America WAS Originally a Christian Nation

you're going to have to twist some truths to get that to stick, when places like Norway (which has a far higher percentage of atheists than America does) make you guys look bad in terms of social health. How will you explain that to yourself, I wonder.

 

If you have religion freedom, you must include the freedom to not practice religion.

 

Atheists by and large, at least ones I talk to subscribe to humanism. Humanism is a nice set of principles which focuses on the human good.

 

Why something was seen as immoral is important in deciding if it is still important today. Just because the Bible specifies something doesn't mean it's still valid or true. Much of the Bible may not be literal fact, even though there is much truth in what it portrays. The Jews lived in a specific time and place, which is very different than today in the US. We can't ignore historical and cultural context when reading it.

 

If our founding fathers established that our inalienable rights are derived from a creator the by definition an atheist who doesn't believe in a creator doesn't have any rights. At least not inalienable ones. He only has those rights which society deems fit to give him.

 

According to the Bible, he is now burning in hell.

 

That's not true either. Not only is it a complete misrepresentation of hell but it's contradictory to Jesus' teachings.

 

A literal Bible, sure. Not all Christians take it literally. Jesus himself took the spirit of the law, not the letter of it, like the Pharisees did. He wanted people to follow him, and that means acting like him. Maybe some people think that's the important thing.

 

The Declaration of Independence says "All men are created equal", not "Right-wing evangelical Christians are created equal".

Then how does hell actually work?

 

Hell works like this: I control a population of people based on medieval desert nomad nonsense, and need some construct that will entice fear in them. If they don't do as I say or wish, I will enlighten them with the fact that by not following my man-made rules, they will suffer eternal damnation. Hell works as a tool to keep a weak-minded population from questioning a stupid belief system.

 

But it didn't mean that interpretation did it? Otherwise blacks would have had rights too.

Hell is destruction. When you are thrown into hell you are simply and utterly destroyed. God takes you from nothingness and gives you life with the opportunity for eternal life. You then choose whether to follow him or not. If you follow him you receive eternal life. If you choose not to the god will simply destroy you and send you back to the nothingness from whence you came. At worst you go back to nothing like you were before. It's a win/win. You can't lose.

 

Well, it's a good thing that the DoI is not legally binding then, and that the constitution specifically prohibits the passage of any law establishing a national religion or interfering in the practice of religion, which, as I said, has to include the practice of atheism as well.

 

Cool.....quote the Bible verse The Epistle of Paul to Titus 3:2

 

So if atheism is included then a law advancing anything devoid of religion say removing all religious connotation from school would be unconstitutional wouldn't it? Because then the state is supporting atheism.

 

Now, find something in the Bible to support this.

 

Sure as long as you show me where Jesus taught in Titus.

By the way. Speaking the truth is not evil. Even though I know the truth is antithema to liberals and is considered evil.

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No problem.

Fear not him who can destroy the body but fear him who is able to DESTROY both soul and body in hell.

Further when Jesus references hell he references Gehenna. And gehenna was a trashpit outside of Jerusalem where the trash was thrown into the fire and consumed. The fires always burned but the trash did not stay there forever.

 

Actually, God doesn't give us the choice to follow him. We choose whether to follow man-made religion or not, with no possibility to cross reference or question the people who wrote the book. If God truly wanted us to have that choice, all he simply has to do is pop into my head and reveal himself to me. I'll quickly toe whatever line he wants me to follow, no questions asked.

 

By law, the government is not allowed to promote or demote religion. They can not stop private prayer by students, but they are not allowed to have religion as part of offical school function, nor can they promote the idea that there is no god. Government is secular. Not promoting Christianity or religion in general is not the same as promoting atheism. I choose not to buy apple products, but that does not mean I promote microsoft.

The issue that Christians have with this is that they consider schools not openly promoting their faith as an attack on their faith.

 

once again, try explaining your way out of the FACT that the most atheist countries in the world outrank yours in social health and general ethics (good universal healthcare, good public education, and advanced environmental protections)?

then explain why the most christian nation in the western world (America) has the highest percentage of incarcerated people.

good luck.

 

So you DENY that what Paul wrote in the Bible ...."counts"? He said the Lord appeared unto him.

Then why do Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John "count"?

 

Ugh yes actually they are. The constitution says that CONGRESS may not establish laws... It says nothing about the state.

 

Find a verse that actually says "This is what happens in hell".

Until then, you're just interpreting stuff.

 

Interestingly, apparently Immortal wants schools to have some kind of "anti-Pauline Biblical Christianity" taught in schools....where St. Paul's epistles in the Bible..."don't count"?!?!?!?

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So Michigan could make Islam it's mandatory state religion if it wanted?

 

Well first of all because I'm not a paulian. I'm a Christian.

But second Because Pauls writings were written by a man (who contradicted Jesus often) who was attempting to interpret God and pass those interpretations on to others.

But the gospel is not written that way. The gospel is written as a biography. Unlike Paul they weren't telling you their opinions of what God wanted you to know. They were relating what JESUS told us God wanted us to know.

Not to mention Paul never intended his letters to become doctrine or scriptural.

 

He just threw out a big chunk of the New Testament....you expect him to back up his ideas on Hell with the Bible????

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So you use the Bible as authority....except for the stuff in the Bible you don't like? You just choose what you want to ignore in it?