Malone

"I doubt Christians would take much offence."

Oh, I'm sure they would. They seem to be rather easily offended people as a group.

I'm not sure what SadLuckDame is talking about either. This didn't seem like a heated topic at all...fun if anything.

SadLuckDame

Well I'll make an attempt by using a quote, there were three that stood out as if factual.
This is a writing forum, and I thought simply that hey maybe just maybe if I asked nicely as ever, some could toy around with words to try to have a little "couth" ( I thought that word was a nice fit to what I was hopeful for.) Do I expect it, not at all. It just couldn't hurt to ask, and possibly add something to ponder. As far as heated, well I felt after I commented it may be going that way. I am newer though, so have only seen the latest discussions, maybe I was way off, my apologies for that.

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Well, it was a nice check, Kitty, and really I might have won, if it hadn't been for that nasty Knight, that came wriggling down among my pieces. Kitty, dear, let's pretend -- -" And here I wish I could tell you half the things Alice used to say, beginning with her favorite phrase "Let's pretend."
written by Lewis Carroll

ieuan

Eli is one of the names of God. Jesus Christ is the name of the Saviour of the world; God incarnate in the flesh, the Holy one of Israel, the Messiah. The almight God absolutely Holy and perfect in all His ways. Jesus is God the son, the second person in the trinity, and yet there is one God.

Hear O Israel the Lord our God is one.

Christians take offence at the things said about Him by unbelievers because it blasphemes the name of God. They absolutely believe in a kindom after our death. And lo, all men die. And they absolutely believe that there will be a judgement and guess who by? Yes, by Jesus Christ. They believe absolutely that all who reject Christ will be punished in a place of torment, and all those that are born again of the spirit will live with Him for ever.

These are not debateable points, Christians are unequivical about these eternal matters.

There have always been skeptics, about the nature of God, and blasphemers. In the Christians book there is nothing worse than a blasphemer. Some get angry some understand that at one time we all were unbelievrs and try to make allowances. People say things like,

'Don't take it so personal when we "tease".' but to a Christian that is blasphemy. How would you like you wife or mother to be ridiculed in public, slandered, mocked? You would get angry . It's the same with a Christian, he takes it personal because Jesus is as real as this forum, it is personal because he/she worships Jesus as the one eternal God. The true Christian would give his live to defend his faith and many have over the centuries.

It's the same with the other world religions, people get upset when God is mocked. Someone posted a serious subject and some unbelievers ran to mock. This country was built on the noble asspirations of men and women who worked ceaslessly to adhere and promote Christian ideals becuase they bleived in them. The Bible is used in the law courts today, it is used in parliament, it is used for civil oaths. The assembly of our schools by law demands that children ar taught about God and encouraged to worship Him and to sing hymns of praise.

It is easy to hide behind the annominity of this forum to blaspheme the one and only true God and His son the Lord Jesus Christ.

I think we should respect the Christians point of view, this was always the case in the past. Sadly today, this point of view is lacking in society.

It is said that there are no unbleivres in a foxhole under atillary or fire in a fleet action at sea. It is also true that many unbelievers are buried with a Christian memorial and burial serviuce where prayers are said for the family asking God for comfort. It is also true that many people when dying call out to God for hope and succour. To do so and be an unbeliever is hypocrtitical and yet God commands that we do so and is in fact pleased when we do so. I would recommend Him to all.

Seek God whilst he may be found. Do it now, repent and believe.

regards

Ieuan

Malone

I'm just as open with my beliefs in the real world as I am here.

And for accepting Christians' views, well, I think history has proved they would rather slaughter those who don't agree with them, so I have very little pity when they are offended.

lordofhats

So your going to group us all together based on events that occured hundreds of years ago?

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ieuan

Malone, some Christians are not sheep but goats. True christians are harmless.

Katastrof

So according to your logic, Germans still want to kill the Jews.

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Read:

When The Man Comes Around

"Carpe Diem, quam minimum credula postero"
(Seize the day put no trust in tomorrow.) ~ Horace

Faustling

So I Christian would never say "Jesus existed and he died for everyone" but always say "My personal opinion and belief is that Jesus existed and died for everyone"? When people talk about these matters it's pretty obvious that we're talking opinions, not facts.

You take offence now, we'll be punished forever in Hell. I'd say Christians win this thing in the long run.

As Christians are often quick to point out, atheism and science are also things a person believe in. Yet I haven't seen a lot of Christians avoiding ridiculing science when the chance appears.
And don't forget, for every Christian that has died for their belief there are at least two unbelievers that have died for theirs.

