Loving God?

[hungrypossum]

im going out and i'll be back tomorrow just pm me if u have any other questions

 

[swordpath]

Any sexual/physically romantic act is lustful. Don't you think?

 

[Tigerlily]

I live in the Bible Belt and I was once told by a Baptist neighbor of mine that my Husband was going to Hell because he's not religious. Nice...Another time while having a discussion with her I brought up the topic of evolution and she freakishly started screaming in protest. I responded by telling her that we were leaving her home and that I wasn't going to have her behave irrationally around my children. She apologized but only so that the lines of communication between us would remain open as she was trying to convert us. No matter what was said to her, she would always respond by saying that she would pray about it. No thoughts or opinions of her own. I've often wondered how a person gets to that point in their lives that they no longer think for themselves? Sad.

I also hate when the first words out of someones mouth are "What Church do you go to?" Each time I hear this I know I need to get moving as the level of conversation will likely be mind numbing. I don't appreciate this or being told how I should live my life. I have better morals than many of the church goers living among us. Hypocrites. :rolli:

 

[hungrypossum]

God made sex, and he definitely made it pleasurable so we'll enjoy it. Adam and Eve walked about naked once, that was God's original plan for men, that there be no shame in our nudity. However, when Adam and Eve took the knowledge of good and evil, God knew that men would see one another perversely. Lust would make things unsafe, and hence he told them to put on clothes of "animal skin" (Adam was covering himself with leaves at first!) Then he advised saving sex for the one we love:

It says this in Proverbs:

"Drink water from your own cistern (a cistern is a drain f.y.i), running water from your own well. Should your springs overflow in the streets, your streams of water in the public squares? Let them be yours alone, never to be shared with strangers. May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer - may her breasts satisfy you always, may you ever be captivated by her love."

I live in the Bible Belt and I was once told by a Baptist neighbor of mine that my Husband was going to Hell because he's not religious.

You can tell the lady you know that: Thessalonians 4:11 was where Paul gave advice to the Christians "...to seek earnestly to be quiet and mind your own affairs, and work with your own hands, even as we charged you".

 

[Totenkindly]

YEP! ^^ The fact that I am treading the difficult path is what makes me a stronger person. If you're not afraid of difficulty or even death, then what make you worried fearful or sad anymore. Told ya Jesus is joy.

I think the comment you quoted was referring to homosexuals, not Christians. I suppose you could still apply it to yourself, but that was missing the point the poster was trying to make (i.e., that homosexuals and others in similar situations wouldn't just choose something that brought with it a lot of rejection and condemnation and hardship from society, just out of lust or something similar).

In knowing God, the most important thing I learnt, is that I'm only 21 years old. Not very wise, not clever, quite a ditz, ignorant of everything. So I don't trust my own wisdom. I choose to trust the bible.

Actually, that's still your choice. You are trusting your own wisdom to tell you that the Bible can be trusted, and you are trusting other people (certain select groups of adults) to tell you that the Bible can be trusted... all in the way they say.

An authority cannot force anyone to do anything unless the person chooses to view them as an authority. The Bible has no power over you unless you choose to believe [a particular interpretation of] it.

So you are still listening to yourself, in deciding that you will abdicate your flex and power of choice in a situation to simply follow your perception of someone else's morality. You have decided to "rubber stamp" the Bible according to your own wisdom.

I trust that God annoints men to do his work. Though I'm a real clown, here I am speaking for him.

That remains to be seen. I wouldn't deign to tell people that I "speak for God." And even if you firmly believe it, it's very bad discussion style to align yourself (and not others) as the mouthpiece of God.

Like you said, you're 21. That's pretty audacious to tell many other people that you have a better handle on life when you haven't even experienced half of what they have yet... and when many of them have also stood in your exact same shoes before.

 

[Night]

im going out and i'll be back tomorrow just pm me if u have any other questions

I find your take on homosexuals to be exceedingly primitive and less about your "religious" personality than a clear attempt to use religion to disguise bigotry.

Your broad condemnation of billions suggests an equally profound ignorance of Christianity. To this end, I'd warn others that your impressions do not speak for Christianity (even on a basic level) and merely serve to underline the need for intellectual jurisprudence when it comes to matters of faith.

I'd recommend familiarizing yourself (far beyond your present currency) with the teachings of Christ before you sloppily mis-apply his message.

Your religion (not Christianity) seems more a ham-handed attempt to justify undeserved self-worth.

