religion

[Glenzig]

Originally Posted by leewong [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

1. Um, so Bible passages from the New and Old Testament have nothing to do with Christianity...interesting.
2. So what. The slave owners should not affect what laws Jesus is passing down to human beings anymore than a murderer not following his laws would. If God was truly omnipotent he could write a book in such a way that it is timeless. What you are suggesting is that God writes different rule books for different cultures and that his laws change as time passes.

You do realize that the bible was written for the entire human family right? No, you probably didn't.
You realize that there are still countries where slavery is legal right? So would it be more "timeless" to not speak of slavery? Or would it be more beneficial to set some practical principles for those who may still own slaves?

Obviously God is wise enough to realize that no matter what century you live in, slavery would be around in some areas. I'd call that pretty "timeless".

[Sidelle]

Some of you seem to really love missing the point. I get what he's saying, why don't you even try to think about it? You look dumb when you give your typical biased knee-jerk responses that kinda seem like you miss the point on purpose. Oh nevermind. You're all just trolling, right?..

Patriam, I just wanted to say that I appreciate your posts, whether or not I agree or disagree with things you say. I'm glad you actually have the patience to try and explain your views because at least they're thought-provoking and interesting.

[Archalen]

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Oh, but it does. Seventh Day Adventists are healthy because they believe God commands them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Utah doesn't suffer many social ills in other states, I'd argue that that is related to strong family and community values (Mormon values). Christian charities were the first into Liberia to fight ebola, while you sat at your computer. Religious states in the US donate more to, and are more active in charities.

Gregor Mendel created genetics. Where did he find the resources to study pea plants? Holy shit, he was a monk in a monastery? I guess you don't believe in mendelian genetics anymore because he was associated with the evil catholic church trying to control us all!!!!! Tools

I reiterate: "I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."

If you see no value in a religion, then don't follow it. Conversely, if you see some value in parts of it but little in other aspects, incorporate what you will into your life. It is your responsibility, and yours alone, to utilize your brain to decide what is right and wrong in your life. If I decide to go to a house of worship, in my case a Baha'i shrine, why the hell is that any of your business?

I was raised in the religion that my mother taught me, and it would kill her if I left it. So why did I stay? Merely out of respect to her? Not quite. My faith taught me to work hard, to smile in the face of adversity, and to be tolerant. What part of those values do you deem to be evil? If I read them in a philosophy tome or a textbook, would they be inherently more valuable than if they came from scripture? What makes you the arbiter of right and wrong?

The only "religion" that scares me is this incessant desire from liberals and atheists to silence anyone who has a different opinion. What a fucked up world we'd have if you guys had the power to create a society without diversity of opinion, culture or thought. I'll keep praying to my flying spaghetti monster that you never have the capability.

Oh, and there are plenty of countries that have thought police apparatuses. I suggest you move to Iran, China, or Russia; you'd all fit in perfectly. Drones following the queen like in every other hive.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/op...iberia-127563/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionande...-health/10575/

I've read extensively about Seventh Day Adventists. Roughly one half are vegetarian, and those who are not generally eat less meat/ dairy products/ eggs. They also have built-in exercise like nature walks and have a very tight community. In regards to their religion, they are more contemplative (remind me more of Buddhists) than their other Christian counterparts.

They live longer in general than the rest of the United States, but that has nothing to do with belief in a Judeo-Christian philosophy. I know this for certain because other long-lived peoples of the world are not Christian. Instead, what long-lived people have in common is great social support, healthy and happy relationships, constant exercise (even if just walking a lot), eating fewer meats and dairy/egg products, eating more whole foods, etc.

[Archalen]

I know you didn't explicitly say that they live longer because they are Christian. I just wanted to make sure no readers will commit that fallacy.

[paulgiamatti]

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

If Christ believed in an afterlife, and if he knew slaves rebelling against their masters would simply be murdered, why wouldn't he advise them to submit to bondage? Why did MLK not advise blacks to fight in a bloody rampage against whites. Practicality is always lost on you idiots. Slave revolts never work.

Christ advised the obedience of slaves. That's 1000x better of a strategy than anything you dip shits could come up with. Ask Spartacus or Nat Turner.

Ah yes, what a strategy indeed! He was working in the best interest of the slaves, of course! Oh, and just to be sure it seemed authentic, there's a bit about how it's okay to beat slaves within an inch of their lives - and if they die, no big deal, the slaves are our property after all. No worries, it's all part of the strategy. It has to be practical, right?

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

However, if you assume the moral high ground, people generally, as an introspective reaction, tend to see the evil in their ways.

Completely baseless assertion. People who assume the moral high ground because they think they have god on their side are the people who end up rationalizing things like bigotry, slavery, and genocide.

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It's immoral to follow any teaching, because existing is immoral.

This is a complete non-argument and not even worth addressing. Warfare is necessary to kill people like Hitler who want to exterminate entire ethnic populations. The fact that every human being has a carbon footprint doesn't make every human being immoral. What a waste of a thought.

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The only "religion" that scares me is this incessant desire from liberals and atheists to silence anyone who has a different opinion. What a fucked up world we'd have if you guys had the power to create a society without diversity of opinion, culture or thought.

