Religion? Nah.

[James]

That is the very, very, very funny thing about all of it. If you heard a story of an itinerant bum in your area that was doing magic tricks and claimed to be god you would not believe it.

Starboy

You're probably right. I'd love to meet God, but I don't have that much faith, I'll admit that.
If I had a dream or a vision or something where God came to me and told me that He had taken on the form of someone on earth, I would go see.

But, what's your argument? Admitting I'm right?

[Starboy]

You're probably right. I'd love to meet God, but I don't have that much faith, I'll admit that.
If I had a dream or a vision or something where God came to me and told me that He had taken on the form of someone on earth, I would go see.

But, what's your argument? Admitting I'm right?

My point is that even Christians would not believe the story they claim to believe if it were presented in contemporary form. That the story is unbelievable. That in order to accept an unbelievable story that they would not believe in any other context they must practice a double standard. They must use a lower standard of acceptance than they would apply to basically the same claim but in a different circumstance. They must lie to themselves.

The funny thing about something that is actually real is it doesn't matter what you believe. It is still real. And the magic still works even thought you continue not to believe in it. You do not have to believe in electrons to use the light switch on the wall. The electrons don't care. And if you believe it is not electrons the light switch will still work.

Any situation where the magic will only work after you believe in it is just out and out foolery. And of course it is very funny that many supernaturalist know this. But they have managed to fool themselves with all this "belief" crap. If it is real belief is irrelevant.

Starboy

[James]

My point is that even Christians would not believe the story they claim to believe if it were presented in contemporary form. That the story is unbelievable. That in order to accept an unbelievable story that they would not believe in any other context they must practice a double standard. They must use a lower standard of acceptance than they would apply to basically the same claim but in a different circumstance. They must lie to themselves.

The funny thing about something that is actually real is it doesn't matter what you believe. It is still real. And the magic still works even thought you continue not to believe in it. You do not have to believe in electrons to use the light switch on the wall. The electrons don't care. And if you believe it is not electrons the light switch will still work.

Any situation where the magic will only work after you believe in it is just out and out foolery. And of course it is very funny that many supernaturalist know this. But they have managed to fool themselves with all this "belief" crap. If it is real belief is irrelevant.

Starboy

God also continues to exist even though you and others don't believe in Him. And He still loves everyone on earth. God loves you and me, God loves Osama bin Laden, heck-God even loves George W. Bush, believe it or not!

God doesn't need us, but we do need Him.
The Bible says that ignorance will not pardon you from punishment for your sin.

I would have enough faith to go and find out if it is God. The Bible says that anyone who is even lightly against God cannot be with Him, but against Him. A way to tell if someone is of God or not is to ask them to confess Jesus Christ as Messiah and savior of the earth. If they cannot do this, then they are evil and not of God.

I might not have enough faith to believe now that a man is God on earth, but I have enough to believe that He was here 2,000 years ago.

[Starboy]

Hey my point still stands. Even you would not believe the original story that you base your so called faith on if it were presented to you today in contemporary form. You think about that.

Starboy

[James]

Hey my point still stands. Even you would not believe the original story that you base your so called faith on if it were presented to you today in contemporary form. You think about that.

Starboy

The question of 'would I still believe it if it happened today' is not a fair question. My opinion and answer can't be truthful, since it already happened once. And the Messiah couldn't come today, He already came. And when He comes again, it'll be to call the believers home.

The way I see it: If I believe today in what happened 2,000 years ago,
I would believe it if it happened today instead.
The same if I had lived back when Jesus was on earth.

Souls don't change. It's the soul that chooses to believe or to not believe.

[Athena]

Starboy, I so agree with you. That is why I totally do not worry about going to hell. I think there may be a God, just not the one described in the bible, or any other mythology. Like Spinoza, for me, God is the X factor of the universe, not a humanized supernatural being competing with another supernatural being for our souls. There could be no Satan worshiping with this belief system, so it is really silly to blame Satan worshiping on anything but the Christian belief system. It is really, really silly to believ Christians with supernatural beings of good and evil, angels and demons, oppose superstition. If they at least knowledged their belief as superstition, there would be some sanity to it.

