Off Topic Post

You were a bad little altar boy! Shame on you! Btw, why is it always the Catholics who end up being the most vocal atheists? lol I grew up Catholic too. I don't think they should've punished you. Asking questions is a good thing. I guess the truth is that we don't have all the answers. As an inquisitive person, I hate that too. But, I guess that's just life, huh?  

good luck getting an accurate poly with a gun to someones head, lol

 but yea he makes a great point, its kinda like smoking.  If you told someone after this next smoke they would have x% of getting cancer, rather than smoking over a long period the tobbacco companies would be out of business

Sounds good to me, b. I have work to do. I get nothing done when I allow myself to be sucked in by these threads. I'll be a damn unemployed Christian if I don't draw the line myself Anyway, I'll just say this in regard to "drawing the line". In my opinion, it's not for us to draw the line. If I believe that God created us, which I do (and I know you don't), then I believe he is the only one who can or should draw the line. I trust that he will be able to make a much better decision than any human being who doesn't know all the facts about each person.

"of my ilk", wow... mmmm ok. I have to agree with skywalker on all counts on this one. I will also say that there are many people who claim to believe in God or that they are Christian, when they clearly aren't. I would give you some quotes from the Bible regarding this, but it rarely gets me anywhere, since many of you think the Bible is "just a book" and not a valid source of argument. I will say that it is the authority on Christianity, however. The Bible says that even Satan acknowledges God's existence. So, just believing that there's a God does not get you into heaven or make you a Christian. That's the simple answer.

IF Hitler repented and acknowledged Jesus as his savior before he died, based on Christian teachings, then he would in fact be in heaven. I kinda think that's a good thing about Christianity. Not that Hitler could be in heaven, per se, but that it doesn't matter how many bad things you've done, there is always forgiveness if you seek it.

There is no such thing as hell... hell was created by man

ecugirl, if you know so much about the bible then read the revelation of peter, not revelation of paul like in the bible, you'll see that even in that story jesus tells peter that there is no such thing as hell, but if everyone knew that then they would have no reason to do good (and you wonder why this book never made it into the bible itself, but it WAS written by peter)

quit going off bullshit u learn in a stupid ass church service/afternoon bible study

gfy

even if he repented, he still whacked himself.  And if I learned anything from the movie Dogma, it's that if ya die with a mortal sin on your soul, ya burn.

You seem to be a very hate-filled person, lockdown. You do nothing but flame me in every religion thread. Someone asks a question, I answer it according to my beliefs and knowledge, even acknowledging humbly that I don't have all the answers, and you tell me to gf myself? That's truly unnecessary, don't you think? I've managed to have a civilized debate with several people who don't agree with me without anybody getting rude or nasty. I think that speaks to my character as well as to the character of those who asked legitimate questions in a respectful way. I respect those who can do that immensely, regardless of whether I agree with them or not.

That being said, I will take exception to a couple of your statements. Number one, as I said previously, it's not about being good or bad!!!! So, your comment regarding "no reason to do good" is inaccurate. I don't do good because I'm afraid of going to hell. The other Christians I know don't either. Also, thanks for assuming that I get all my information from "a stupid ass church service/afternoon Bible study", you would be incorrect about that as well.

I hope you have a wonderful day!

That's the Catholic teaching on suicide, yes. I have some questions on that one. I guess that's one we'll have to wait and see about

if you know so much about this shit, then surely you should know that many of the things Saint Peter did were...to be fair let's say exaggerations.

Peter was a simple man, a fisherman, and uneducated.  At most he spoke very little Greek, and no Latin at all.  The idea that he went to Rome and started the Catholic Church as the first Pope is romantic, wishful thinking.  History says that he was not a Roman citizen (unlike Paul, a highly educated man and interpreter of Jewish Law--who was proud of his Roman citizenship and did travel to Rome). 

