Religions > Atheism > Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular
| Topic: |
Religions > Atheism |
| User: |
"Sound of Trumpet" |
| Date: |
21 Dec 2006 11:03:59 AM |
| Object: |
Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love. They hold that God is a communion of
three persons: the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
Christians believe that in the fullness of time, God, the one who
loves, sent His only Son, whom he loves, to live on earth among human
beings. And God did not choose to flaunt his power over his creatures,
nor did He demand adulation. Instead, He humbled Himself and allowed
Himself to take on the most vulnerable and dependent form. Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, Love Itself, came upon a humble girl from
Nazareth, and that "the Power of the Most High overshadowed" her.
The creator of the universe allowed himself to be formed within a
woman's womb, carried for nine months, and then born as a helpless
child to impoverished parents, weary from travel, who had only a stable
for shelter.
Who ever heard of a god doing something like that?
That humble beginning set the stage for the most radical part of
Jesus' message. The God of the Christians especially loves the poor
and the weak. When we care for the poor and defend the weak, we are in
fact caring for and defending God Himself. Not a common message around
the Roman Empire.
And was that humble origin simply a staging ground for a massive
display of power or pique as we might expect from some of the other
gods humanity has invented for itself? Jesus never took over anything,
or even bossed anybody around. He didn't defend himself when unjustly
condemned. He accepted an ignominious and painful death. His claim to
divinity is that he was seen alive after his very public and very
thorough execution. His followers claimed that they touched him, talked
with him, and saw him eat. None them could ever be talked out of their
story, despite some fairly aggressive attempts to do so. Peter and
Andrew were crucified. Bartholomew is said to have been flayed alive.
But none of them changed their account.
You can't make this stuff up.
This God of the Christians grew out of the God of the Hebrews, who had
already distinguished himself from the other gods of his time and
place, and not only in his insistence that he is the only god. "Hear
O, Israel, the Lord your God is One." The God of the Hebrews is
unique among the ancient gods in that the Hebrews believed God, a
non-material being, created the world out of nothing.
This is really remarkable, in that it answers the ultimate question,
"How did the material world come to be?" Other cultures had
invented creation stories which answered a slightly different question,
"how did the world as we know it, come to be?" The answers they
gave usually involved some god or other transforming matter into the
world as we know it now. An Earth Mother goddess gave birth to a giant
egg, from which the world emerged. Or a god regurgitated and there came
earth. These myths leave unanswered the question of where the Earth
Mother goddess got her body or how the Father God had a mouth. These
myths did not explain how these raw materials came into being. The
Hebrew account is unusual in answering the ultimate question: Why is
there something rather than nothing?
Christianity added to Judaism the motivation for creation: The Triune
God created the world out of nothing, as an act of pure love. And God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life.
I am not ashamed to believe that. I do not find it degrading to believe
that at the center of the universe is a deep and abiding love, and that
I am invited to participate in it and partake of it. I am not
embarrassed to believe that my life is a gift from God. All my talents
are given by Him to be placed at the service of love. I am proud to be
a follower of Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thanks for coming here.
- Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. is Senior Research Fellow in Economics
at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and the
author of Love and Economics.
.
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| User: "Josef Balluch" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 12:54:24 PM |
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In article <1166720639.404839.217600
@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
says...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love.
LOL !!
Since love is a human characteristic then it is easy to
believe that this god is a human invention.
They hold that God is a communion of
three persons: the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
Islam.
http://www.masjidtucson.org/God/Godslove.html
Christians believe that in the fullness of time, God, the one who
loves, sent His only Son, whom he loves, to live on earth among human
beings. And God did not choose to flaunt his power over his creatures,
nor did He demand adulation. Instead, He humbled Himself and allowed
Himself to take on the most vulnerable and dependent form. Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, Love Itself, came upon a humble girl from
Nazareth, and that "the Power of the Most High overshadowed" her.
The creator of the universe allowed himself to be formed within a
woman's womb, carried for nine months, and then born as a helpless
child to impoverished parents, weary from travel, who had only a stable
for shelter.
Who ever heard of a god doing something like that?
http://tinyurl.com/asnxp
http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/jesus_similar.html
That humble beginning set the stage for the most radical part of
Jesus' message. The God of the Christians especially loves the poor
and the weak. When we care for the poor and defend the weak, we are in
fact caring for and defending God Himself. Not a common message around
the Roman Empire.
See above.
