Religion Ask a Christian - Continued in Part 2

[Chief]

Continued in Part Two:

https://www.bigfooty.com/forum/threads/ask-a-christian-part-2.1295001/unread

 

[Boston tiger]

For many of us here, the whole exercise of faith is the problem. It is believing something to be true because you want it to be true, backed up with no more than confirmation bias. Many people posting in this thread, like me, grew up in a Christian household and attended regular church services, but could never make it work as adults.

The whole bit about having preconceived and haughty ideas is misplaced. For me, it was only after faith didn't work that I started studying critical scholarship of the bible and early church history. If you study it, the whole idea of Christianity emerging fully formed and complete in the decade or two after the 33 CE seems unrealistic, and those that cling to it seem preconceived and haughty. It is quite clear that Christianity took a couple of centuries to fully mature, and that it is the collective works of man over several generations who carefully wrote, rewrote, redacted, edited, added and merged the texts.

Is that a problem ? Jesus started a church. It took that Church about 650 years to nail it all down language wise and but that has to be expected. It’s all been based on apostolic faith from 33 . You think the apostles wouldn’t have been happy with the Nicene Creed?

 

[M Malice]

God is the epitome of narcissism... also has a disconcerting fascination with what we do to our own and each others genitals.

 

[chelseacarlton]

Is that a problem ? Jesus started a church. It took that Church about 650 years to nail it all down language wise and but that has to be expected. It’s all been based on apostolic faith from 33 . You think the apostles wouldn’t have been happy with the Nicene Creed?

It took god 650 years to get the language for his awesome book together, but created the universe from nothing, he also needed to steal a rib from his dirt boy in order to give him something to **** and eat an apple a snake would convince her she needed so we’d require a Jew to die on a cross!
Yep, makes perfect sense bro!
Wanna buy a bridge to New Zealand, it’s going cheap, you could put a toll on it, makes loads of cash!

 

[Boston tiger]

It took god 650 years to get the language for his awesome book together, but created the universe from nothing, he also needed to steal a rib from his dirt boy in order to give him something to fu** and eat an apple a snake would convince her she needed so we’d require a Jew to die on a cross!
Yep, makes perfect sense bro![emoji106]
Wanna buy a bridge to New Zealand, it’s going cheap, you could put a toll on it, makes loads of cash![emoji2935]

Not 650 years for the Bible. That was around the 300 year mark but I’m not sure.
Remember you can only truly love your family if love God. Otherwise you just think you are.
Cherio chum.

 

[Boston tiger]

God is the epitome of narcissism... also has a disconcerting fascination with what we do to our own and each others genitals.

I hear the pr0n industry is going okay.

 

[M Malice]

I hear the pr0n industry is going okay.

Pornhub is no doubt gods favourite website.

 

[Vdubs]

No other context matters to you, outside of 'i have faith' , you have basically replied the same thing over the past 100 pages. You dont wish to discuss the historical context of the verse, you don't wish to discuss other interpretations of the verse, you don't wish to discuss other christian sects who hold different beliefs than yours, its my way or the highway for you. You ask other people to have an open mind but all other religions are not true according to you except yours. You ask other people to consider different possibilities except what they believe in but you are open to none, no other religion can be true or their miracles could be true, cause you and your types said so? You have displayed nothing but ignorance in this thread, just like your mates heres who tried to claim history is on his side but failed miserably.

I only suggest to having an open mind to reading the Bible and turning to Jesus if they are sick of their own sinful nature. You can have your sects three times a day for all I care. I am a Born Again Christian and that you have assessed well. No sect. no religion.
Yes, faith is the answer.
Why look at your alternatives when we know the truth and that there will be the likes of you to reinforce our faith.
I don't ask people to seek alternatives, just the truth, and only those people who need salvation from their own sinful ways. That is who Jesus came for- those who want a clean connection with God.
Your lot are clearly self-sufficient and not in need of this- although I feel dismayed for you, and hold out hope while you continue to seek the truth on threads like this under the guise of espousing your own belief systems.

 

[Vdubs]

Imagine if we Christians are incorrect and there is no God.
What are the repercussions for living our lives as we do? Trying to be Jesus like people. I don't see the damage or the reason for angst

Imagine also if we are indeed correct, and that Jesus is the way to God, and that God is waiting until all of mankind has at least had the opportunity to know about Jesus , and then to decide yes, or no, for themselves. And the repercussions for those who have heard the Good News but denounce it.