I don't know about anyone else but I don't need any anominity to "blaspheme", I've done it in person plenty of time. Christians rarely pay much respect to other beliefs so I reserve the right to blaspheme the one true God whenever I please.
Yet, I'm often one of the less militant atheists around here. I usually stick with teasing while others attack.

Wait... why should we respect the Christian point of view any more then any other point of view?

Been there, done that, didn't even get the friggin' t-shirt.

mythologicalrealities

See, the problem I find with Christians is that they give all their faith and love to some dude up in the clouds and spurn those who need them in the real world.

My parents, when I was a little girl, played tapes to me as I was going to sleep, about a mean king. Apparently worms came and ate his fingers and his toes because he didn't believe in God. I grew up terrified that the daydreams I had about imaginary, fantasy lands were 'evil'.

My grandmother bluntly told me that I won't make a difference in the world unless I'm christian. Then she told me I should have faith that Jesus will come and change the world so that I won't need to do anything.

Except, of course, be blind to the real reality, and the real people in it, who don't need a miracle, but merely some kindness.

I have never met someone religious who has treated me with respect. I have had friends who spurned me for going to Mind, Body, Spirit festivals, aunties who have given me bibles for Christmas, and a christian boyfriend who tried to rape me. Plus, parents who raised me in fear and grandparents who don't want me to do anything except sit on my ass and wait for some mythological man to come and save the world.

Maybe people aren't killed in the name of the church anymore. But they are prosecuted, nevertheless, and no matter how blatantly you try to deny it, it doesn't change the fact that it's true.

---

And just for the record, look around the earth the way it is.
If hell exists we're already it. We need to get up and make a difference, not worry about some guy up in heaven and his judgement on us.

Seeker

Actually, this is what would intrigue me. I haven't googled the original title, but I doubt that's what it is about.

What I would want to see is a story on 'what would the world be like without the concept of Christianity laid upon Judaism.

No crusades of course. And a continued search for a messiah that never came, even in some beliefs. And when Mohammed came around - what did he do and what was different?

What were the major religions that arose/continued? How did Europe develop? Did the Roman Empire survive since Constantine wouldn't have split it due to the Christian factions?

Would the same inventions have occurred?

NOW THIS would be an interesting story.

Seeker

Ok - checked it out. The author is writing the following:

...hurls TV journalist Conrad Davis into another world exactly like ours except for one detail — Jesus Christ did not come 2,000 years ago, but today.

Ok - of course that doesn't work, but at least the author admits it. You have a world that had a Jesus 2000 years ago, but then pretend you didn't. Ok, I accept it given the author apologizes:

there's another shortcoming you need to be aware of as you read this novel. To accurately portray a world in which Christ has not yet come would be to create a society so dark and ugly that it's doubtful any of us would recognize it, let alone relate to it. To do so would have again defeated my purposes. So, I didn't. If you're interested in the impact Jesus Christ has had upon our society, Kennedy and Newcombe's book, What If Jesus Had Never Been Born, gives interesting insights on how different our society would be today if Jesus had not come.

Personally, I'd like to read a novel based on these premises. Maybe it wouldn't be as dark as suggested - just totally different.

The Backward OX

I agree with Faustling. If you want to see some real knock-down, drag-out fights, visit the poetry forums. There's a few there who become really heated. Makes me kind of glad I'm not a poet.

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

lordofhats

Its hard to say what the world would be like Christianity. Christianity dominated the west for well over 1000 years before it began to lose momentum.

Rome probably would have fallen anyway. It was already heading towards falling apart by the time Christianity had come into being, though its possible Christianity sped up the process I suppose.

I would wonder if Islam would have ever come into being without Christianity. I think it probably would have since its belief system is based on a different system derived from Jewdism. Think about it though. Without the Crusades Muslims might have actually been able to invade the west and stay there. The Crusades crippled the Muslim Caliphate for centuries to come and was the event that started the Muslim nation into its decline (The Mongols and the Tumrids helped though).

I'd like to see America without Protestant colonists. Sadely this is where I run out of practical knowledge for apply Christianity to history.

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The Backward OX

SadLuckDame, on the other hand, Malone is right too. Christians are all so narrow-minded they can look through a keyhole with both eyes - simultaneously.

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb

The Backward OX

Are you omnipotent? Can you get inside others' heads? For all we know, a great many Germans may still want to kill all the Jews.

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How Beautiful it is to Do Nothing, and then Rest Afterwards . . . . . Spanish proverb