And was that humble origin simply a staging ground for a massive
display of power or pique as we might expect from some of the other
gods humanity has invented for itself? Jesus never took over anything,
or even bossed anybody around.
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove
them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen;
and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the
tables;
-- John 2:15
....
You can't make this stuff up.
LOL !!
See above links.
....
The
Hebrew account is unusual in answering the ultimate question: Why is
there something rather than nothing?
Why is there something divine, rather than nothing?
....
Regards,
Josef
The harder you fight to hold on to specific assumptions, the
more likely there's gold in letting go of them.
-- John Seely Brown
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| User: "quibbler" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 11:04:43 PM |
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In article <1166720639.404839.217600@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
sound_of_trumpet@myway.com says...
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous,
Yahweh say's he's a jealous god.
commit adultery,
Yahweh boinked Mary.
fight among themselves,
Yahweh fights with the gods of neighboring people.
kill humans,
Check. Great flood
take revenge
Plagues of Egypt, Sodom and Gomorrah, slaughter of the Amelekites. Jesus
with the money changers, cursing the fig tree, etc.
, and occasionally fall in love.
Jebus did that all the time, especially with his male disciples or with
the local town whores.
Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
As are Yahweh and Jebus.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Not really, but even if you were right, different wouldn't mean he was
necessarily real. The gods of the chinese or native americans might be
very different than the gods of africans or polynesians. So what.
Different is just *different*.
Christians believe God is love.
Ad hoc redefinition.
They hold that God is a communion of
three persons:
Actually, many xians don't hold that and the doctrine makes no sense
anyway, much less having essentially no biblical basis.
the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
The Hindus also had a trinity of sorts and ascribe various loving aspects
to certain avatars, such as Krishna, just to name one example.
--
Quibbler (quibbler247atyahoo.com)
"It is fashionable to wax apocalyptic about the
threat to humanity posed by the AIDS virus, 'mad cow'
disease, and many others, but I think a case can be
made that faith is one of the world's great evils,
comparable to the smallpox virus but harder to
eradicate." -- Richard Dawkins
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| User: "Lars Eighner" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 11:40:22 AM |
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In our last episode, <1166720639.404839.217600@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
the lovely and talented Sound of Trumpet broadcast on alt.atheism:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Well, no, the basic objection is that religions try to establish
theocracies, impose their beliefs on others, encourage the oppression of
minorities, oppose the advancement of knowledge, deny the equal protection
of the laws to people they don't approve of, and generally feel obliged to do
harm in the name of their god(s). If religions did not feel they need the
power of the state to impose themselves on people hardly anyone would
object. I don't think many people would really be offended by christians if
christians were all like the Amish.
--
Lars Eighner <http://larseighner.com/> <http://myspace.com/larseighner>
War on Terrorism: Bad News from the Sanity Front
"In this autumn of anger, even a liberal can find his thoughts turning to ...
torture." --Jonathan Alter,_Newsweek_
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| User: "Greywolf" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
23 Dec 2006 03:39:27 AM |
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"Lars Eighner" <usenet@larseighner.com> wrote in message
news:slrneolhu9.1mmg.usenet@goodwill.larseighner.com...
In our last episode,
<1166720639.404839.217600@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com>,
the lovely and talented Sound of Trumpet broadcast on alt.atheism:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Well, no, the basic objection is that religions try to establish
theocracies, impose their beliefs on others, encourage the oppression of
minorities, oppose the advancement of knowledge, deny the equal protection
of the laws to people they don't approve of, and generally feel obliged to
do
harm in the name of their god(s). If religions did not feel they need the
power of the state to impose themselves on people hardly anyone would
object. I don't think many people would really be offended by christians
if
christians were all like the Amish.
--
Now isn't *that* the truth!
Greywolf
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| User: "Uncle Clover" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 08:52:35 PM |
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It's funny to the point of pathos just how truly opposite the situation really
is - Christianity in particular is far more offended by the modern world than
could -ever- be claimed the other way around. :-)
--
L8r,
Uncle Clover
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who we were is meaningless in the face of who we are, and
who we are is but a stepping stone to who we shall become
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
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| User: "Mike" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
23 Dec 2006 03:44:17 AM |
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Uncle Clover wrote:
It's funny to the point of pathos just how truly opposite the situation really
is - Christianity in particular is far more offended by the modern world than
could -ever- be claimed the other way around. :-)
--
L8r,
Uncle Clover
Well said, Uncle Clover! Some religious denominations have adapted
better than others to modernity, but the hard core bible thumpers
resent modernity as much as the Wahabi Moslems.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Who we were is meaningless in the face of who we are, and
who we are is but a stepping stone to who we shall become
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.
