Well, it shouldn't be. If you are a Christian you should believe you are here for a purpose, And pursue that purpose. And not for the reward of eternity. If you do anything for reward it becomes purposeless. Even I, as an agnostic, know that. If you focus on eternity you take your eyes off the pathway laid open for you. .
Why do you deny the teachings of Jesus? Don't you really believe in what he said? I suppose not since you don't have any faith and can't get a tree to uproot itself by your verbal command and have it jump into the nearest body of water. But then again, not once person in history has ever had any faith in Jesus so don't feel bad. You are just one of countless billions who have professed belief in an imaginary character. Be sure to let us know when you get a tree to obey your commands and then we can go for a walk on stormy water together.
Amusing how they start running to the Constitution when Trump is President. Maybe Trump's Presidency will do some good after all. (though I doubt this new-found embrace of theirs of the Constitution will last long after he's gone) It's all very Orwellian, in my opinion. People should make sure they tape all the news anchors and radical progressive politicians talking about the Constitution so they can use it in 5 years.
Mostly they just embarrass themselves. Maybe we should go on atheist forums and make thousands of posts telling them what atheism is REALLY all about.
As an exChristian who spent many years studying. preaching and Bible teaching, I think I know as much about Christianity as anyone on here.
Wouldn't know. I'm in the UK. What I do know is that the Church, Roman Catholic, tortured and burnt thousands of so-called witches, heretics. It controlled people, Kings and subjects in its grip for hundreds of years. It was controlled often by murders and despicable so-called 'Gods Vicar on Earth'. .
Some of those groups, like the Cathars, actually were oppressing and exploiting people, and gaining unfair economic advantage, when charging interest was illegal all around them. You mean like government? Will you admit now you are going a bit off the rails?
That excuses the thousands of innocent people the Church murdered. There were no 'Governments' in those days. Kings ruled. Have you read the History of the Roman Church? If you have then you've closed your eyes to much of the truth.
How long ago was the last person murdered by the Catholic Church? How about other mainstream churches? How about in the UK or US? If an atheist movement 100 years ago murders people, does that mean we can never trust atheists again??
He looked to be a spiritual window cleaner to correct all that the authorities got wrong and had corrupted in regards to their ideas and beliefs about their creator and their relationship to the Divine . In doing this he challenged those men who held authority and power over the people and that will get you killed then and today when power is involved. And they got him killed. He saved people by sticking to his guns instead of recanting that would have saved his life. So he gave his life to save man by telling man how to be reconciled to god and saved from the wages of sin that he said was Death. The Gospel meant good news. He came to reveal the good news which the experts had got wrong and kept the truth from the jews. He even detailed what man ihad to do. And it had nothing to do with dying on a cross. You were supposed instead to follow his directions But instead of heeding his teachings and ditectiond those silly lazy Jews tried to turn him into the traditional blood sacrifice as if god got pleasure in spilling blood. And its magic blood! So it was turned into another blood cult religion. Instead of a religion that did what Christ tried to teach and inform The genuine Christianity didn't survive Paul. What arose as Christianity was a fraud well proven by its history of great evil and suffering imposed upon others . .
The History of the Roman Church in the Middle ages, and later, is one which it is not, nor should be proud of in its relationship to those outside the 'fold'. If you balance the good that the Church has done at periods, and does today, it still doesn't bring back those it murdered. Other churches only became involved around the 17th - 18th centuries. After that witchcraft 'died out' in the main except for superstitious groups and certain indoctrinated 'tribes' today. Popes are not descended from Peter by divine right. Some Popes have even been dismissed by the Church and replaced. Others have murdered and killed. Descent from Peter is a myth. The need for celibacy is a disastrous myth. Peter was married. Jesus was probably married, but the Gospel writers rather we didn't know. Jesus was a Jewish preacher - not a divine being. . Atheists do not claim any religious status. If an atheist kills it is against the laws of man. If a Christian kills it is also against the Law of God.
Paul considered himself a slave to Christ. You claim Christianity didn't survive yet you pretend to revere the Christ who died because He claimed divinity. Apparently you also deny His resurrection. No wonder your theology didn't survive.
I don't think Jesus did claim divinity. That was down to the Gospel writers later. They put words into the preacher's mouth that a Jew would never have said. Most of what Jesus said and did was Judaistic. He claimed to have come to his own - the Jews - and practised that.
I was always under the impression that christian "eternity" is some sort of continuing existence in heaven or hell, in which case while for the duration of this life it IS the most important thing, as how you live it is how you will be judged. To that end, how we as individuals behave and how our societal institutions operate upon individuals would be pretty consequential to the behavior and outcomes of any and all individual lives. I'm merely saying that this all too brief audition for one's eternal life path is dependent on both the individual and the collective.
Most people dont want to come to an end . It sucks for most. So you saying they should not be concerned about eternity is against human nature. If being concerned with eyernity makes some behave better I am all for that! We need all the help we can get! And people concerned about eternity make better neighbors. Religion can be a very civilizing force for good. Even this agnostic realizes that. Especially if they follow what Christ taught before he was murdered .
the reason most people don't want to follow Christ is not so much that they deny his existence and what he claimed but because following Christ would cost them things that they hold dear and don't want to give up.. Then they go a step further and suggest that who is God to say i should give these things up.. Therefore i believe God doesn't exist. Therefore i can do as I please with no consequences and who are you to tell me I'm wrong, after all there is no God and therefore no objective truth. but they won't take the next logical step There is no right or wrong..
For the most part that is just an excuse made by Christians. Most of us ex Christians gave up because we saw that the Bible is simply a book written by man. With modern knowledge and the ability of people to study for themselves,.they don't have to rely on Church teaching. Christianity relies on the OT from which it misinterprets OT prophecy to make Jesus their Messiah. It relies on 'verbatim' reports written decades after Jesus death in 28CE. It relies on reports and conversations between Jesus and his 'father', between himself and the devil when there was no other anyone near. The disciples believed Jesus was the Jewish Messiah. When, in the garden, he told them to put up their swords, they realised their error and fled. The arrest of Jesus, and the events during his trial and conviction are not really known, We have confused stories about when the trial and crucifixion actually took place and details which are completely farcical if you understand Judaism. Judaism is compiled of earlier beliefs, Babylonian, Ugarit and Egyptian, and its rituals ditto. And some of those have passed on to Christianity. The Ark of the Covenant is similar to Egyptian ritual. As are some of the clothes worn. Most of the Jewish ceremonies and rituals are copied in some Christian churches. Even Easter is a copy of the ancient practice of welcoming the Sun back into the world in spring after it had been in the underworld over winter. On the appropriate day they would gather and as the sun arose they would shout 'He is risen'. There's nothing new under the sun.
How do we know you're not going to change your mind again? Jesus predicted people like you in the Parable of the Sowers, I'm sure you're familiar with it being an expert and all.
Nonsense, one reason He was crucified was because He claimed to be God, according to the Jewish leadership of the time. Where is your evidence that the NT was changed? We have fragments of it from about 95AD, and complete books from not much later. Muslims also claim this, without any evidence either.
Much of society is gratified by pleasurable perversions and spend lots of time chasing pleasure that treats others as objects of personal pleasure The idea of living a non self centered life is unthinkable! Me, me, me. I prefer good Christian neighbors even being agnostic.