 

[Ghost Patrol]

I only suggest to having an open mind to reading the Bible and turning to Jesus if they are sick of their own sinful nature. You can have your sects three times a day for all I care. I am a Born Again Christian and that you have assessed well. No sect. no religion.
Yes, faith is the answer.
Why look at your alternatives when we know the truth and that there will be the likes of you to reinforce our faith.
I don't ask people to seek alternatives, just the truth, and only those people who need salvation from their own sinful ways. That is who Jesus came for- those who want a clean connection with God.
Your lot are clearly self-sufficient and not in need of this- although I feel dismayed for you, and hold out hope while you continue to seek the truth on threads like this under the guise of espousing your own belief systems.

I believe God exits inside your head. He is trapped in there.

Set him free.

 

[Total Power]

I only suggest to having an open mind to reading the Bible and turning to Jesus if they are sick of their own sinful nature. You can have your sects three times a day for all I care. I am a Born Again Christian and that you have assessed well. No sect. no religion.
Yes, faith is the answer.
Why look at your alternatives when we know the truth and that there will be the likes of you to reinforce our faith.
I don't ask people to seek alternatives, just the truth, and only those people who need salvation from their own sinful ways. That is who Jesus came for- those who want a clean connection with God.
Your lot are clearly self-sufficient and not in need of this- although I feel dismayed for you, and hold out hope while you continue to seek the truth on threads like this under the guise of espousing your own belief systems.

I have no 'belief system', i 'believe' in nothing, no so called 'truths' you seem to bang on about which has very little foundation behind it...this is where you and i different. You have beliefs i refuse to have them and i have clearly told you i was a christian and i left christianity (like millions of others are doing right now) after reading the Bible. I already told you, there is no original sin and OT and the Torah are against you are saying, you cannot pass your son to others, you gotta pay for your own sins. You are aguing against the Bible. If there was no Adam and Eve, there is no original sin and there is no Jesus, your entire foundation is extremely shaky.

But i asked you questions regarding an open mind. Many other accounts were written by other religions. Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, all have their own historical documentation. How do you know they're wrong? Have you examined them? please do tell why you think Jesus rose but Mohammed didn't split the moon? what's your reasoning behind that?

wouldn't it be kinda weird if Christianity was true, considering how many pieces of other religions it appears to borrow from?

imagine Yahweh existing in Heaven before the universe was created, and he's thinking "Yeah, I'm going to get involved with my creation.. but I'm also going to set it up so that humans create a bunch of false religions older than mine that look very much like mine, and then if people are tricked by these false religions, I will condemn them to Hell for eternity." LOL! who believes in such nonsense?

like why would Yahweh bother with the virgin birth of Jesus and 3-day-delayed resurrection when other older religions had done it first? There are countless other examples of Biblical concepts being predated by older religions.

Please don't 'hope' for me. I was once like you. Thankfully i am no longer not like you, i have explained myself a million times why i am no longer like you, i have pointed out a million times where you are wrong, resurrection in Christianity is a borrowed concept, despite you claiming this to be unique, i have also pointed out why god is not merciful and loving despite you claiming otherwise. Are Christian nations outside of the 'West' better off? what makes scandinavia the most prosperous place on earth despite 90 percent being atheist? why is Africa, which is majority Christian, suffering so bad? yet god is busy granting white people special favours?

You actually dont answer to any doubts questions outside of 'trinity' and Faith, and you know nothing about history. Arian Christianity was once the most popular christanity before the council of Nicea in 325 AD outside of the empire, like you religous people usually do, you hunt down and persecute people who dont agree with you, just like you did to the Gnostics. If you turn a page or two of history you will see the original church and the 12 apostles speak nothing about Jesus being god. This is your own history, the birth of Christanity, which you seem to know nothing about. And then you say 'i have hope for you'. The ironing in your posts get more delicious day by day.

 

[Toump Ass]

One more question:

Why don't more Crazy Christians put just a little tiny bit more weight into this pearler:

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

I mean seriously.

"Damn, them starving kids in Africa really could do with some hamburger"
"Yeah for real, maybe we could pawn that walking stick you got that's made with 5kg of pure gold and diamonds and shit on the top, tax-free thank you very much, that'd get at least a bucket of chicken, know what I'm saying?"
"Yeah but it's a pretty nice walking stick".

Also, Jesus said love me and I'm struggling with Coronavirus, employment etc., who wants want to donate me some cash to make me feel better? I love my friends and give them a pineapple if they needed it no worries.

