Wrong, Christianity does not have any sway with the government, it is organized religion that has political power. Just because they claim that they are Christianity does not mean that they are, they are more Christendom not Christianity. There is a major difference between the two. Many of them are just as, or far more corrupt that the politicians that they influence.
Social yes, religious yes, government no.
Again when it comes to organized religion I agree. However there is a role for religion to play in society that is very beneficial and the problem is that it is not filling that role currently and is in areas that does not belong, much like our government.
I think religion still has it’s place. Some people need it to make sense of their lives. Some find it comforting in a harsh world. Some appreciate the fellowship organized religion brings. Some need it to ease the fear of death and find it helpful to believe that they may live on in another form. None of these are bad things.
Where religion goes wrong is when it casts aspersions on those who don’t adhere to their beliefs. Faith and spirituality are far more important than religion. Dogmatic adherence to a narrow religious view is counterproductive to the soul. It withers the spirit and sours the tongue. If your religion is particularly bad, it will command you to treat non-believers as lesser beings. It will command you to do evil against your fellow man because he is not like you. If your religion is so weak that it cannot withstand the slightest scrutiny, then it has no connection to God or any other deity. It is wholly a construct of man to subjugate others.
I’m not talking about morals here. Morals are a societal issue more so than a religious one. Some societies simply use a religion as the basis for their societal mores. I’m talking about pure religious bigotry. I simply have zero tolerance for any religion that treats those who believe differently as somehow less of a person.
I’m in the camp that thinks if the GOP could unsaddle religious matters and focus on fiscal conservatism rather than attempt to legislate morality we’d never see another Democratic President. Nothing drives people left faster than the belief that religious beliefs are being forced on them and they are losing their freedoms as a result.
It is exactly the same kind of motivator that drives those who care about firearm freedoms to the right. Problem is far more Americans are concerned with their right to view adult material than they are about being armed.
I think religious matters are the concern of the church and if people want religion they sure know where to find it. And along those lines, yes we have ALL HEARD the news by now so you can quit waking my ass up on Sunday morning to ask me.
Religion, religious, and religiousness are not from God. Religion is the attempt at “defining” an indefinable God.
Marriage is a “blood covenant” which was established by God. The marriage ceremony follows the dictates of a “blood covenant”. The name changing, wearing rings, feeding each other the wedding cake, minister presiding, promising to protect and to care for each other, reciting an oath are all parts of a “blood covenant”. The “blood covenant” is sealed with the shedding of blood – tearing the hymen.
A Christian has a relationship with Christ.
The Bible is the Word of God, the Bible should be taken literally.
If someone wants to know how a Christian should act, they should ask a non-Christian. Those non-Christians got it all figured out.
God is not “fair”. God is just; justice allows God to be merciful.
The penalty for sinning is death (eternal separation from God).
I probably agree with this to a certain extent. However, I am interested to see some examples of how the GOP is attempting to legislate morality. (I am not trying to refute it, just understand at what level you are talking. Ie, prohibition against murder is a form of legislating morality, as are so-called “blue laws” keeping stores closed on Sundays, and a lot in between)
It is exactly the same kind of motivator that drives those who care about firearm freedoms to the right. Problem is far more Americans are concerned with their right to view adult material than they are about being armed.
I think religious matters are the concern of the church and if people want religion they sure know where to find it. And along those lines, yes we have ALL HEARD the news by now so you can quit waking my ass up on Sunday morning to ask me.
The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist.
Religion is not the same as Christianity. Christianity is and always will be, even if every church is burned to the ground and everyone worships Cthulu.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
The word of God will always be the word of God, even if the word falls on deaf ears.
The state of organized religion is a mess. Christianity is perfectly fine, but we already know how this story ends. John wrote it all down 2000 years or so ago.
In terms of what could kill christianity, a thing called science or maybe even reason. Then again science has proved that snakes never talked nor walked and Dinosaurs did not in fact ever have the chance to taste a yummy human being but vast amt’s of people prob. do in fact believe those things or at least tell us non believers they do.
I have never fully understood why this is so hard to find. I like discussions on religion and always thought that it was so silly when people could get so upset and personally offended when discussing it.The challenges to my beliefs have personally strengthen it, though it has also caused me to reevaluate certain parts.
Statements like this are why we see such a great divide in our country. I do not believe in any supreme being. Many people try to project their own beliefs on others and it just doesn’t work.
You seem to be implying that lack of belief is a fault of some sort. It is not. It is just different from how you live your life.
Amazing. It took less than 30 minutes for someone to come in and prove the second half of my post wrong. I guess we cant’ keep it a civil adult conversation.
I didn’t take it as an attack; functionally, his statement is true. Every man sets one “being” as the ultimate authority in his life. Christians reserve that authority for God. Buddhists reserve it for Buddha (I think I’m right on that, lol). Atheists deny spirituality and therefore give that position of power to someone else (and if your answer is “no one,” then that means you reserve that seat of power for yourself to determine who you will follow, making yourself the ultimate authority). It’s no more a slur than stating that “Christians think God directs them.”
It’s a truth for every human on Earth. Just my .02