I wish you the very best in reconciling this.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

I live in the Bible Belt and I was once told by a Baptist neighbor of mine that my Husband was going to Hell because he's not religious. Nice...Another time while having a discussion with her I brought up the topic of evolution and she freakishly started screaming in protest. I responded by telling her that we were leaving her home and that I wasn't going to have her behave irrationally around my children. She apologized but only so that the lines of communication between us would remain open as she was trying to convert us. No matter what was said to her, she would always respond by saying that she would pray about it. No thoughts or opinions of her own. I've often wondered how a person gets to that point in their lives that they no longer think for themselves? Sad.

I also hate when the first words out of someones mouth are "What Church do you go to?" Each time I hear this I know I need to get moving as the level of conversation will likely be mind numbing. I don't appreciate this or being told how I should live my life. I have better morals than many of the church goers living among us. Hypocrites. :rolli:

 

[swordpath]

lol @ that video.

 

[zarc]

lmfaoooooooooooo I had to stop watching twice before I could watch that episode uninterrupted. That woman seirously freaked me out and I rarely get scared.

"SHE'S NOT A CHRISTIAN!"

My sis and I couldn't stop imitating her voice for---even til now. Over anything.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

Even if I were convinced to go back to Christianity what am I supposed to believe?

Creation: Young Earth Creationism, Old Earth Creationism, Intelligent Design, Theistic Evolution, etc.

The Bible: Infallibility? Divine inspiration? Which books? How reliable? Is it at all useful?

Salvation: Armenianism, Calvinism (How many points ot the TULIP?), Universalism, Anihilationism, Purgatory, Eternal Hell, Temporary Hell, No Hell?

The Nature of God: Trinitarianism, Binitarianism, Unitarianism, Modalism, The Godhead, Arianism?

Eschatology: Amillennialism, Postmillennialism, Premillennialism (pre tribulation rapture, mid tribulation rapture, post tribulation rapture, no rapture), Dispensationalism?

I think you can see my problem with Christianity. No one knows what the fuck they're talking about. You could tell me it's not about dogma and it doesn't matter what I believe as long as I love God and everyone else or whatever. Fine. Your opinion goes on the pile with thousands of others.

How is anyone supposed to figure out what this tricky bastard wants from us?

Let's see if I can make this point very clear.

I listed all of those theological positions to illustrate that Christianity is fractured into tiny pieces.

Christians as a whole do not agree on anything. Like with the Gay thing, some Christians think homosexuality is this evil, horrible sin. Others think there's nothing wrong with it. How are we to determine which is correct? Does God consider homosexuality to be a sin or not? If people's behavior is important to God he should be able to communicate clearly rather than through faint whispers and subtle hints.

This is why I quit being a christian. How does God want us to live? No one agrees. What does the bible say? No one agrees. Does it even matter? No one agrees. Some say you have to believe very specific things or you'll burn in hell. Others say it doesn't matter just love everyone.

Two people can hold totally contradictory beliefs and still call themselves Christians. That seems a bit odd to me.

 

[Kiddo]

Two people can hold totally contradictory beliefs and still call themselves Christians. That seems a bit odd to me.

I think that is the way it is with every religion. I believe spirituality has to come from within you, as an individual, as an expression of hope and faith. Because ultimately what matters isn't what you believe but how you lead your life. Your values, ethics, morals, and conception of God should probably just be the beliefs that make you happy and provide you with an idea of where of who you want to be in this life. After all, we only get one.

 

[substitute]

I'm not sure I agree with that Kiddo... I'd say that for most people, how they live their lives is a direct consequence of their values, ethics, morals and beliefs. The external behaviour - how you live your life - is the manifestation of what's within you.

 

[Totenkindly]

I think he was saying simply that many of the details of theology are not as important as one's behavior. Many of the Christian sects obviously disagree on theological truth... but ultimately their faith is expressed through actions, even if they can't agree on specifics of theology.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

I think that is the way it is with every religion. I believe spirituality has to come from within you, as an individual, as an expression of hope and faith. Because ultimately what matters isn't what you believe but how you lead your life. Your values, ethics, morals, and conception of God should probably just be the beliefs that make you happy and provide you with an idea of where of who you want to be in this life. After all, we only get one.

Wait, so you don't believe in an actual God that actually exists? Religion is just some kind of self help program?