[Starboy]

I agree Athena. The only hope Christianity has for surviving is just to admit it is mythology and get on with it. If they claim that their ethos contains good guidance for society then they should show that. But all the hocus pocus is just plain silly.

Starboy

[Athena]

God also continues to exist even though you and others don't believe in Him. And He still loves everyone on earth. God loves you and me, God loves Osama bin Laden, heck-God even loves George W. Bush, believe it or not!

God doesn't need us, but we do need Him.
The Bible says that ignorance will not pardon you from punishment for your sin.

I would have enough faith to go and find out if it is God. The Bible says that anyone who is even lightly against God cannot be with Him, but against Him. A way to tell if someone is of God or not is to ask them to confess Jesus Christ as Messiah and savior of the earth. If they cannot do this, then they are evil and not of God.

I might not have enough faith to believe now that a man is God on earth, but I have enough to believe that He was here 2,000 years ago.

Your loving God, told the Hebrews to extremate people and take their land, and was very clearly the God of Abraham, not a universal God. This God destroyed all living things that Noah couldn't get into to the ark. This God uses demons and plagues to punish people with sickness and famine, he punishes people with volcanos, tornades, earthquakes, etc., and occasuionally if people pray right, they are spared by God. We should remember to paint our doors with the blood of lamb, so that plagues pass by our doors and do not take our first born. Do Christians actually read the bible?

[James]

I agree Athena. The only hope Christianity has for surviving is just to admit it is mythology and get on with it. If they claim that their ethos contains good guidance for society then they should show that. But all the hocus pocus is just plain silly.

Starboy

How would we show it? Through our government, maybe? Oh, no-wait! We can't even have the 10 Commandments in schools! Or say 'God' in the Pledge!

How can we show our good guidance if liberal whiners are always on our case?

[Starboy]

How would we show it? Through our government, maybe? Oh, no-wait! We can't even have the 10 Commandments in schools! Or say 'God' in the Pledge!

How can we show our good guidance if liberal whiners are always on our case?

Gee, don't you have enought churches, radio stations, magazines, pamphlets, bibles, movies and so on? I mean if the magic works just say the magic incantations and make it happen. What does god need with a government?

Starboy

[James]

Your loving God, told the Hebrews to extremate people and take their land, and was very clearly the God of Abraham, not a universal God. This God destroyed all living things that Noah couldn't get into to the ark. This God uses demons and plagues to punish people with sickness and famine, he punishes people with volcanos, tornades, earthquakes, etc., and occasuionally if people pray right, they are spared by God. We should remember to paint our doors with the blood of lamb, so that plagues pass by our doors and do not take our first born. Do Christians actually read the bible?

I read the Bible, but I don't think you do.

Yes, God did tell the Hebrews to kill their enemies. Maybe God knew that they could never be changed... I don't know why God does all that He does, but I will one day.

God did destroy everyone that was not on the ark. The world had gotten too evil. Nobody believed in Him or regarded Him as the omnipotent, loving Father. It was only Noah and his family. God had to start over. But it wasn't His fault, the people had a choice...

God DOES NOT use demons. Demons are evil spirits, possibly the angels who rebelled against God and chose to follow Satan. And God doesn't cause bad things to happen, He allows them to happen.
There could be no death or want if only Adam and Eve had obeyed God and trusted in Him. If it hadn't been them, it would have been someone else down on the line, eventually.
People are evil by nature. Left alone they are not naturally good, like some say, but evil. Trust and obedience to God makes them not evil.

'Praying right' doesn't protect you. You really sound like you have no idea what you're talking about. Even Starboy makes more sense. You just sound whiny...

[James]

Gee, don't you have enought churches, radio stations, magazines, pamphlets, bibles, movies and so on? I mean if the magic works just say the magic incantations and make it happen. What does god need with a government?

Starboy

How can you learn about God if you won't go to church?
After the sevice, pull the preacher aside and ask him your specific questions. He'll know everything.