Irritating To The Believer

[Martin]

did you know 75% of north americans are christian?

Of course, a fairly large number of those Christians say that a fairly large number of those other Christians are going to hell anyway.

 

[Lord Emsworth]

Origianlly posted by Riddick
this is like being mad at the tooth fairy because only the tooth fairy offers you a little reward when you lose a tooth.

Of course, if she was the one who knocked the tooth out, then

Origianlly posted by Riddick
is it the tooth fairy's fault. surely we can place blame on her.

 

[CSSMariner]

Just being an open, successful and happy atheist here in N. Central Texas is enough to irritate the hell out of most Texan true-believers. The Baptist Religion is second only to football in Texas.

When I responded to one female "truth-spouter" (the sister of the man from whom we were purchasing our new home in rural Texas and therefore a new neighbor) who said to me, "You are of course a Christian" that "I was just a people," she responded, "We will just have to work on that."

I said to her then that all I really wanted from her was to receive in return the same respect I demonstrated to her for her beliefs. That was all it took with her, and we have become good neighbors and even friends. I think that approach totally disarmed her.

However, it is normal here when one meets a new person to be asked, "Where do you go to church?" I just tell most of them that I do not do the church thing, which generally keeps them quiet.

 

[Barkhorn1x]

did you know 75% of north americans are christian?

Well, game/set/match to the Xtians!

"We're #1, we're #1, we're #1!!!"

Yea, and according to a Gallup poll released in March 5, 2001, 45% of Americans agreed that, "God created humans in their present form."

We all know what opinions are like, don't we??

Barkhorn.

 

[Riddick]

Yeah, but it just reeks of hypocrisy.

In my previous experience, believers irritated by questions just say we're going to hell. This is the first bird I've seen. A new trend?

my finger isn't very "xianlike" i need to put something else in there

some of you ask such daunting questions, it completely takes the fun out of it. others ask questions i don't mind so much.

now to think of a new sig.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

this is like being mad at the tooth fairy because only the tooth fairy offers you a little reward when you lose a tooth.

is it the tooth fairy's fault. surely we can place blame on her.

But, you see, if God exists and God created the universe then God made the rules. So if God exists then he most definitely bears full responsibility for what Triadboy described.

Look at it this way, if I put a gun to your head and demand that you give me your wallet or I will shoot you and you fail to give me your wallet and I, thus, shoot you; who is responsible for your death? Me or you?

 

[Riddick]

But, you see, if God exists and God created the universe then God made the rules. So if God exists then he most definitely bears full responsibility for what Triadboy described.

Look at it this way, if I put a gun to your head and demand that you give me your wallet or I will shoot you and you fail to give me your wallet and I, thus, shoot you; who is responsible for your death? Me or you?

gah, i will be responsible in an unwritten street common sense and you will be responsibile under common law.

i'm stuck between the teenage message boards where i own and here where i am owned. hrm.

 

[Bikewer]

Here's mine:

If Jesus' sacrifice made it possible for humans to escape the burden of original sin, and enter into heaven.....And, if this is conditional on knowing about the whole thing and accepting Jesus as your saviour (or whatever, according to sect).....Why did the all-just, all-merciful God make it so difficult for folks to find out about it?

No mile-high neon letters in the sky, just obscure events in a little backwater of the Roman empire, that no one in the world much heard about for nearly a thousand years. Even to this day, we can surmise there are folks that live thier lives and die in total ignorance of Xianity.....

Of course, Christianity realized this problem, and various groups have made heroic missionary efforts, but travel was slow. I would imagine that many millions of people have died in complete ignorance of these events.

 

[MLynn]

Where's the love?

It's the one question I would pose to modern-day Christians. They seem to be great at telling everyone else what to be and do, but they seem to be uneducated, insecure, and fail at loving people as they are commanded to do - where is the unconditonal love for human beings? I Corintians 13

 

[Keziah Mason]

I'm going to step back a bit to pose my question: What evidence is there that shows that a god exists? And to head off the inevitable, what evidence is there that shows the Bible is any different from all the other mytholgies that humans have invented? (Points deducted for circular reasoning!)

now to think of a new sig.

Thank you Riddick. Being a good example is the best way to convince others.

 

[Yahweh]

Ressurrecting a thread...