Also, among the Apocalypse of Peter texts found in Greek, Arabic and Egyptian, there are heavy differences in the message.   Some scholars interpret the writings to be a foreshadowing of a future state of Israel, others as just a consolidation of pagan ideas into a newer, monotheistic belief system.  The same differences do not appear in Paul's writings and letters (who is not believed to have written the Book of Revelations that we believe to be written by John).  In fact, Peter, who did meet Jesus, saw Paul, who did not, as a bit of a nuisance.  The early Christians were a very small band and strictly followed the laws of the Torah, and those beliefs are likely why the revelations of Peter were assigned to him, not because he wrote it himself.  They were in line with his beliefs.

Paul changed Christianity...he started the belief in the resurrection, opened up the religion to Gentiles, and brought the Messianic view of Christianity to the forefront.  Paul's interpretation of Christianity really took over around 300 AD. The Jewish rabbis had him put on trial, and as a Roman citizen he demanded to be tried in Rome, where he was killed in 66 AD.

ecugirl...i admire that you stand firm for HIM and your beliefs in HIM. thank you for taking the time to be a witness to the facts. keep freely giving the good news while leaving it to God to call whomever HE wishes. just dont forget to smile when the persecution begins because you have been persecuted because of him! your reward will be great! continue the good works you were called to do and keep your eyes on the SON!

your brother in Christ

robert

ecugirl, by definition, you are of the ilk of hitler, you are both Christians, believers in jesus.

Do they freak out  even more if they are tortured by a n00b torturer instead of a professional torturer? 

eyeknows as ecugirl has stated if hitler in fact repented of his sins and accepted Jesus as his savior then yes you would be correct sir! HOWEVER i highly doubt he did that!!! i mean you can put your cat in the oven but that dont make him a biscuit!

Thank you Robert

First of all, NO OFFENSE TO ANYONE, these are simply my beliefs: 

If you believe in Hell, then you have to believe that women were created from a rib of man, that early humans lived for hundreds of years, that people who are born (thats right born) with sexual curiosity towards the same sex and those who take even a remote interest in ANY other form of religion/philosophy are PURE EVIL and must be punished. Somewhere around puberty I stopped believeing in nonsensical fairy tales.

No thanks, I like my religion.

1) Its been around longer

2) It doesn't discrimate against anyone regardless of background, sexuality, gender, etc.

3)It isn't fitted with a self-protecting elitist ideal that it is the only true religion and those who believe in anything else will be tortured for all time, regardless of how they lived their lives. In fact, I bet none of you readers have ever had anyone try to convert you in your entire life.

4)It doesn't require blind "faith," in fact it is the only major world religion that provides undeniable physical proof of the existence of its god.

5) Its god isn't arrogant and doesn't make you capitalize "God." In fact, its god isn't even personified to make it easier for impressionable children and simpletons to understand and be mystified by.

6)In thousands of years of existence, it has never been the cause of a single war, in fact its followers lived side by side with the "competition" for millenia and conflict never stirred beyond intellectual debate and disagreement.

In my opinion this fire and brimstone nonsense was created as a psychological tool to instill fear and facilitate control over people. This tactic has been used by many organizations and groups who have had power over a population.

Most recently, we have all probably witnessed this sort of fear-mongering from the US government, as it sought public approval of the war in Iraq. After all, how else could we have the support of the majority of the nation to invade and temporarily take control of an entire country, in "response" to a terrorist attack committed by a group of individuals who don't even reside there?? Why else would every news channel in the country have a color-coded system to illustrate the "alert level" in local areas for a terrorist attack? Its simply a tool to keep the populace uneducated, fearful and in tacit approval of any action the government must take to restore their "freedom."

 Very few who peruse these boards are old enough to remember Vietnam (i myself am not), but many have probably studied McCarthyism and the "red threat." Exact same psychological tactic to keep the people unaware and in fear of an invisible enemy.

 I didn't write this as a personal attack. I just grew up force-fed belief in the Christian god and fear of hell as a child and it always left me unsettled. The moment I came to terms with the fact that I am not a Christian and that I can choose my beliefs as I please, I felt a weight lift from my shoulders. And ever since, I have put up with crap from my family who thinks I am "going to hell."

I have never sought to force my beliefs upon anyone despite the fact that I am a constant victim of the reverse. So, in revenge, I write things like this in the hopes that maybe someone else out there like me when I was younger will read it and will use it as a guide to self-actualization.

GKl, gg, flame away, etc