More nonsensical confusion of religion and irreligion, and also not really even worth addressing. This is the typical non-thinking religious reaction to having their shitty, immoral beliefs challenged: "You just want to silence everyone that doesn't agree with you!" No, us challenging you does not mean we're trying to silence you. Get over yourself.

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Oh, and there are plenty of countries that have thought police apparatuses. I suggest you move to Iran, China, or Russia; you'd all fit in perfectly. Drones following the queen like in every other hive.

And speaking of societies without diversity of opinion, culture or thought, have you looked at Iran lately? Have you looked at North Korea? Do you know what a theocratic dictatorship is? Did you know that this is what religion created?

[KagatobLuvsAnimu]

Originally Posted by Patriam1066 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Oh, but it does. Seventh Day Adventists are healthy because they believe God commands them to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Utah doesn't suffer many social ills in other states, I'd argue that that is related to strong family and community values (Mormon values). Christian charities were the first into Liberia to fight ebola, while you sat at your computer. Religious states in the US donate more to, and are more active in charities.

Gregor Mendel created genetics. Where did he find the resources to study pea plants? Holy shit, he was a monk in a monastery? I guess you don't believe in mendelian genetics anymore because he was associated with the evil catholic church trying to control us all!!!!! Tools

I reiterate: "I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do. I am free, no matter what rules surround me. If I find them tolerable, I tolerate them; if I find them too obnoxious, I break them. I am free because I know that I alone am morally responsible for everything I do."

If you see no value in a religion, then don't follow it. Conversely, if you see some value in parts of it but little in other aspects, incorporate what you will into your life. It is your responsibility, and yours alone, to utilize your brain to decide what is right and wrong in your life. If I decide to go to a house of worship, in my case a Baha'i shrine, why the hell is that any of your business?

I was raised in the religion that my mother taught me, and it would kill her if I left it. So why did I stay? Merely out of respect to her? Not quite. My faith taught me to work hard, to smile in the face of adversity, and to be tolerant. What part of those values do you deem to be evil? If I read them in a philosophy tome or a textbook, would they be inherently more valuable than if they came from scripture? What makes you the arbiter of right and wrong?

The only "religion" that scares me is this incessant desire from liberals and atheists to silence anyone who has a different opinion. What a fucked up world we'd have if you guys had the power to create a society without diversity of opinion, culture or thought. I'll keep praying to my flying spaghetti monster that you never have the capability.

Oh, and there are plenty of countries that have thought police apparatuses. I suggest you move to Iran, China, or Russia; you'd all fit in perfectly. Drones following the queen like in every other hive.

http://www.christianpost.com/news/op...iberia-127563/

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionande...-health/10575/

I cannot break up quotes on my phone browser so I apologize if my response isn't formatted in a way that is pleasing to the eyes.

Mormons etc.: family values need not come from religion in a modern productive society. Regardless, for every Mormon that you see, there are fifty others who identify as Christian who live in excess. While it's true that there were Christian groups among the first wave of aid, this belies the fact that there are more aid based groups not associated with faiths when compared to 'missions'. While I sat at my computer telling everyone to be calm and rational in regards to Ebola, Christian groups have been pressing for border closures and deportations as well as the abandonment of fellow citizens who were potentially infected. There are exceptions to every rule, in this case your positive examples are just that. Your point about who is more charitable is simply wrong, even with less than 20 percent of the nation opting out of selecting a religion, a secular charity (bill gates) generates much more aid than any religious charity.

Gregor Mendel did not discover genes BECAUSE he was religious, he did so in spite of the fact. He came to his conclusions via scientific experimentation, not from the pages of the bible. Correlation =/= causation. The fact that he separated his scientific curiosity from his faith is good on him alone, not his religion. The source of his funding is also largely irrelevant so I don't know why you are implying it would matter to me. The nazis invented/perfected rocket science. Do you think I believe space exploration is evil?

The rest of your post is essentially in defense of personal faith which I'm in full support of. As stated a billion times, your right to your own faith ends at the tip of your nose.

[paulgiamatti]

Oh, but my bad, we should all pay attention to what Patriam has to say about Jesus loving those poor slaves because it's thought-provoking. We don't want to hear any of that boring stuff about Jesus preaching immoral iron-age bullshit that has no validity in the 21st century. We want to hear what a great guy he was, because that's exciting!

[Sidelle]

Originally Posted by paulgiamatti [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Oh, but my bad, we should all pay attention to what Patriam has to say about Jesus loving those poor slaves because it's thought-provoking. We don't want to hear any of that boring stuff about Jesus preaching immoral iron-age bullshit that has no validity in the 21st century. We want to hear what a great guy he was, because that's exciting!

I'm sorry you took my post personally, though I don't recall using your name specifically, nor did I quote anything you've said... So what's got you all rustled? Do you think I was talking about you for some odd reason? [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

[paulgiamatti]

Originally Posted by Gaffin 7.0 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

btw ur all gonna die who cares

That's kind of the problem though, some people actually think they're going to survive their death. Some people actually believe with no evidence whatsoever that they're going to reappear in some other realm of existence and recognize their grandparents, while everyone else suffers an eternity of torture in hell.

[iruinedyourday]

Originally Posted by KagatobLuvsAnimu [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I cannot break up quotes on my phone browser so I apologize if my response isn't formatted in a way that is pleasing to the eyes.

nothing you've ever posted is pleasing to the eyes