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| User: "LC" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 11:58:09 AM |
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Mute spammer "Sound of Trumpet" <sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote in
message news:1166720639.404839.217600@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Man created God is his image and likeness."
Now you're figuring it out, Strumpet.
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love.
Bwwwwahahahahaha!
It's always THE OTHER GUY suffering from delusions, isn't it?
<snip remaining crap>
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| User: "Morton Davis" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 06:00:27 PM |
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"LC" <LC_isnot@this.com> wrote in message
news:emehvp027ve@enews3.newsguy.com...
Mute spammer "Sound of Trumpet" <sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote in
message news:1166720639.404839.217600@a3g2000cwd.googlegroups.com...
Man created God is his image and likeness."
Now you're figuring it out, Strumpet.
God is an invention of scam artists to bilk the soft of mind out of money.
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| User: "Roedy Green" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 08:56:19 AM |
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On 21 Dec 2006 09:03:59 -0800, "Sound of Trumpet"
<sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote, quoted or indirectly quoted
someone who said :
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love.
but the god they worship is Jehovah, the grumpy, petty jealous,
intensely partisan God of the old testament. It is one of the least
plausible depictions of God I have yet to come across.
See http://mindprod.com/religion/real.html
--
Canadian Mind Products, Roedy Green, http://mindprod.com
Priorities: Prevent global climate destabilisation. End both wars. Prepare for oil shortages.
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| User: "Stephen Knight" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 08:53:36 PM |
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On 21 Dec 2006 09:03:59 -0800, "Sound of Trumpet"
<sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular.
Not me. Islam offends me a lot more than christianity. Christians
are plain stupid and in-your-face pushy, not strapped down with two
hundred pounds of C4 looking for a nursery school.
Warlord Steve
BAAWA
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 10:01:43 PM |
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On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 18:53:36 -0800, Stephen Knight
<wooly51@comcast.net> wrote:
On 21 Dec 2006 09:03:59 -0800, "Sound of Trumpet"
<sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular.
Not me. Islam offends me a lot more than christianity. Christians
are plain stupid and in-your-face pushy, not strapped down with two
hundred pounds of C4 looking for a nursery school.
Christians just look for abortion doctors.
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| User: "brique" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 02:21:58 AM |
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Stephen Knight <wooly51@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:pqhmo25c5npfh3kvj5qsc5sbfgre0pu5sh@4ax.com...
On 21 Dec 2006 09:03:59 -0800, "Sound of Trumpet"
<sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular.
Not me. Islam offends me a lot more than christianity. Christians
are plain stupid and in-your-face pushy, not strapped down with two
hundred pounds of C4 looking for a nursery school.
Well, several decades of suicide bombers and they haven't managed to find
one yet....
Warlord Steve
BAAWA
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| User: "raven1" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 07:02:47 PM |
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On 21 Dec 2006 09:03:59 -0800, "Sound of Trumpet"
<sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular.
Go figure.
--
"O Sybilli, si ergo
Fortibus es in ero
O Nobili! Themis trux
Sivat sinem? Causen Dux"
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 09:10:44 PM |
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On Thu, 21 Dec 2006 20:02:47 -0500, raven1
<quoththeraven@nevermore.com> wrote:
On 21 Dec 2006 09:03:59 -0800, "Sound of Trumpet"
<sound_of_trumpet@myway.com> wrote:
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular.
Go figure.
There's hope for humanity yet.
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| User: "GW Chimpzillas Eye-Rack Neocon Utopia" |
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| Title: Trumpet Poop Offensive to Christians was Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 12:40:21 PM |
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Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular.
--
There are only two kinds of Republicans: Millionaires and fools.
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| User: "jcon" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 11:32:35 AM |
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Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love.
Why is it that only atheists ever bother to read the Bible?
Not jealous? "I the Lord thy God am a *jealous*
God" (Ex 20:5)
Killing people? How about when he drowned virtually every living
thing on Earth because *he* made Man's heart wicked (Gen. 6:7-8:4)
Or what about destroying two cities except for the
man that was "righteous" enough to offer to let the crowd rape
his daughters rather than bother his houseguests (and who later
got drunk and knocked up those same daughters)? (Gen. 19)
Or maybe it's the "God of Love" that once kept the sun in the sky
so that Joshua could kill more of his enemies before sundown
(Joshua 10:12).
