When I was younger I often asked these questions, maybe because I was taught wrong, but here's what I came up with (below)... I'm not criticizing the religion at all, I have since moved onto to something different which I feel suits me, while still dedicating my heart to God, but doesn't substitute plain logic for mere "That's the way it is, God" - type arguments that some Christians may like to deliver. I was told that non-Christians or "non believers" go to hell, so I thought, then what happens to the people born and raised into different religions? And is it even true that they would simply, go to "Hell"? How would God call them at fault on "judgement day"? I often thought of the people who may have had circumstances where they never even heard of a God, or the system of one. Then what? Of all the religions in the world, why should one assume Christianity is the one that delivers one to heaven and not any others? Or is this wrong. (I'm going off what I was taught about Christianity.) I've often witnessed almost mad Christians in public places throwing their beliefs down peoples faces, flaming them with the "they are doomed for hell" disclaimer, wouldn't a Christian share his belief in more productive, and calmer means? Wouldn't the man just be sinning himself acting in that manner? If there wasn't a God, how would there be atheists? Anyway I'm not really trying to spark any arguments or debates, quite far from my intention. Just looking for clarification. Peace :jester: PS: I don't like people who think Bible contradictions disprove the existence of a God.
I don't think anybody has a definitive answer to your questions. I can only give you my opinion. The "Christians" you're describing are a highly conspicuous and politically prominent group, but not all Christians are like that. You're describing some (not all) Christian fundamentalists--those who take the Bible as literal truth. If they do that, it's easy to see how they can develop the One Way philosophy, which places a lot of emphasis on believing things that are hard to believe, and condemning people who believe differently to the eternal flames of Hell. Mainline Protestants like me, on the other hand, tend to take an historical-metaphorical approach to the Bible, emphasizing non-judgmental, unconditional love. I believe that the Spirit works through all spiritual traditions, not just Christianity. I consider Gandhi to be a saint, not some sinner burning in Hell. I think that sincere atheists like Carl Sagan, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, and Sam Harris are doing the Lord's work in keeping Christians on their toes. Even FedUp occasionally plays a constructive role in exposing hypocrisy and cant emanating from the pulpit, and challenging believers constantly to examine their assumptios, as God intends. As Jesus said, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." Those hateful people with the angry faces, thumping their Bibles at "sinners", are foucusing on the motes in their neighbors' eyes instead of the beams in their own eyes. Jesus didn't care much for Pharisees.
Thanks for that, sincerely. Pretty much sums it up for me. Damn talk about when dreams come true, if only I wasn't sarcastic I might just jump all over your offer. Glad to see I was able to please one of them omniscient (but unruley and outa-control-dude!!) talk show hosts. My days been made.
Swoosh - You will find the answers here, if you really want to know - dig deep there, with an open heart and you shall find many gems - www.tentmaker.org
All Christians are bad Christians. Don't take it so hard. There are no good Christians because the very concept is doomed to fail. You have no spiritual leadership. You have lots of kind hearted people who take it upon themselves to interpret the master's words, yet are unable to approach that level themselves. Because of this lack of credentials, they have to rely upon religious education instead. This too, is a concept doomed to fail. You cannot sustain a spiritual flame with intellect. Unless you can see with your heart, you have no ability to see the truth. Further, you have no ability to transmit it to others. It don't matter what religion you follow. And if you can see, you can't let the religious block your way. They will try, because they navigate by feeling their way along in the dark. Just walk around them, or talk with them about what YOU see. Don't be surprised if you get pelted with rotten fruit. They can't see you in their darkness, but once you open your mouth, they can hear you. Blind people can throw pretty good, so watch out for that too. x
Swooosh, Reincarnation was taken out of the Bible from the churches because they were afraid that people would waste every life they had. So they came with this is all you have then you die and you're judged. But to say this is the one life you have to learn all there is about life, and to understand everything about life, is not only terrible, but extremely superficial. I know this isn't taught in most churches, because it's been taken from the Bible for so long. However, it does matter what you do in this life for one reason: Karma. The Christians that ridicule and scream at non-believers, are doing the wrong thing. That's bad. All that does is make people hate Christians, and I can understand, if I thought there was a religion that punished you for not believing, when this life isn't enough to understand everything, I would have been pissed off too.
