The fact that Christians are a minority means that the majority of the people in the world dont believe in Christ and the bible. If they did they would believe. Puts you history book claim to the sword. There are plenty of different versions of the events described in the bible and the fact that Christians rely heavily on that word "faith" because fact is something readily available.
I have disdain for all religion. Why do I need a belief system Nas? No mental crutches required here. Maybe you should go to Australia and spend some time with aboriginies and thier dreamtime myths. Im sure such a legend worshipper as yourself would find deep comfort in the dreamtime stories Im sure you will find them verifiably factual.
There are a number of alternative belief systems that flourished around the time of the new testament which had different perspectives of history at that time. It is the strain that was taken up by the Roman empire that ended up dominating not because it has any particular authenticity but because it was selected does not give the bible any great credibility.
Just consider that we celebrate Christmas on the summer soltice and Easter on the pagan spring festival (easter bunny and eggs are pagan fertility symbals) and it isnt hard to work out that much of current Christian faith is a mish mash of legends and practices of the time.
Maybe we should look at witches burnt at the stake during the inquisition. Hundreds of thousands of innocents! The fact that atrocities are committed by members of all faiths is just another example of how corrupt these faiths are.
Which gets us back to the nature of this thread which is a bigotted holier than thou rant by one bunch of morons against another.
Geminidreamer. Somehow I dont think the Islamists will show much tolerance for your your point of view when they take over western civilisation.
It will be Islam or Nothing.
Well Jack seems youve already accepted the dominance of Islam as inevitable whereas I see Islam falling the same way as Christianity which is becoming irrelevant in the modern day world.
Oh Big Ed it's not Chechnyans that's doing anything, It's Chechnyan Muslims. Remember the school that was wired with bombs and Putin sent in troops to deal with it? It was Muslims, not Chechnyans. No one is creating more hate than the Muslims right now. You like to toss the word hate around, good liberal buzz to drive people further apart. I mean what can be a greater hate than murdering innocent children?
Look at any troubled area now and you will find a common denominator guess what that is. Just a few years back the same trouble makers were stirring it up in Bosnia.
Also Ed there is a huge difference between being passive and being a pacifist.
Wow Gemini you were doing so good until you used the leftist buzz words, Mental Crutches. Really exposed you for what you are. Though you fall right into the modern European thought process, so you are no trailblazer in thought, just a follower of an idealogy that has been spoonfed to them. Shows your elitist arrogant disdain for people of faith. By the way faith happens in our daily lives and has very little to do with religion. I feel sorry for people like you, it must be a vacant life. Just trying to fill that hole of emptiness inside of you daily with contempt for people who follow traditional values in life.
At 2.1 billion Christians I would highly call that irrelevant. It would cover all religions world wide if you added them all together. I'll even give you the atheist/agnostics as a religion. If you toss that billion or so out Christianity is still the largest. You're following the Hitler tenets of telling a lie often enough eventually the ignorant will believe it for truth. Though agnostics will confirm nor deny the existence of a higher being.
I love how you try to attack Christianity, comparing it to Hitler, Paganism. How your beliefs are above it all, I think you used the term all religions are corrupt. When your beliefs are as corrupt as Russian Communism was. I guess I better put the keyboard up there is now way I'm capable of competing with such a high powered intellect as yours. Since I need the mental crutches I'm just not worthy. Though Washington, Adams, Patton and a litany of week minded individuals prayed daily. No, I think I will stay with those weak losers who honored God traditional values than follow neo-marxist pretexts. I'm sure you must follow the practices of Lenin/Gramsci/Marx and Neitzche. You guys are real easy to expose you for who you are. No wonder Europe is in the mess it's in.
Nas you are correct I dont need a mental crutch. Wow leftist, that really hurts. Of course the biggest leftist in history was Jesus according to the bible. All that free medical care, feeding the masses, harder for rich man to get into heaven than threading a camel through a needle, turn the other cheek stuff.