Revenge? "And he repayeth them that hate him to their face, to
destroy them" (Dt. 7:10). Sure sounds like revenge to me.
Adultery? Last time I checked, knocking up a married woman
qualified.
-jc
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| User: "Al Klein" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 04:04:12 PM |
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On 21 Dec 2006 09:32:35 -0800, "jcon" <cirejcon@yahoo.com> wrote:
Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love.
Why is it that only atheists ever bother to read the Bible?
Not jealous? "I the Lord thy God am a *jealous*
God" (Ex 20:5)
Killing people? How about when he drowned virtually every living
thing on Earth because *he* made Man's heart wicked (Gen. 6:7-8:4)
Or what about destroying two cities except for the
man that was "righteous" enough to offer to let the crowd rape
his daughters rather than bother his houseguests (and who later
got drunk and knocked up those same daughters)? (Gen. 19)
Or maybe it's the "God of Love" that once kept the sun in the sky
so that Joshua could kill more of his enemies before sundown
(Joshua 10:12).
Revenge? "And he repayeth them that hate him to their face, to
destroy them" (Dt. 7:10). Sure sounds like revenge to me.
Adultery? Last time I checked, knocking up a married woman
qualified.
You forgot "Standard Christian disclaimer: God created everything and
is good, so anything he does is good by definition"
--
rukbat at optonline dot net
"You never see animals going through the absurd and often horrible fooleries of
magic and religion. Only man behaves with such gratuitous folly. It is the
price he has to pay for being intelligent but not, as yet, quite intelligent
enough."
- Aldous Leonard Huxley
(random sig, produced by SigChanger)
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| User: "slas" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 08:08:33 PM |
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Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love. They hold that God is a communion of
three persons: the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
Christians believe that in the fullness of time, God, the one who
loves, sent His only Son, whom he loves, to live on earth among human
beings. And God did not choose to flaunt his power over his creatures,
nor did He demand adulation. Instead, He humbled Himself and allowed
Himself to take on the most vulnerable and dependent form. Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, Love Itself, came upon a humble girl from
Nazareth, and that "the Power of the Most High overshadowed" her.
The creator of the universe allowed himself to be formed within a
woman's womb, carried for nine months, and then born as a helpless
child to impoverished parents, weary from travel, who had only a stable
for shelter.
Who ever heard of a god doing something like that?
That humble beginning set the stage for the most radical part of
Jesus' message. The God of the Christians especially loves the poor
and the weak. When we care for the poor and defend the weak, we are in
fact caring for and defending God Himself. Not a common message around
the Roman Empire.
And was that humble origin simply a staging ground for a massive
display of power or pique as we might expect from some of the other
gods humanity has invented for itself? Jesus never took over anything,
or even bossed anybody around. He didn't defend himself when unjustly
condemned. He accepted an ignominious and painful death. His claim to
divinity is that he was seen alive after his very public and very
thorough execution. His followers claimed that they touched him, talked
with him, and saw him eat. None them could ever be talked out of their
story, despite some fairly aggressive attempts to do so. Peter and
Andrew were crucified. Bartholomew is said to have been flayed alive.
But none of them changed their account.
You can't make this stuff up.
This God of the Christians grew out of the God of the Hebrews, who had
already distinguished himself from the other gods of his time and
place, and not only in his insistence that he is the only god. "Hear
O, Israel, the Lord your God is One." The God of the Hebrews is
unique among the ancient gods in that the Hebrews believed God, a
non-material being, created the world out of nothing.
This is really remarkable, in that it answers the ultimate question,
"How did the material world come to be?" Other cultures had
invented creation stories which answered a slightly different question,
"how did the world as we know it, come to be?" The answers they
gave usually involved some god or other transforming matter into the
world as we know it now. An Earth Mother goddess gave birth to a giant
egg, from which the world emerged. Or a god regurgitated and there came
earth. These myths leave unanswered the question of where the Earth
Mother goddess got her body or how the Father God had a mouth. These
myths did not explain how these raw materials came into being. The
Hebrew account is unusual in answering the ultimate question: Why is
there something rather than nothing?
Christianity added to Judaism the motivation for creation: The Triune
God created the world out of nothing, as an act of pure love. And God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life.