 

[Roylion]

I don't ask people to seek alternatives, just the truth,

I would argue that we are seeking the truth. However estabishing the veracity of that truth requires supporting evidence....not faith. There is very little supporting evidence you can argue for the truth of events like the resurrection. Therefore on the basis of that we have to reject the claim of resurrection as truth. The story exists merely an unsubstantiated fable or allegory.

 

[Roylion]

Imagine if we Christians are incorrect and there is no God.
What are the repercussions for living our lives as we do? Trying to be Jesus like people. I don't see the damage or the reason for angst

Pascals Wager. So feign belief to gain eternal reward?

Imagine also if we are indeed correct, and that Jesus is the way to God, and that God is waiting until all of mankind has at least had the opportunity to know about Jesus ,

And how do you know that you are correct? Apart from faith.

 

[LFTWNG11]

Imagine if we Christians are incorrect and there is no God.
What are the repercussions for living our lives as we do? Trying to be Jesus like people. I don't see the damage or the reason for angst

Imagine also if we are indeed correct, and that Jesus is the way to God, and that God is waiting until all of mankind has at least had the opportunity to know about Jesus , and then to decide yes, or no, for themselves. And the repercussions for those who have heard the Good News but denounce it.

Pascal's wager isn't a two horse race.

 

[Total Power]

Imagine if we Christians are incorrect and there is no God.
What are the repercussions for living our lives as we do? Trying to be Jesus like people. I don't see the damage or the reason for angst

Imagine also if we are indeed correct, and that Jesus is the way to God, and that God is waiting until all of mankind has at least had the opportunity to know about Jesus , and then to decide yes, or no, for themselves. And the repercussions for those who have heard the Good News but denounce it.

It doesn't. However uniqueness is a common argument I see from Christians. Without uniqueness, you have to begin comparing the empirical evidence of different religions, which is difficult without taking the time and effort to study each one. From your posts i can safely conclude you have no idea of any other religion including your own. You don't know the history of the early chruches, you don't know Arianism and Gnosticism (both non-trinitarian) were very popular in early day Christianity before they were persecuted. Copy pasting the same reply post after post is not doing justice to your own intellect.

"Christianity is unique" has been given to the poster as a reason that it should be accepted as true. If we can dismiss the argument that he was given as simply not a very good one, I guess that's that and there isn't much of substance there to debate. I have presented enough evidence here to prove it has borrowed hundreds of concepts from other religions. Yet you keep telling me 'it's unique' despite proven wrong. Please do tell, what makes Christianity unique?

 

[Total Power]

And how do you know that you are correct? Apart from faith.

I can fill in for Vdubs, so many other people said their lives have changed after accepting Jesus in their life. Not sure if that's the case with Allah or Shiva.

 

[Vdubs]

It doesn't. However uniqueness is a common argument I see from Christians. Without uniqueness, you have to begin comparing the empirical evidence of different religions, which is difficult without taking the time and effort to study each one. From your posts i can safely conclude you have no idea of any other religion including your own. You don't know the history of the early chruches, you don't know Arianism and Gnosticism (both non-trinitarian) were very popular in early day Christianity before they were persecuted. Copy pasting the same reply post after post is not doing justice to your own intellect.

"Christianity is unique" has been given to the poster as a reason that it should be accepted as true. If we can dismiss the argument that he was given as simply not a very good one, I guess that's that and there isn't much of substance there to debate. I have presented enough evidence here to prove it has borrowed hundreds of concepts from other religions. Yet you keep telling me 'it's unique' despite proven wrong. Please do tell, what makes Christianity unique?

I have not used the word unique.

 

[Total Power]

I have not used the word unique.

So what makes Christianity any different to other religions? you can find heaven through Krishna and Allah too. Why would anyone follow Jesus whose existence is debateable

 

[Vdubs]

Pascals Wager. So feign belief to gain eternal reward?



And how do you know that you are correct? Apart from faith.

There are the 2 options I have proposed.
Happy to live the rest of my life here as a believer of option 1. No harm to anyone, and eternity to gain if true. And of course, I am living it now as option 2.

 

[Total Power]

I have not used the word unique.

ANY person who has died as a sacrifice has made the ultimate sacrifice. It has never been done before that a man has come back from death. Crucifixion would be a horrendous death. The IMPORTANCE of his resurrection is the reason the whole following of Christianity exists. That separates Him from any other spiritual leader, difficult as it may be to believe. There is nothing more ultimate than death itself. Why you try and dilute that by suggesting his resurrection cheapens it is not accepting the magnificence of what this resurrection means.