 

[Kiddo]

I think he was saying simply that many of the details of theology are not as important as one's behavior. Many of the Christian sects obviously disagree on theological truth... but ultimately their faith is expressed through actions, even if they can't agree on specifics of theology.

Yeah. Life isn't what you believe, but how you choose to practice what you do believe. Christianity is about values of forgiveness, such as not judging others for their sins. You know, that whole "Judge not ye be Judged" and "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone." And yet you have Christians who judge others for their sins. Of course, they often justify it by saying something like, "Oh, the Bible says it is a sin, therefore I can tell people who practice that sin that they aren't living as God intended." But really, they are just giving into their own judgement. They are bad Christians because they claim to uphold the values of Christianity, but they don't practice them. For example, Fred Phelps...

There were two things I loved about Jesus's teachings...

1. Treat the poor well because they are God's chosen people
2. A man's sin is only between him and God.

But of course, those are the teachings that seem to be the most often ignored. A point you have made many times, right Jennifer?

 

[Kiddo]

Wait, so you don't believe in an actual God that actually exists? Religion is just some kind of self help program?

No, I believe in God. But I don't believe it is necessary to believe in God to get the same fulfillment. As I have said before. I believe there are many paths.

 

[sassafrassquatch]

No, I believe in God. But I don't believe it is necessary to believe in God to get the same fulfillment. As I have said before. I believe there are many paths.

That's what I keep asking about, you say there are many paths to God, others say their religion is The_One_True_Path with endless division within religions over what that path really is.

How am I, as a hypothetical seeker, supposed to know who is right? Because from what I can tell religious beliefs are just opinions with nothing backing them up.

Look at my type. I'm an ISTJ 6w5, I need concrete, tangible things and certainty. Fuzzy little feelings and intuition don't work for me. If there is a God with some great truth or whatever I don't think it's right that I and others like me should be kept in the dark because of our personalities. It sounds like God only speaks in ways that appeal to NFs.

 

[substitute]

Sass, it would appear Kiddo's saying (and I agree) that "by their fruits shall ye recognize them". So just step back and see, look at the results of their beliefs, what behaviour they 'spawn', and you'll probably find it's pretty easy to tell the people who've left the path...

To quote Gandalf (heheh): "to break a thing in order to understand it is to leave the path of wisdom"

IMO the ones who are most vocal about what people should believe and think and how they should behave... well, they're putting their energy into the wrong thing. The ones who are pretty quiet and subtle about their faith and only talk about it when asked, in a Q&A format rather than proselytizing; the people who are easy to get along with, accepting and non-judgemental, helpful (but not interfering/busybodying - they're not doing it for themselves, see?), peaceful, joyful, humble and gentle - well, those will be the ones you can learn from. The ones who teach without even knowing they're giving a lesson. They're putting their energy into the right thing: doing their best to ensure that they behave right.

 

[Kiddo]

That's what I keep asking about, you say there are many paths to God, others say their religion is The_One_True_Path with endless division within religions over what that path really is.

How am I, as a hypothetical seeker, supposed to know who is right? Because from what I can tell religious beliefs are just opinions with nothing backing them up.

Look at my type. I'm an ISTJ 6w5, I need concrete, tangible things and certainty. Fuzzy little feelings and intuition don't work for me. If there is a God with some great truth or whatever I don't think it's right that I and others like me should be kept in the dark because of our personalities. It sounds like God only speaks in ways that appeal to NFs.

I can see you perspective. You need some tangible benefits to spirituality.

1. It is proven that people who have spirituality on average have better physical and mental health than those who don't.
2. Spirituality is a socializing agent, which means it brings people together and gets them to work in a way that is ideal for cooperation.
3, People with spirituality can better cope with stressful and traumatic experiences.
4. Spiritualities provide a set of values, by which people can base their moral and ethical beliefs.

There is nothing wrong with picking a spirituality just so you can enjoy the benefits. As I said, it doesn't matter what you believe, only how you practice those beliefs.

 

[Ender]

To quote Gandalf (heheh): "to break a thing in order to understand it is to leave the path of wisdom"

I dunno.. I break a lot of stuff in an attempt to figure it out. Then once I do, I fix it and put it back together. From then on I know what needs to be done. That's just the way I'm programmed to learn. I read a lot, but 70% of it I don't retain, yet I retain almost 100% of what I learn by doing.

If you live your life always holding back to what you think are the limits, you're limiting your true potential. Only once you pass the breaking point will you ever be able to truly say you're doing everything as good as you can, since you now know your true limits.