I am not ashamed to believe that. I do not find it degrading to believe
that at the center of the universe is a deep and abiding love, and that
I am invited to participate in it and partake of it. I am not
embarrassed to believe that my life is a gift from God. All my talents
are given by Him to be placed at the service of love. I am proud to be
a follower of Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thanks for coming here.
- Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. has a persecution complex.
.
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| User: "Raymond" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 05:13:02 AM |
|
|
Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
People invented these gods because they needed an imaginary friend.
When I was a kid and other kids used to say they had an imaginary
friend. I thought that it was a real person made up, by the kid. and
that it was just invisible. I used to get pretty ticked off, when there
imaginary friend, wouldn't say or do anything around me. I tried to
make an imaginary friend of my own. When nothing happend I just got
more ticked off. I just thought what is the point of this. ***** it.
..... Anon
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love. They hold that God is a communion of
three persons: the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
Christians believe that in the fullness of time, God, the one who
loves, sent His only Son, whom he loves, to live on earth among human
beings. And God did not choose to flaunt his power over his creatures,
nor did He demand adulation. Instead, He humbled Himself and allowed
Himself to take on the most vulnerable and dependent form. Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, Love Itself, came upon a humble girl from
Nazareth, and that "the Power of the Most High overshadowed" her.
The creator of the universe allowed himself to be formed within a
woman's womb, carried for nine months, and then born as a helpless
child to impoverished parents, weary from travel, who had only a stable
for shelter.
Who ever heard of a god doing something like that?
That humble beginning set the stage for the most radical part of
Jesus' message. The God of the Christians especially loves the poor
and the weak. When we care for the poor and defend the weak, we are in
fact caring for and defending God Himself. Not a common message around
the Roman Empire.
And was that humble origin simply a staging ground for a massive
display of power or pique as we might expect from some of the other
gods humanity has invented for itself? Jesus never took over anything,
or even bossed anybody around. He didn't defend himself when unjustly
condemned. He accepted an ignominious and painful death. His claim to
divinity is that he was seen alive after his very public and very
thorough execution. His followers claimed that they touched him, talked
with him, and saw him eat. None them could ever be talked out of their
story, despite some fairly aggressive attempts to do so. Peter and
Andrew were crucified. Bartholomew is said to have been flayed alive.
But none of them changed their account.
You can't make this stuff up.
This God of the Christians grew out of the God of the Hebrews, who had
already distinguished himself from the other gods of his time and
place, and not only in his insistence that he is the only god. "Hear
O, Israel, the Lord your God is One." The God of the Hebrews is
unique among the ancient gods in that the Hebrews believed God, a
non-material being, created the world out of nothing.
This is really remarkable, in that it answers the ultimate question,
"How did the material world come to be?" Other cultures had
invented creation stories which answered a slightly different question,
"how did the world as we know it, come to be?" The answers they
gave usually involved some god or other transforming matter into the
world as we know it now. An Earth Mother goddess gave birth to a giant
egg, from which the world emerged. Or a god regurgitated and there came
earth. These myths leave unanswered the question of where the Earth
Mother goddess got her body or how the Father God had a mouth. These
myths did not explain how these raw materials came into being. The
Hebrew account is unusual in answering the ultimate question: Why is
there something rather than nothing?
Christianity added to Judaism the motivation for creation: The Triune
God created the world out of nothing, as an act of pure love. And God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life.
I am not ashamed to believe that. I do not find it degrading to believe
that at the center of the universe is a deep and abiding love, and that
I am invited to participate in it and partake of it. I am not
embarrassed to believe that my life is a gift from God. All my talents
are given by Him to be placed at the service of love. I am proud to be
a follower of Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thanks for coming here.
- Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. is Senior Research Fellow in Economics
at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and the
author of Love and Economics.
.
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| User: "" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 08:44:10 AM |
|
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Raymond wrote:
Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
People invented these gods because they needed an imaginary friend.
When I was a kid and other kids used to say they had an imaginary
friend. I thought that it was a real person made up, by the kid. and
that it was just invisible. I used to get pretty ticked off, when there
imaginary friend, wouldn't say or do anything around me. I tried to
make an imaginary friend of my own. When nothing happend I just got
more ticked off. I just thought what is the point of this. ***** it.
.... Anon
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love. They hold that God is a communion of
three persons: the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
Christians believe that in the fullness of time, God, the one who
loves, sent His only Son, whom he loves, to live on earth among human
beings. And God did not choose to flaunt his power over his creatures,
nor did He demand adulation. Instead, He humbled Himself and allowed
Himself to take on the most vulnerable and dependent form. Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, Love Itself, came upon a humble girl from
Nazareth, and that "the Power of the Most High overshadowed" her.
The creator of the universe allowed himself to be formed within a
woman's womb, carried for nine months, and then born as a helpless
child to impoverished parents, weary from travel, who had only a stable
for shelter.
Who ever heard of a god doing something like that?
That humble beginning set the stage for the most radical part of
Jesus' message. The God of the Christians especially loves the poor
and the weak. When we care for the poor and defend the weak, we are in
fact caring for and defending God Himself. Not a common message around
the Roman Empire.
And was that humble origin simply a staging ground for a massive
display of power or pique as we might expect from some of the other
gods humanity has invented for itself? Jesus never took over anything,
or even bossed anybody around. He didn't defend himself when unjustly
condemned. He accepted an ignominious and painful death. His claim to
divinity is that he was seen alive after his very public and very
thorough execution. His followers claimed that they touched him, talked
with him, and saw him eat. None them could ever be talked out of their
story, despite some fairly aggressive attempts to do so. Peter and
Andrew were crucified. Bartholomew is said to have been flayed alive.
But none of them changed their account.
You can't make this stuff up.
This God of the Christians grew out of the God of the Hebrews, who had
already distinguished himself from the other gods of his time and
place, and not only in his insistence that he is the only god. "Hear
O, Israel, the Lord your God is One." The God of the Hebrews is
unique among the ancient gods in that the Hebrews believed God, a
non-material being, created the world out of nothing.
This is really remarkable, in that it answers the ultimate question,
"How did the material world come to be?" Other cultures had
invented creation stories which answered a slightly different question,
"how did the world as we know it, come to be?" The answers they
gave usually involved some god or other transforming matter into the
world as we know it now. An Earth Mother goddess gave birth to a giant
egg, from which the world emerged. Or a god regurgitated and there came
earth. These myths leave unanswered the question of where the Earth
Mother goddess got her body or how the Father God had a mouth. These
myths did not explain how these raw materials came into being. The
Hebrew account is unusual in answering the ultimate question: Why is
there something rather than nothing?
Christianity added to Judaism the motivation for creation: The Triune
God created the world out of nothing, as an act of pure love. And God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life.
I am not ashamed to believe that. I do not find it degrading to believe
that at the center of the universe is a deep and abiding love, and that
I am invited to participate in it and partake of it. I am not
embarrassed to believe that my life is a gift from God. All my talents
are given by Him to be placed at the service of love. I am proud to be
a follower of Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thanks for coming here.
- Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. is Senior Research Fellow in Economics
at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and the
author of Love and Economics.
What does not factor into the equation is the overpowering need of
people who claim they do not believe in God to attempt to prove their
disbelief. If they were sincere in their beliefs, they would just
ignore any references to religion and live their lives in such a way
that everyone could see that they had a better way to live.
Robert B. Winn
.
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| User: "brique" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 08:30:17 PM |
|
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<rbwinn3@juno.com> wrote in message
news:1166798649.933431.26750@f1g2000cwa.googlegroups.com...
Raymond wrote:
Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
What does not factor into the equation is the overpowering need of
people who claim they do not believe in God to attempt to prove their
disbelief. If they were sincere in their beliefs, they would just
ignore any references to religion and live their lives in such a way
that everyone could see that they had a better way to live.
Robert B. Winn
I would love not to have to consider the issue, so perhaps you will oblige
by not mentioning your religion or god in my presence?
.
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| User: "Lucifer" |
|
| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 11:18:28 PM |
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wrote:
Raymond wrote:
Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
NRO ^ | December 21, 2006 | Jennifer Roback Morse
Posted on 12/21/2006 6:42:07 AM PST by IrishMike
Much of the modern world is offended by religion in general and by
Christianity in particular. One popular generalized attack on religion
is this. "God supposedly created man in His image and likeness. And
Man returned the favor. Man created God is his image and likeness."
Many gods obviously have been created by man. The gods of the Greeks,
for instance, get jealous, commit adultery, fight among themselves,
kill humans, take revenge, and occasionally fall in love. Very human
characters who happen to be immortal and have superhuman powers. It's
easy to believe people invented these gods.
People invented these gods because they needed an imaginary friend.
When I was a kid and other kids used to say they had an imaginary
friend. I thought that it was a real person made up, by the kid. and
that it was just invisible. I used to get pretty ticked off, when there
imaginary friend, wouldn't say or do anything around me. I tried to
make an imaginary friend of my own. When nothing happend I just got
more ticked off. I just thought what is the point of this. ***** it.
.... Anon
But the god of Christianity is something different altogether.
Christians believe God is love. They hold that God is a communion of
three persons: the one who loves, the one who receives love, and the
love itself. That union is so intense that it is One God, just as the
Hebrews had already insisted. What other religion has ever invented
such a god?
Christians believe that in the fullness of time, God, the one who
loves, sent His only Son, whom he loves, to live on earth among human
beings. And God did not choose to flaunt his power over his creatures,
nor did He demand adulation. Instead, He humbled Himself and allowed
Himself to take on the most vulnerable and dependent form. Christians
believe that the Holy Spirit, Love Itself, came upon a humble girl from
Nazareth, and that "the Power of the Most High overshadowed" her.
The creator of the universe allowed himself to be formed within a
woman's womb, carried for nine months, and then born as a helpless
child to impoverished parents, weary from travel, who had only a stable
for shelter.
Who ever heard of a god doing something like that?
That humble beginning set the stage for the most radical part of
Jesus' message. The God of the Christians especially loves the poor
and the weak. When we care for the poor and defend the weak, we are in
fact caring for and defending God Himself. Not a common message around
the Roman Empire.
And was that humble origin simply a staging ground for a massive
display of power or pique as we might expect from some of the other
gods humanity has invented for itself? Jesus never took over anything,
or even bossed anybody around. He didn't defend himself when unjustly
condemned. He accepted an ignominious and painful death. His claim to
divinity is that he was seen alive after his very public and very
thorough execution. His followers claimed that they touched him, talked
with him, and saw him eat. None them could ever be talked out of their
story, despite some fairly aggressive attempts to do so. Peter and
Andrew were crucified. Bartholomew is said to have been flayed alive.
But none of them changed their account.
You can't make this stuff up.
This God of the Christians grew out of the God of the Hebrews, who had
already distinguished himself from the other gods of his time and
place, and not only in his insistence that he is the only god. "Hear
O, Israel, the Lord your God is One." The God of the Hebrews is
unique among the ancient gods in that the Hebrews believed God, a
non-material being, created the world out of nothing.
This is really remarkable, in that it answers the ultimate question,
"How did the material world come to be?" Other cultures had
invented creation stories which answered a slightly different question,
"how did the world as we know it, come to be?" The answers they
gave usually involved some god or other transforming matter into the
world as we know it now. An Earth Mother goddess gave birth to a giant
egg, from which the world emerged. Or a god regurgitated and there came
earth. These myths leave unanswered the question of where the Earth
Mother goddess got her body or how the Father God had a mouth. These
myths did not explain how these raw materials came into being. The
Hebrew account is unusual in answering the ultimate question: Why is
there something rather than nothing?
Christianity added to Judaism the motivation for creation: The Triune
God created the world out of nothing, as an act of pure love. And God
so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in
him should not perish but have eternal life.
I am not ashamed to believe that. I do not find it degrading to believe
that at the center of the universe is a deep and abiding love, and that
I am invited to participate in it and partake of it. I am not
embarrassed to believe that my life is a gift from God. All my talents
are given by Him to be placed at the service of love. I am proud to be
a follower of Jesus.
Happy Birthday, Jesus. Thanks for coming here.
- Jennifer Roback Morse, Ph.D. is Senior Research Fellow in Economics
at the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion and Liberty, and the
author of Love and Economics.
What does not factor into the equation is the overpowering need of
people who claim they do not believe in God to attempt to prove their
disbelief. If they were sincere in their beliefs, they would just
ignore any references to religion and live their lives in such a way
that everyone could see that they had a better way to live.
Robert B. Winn
We do, it's just the that christodumbfucks seem intent to force their
delusions on us, and the rest of the world.
--
Lucifer the Unsubtle, EAC Librarian of Dark Tomes of Excessive Evil and
General Purpose Igor
The Anti-Theist
Convicted by Earthquack
"Don't worry, I won't bite.......hard"
.
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| User: "Sylvia R. Dickinson" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 08:51:38 AM |
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Sound of Trumpet wrote:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1756786/posts
Proud to Follow ... (modern world is offended by religion, Christianity
in particular)
Evil. The whole lot of you.
.
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| User: "I KILLED YOUR GOD....IT WAS EASY!" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 11:25:05 AM |
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that is because religion is offensive.
.
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| User: "Greywolf" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 01:01:38 PM |
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"I KILLED YOUR GOD....IT WAS EASY!" <nunia@damnbizznizz.com> wrote in
message news:aYCdnexFR6LrXhfYnZ2dnUVZ_tijnZ2d@giganews.com...
that is because religion is offensive.
You got *that* right! It is clearly rooted in nothing more than pure
'wishful thinking'. That wouldn't be so bad if we could revert to the 'good
old days' where we lived in a 'live-and-let-live' religious *and* even
non-religious society, to a degree. (Actually, we atheists, were
generic-brand 'dog food' all that time too, weren't we?)
But times have changed. With the Republicans gaining control over our
country, the intolerant religious-right and its armies of mean-spirited,
mindless cuckoo-heads have been able to flex a lot more political 'muscle'
and insert themselves even deeper into our lives.
These pathetically morally bankrupt and reprehensible creatures have wreaked
havoc with the 'Christianity' of your dearest Aunt Lulu and Grandma Betsy.
They've eviscerated it to the point that it will be all but impossible to go
back to those 'golden' years. The filthy, deceitful, power-hungry
slime-balls!!
They intend to -- hell *do* -- *pretend* to speak for a 'God' that can't
speak for himself (and just take a stab and try and figure out why this is
so painfully so) while pressing on with their plan to 'overthrow' our
country. Did someone say something about 'sheep in wolves' clothing'? And,
'No.' It's not people like me who are the 'evil' ones in this struggle. It
is a self-serving clergy that is forever serving up heaps of hooey to the
faithful like there's no tomorrow. And, unfortunately, the faithful have
swallowed enough of it to date that they would actually take part in a
second American Civil-War and side with their 'phony-as-can-be' TV
evangelists, or whoever pulls their strings -- if prodded enough. That's
sick.
We've learned from bitter experience what a misguided, morally bankrupt
cause the '1st' Civil-War was so bitterly fought over. A theistic-based
'2nd' one would even be *more* senseless, and perhaps even bloodier. We need
a President in 08' that will have the power to reign in the fanatics and
restore some religious sensibility to our nation.
And for those of you who have been following my 'story': Look how long I've
been 'tortured' and mistreated out here at the hands of 'pure-blooded'
Christians. What does their despicable, vile, and depraved actions say to
*you* about the 'temperament' of the religious right? For myself, I see
little difference between them and Nazi death-camp guards. Their actions may
not be as severe presently, but given enough 'rope', I believe their actions
would.
Believe you me they would!!
This is evil masquerading as righteousness out here. And this a very tiny
group of Christian filth carrying on in such a manner out here. Imagine a
vast *army* of these people in 'legal' control of this country. It's
something to give serious thought to. And these hate-mongering, intolerant
people are all poised to forcibly force their will upon us. Their leaders,
in my book, are traitors to this country. And they should be *treated* as
such, too! Make no mistake about it. I see and feel what these people are
*all* about out here. And it ain't pretty.
Greywolf
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| User: "Whip" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 09:23:31 PM |
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Your kind is offensive, gutless and destined to burn.
"I KILLED YOUR GOD....IT WAS EASY!" <nunia@damnbizznizz.com> wrote in
message news:aYCdnexFR6LrXhfYnZ2dnUVZ_tijnZ2d@giganews.com...
that is because religion is offensive.
.
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| User: "DarkAngel" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
22 Dec 2006 08:24:14 AM |
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Whip wrote:
Your kind is offensive
Said the worshipper of a monstrous god, and a believer in the debased
and abject Christian slave morality.
---
No Gods. No Masters.
.
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| User: "Lucifer" |
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| Title: Re: Modern World Is Offended By Religion, Christianity In Particular |
21 Dec 2006 09:57:04 PM |
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Whip wrote:
Your kind is offensive, gutless and destined to burn.
1 don't top post
2 why would we be scared of a hell that doesn't exist?
--
Lucifer the Unsubtle, EAC Librarian of Dark Tomes of Excessive Evil and
General Purpose Igor
The Anti-Theist
Convicted by Earthquack
"Don't worry, I won't bite.......hard"
"I KILLED YOUR GOD....IT WAS EASY!" <nunia@damnbizznizz.com> wrote in
message news:aYCdnexFR6LrXhfYnZ2dnUVZ_tijnZ2d@giganews.com...
that is because religion is offensive.
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