You did say it's unique, when i have demonstrated a million times in this thread that it's a borrowed concept, so is the virgin birth and is the cross. How many times do you need to be proven wrong before you admit it?

 

[Vdubs]

You did say it's unique, when i have demonstrated a million times in this thread that it's a borrowed concept, so is the virgin birth and is the cross. How many times do you need to be proven wrong before you admit it?

A million times!!! You need a break.
Just because you left Christianity it does not dilute faith of believers, and nor should it. Bizarre that your research and science is enough to convict you of your disbelief in something you say you believed in.
There are always cases like you, but on the other hand we see daily people finding the truth as well, finding Jesus, personal conversions.
The Bible is still THE book.
So what if there are other versions of what happened to Jesus of Nazareth? Makes it more believable , that billions of people worldwide still follow Christianity 2000 plus years later, and nothing to hear or read about these other versions you cling to.

Let me ask again, what does it matter that Christians live their lives believing on sin, and wanting to love the creator, and having peace of mind when they accept Jesus? How does it negatively impact anyone else? it's not a danger or health risk to your lot.

As Jesus said, you almost need a child-like faith to get it. Trying to analyse and data and science and history is not going to do it for you. You'll spend your days looking for like-minded disgruntled former "believers"

 

[Total Power]

A million times!!! You need a break.

It's called exaggeration, you are the one in denial and you need a break.

Just because you left Christianity it does not dilute faith of believers, and nor should it. Bizarre that your research and science is enough to convict you of your disbelief in something you say you believed in.

I am certainly not alone in this, in all educated countries Christianity is on a massive decline, so make sure you send your missionaries to less fortunate places so that you are pry on the poor and destitute and 'show them' how to go to heaven. That's how religion works. As i said you are denial, show me one first world nation where Christianity is growing? just one? yeah thought so.

There are always cases like you, but on the other hand we see daily people finding the truth as well, finding Jesus, personal conversions.
The Bible is still THE book.
So what if there are other versions of what happened to Jesus of Nazareth? Makes it more believable , that billions of people worldwide still follow Christianity 2000 plus years later.

Yet another shambolic defence, you actually don't answer any questions, Bible is THE book apparently, you should be ashamed of how your religion was spread. I am half aboriginal, our religions were taken from us by the British and we were forced to convert. My great grand father was shot in the Blue mountains by a constable was given a mission to 'convert or kill black fellas' cause he refused to go to the church. That is Australian history, we had a rich culture, rich history, it was taken from us, just like America, Nz. You are proud of that? it was spread just like Islam. You seem to be proud of that.

How Christianity became popular got nothing to do with what Christianity is. You have been proven wrong continiously and your only defense seems to be 'but it's popular', Go out for a walk and think about an decent argument, even if its petty. You really seem to be lost.

 

[Vdubs]

It's called exaggeration, you are the one in denial and you need a break.



I am certainly not alone in this, in all educated countries Christianity is on a massive decline, so make sure you send your missionaries to less fortunate places so that you are pry on the poor and destitute and 'show them' how to go to heaven. That's how religion works. As i said you are denial, show me one first world nation where Christianity is growing? just one? yeah thought so.



Yet another, you actually don't answer any questions, Bible is THE book apparently, you should be ashamed of how your religion was spread. I am half aboriginal, our religions were taken from us by the British and we were forced to convert. My great grand father was shot in the Blue mountains by a constable was given a mission to 'convert or kill black fellas'. You are proud of that? it was spread just like Islam. You seem to be proud of that.

How Christianity became popular got nothing to do with what Christianity is. You have been proven wrong continiously and your only defense seems to be 'but it's popular', Go out for a walk and think about an decent argument, even if its petty. You really seem to be lost.

You did not reply to the last point. But that's ok, we all pick and choose.

Not serious, it was an edit. Lighten up.

 

[Total Power]

You did not reply to the last point. But that's ok, we all pick and choose.

Not serious, it was an edit. Lighten up.

Can you answer a question for once? what makes Bible 'the book'? answer, outside of , but but but, its popular. So is Islam, that's not an argument.

What is in the Bible, that is unique and makes it different from anything else?

 

[Vdubs]

Can you answer a question for once? what makes Bible 'the book'? answer, outside of , but but but, its popular. So is Islam, that's not an argument.

What is in the Bible, that is unique and makes it different from anything else?

At least 4 billion readers would justify that little fact.
The New Testament is a winner in the different stakes.
The Old Testament is out there too.
The Bible is worthy of reading on a daily basis for your entire existence