I believe that the concept started at the beginning of sentience, a way to explain away the unexplainable due to lack of knowledge of our natural world and our own beginnings, and ultimately to assuage the fear of our ultimate demise.
Peter Parka
Well-Known Member
Actually... that's very amusing.
And if the path you choose is Christianity, then you believe all people who don't believe in Jesus are going to hell, and everyone else is wrong. Just sayin.
But if "everyone else" doesn't believe in hell then your point is moot. It's like saying those who don't believe in God think those who do are delusional. What's the difference? Humans have the tendency to think this way. Look at sports fans. Some of the really devout ones will take issue with anyone that doesn't share their view. Same with politics. Rivalry is a part of human nature and something that will probably always exist. Tolerance is the key in my opinion. So if there is a religion that believes I am "going to hell" because I don't believe exactly as they do then so what?
First off I am a Christian. I don't consider myself a real "Bible thumper" but I do know enough to clear up what looks like a misunderstanding. As a Christian I do believe the only way to redemption is through Jesus. As far as those who don't believe I don't care if they go to hell. Their soul is not my responsibility. I would share my beliefs with anyone but I know I can't force them to accept what I believe, horse, water, drink and all that. Some people choose hell because they aren't willing to turn their will over to God. It is that simple. So there is no need to worry. While Christians will share their beliefs with you they can't force you to go that way. As far as I am concerned I really don't care if you go to hell. That choice is yours to make.
Leananshee
Active Member
Getting back to the OP, not only are there "sacred cows" in every system of belief in this life, no one knows if there is one thereafter or what might await if there is. Even as a Christian I don't pretend to believe that I know exactly what a "heaven" or a "hell" might be; matter of fact the Bible says explicitly we won't know all there is to know in this life. As someone who thinks it morally repugnant to do right or wrong out of hope for reward for fear of punishment, I don't focus so much on the heaven-hell concept anyway. And Christianity isn't so simple as just accepting Christ; I personally doubt many Christians know what that really means, so can't really explain it to others. The short answer is that if you let God work in and through you, you naturally follow the law, whether God's or man's. It's a persistent connection to the divine. A focus on that makes the heaven-hell thing largely obsolete, and I wish more Christians would make that their focus. The fundamentalists really don't focus on what's truly fundamental, and neither do many mainstream Christians. Oh, well. Christianity is evolving just like the human species, at the same slow pace, in the historical sense. It will eventually happen.
One of the most interesting interpretations of heaven and hell, though, came in the movie "What Dreams May Come". In it, what we reap is the product of what we do, not necessarily as the reward or punishment of God but as a natural development. I don't think that interpretation would have been made 100 years ago, and I wonder how we might view it 100 years from now.
One of the most interesting interpretations of heaven and hell, though, came in the movie "What Dreams May Come". In it, what we reap is the product of what we do, not necessarily as the reward or punishment of God but as a natural development. I don't think that interpretation would have been made 100 years ago, and I wonder how we might view it 100 years from now.
Speaking even more to the OP, that's precisely the interesting evolution of religion. It seems likely the unknowable concepts within religions (which is obviously debatable in itself) will change a great deal, at least in non-fundamentalist regions.
True dat savvy. I can't believe many people put so much faith in the theory of evolution. At the end of the day it doesn't really explain the origin of life unless you believe something pops into existence out of nothing. You really have to believe in mystical magic to buy into that.
The nature and intention of science is to evolve, and it does.
That's what some of the boneheads in the biology department have to believe anyway.
Yeah, that's the ticket. Sounds like politicians could use that bullshit as well! hahaha! :24: :24: Hey, Ol' Newt really isn't a scumbag he is just "evolving"
Science begins with a hypothesis, work is done to prove or disprove the hypothesis. Not sure your point.
satinbutterfly
Miss Piggy
My point was, and still is, that once you choose to believe in Christianity then you choose to believe all other paths are wrong, hence believing anyone who hasn't accepted Jesus as the son of God is going to hell.
Which is exactly why I don't think God will ever be obsolete, as too many people on this planet like to believe that everyone else that doesn't believe as they believe are wrong and going to some bad place in the hopes their life meant something.
Once you choose any path you do the same. The hell part is really irrelevant.
satinbutterfly
Miss Piggy
Actually as someone who is agnostic I don't believe anyone is wrong. So actually... you're wrong. :surrender
lol That's the sign of a fundamentalist. I don't believe in any of the various hells concocted by religions. So I'm not worried about anyone going to one. But if the question is do I care if other people are tortured then absolutely I do.
Leananshee
Active Member
While many Christians do believe that, not all of them do. I, for one, do not. The two do not go hand in hand.
Which brings us back to the OP. You don't have to have a religion to have an ethos. I had the latter long before the former. Whereas I choose to believe there is a God that works in my life that helps me keep that ethos, I'm not going to judge the one who doesn't. For all I know, God may be working in that person, or I'm delusional for thinking there's a God working in and through me. But I'm content to believe as I do, and let the atheists trash the theists, the fundies trash anyone that ain't them, and so on. Take me for what I am, I'm an example of a Christian who doesn't have to devalue anyone else to value what I have. I'm hoping in time that will be the norm.
That's a sign of prejudice.
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