^^ when did i admit to anything, maybe you took my 'sure' the wrong way, it was there to end this as it was getting a little samey.
So let's sum it up then. According to Master_g: Only Protestants are true Christians. Roman Catholics are not. I believe Master_G has just created a new religion in the world ie. CATHOLICISM. lol. I am curious, how come when we are given multiple choices in the RELIGION option in a form to fill, there's no CATHOLICS but only CHRISTIANS? Anyway, I think this matter has been settled in the other thread. Conclusion, Catholics ARE Christians. Btw, Tax has made a very valid point. It's just what religion you were bornt with and brought up with. If you were bornt a Catholic, Muslim or even a Buddhist, you can easily explain your phenomenal experience as well. I am sure you know zilch about other religions, with your kind of attitute not bothering to read up on other people's religions ('essays'), so... to claim that your branch of religion is the only way is a very cocky and arrogant attitude indeed. That's a lot of bad karma -nono Religion is a matter of interpretation. And may I add, the road is not as narrow as your mind...
Hm, who really are true Christians?.. Even people that are of the most "zealous" and claim to be Christian can thus prove that they are truly not. The meaning of being a Christian is to be "Christ-like". Many profess to be such, but through word, deeds, and even thinking, are not. Just felt like sharing my thoughts in the religion section this morning, seems like I missed a lot.
-clapclap I agree with that absolutely. You did indeed... I am still waiting for more 'contribution' from you in the Analysis thread
my two cents on this topic -- what does it mean to be a christian? (purpose-wise) Well, I view Christianity as two pillars. That are vertically parallel to one another. One pillar is the aspect of living a moralistic and holy life (according to the standard of the Law of God; which is holy and righteous). Then there is the other pillar that addresses the aspect of life after death. That is the one that is most heated and debated upon. To be a Christian is two-fold. To live a life like Christ and to have faith in the One-True God. Both folds goes hand-in-hand with another. You cannot be a Christ-like individual without faith and belief in God and Jesus Christ and still be called a Christian. And vice versa; where you cannot only have faith and belief in God and Jesus Christ and not be a individual that tries to live his/her life like Christ. Therefore, it is two-fold. I think what master_g meant in Catholicism not being the right path in Christianity is that that branch has a religious flaw in viewing salvation. I'm not too familiar with Catholicism but to my historical studies, the reason for the movement of Protestant is because of a man named Martin Luther. The Church was corrupt in thinking that itself can heal and forgive the sins of men/women. Where in the Bible it clearly states that only Jesus Christ is the appropiate sacrifice for the salvation of humankind. So between the Catholicism and Protestant branches of Christianity; I favor the Protestants since, if the Catholic Church still condols on the aspect of the Church being the way to Jesus Christ and to the Father and to salvation. They are wrong and need to reread the Bible. But I believe there are many Christians that are Catholic that are in heaven right now. It doesn't mean that I support the Catholic Church self-proposed doctrines; but that these individuals lived their lives two-fold of a Christian life and sees the Church as only a tool to be used and not the way to salvation.
well, it's just a matter of faith. i believe that God is real and that Jesus is his son who came to save. but really, even if you can't PROVE christianity, there is no way to prove that evolution or buddhism is real. actually, evolution has even more holes than christianity. like i said. it's more of a matter of what you choose to believe. if you can't decide which one sounds more real, then you should try christianity out instead of denouncing it. ugh and i hope that i don't sound like some wannabe righteous Christian here, but, i know that God is real. trust me, it's worth trying out and it can't hurt right?
I am interested to know of the holes you mention in Evolution. Since more often than not they belong to the rhetorical "holes" smeared by those who doesn't understand science. I agree Christianity is a matter of faith, which means it doesn't take TRUTH to believe in it. Not unlike a divine saltshaker, as I always say. And why should one try Christianity, of all things? Because it claims God is real in a book of which the authenticity is questioned? Why not Muslim? Hinduism? In fact, so far in my acquaintance with Christians, they fit into one of the two categories loosely: one is religious wannabes, the other is logical beings who have a healthy level of doubt even in their very own belief. They accept Christianity for its mores, and not the righteousness or the hypothetical God who apparently is vengeful. So if someone believes in Christianity and has the misfortune to fall into the former category, I think it does hurt. It harm one's ability to logically reason.