At the moment, I am looking for biblical verses from the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Sodapop, and Ponyboy which show the teachings of Jesus Christ are not completely just.

Sparklecat says:

If you're going for Bible problems, John 18:20 where Jesus lies is a good one.

Could someone explain what Jesus lies about?

 

[sparklecat]

Ressurrecting a thread...

At the moment, I am looking for biblical verses from the Gospels Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Sodapop, and Ponyboy which show the teachings of Jesus Christ are not completely just.

Sparklecat says:

Could someone explain what Jesus lies about?

I just answered your PM, but I'll respond here anyway


John 18:20 "I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret."


False. Jesus taught in boats, on mounts, to his disciples in private, etc.

 

[DangerousBeliefs]

did you know 75% of north americans are christian?

Did you know that 86% identified themselves as Christian in 1990?

 

[ceo_esq]

John 18:20 "I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret."


False. Jesus taught in boats, on mounts, to his disciples in private, etc.

Jesus offers this reply after "The high priest ... asked Jesus concerning his disciples, and concerning his doctrine" (John 18:19). Unfortunately, the precise content and phrasing of the questions to which John 18:20 is intended to respond isn't given in the account, which makes it somewhat difficult to conclude that Jesus' answer is inappropriate or (worse) false. If he was asked about, say, particular doctrines he taught in his public ministry (including in synagogues and the temple) his response might then reasonably be construed to mean "I've taught that publicly, and I've never said anything 'off the record' to contradict such teaching."

In addition, the Greek word sunagoge rendered as "synagogue" in English, apparently means "gathering", and seems to have been used rather flexibly in the New Testament (including uses of its cognate verb to mean simply "to gather"). Interestingly, the unabridged Oxford English Dictionary indicates that the term "synagogue" had a now-obsolete sense in English meaning simply "a gathering or assembly" - regardless of composition, location or purpose - and cites examples of this usage in texts from the 14th through the 19th centuries.

Particularly when one considers that sunagoge or its cognates are used elsewhere in the New Testament to indicate informal assemblies of various sizes and in various contexts (including what one would normally consider "private" gatherings of the disciples, as in Acts 4:31), it seems probable that sunagoge is flexible enough to apply to teachings imparted directly to the Twelve, or sermons on mounts, and perhaps even teachings aboard boats.

Accordingly, in light of all of the foregoing, I'm inclined to view the "Jesus lied!" interpretation of John 18:20 as rather strained and weak, although perhaps I wouldn't dismiss it entirely.

 

[ceo_esq]

did you know 75% of north americans are christian?

Did you forget to count Mexicans and Canadians? They're North Americans too.

According to data from the CIA World Factbook, 84% of the current United States population is Christian, 95% of the current Mexican population is Christian, and, as of 1991, 82% of the Canadian population was Christian.

Based on relative population data from the same source, by my quick (un-doublechecked) calculation, roughly 87% of North Americans are Christian (of whom roughly 51% are Catholic and 49% are non-Catholic Christians).

 

[rustypouch]

My one question is very similar to Yahweh's, and I have never recieved a satisfactory answer.

Why should I believe in the xian diety, holy book and mythologies over any of the hundreds, if not thousands of others that have ever existed?

 

[Christian]

My one question is very similar to Yahweh's, and I have never recieved a satisfactory answer.

Why should I believe in the xian diety, holy book and mythologies over any of the hundreds, if not thousands of others that have ever existed?

Good question. And this is too: Why is it that Christianity is the most relevant and has had the most impact of the thousands of others that have ever existed?

I have never received a satisfactory answer.

 

[Tony]

Good question. And this is too: Why is it that Christianity is the most relevant and has had the most impact of the thousands of others that have ever existed?

Because Europeans were more successful at conquering and spreading their culture. Duh.

 

[Christian]

Because Europeans were more successful at conquering and spreading their culture. Duh.

Why?

So your answer is luck? It is easy to be a monday morning quarterback.

What are the odds that this specific religion be the most succesful?

 

[triadboy]

Good question. And this is too: Why is it that Christianity is the most relevant and has had the most impact of the thousands of others that have ever existed?

I have never received a satisfactory answer.

Coercion, ignorance, and peer pressure.

Why is Islam a rapidly growing religion?

Coercion, ignorance, and peer pressure.