BF2S Forums The Meanings of Religion

IRONCHEF wrote:

Just a question for you.  Do you think people who go to church have not had pre-marital sex, or stolen, or used God's name in vain or coveted?  And have you met someone Christian who is trying to make you feel guilty for living life?  I don't know any perfect people that go to church with me and I never will, and the second I meet someone who feels hollier then thou, I'll make sure to let them know they just fell from their favor with God.  lol

Anyway, i'll make sure not to knock your door!   And thanks for keeping this sensitive topic civil.

Seems to me that there are basic attitudes in play here, on how best to justify your existence if you ever meet the (IMO) non-existent maker:

A) Standing up for your actions and saying "if there are consequences, I will bear them".

B) Praying for forgiveness and saying "if there are consequences, I shouldn't have to face them because I'm sorry"

Seems to me that if a regular guy who covets his neighbour garden gnomes picks A and a murderer picks B, the murderer would get off scott free and the gnome fancier would be doomed for eternity.  So organised religion actually punishes good people who stand up for what they believe, but rewards vicious murderers who find God in a cell on Death Row. 

Here's a question for your local vicar:  When the murderers get to heaven, are they in the same bit as their victims?

GATOR591957 wrote:

CameronPoe wrote:

To paraphrase the great thinker Sigmund Freud: "Religion is the most socially acceptable form of neurotic behaviour on earth."

I believe ...

Cameron you state these as facts.  You may want to add this is just your opinion.

1. He begins with "I believe".

2. He clearly states that this is also Sigmund Freud's opinion. Needless to say, it is also the opinion of many others, including myself.

3. If nothing else, I would think Freud provides more than enough evidence to support his claim. Since you do not agree with them, I challenge you to do the same, that is explain the reasoning behind your opinion.

Then again, believers act upon belief and therefore are placed beyond the realm of reason.

Last edited by oug (2007-01-09 16:36:15)

Other. It's a memeplex.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Memetics for stuff on memetics...

sergeriver wrote:

I'm agnostic like Mason4Assassin444

I thought you were Jewish...

sergeriver wrote:

And don't tell me BS, because I'm a Jew too.

Maybe I dont fully understand agnostic ?..lol

Last edited by Kmarion (2007-01-09 18:00:18)

Mason4Assassin444 wrote:

What you call "sharing" I call waking me up on a Saturday morning after I worked all week. Because people have jobs and lives. I choose not to go to church every Sunday. I have stolen things. I have had pre-marital sex and continue too. I curse. I use the lord's name in vain at least 10 times a day. I covet thy neighbors wife because she is hot. I do not need someone to make me feel guilty for living life. I've made mistakes. I've accepted the concequences. And I have my beliefs.

I HOPE there is something greater for all of us when we pass. Granted it could just be wormfood that awaits. I like to think we all have our own version of heaven. Many here may say that is in front of pc with BF2 and a pornstar below. If that is someones idea of heaven, who is the "church" to make me feel guilty for believing that.

And the guys knocking on the door "love" me? They don't fucking know me. And if I was your neighbor you 'd have a good kicking for sending them my way.

Each his own.

PS. I'd like some links to the "history" of Christianity your giving us today.

I hear ya Mason.  I don't like getting roused from sleep on the ONE day I get to sleep in, either.  That's why I just talk to the people around me about my faith when it's appropriate and I have conversations online like this.  Banging on people's door doesn't work too well.  If someone told you that you have to perfect to go to church, they need the good kicking you speak of.  No one is perfect, that's why we need salvation. 

Respectfully, the guy/girl knocking on the door may care about you, though they don't know you.  Christianity teaches us to care about the eternal destiny of our fellow man. 

And for what it's worth, CommieChipmunk, feel free to not like these threads, but no one is ramming beliefs down anyone's throat.  We're all stating our opinions and asking question.  I think these "religion" threads have resulted in some very good, worthwhile discussion.  Though the occasional asshat (not you) feels the need to come in and hollar names once in awhile.  These threads are much more worthwhile than most of the political stuff.

My god is Beer..

usmarine2007 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

I'm agnostic like Mason4Assassin444

I thought you were Jewish...

sergeriver wrote:

And don't tell me BS, because I'm a Jew too.

Maybe I dont fully understand agnostic ?..lol

He is what is hip?

Who asked you anyway?

Kmarion wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

I'm agnostic like Mason4Assassin444

I thought you were Jewish...

Maybe I dont fully understand agnostic ?..lol

I'm Jew (blood only), I don't follow any religion.  I'm agnostic.  You can be Jew and agnostic.

Meaning the only Jewish thing about you is the fact your parents were?

who cares if he is jewish or not, he is capitain, 21% accuracy, he pawns all, he is welcome to play in my team as he want ;-)

sergeriver wrote:

usmarine2007 wrote:

Kmarion wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

I'm agnostic like Mason4Assassin444

I thought you were Jewish...

Maybe I dont fully understand agnostic ?..lol

He is what is hip?

Who asked you anyway?

Who asked you to post a topic?

sergeriver wrote:

usmarine2007 wrote:

sergeriver wrote:

Who asked you anyway?

Who asked you to post a topic?

My dirty mind.

Here we go again...

I voted Other, since all the options are true of religion in general.

A reason for grown men to touch little boys apparently.

UON wrote:

Seems to me that there are basic attitudes in play here, on how best to justify your existence if you ever meet the (IMO) non-existent maker:
A) Standing up for your actions and saying "if there are consequences, I will bear them".
B) Praying for forgiveness and saying "if there are consequences, I shouldn't have to face them because I'm sorry"
Seems to me that if a regular guy who covets his neighbour garden gnomes picks A and a murderer picks B, the murderer would get off scott free and the gnome fancier would be doomed for eternity.  So organised religion actually punishes good people who stand up for what they believe, but rewards vicious murderers who find God in a cell on Death Row. 

Here's a question for your local vicar:  When the murderers get to heaven, are they in the same bit as their victims?

B needs to be modified.  Forgiveness is not based on just being sorry after one has been found guilty.  Rather, it is based on belief in Jesus and acceptance of God’s free salvation.  The question is what one will decide regarding salvation - that is what determines eternal destiny, not good works.  There is no scale of goodness that allows us to be “good enough” if we don’t commit certain “bad” sins.  If both the murderer and their victim have accepted salvation, yes, they’re in the same boat.  Either one is perfect or they accept salvation, acknowledging their sin.  There is no middle ground.

oug wrote:

Then again, believers act upon belief and therefore are placed beyond the realm of reason.

There are plenty of logical reasons to believe that God exists.  I’ll give you one.  This is the most concise expression of my position that the design of the universe itself shouts the existence of a Creator.  Emphasis mine:

http://www.bethinking.org/resource.php? … tegoryID=2
“Stephen Hawking has estimated that if the rate of the universe’s expansion one second after the Big Bang had been smaller by even one part in a hundred thousand million million, the universe would have re-collapsed into a hot fireball. British physicist P. C. W. Davies has calculated that the odds against the initial conditions being suitable for later star formation (without which planets could not exist) is one followed by a thousand billion billion zeroes, at least.  He also estimates that a change in the strength of gravity or of the weak force by only one part in 10 ¹⁰⁰ would have prevented a life-permitting universe.  Roger Penrose of Oxford University has calculated that the odds of the Big Bang's low entropy condition existing by chance are on the order of one out of 10 10 (123).  There is no physical reason why these quantities have the values they do.  The inference to an intelligent Designer of the cosmos seems far more rational than the atheistic hypothesis of chance.”

The numbers above move the possibility of chance creating our universe into the realm of impossibility.