oh yea. i have something else to add on to my previous post. Yes, God says not to judge people. but really, can we help it? it's human nature. i mean, if we were perfect, then there would be no point of a God right? God wants us to be as perfect as human-nature allows. most importantly, he wants us to love him, and love everybody. some people ask, if he can really do anything that he wants, then why doesn't he turn everybody to christianity? it's because he wants us to have a choice. he wants us to have the choice of loving him and believing in him. i mean, he could make everyone into a christian and make us happy, but he chooses to give us the freedom of making a choice. another thing, i know some of you people have been disputing the catholic/christian thing. let me just say something to remind the christians, that just because you're a catholic, doesn't mean that you're not a christian. some catholics do believe as christians do. most, however, don't. but don't put them down! just because they are catholics doesn't mean that they're bad. it's just a matter of what they believe. and i hope i'm not just contradicting what i just said, but most of my catholic friends have been brought up in a catholic family, and that's pretty hard to get out of. i've noticed that most catholics go to confession and church[temple? sorry i'm not too familiar with it] many times a week. but my catholic friends really have no conviction. they just see it as something they have to get done every week. and that there's no point to sitting there for so long all the time. if you wanna try christianity out, i suggest that you go to a youth group gathering at a church. the rest is up to you.
Uhm okay. No one is saying you can or can't prove anything, kiddo. Like I said, faith is a matter of belief, and you can't prove your own faith, so why try to push it down the throat of others?! It's like saying "Hey I like the color black, you must like it too!!!" It's a matter of preference anyway. So if you prefer Christianity, no one is stopping you, as long as you mind your own business and not try to 'save' anyone else by brainwashing them or offering them 'salvation' and threatening them to Hell if they don't. I don't think the evolution theory has more holes than Christianity. The sole foundation of Christianity is on the belief that God exists and the Bible is the word from God. So, both sets of foundation are created based on assumption/presumption rather than facts. Whilst the evolution theory is developed by a set of people who actually base their theories on archaelogy rather than just mere presumptions. Are you saying religion is a matter of "trying it to see if you like it"?! Religion takes a lot of faith to embrace and you don't just embrace something to "TRY IT OUT". You have to fully understand the teachings, and comprehend them. If only you are fully certain that you believe, and you are comfortable with what you learnt, THEN YOU EMBRACE IT. No wonder the world is full of ignorant people today trying to 'convert' others, yet they themselves are not fully well-versed with their own teachings. NO, it CAN hurt. I am sure your God won't be very pleased too, if someone says he believes in Him today and next day, says "I don't believe in you anymore" and wants to convert out. Maybe the poor guy will be sent to a place worse than Hell? -whistle
yeah apollon and thanx4nothin i agree with you, as i said before, there are christians in the catholic curch, but by nature they are not catholic but christian.
What's the point of a god when humans aren't perfect? If he's really that powerful he could have created the perfect human instead ones with faults. What a big EGO does your god have! *shiver* I don't see much difference with gods of African tribes who needs to be worshipped otherwise bad things will happen to them. Sounds like blackmailing to. That's not a real choice. Reminds me of this: The last time I did I felt into a big depression and resorted to drugs and stealing. I found my way back thanks to Buddhism. Why don't YOU try Buddhism or any other religion out?
And somehow God is almighty, created human beings from scratch (somewhat) and intentionally give us flaws called human nature? This must be his twisted idea of a joke. Because God in fact doesn't exist? If it is about free-will, why would Christianity spread his words in order to convert non-believers (with the notion of eternal hell or whatnot)? What of free-will is that? It's more like torture until converted if you ask me. You can either have a choice or having a threat towards you. When there is a thread in the question, it is no longer practice of free-will but coercion. Eternal glory in his heaven vs. burning in hell forever... What kind of choice is that? And besides the obvious source of happiness, that is, going to heaven, how does Christianity bring happiness? And the problem being people, non-believers or Catholics alike, are being put down for their NON-CONFORMITY to Christianity. Are non-believers (or Catholics or believers of other faiths) more base? If the attitude of Christians towards them is any indication, I would say yes. But who in the world says Christians are more holy? The hypothetical God? The same can be said of Christians, it is not unheard of that people are BROUGHT UP as Christians and lack a more critical mind towards their habitual practice... Believe me when I say I have tried in youth group gatherings, in fact multiple times, both in church and outside of church. I don't see a whole lot in them besides self-righteousness and egoism, oh, throw in a bit of preaching with a lot of nodding without actually knowing what the passage is talking about. Most, if not all, of those youth gatherings are just, well, youth gatherings. It's just an excuse to hang out and chill, nothing more. I can do that without the pathetic guise of "learning experience".