Falling into Europeant thought processes? Never had a conversation with Europeans on religion but if thats the way they think sounds like they are rational thinkers. Just think if you Americans hadnt kicked out the Brittish you might be civilised today.
Taking into account China and India your 2.1 b which is exagerated is still a minority and not making any inroads since colonialism and conversian at the point of the sword has been discontinued.
I did not mention Hitler. I dont follow anyone, dont find your American history particularly honourable, not European, guess your expose is just more of your hot air, pretty much like your religious views.
Gemini you make me laugh. You don't need a mental crutch but you follow the religion of secular humanism with it's own quidelines and ideals. Just because one is a Christian doesn't mean he uses religion as a crutch. Far from it.
Second Christ was far from a leftist. Hitler, Stalin were leftist. Leftists want absolute control, government intrusion etc. Government doing instead of the individual.
You want seperation of church and state, but you want your doctrines pounded into young minds full of mush. Secular Humanists want their doctrine implemented in public schools irregardless of what the parents want. Another position of the left, let schools and government educate,(indoctrinate) your children. Moral relativism is a tenet of secular humanism. It's okay to change morals to fit the individual or situational ethics. Wow sounds very similar to the acceptance of lying in the Koran. It's not okay to lie unless it promotes Jihad and the Islamic religion.
Referring to Christianity as paganism. It seems your philosophical agenda is that, everything in existence has to do with nature and nothing supernatural. The greatest event in humans lives is the birth of a child. That is not a God given blessing, but just a normal event of nature. You argue against creationism, but evolution should be taught without a differing of view. Funny how the Wiccan Religion is highly based on nature.
The elitist attitudes of the secular humanist cracks me up. Only with critical thinking and facts and compromise can anything be resolved. The Christian is looked down upon like he is an ignorant dolt. Secular humanists claim to be such free thinkers. Well so was Mao, Marx and Engles, Antonio Gramsci. If one is Christian he cannot be a free thinker. Well that premise is ludicrous. Many conservatives have displayed outstanding free thinking ideas. Milton Freidman comes to my mind quickly. The secular humanist thinks that the individual cannot solve problems on his own, and cannot do it with Gods help. Only the way problems can be solved is through communal help and ideas. Hogwash. More lives have been slaughtered in the name of communal thought. Communism is and always has been a fraudulent ideal. Secular humanism falls into the same category. Attacking traditional values is the MO of the secular humanist. We see what secular humanist thought did to the great cultures of Rome and Greece.
Secular humanist are concerned with securing justice and fairness in society and with eliminating discrimination and intolerance. Though they will not tolerate religion and want to force feed their principles down the throats of our children in public schools without equal opportunity to do the same. Doesn't sound much like justice and tolerance to me.
Secular humanists respect the right to privacy. Mature adults should be allowed to fulfill their aspirations, to express their sexual preferences, to exercise reproductive freedom, to have access to comprehensive and informed health-care, and to die with dignity.(Suicide) This again is moral relativism. Where is the justice for the fetus? Since it's a natural phenomenon, who is going to defend the rights of the defenseless? Starting down a slippery slope with euthansia. Who decides when a loved one should die. Humanists replace God with themselves. That is the ultimate in narcissism and arrogance.
Humanist ethics is amenable to critical, rational guidance. Who established the norms of this guidance? There are normative standards that we discover together. Moral principles are tested by their consequences. Moral principles, what about the consequences of the devaluation of life by the Human secularist? Children are killing from younger ages each year, they have become desensitized to the respect and value of life. You can tie that up to the illogical thought of reproductive freedom.
Calling other religions corrupt. Now who is full of hot air?
I stand corrected on the Hitler statement. It was another forum member who made the comparison of Hitler with Catholicism.
