Demigawd

Save your prosletizing for a rube, Magus55. I spent enough of my life trusting charismatic evangelists such as you. While I don't believe in a "higher power with sovereignty", I am definitely not "too full of" myself. My inherited fundamentalistic christian religion did enough damage to my self-esteem that I suffer from chronic depression and anxiety to this very day.

Demigawd

Three characterstics of a supposed supreme being that you cannot support aside from parroting a specific mythology, Magus55. Come back here when you have something to offer other than baseless preaching.

NonHomogenized

Of course. And if you don't agree, you'll burn in hell for eternity, which is completely righteous, 'cause gawd, who is all powerful (and therefore, always right) says so

Magus55

How many laws does the U.S Government have? Hundreds? Thousands? Why do breaking those laws, appeal to so many people because they don't see anything wrong with it, or want to test the law?

And breaking God's laws hurt you, and others. Maybe not immediately, but eventually. Which is the problem of why you can't see their purpose - you can't see into the future to see the effects of breaking those laws played out. God gave Adam one law and told him what would happen for breaking it. What did Adam do? He broke it anyway - and God always comes through on His word. He told Adam what would happen, and it happened. God always warns people of the consequences of bad actions - no one can use the excuse, well I didn't know.

Lets look at some of the more well known sins.

Envy - how does Envy hurt anyone? Lets see, people kill others because they are jealous, someone steals from someone else, cause they want what that person has, it makes you bitter, and hateful etc.

Anger - You hate someone, so you torment them, beat them up, set up a plan to hurt them or their family to get even, possibly kill them.

Lust - you have no self control and have sex with anyone you want - which can spread to disease or cause an unwanted pregnancy, which then leads to abortion or murdering the baby, which could have prevented that baby from growing up and curing cancer. Lustful images make you desire and want that which is unpure.

Greed - you hurt anyone to get what you want, and once you have it - its not enough. People steal to get what they want, or spend excessive money just to gain societal status. Instead of giving money to the homeless, or starving children - you buy a new TV or pool table - because of course - shooting pool is more important than giving a starving child food. And again, that child may die of starvation, when he could have become a great doctor and cured cancer - if only someone could have provided for him. But material possessions are more important.

Do you get the point here? Sin is a chain reaction - which is why one mans sin caused a domino effect, to create the world as we see it today. You may think committing some little sin isn't any big deal, or doesn't hurt anything - but God can see the big picture - He knows the dangers of sin and what it can do to a person - hence why He was harsh with the laws.

Hedwig

I hope not. Hell's our one chance to get away from the omni-tyrranical bastard.

Hedwig

It's funny. Quite a bit of the Bible centers around god showing up and creating the opposite of peace, happiness, and love.

hinduwoman

Read Terry Pratchett's "Good Omens". You will immediately realize why the Anti-christ will be so much more popular .

Read it!! Well worth the money.

Rational BAC

Where did I get the idea that a rich man cannot be saved?

Come on Magus---------you are sidestepping and trying to squigle out like all fundies like to do on this one.

I do not need to quote scripture and verse. You know the scripture and verse much better than I do. Do not pretend to be ignorant on the subject, because I know you are not.

If I remember correctly those passages in the Bible referring to the difficulty of a rich man getting into heaven and those passages referring to giving up ALL your possessions to follow Him-----------are quotes (or purported quotes) from Jesus himself. How close can you get to divine truth than that?

Answer the question Magus. How can a rich man get into heaven? How can anyone get into heaven without giving up all material possessions?

Don't those direct quotes from Jesus talking about how to find salvation mean that, if there is such a thing as a "rapture",

---(And there are almost miniscule references to that particular happening in the Bible-)-------but given that the "rapture" is true. ---

---then it is only some of the purely homeless and purely destitute few that will be carried off into heaven.

You and I, and most everyone else, materialists such as we are, will most definitely be left behind along ---with almost all the materialist Chistians in this "Christian nation".

I'll take my chances on being left behind and do the best I can along with most everyone else in the good old US of A.

I have a feeling that you will be unconsolable to not find yourself in the "rapture" and will completely "lose it" --Magus.

PS-------and I am most definitely a Christian. Much more so than you I think sometimes Magus.

I think you are a legalist literalist and in your narrow mindedness, you have lost all sight of what Christianity was originally all about.

Rational BAC

The problem as I see it Magus-------

-------is that you take Paul way too seriously.

I think Paul was necessary to bring a tiny cult of Judaism into worldwide dominance. He did his job very well. We got almost 2 billion Christians in the world today. Paul accomplished much to spread Christianity. Who the hell would want to be circumcised at an adult age? Must hurt like hell.

Many other things in Paul's writings brought Christianity to the general (read Gentile) population. He done good. Kind of like the main "hit man" for Christianity. A great salesman in his time.

I think God in His infinite wisdom used Paul---------and in that way and only that way is what Paul wrote of any divine nature. God figured that at some time Christians would come back to the very simple and sublime teachings of Jesus and just consider Paul a means to an end.

That has happened to most Christians. It has not happened to fundamentalist Christians however, and very unfortunately so.

winstonjen

Good point. Let's all encourage god (GAWD) to maintain his hypocritical stance on judging.

Look out Magus! Heaven may not be what you think!

Magus:

Ah, the well-known Slippery Slope Fallcy. Magus, has it ever occured to you that people can CONTROL those desires? Envy does not always lead to theft, anger does not always lead to murder (it leads to alcohol quite a bit - but better alcohol than murder), etc. ad nauseum.