God wants you to love him and love everybody? Then what is the so-called love you are talking about if you show discrimination towards non-believers? Come on, you even showed discrimination in your own religion! Christianity into many branches... and each of the branches trying to claim superiority over the rest? What happened to "love thy neighbour"?! There must have been an exception somewhere in the Bible that I have missed out? "Love thy neighbour but not those who don't believe in me or not in the same religion as you, my child"? Okay, if there's a FREEDOM of choice, there shouldn't then be a supposedly good and bad consequence would there? Why term it a 'freedom of choice' if your God says he sends those people to Hell if they don't believe in Him? This is not freedom in the true sense anymore. It's more like a HYPOCRITICAL God to me. A crafty God, if you must say... since he played with the words, misleading people to think they have a 'freedom of choice'. -whistle Say that to your beloved 'brother' here, Master_G. He's a so-called Christian who discriminated Catholics and WE (the Non-believers) are the one who tried to defend the Catholics. Talk about irony! Even YOU, discriminated against Catholics. Catholics ARE Christians, aren't they? The last time I studied my history on religions, yup. They branched into Catholics and Protestants... So you should have used the word 'protestant' instead of 'Christians'. By doing that, you are saying Catholics are not Christians! <_<
hmmm. the holes in evolution? [oh yea. and i studied this before] well, let's start with the fossils [jeez i feel like some teacher] you agree that fossils are a form a preservatives of objects right? well, there are no fossils found of the supposedley "transitional forms" that evolved. whereas, there is an abundances of fossils where a sudden death would have occurred because of a worldwide flood which is in accordance to the biblical story of the flood and Noah's ark. [more evidence supporting the flood are fossils of clam shells found on top of very high mountains. how did the clams get there? did they grow feet and walk up there? what happened to the feet after they got up there? the only logical reasoning for the clams being there is a huge flood that covered even the highest mountains.] if evolution were true and organisms have changed into other organisms over a persioud of time, there would be many millions of fossils of transitional forms found everywhere. but, there is not even one. even Darwin himself admitted that there was a lack of fossils of transitional forms. another thing that the evoluntionists use is the geologic column. the only problem witht he geologic column is that it is NONEXISTENT. lol it can not be found anywhere on the earth and if put together, it would be about 100 Miles deep.... another thing is circular reasoning. haha this one is funny. they figure out when the organism in the fossil was alive by how old the rock that it the fossil is found in is. sounds fine right? but get this. then, they figure out how old the ROCK that contains the fossil is by looking at how old the FOSSIL is. lmao next, is punctuated equilibrium. [i'm not sure if that's how you spell it] with the hopeful monster. again, darwin contradicts it. he couldn't even imagine the idea punctuated equilibrium. ummmmm.... also, they believe that the four-chambered heart of birds and mammals evolved through the one chambered heart of invertabrae. but, during this time, the heart can not stop functioning or else the organism would die... another is, the theory that a rodent grew wings and became a bat. well, during the time that the wings are growing, how does the animal stay alive? while the rodent's paws are growing into wings, it would be impossible for the rodent to grasp or run, yet, not long enough to fly. the animal would starve to death before he could fly. there's many more... but i don't feel like typing them out. i'll see if i can post them some other time if you really want to know... ok next question. why not buddhism or hinduism? you can try that too. i Only said christianity because I AM a christian but you should definately try others or see what they're like to give you something to choose from. ok. next about the christians. well, we're always being told that we need to set a good example because if we don't, everyone's going to think that's what all christians are like. let me say something first though. no one is perfect. and christians are no more perfect than any other person. and if you DO choose to be a christian, let me tell you... it's going to be hard. but even though it is hard to stand and say that you're a christian, you feel a sort of pride [well at least i do] in being able to stand up. yea and i also agree that we're all religious wannabes and whatnot. but put yourselves in our shoes. it's hard to stand out with peer pressures and whatnot so one way that we act is all religious. but that usually annoys people. i know that it annoys me. and as for the other catergory.... we all have doubts. usually, they fill in as we get old. but it's impossible to know everything about christianity. the thing we get the most is, if you're a christian, why don't you act like one. but really, we're just like regular teenagers. you can't expect us to be perfect. it's really hard to be the way that everyone expects a christian to be like. jeez. we're TEENAGERS. we have the same temptations as everyone else, we have the same pressures. you can't always resist. we fail, we try, we have doubts, all of our friends are doing it... that's why everyone has such a twisted outlook on christianity. because most of the christians, are not able to stand strong. [and of course i'm included in that catergory.] so most will just put on a facade of just a normal unchristian teenager in front of their friends. and be the perfect child at church or whatnot. i really just depends on the person.
Perhaps that's why Hitler has such close affinity with Christianity? Because he can very much relate to the Christian God portrayed by some so-called christians... -whistle
yea. sorry... i should have said Protestants instead of christians. i'm just saying christians cause i didn't know what else to call them and HOLD ON HERE!!! woah. we can't be perfect and if we insult anyone or whatever, it's unintentional. let me just say again. human nature is not perfect. even though we're christians, we still have ALOT of faults ok. one of which is trying to use whatever methods to prove that we're right. but really. you can't expect us to be perfect christians. i mean, we're still growing, we're still teenagers [i don't think adults right?] about the freedom of choice thing. ok. it IS freedom until a certain point. you had the freedom to believe your whole life. then you die... and it IS actually very very very hard to love your neighbor. but let me remind you. God doesn't expect us to be PERFECT. we can't be perfect. and because we aren't perfect, there are many branches in christianity and the church is divided. let me just say this ONE more time. CHRISTIANS are not perfect because they're CHRISTIANS. [or protestants]
Damn, don't even get me started on the flood... http://www.epicidiot.com/evo_cre/noahs_flood.htm#against http://mindprod.com/religion/noah.html AND MORE ON THE ARK!!! http://talkorigins.org/faqs/faq-noahs-ark.html Okay, then you should have put it clearly for the person to do his own soul-searching. Sounds to me like a self-advertising for Christianity when you just ask people to try ONE religion, your own. Why do you think it's hard to be able to stand up and call yourself a Christian? Of course we should be proud of our religion and belief don't you think? Did it ever cross your mind why people show you disrespect? Perhaps you did not offer them the respect you demanded in the first place? I have many Christian friends who don't feel the same way you do. They are proud to declare themselves Christians, there's nothing hard with just admitting to something, is there? And no one starts to flame them, because they give the respect that they demand. To receive something, you must first be able to give it. -rolleyes Many so-called Christians are not so tolerant of others, condemning them and discriminating the non-believers and even those in their same faith but different branches. Then they cry out, "Oh it's so tough!" but has it crossed their mind that it's simply their attitude that caused the reaction they receive from other people?! Would you feel hostile towards me, if I come up to you and say, "Hey, come embrace my religion, you'll be saved. Or else I feel sorry for your poor soul." It's like insult to the person's face when you do that. Claiming that what they believe in are wrong (when you have no proof that yours is the right way). I have posted some VERY INTERESTING articles in the Christianity and Buddhism do they differ thread? I suggest you do some reading on the 10 questions that some Christians posed to Buddha. The answers are, very enlightening, if I may say so. Do the same favor for us, non-believers. Put yourself in OUR shoes. Are you suggesting all the non-christians are uhm what you call that ? "UNCHRISTIAN BEHAVIOR"... Now, now, if this is NOT discrimination, I don't know what else. Why are you accusing us of giving you pressure, when YOU people are the one trying to discriminate US, and making it seem like you are superior?! What do you mean by "unchristian' behavior? I am not a christian, so do i have 'unchristian' behavior then? If so, what is it exactly? Care to elaborate???
i agree with you hiake, im not into youth groups either, tends to be a bunch of kids dossing about, and checking out girls etc. no that aint true, there are many so called christians in christianity, but i like that comment you made hehe.