Ben is that all you have? The war in Iraq and Gitmo? I think you better learn the definition of a leftist. Christ surely wasn't one. Oh by the way Gitmo was inspected by Geneva. I guess you know the results. Also you know the recent detainees that were released have went back to their respective Al Qaeda groups and have been involved in recent killings of innocent people. So much for the innocent detainees held in Cuba. It was also a war for oil you know. Also since 911 there have been over 12000 Al Qaeda attacks resulting in the deaths of innocent people. I bet Jesus supports that doesn't he.
Nas you are a complete joke. You keep on trying to pin labels on me. Im my own man. Dont know what to do about someone who can think for themselves rather than follow the lead of some right wing fascist?
The reality is you are scared. Scared that that when you will be on your death bed you will discover god doesnt exist and you will just die.
Scared that big majority in the world who dont believe your point of view are right. That is why you and Sooty are such bigots. You are scared everyone else is right. Oh Im sorry you keep trotting out such convincing evidence to support your point of view how could i not fall down in awe and wonder?
I live in a Muslim country much of the time, visit many others. Dont feel scared or intimidated, lived and visited Buddist countries, dont feel scared or intimidated, visited many Christian countries without incident. The reality is that most people like to get on with their lives and be normal. Except you and Sooty of course who are shaking in your boots that other people dont share your faith.
The exception of course is the United States who want to shove their national psychoses on the rest of the world. You talk about government control well go no further than the patriot act. Kiss freedom goodbye.
Ben2006, The reality is Jesus lived under the rule of a foreign power with a puppet figurehead pretty much the same as Iraq is today. I have no doubt he would condem it. He was particularly scathing about the self serving nature of the synagogues and im sure he would be horrified at business of the modern day chritian churches. I sure he would have been critical of the Guantanamo bay situation. Well everyone is excet a few right wing conservatives like Nas who rant about abortion but accept torture and false imprisoment.
Guantanamo is right good vacation camp -3 meals a day,pray to Allah.Life of riley.
I do not remember Ken Bigley and Daniel Pearl getting the same treatment at the hands of their muslim captors.All Mr Bigley and Mr Pearl got was their head chopped off by their muslim captors.
"The reality is that most people like to get on with their lives and be normal."
Exactly, all the Muslims I have meet are just normal, getting on with life bringing up a family. But Nas sees things different, to him they are all planning to kill him just like the commies before them.
Good point about the business of modern day christian churches in America. If you ever go to the US and flick on the TV and watch some of the crap that non doubt nas tunes into and has been brainwashed.
The only differnce between non beleivers and christians is they beleive in one less god.
Ben
Well thats a new one.
Jesus a leftist.!!!
I dont think so. Todays leftists hate Israel ,that is the modern day qualification to be a leftist-marxist-socialist.
Jesus lived in Israel.It was the land of the jews(Judea) until roman emperor Hadrian had a mass extermination of the Jews there.
Hadrian then re named Israel to the name Phillistine from which the modern day name Palestine comes from.
To say Jesus was a leftist is like saying Mel Gibson has Synagogue in his garden.
He was anti capitalist, against the death penalty, antiwar and he was also a good surfer. Sound leftist to me.
Leftist hate Israel? geez not heard that before. I'm sure theres a lot of leftists around the world couldn't care less about israel or know where it is.
Ben
Socialist Pol Pot was "anti capitalist".
Stalin was anti capitalist before during and after he murdered a third of the poulation of Ukraine in the 1920s.
Erik honecker in former socialist East Germany was anti capitalist.
Hardly good adverts for leftist anti capitalist policies.
Well sooty I suppose you will advocate that the US soldiers that raped the 14 year old girl then killed her and her family were just standing up for your Christian values.
Those guys wouldnt have their heads cut off if they werent invading other peoples countries they had no right to be there!
If you new a little about the bible Sooty you would know that Jesus was anti-establishment. He stood against Judaism. Why do you think that when Pilate offered to spare him the Jews condemed him. Now we have thick as bricks American Christians that support a regime decended from those that betrayed their martyr. Well thats ironic!