Oh wow, I saw the same story on the Dallas news and thought the exact same thing. I think she was still in shock, and was saying what she thought she should say. But it was still an odd thing to say.
Did you see the murderers' interviews on Fox 4 last night, when the one who pulled the trigger, when asked what he would say to the families said, "F$*k 'em." Also of note is the families chose not to watch the interviews. It's probably just as well, since they admitted that those two men died for the two dollars they had on them. The trigger man had such venom in his eyes that it was truly disturbing.
Nonsense. He implied that a belief in God is fantasy and I wanted to know what would make an individual belittle people of faith. Notice he did not defend the belittling accusation. He attacked people of faith. I was just wondering why. I'm just asking questions. You seemed to be the one that's seriously disturbed.
Yeah, I saw that one as well. Made me sick. I think I'm finally going to get a conceled handgun license, because you never know when you will encounter one of these thugs.
Mere divergence is not the definition of a sect. There is more involved in the definition. Yes, Jesus was Jewish as were all the Apostles, and Paul. But most Christian converts were Gentile. The "first" Christians refers to the first generation of Christians. Most of them were Gentile. The issue wasn't whether or not Gentiles could become Christians, but whether or not Christianity was bound by elements of the Mosaic Law. A group of Jewish-Christians called Judiazers claimed that for a Gentile to become Christian, they had to be circumcised. ChristianThe decision was that they did not. Jesus taught a morality that went beyond the teachings of Judaism, which is what led to his crucifixion. It started out as a small group but soon grew larger than Judiaism. Christianity is not bound by the Mosaic Law. The Ten Commandments remain valid for Christians, but that is about all. There are thousands of laws detailed in Deuteronomy and Numbers that Christians are not bound by.
Why do you choose to ignore all the good religion/faith has done including the billions upon billions of dollars worth of food, clothing, and shelter given to the poor? A recent poll indicates 92% of the US population believes in God. I assume you believe 92% of the US population is brainwashed and uses religion as a crutch? I have no idea whether or not you are miserable or insecure. I was trying to understand how you so easily justify belittling something so important to so many people. I'm often suspicious when someone belittles anything that brings happiness to people. You say it's because faith kills and brainwashing is dangerous. I guess if I felt that way about religion I would belittle it also. How did you manage to be part of the 8% that didn't get "brainwashed"?
Clues have been given in relation to the nature of God, I think. I believe a determined observer can find God in many things and through action and introspection move closer to God. I don't think fully understanding God is necessary to move closer to God.
The more time spent contemplating God and fortifying your soul, I think the closer you are to God. People aren't inherently close to God and spiritually healthy. If you neglect your body you become physically ill, and I believe the same can be said of your spirit. The people that churches serve benefit from donated money. There are secular entities that help your fellow man as well now, and unless you really agree with the way a church helps others, I can understand not wanting to give. But I think churches offer more help than any other non-government organization and shouldn't be so quickly dismissed. Is it a coincidence that entities representing God help more than other entities? I think I mostly agree with this. I think it is wrong to think you can't learn from and respect your fellow man and some spiritual traditions. If Jesus were around, he'd probably speak out against many or all of these things.
fixed I believe in an afterlife where emotions can be overpowering, so simply living a "good" life is not enough. If you aren't spiritually strong by the time you die I think there is a real risk you will be swept away by those things we consider the worst part of life. Why can't both exist? This is a pretty crucial statement. Well, maybe they're one and the same. :thumb:
