i posted this in my other thread but no one really answered me.

ive thought about this for a long time and this is one of thing main factors that made me 'renounce my faith' as a christian. yes, i used to be a god fearing christian when i was a kid. i would pray every night and was scared shitless id go to hell.

does everyone who doesnt know about christianity go to hell? what about the native americans? what about aborted babies and retarded people? what about cultures on earth today that still havent heard about christ? say they live a decent life and are just as good of a human being as your average christian, but they never once prayed or asked god to forgive their sins. does this mean they go to hell just because they dont know about jesus, the bible and the christian god?

i just wanna say one more thing. ive met some christians in my day. some of them were very bitter spitful people who acted asif they were above everyone else and everyone needed their advice. i know most christians arent like that, but it made me think.

are you a christian just because you fear the wrath of god, or are you doing it because youre a decent loving human being?

im not looking for an answer to that. just tryin to make you think

[This message has been edited by Clifford the Big Red Bong (edited 01-17-2005).]

i forgot to mention original sin. if we're all born with it blah blah blah you see where this was supposed to go.

???

quote:Originally posted by rodrat16:

???

God could be that mean, he killed the firstborns of Egypt and probably caused the death of thousands of others through crop loss to change the mind of one man. Not many Christians will come out and say that God only gave people in the Middle East and Europe a chance to get into Heaven for over a thousand years. Last time this came up the answer was everyone hears about Jesus some time, no answers were given to how this was posible though.

I just think it's sort of arrogant to believe that "my religion is the only one through which God has been revealed". God's bigger than that.

quote:Originally posted by Dead Helmsman:

I just think it's sort of arrogant to believe that "my religion is the only one through which God has been revealed". God's bigger than that.

deffinetly

The Catholic Church teaches that even if you don't know about cathoicism, you can still do to heaven. I'd imagine the same holds true for every other situation you mentioned. As long as you live a good life, then you can go to heaven.

I don't see why this matters to you since you're an atheist.

haha when did i say i was an athiest? i firmly believe in an afterlife and theres a good chance of there being some sort of "higher being". i just dont believe in any religion. im spiritual (hippy-ish?), not religious.

quote:Originally posted by MasterPython:

God could be that mean, he killed the firstborns of Egypt and probably caused the death of thousands of others through crop loss to change the mind of one man. Not many Christians will come out and say that God only gave people in the Middle East and Europe a chance to get into Heaven for over a thousand years. Last time this came up the answer was everyone hears about Jesus some time, no answers were given to how this was posible though.

I believe most Christians see the Old Testament as metaphorical/historical and the interpretations of past peoples of God. However the new testament is seen as a far more accurate view of God, especially as much of it was the actual word of Jesus, the son of God, and therefore completely right.

quote:Originally posted by Alf_Un_Original:

I believe most Christians see the Old Testament as metaphorical/historical and the interpretations of past peoples of God. However the new testament is seen as a far more accurate view of God, especially as much of it was the actual word of Jesus, the son of God, and therefore completely right.

isnt there a lot of evidence pointing towards the possibility that the new testament was made up to several centuries after jesus' death and is probably wildly inaccurate?

i dont care enough to find a link to a website that talks about this but if you put any effort into it youll find what im talking about.

quote:Originally posted by Clifford the Big Red Bong:

haha when did i say i was an athiest? i firmly believe in an afterlife and theres a good chance of there being some sort of "higher being". i just dont believe in any religion. im spiritual (hippy-ish?), not religious.

so your an aithiest?

if you don't want to be a aithiest then pick a religion. everyone has to have something to believe in.

quote:Originally posted by Clifford the Big Red Bong:

isnt there a lot of evidence pointing towards the possibility that the new testament was made up to several centuries after jesus' death and is probably wildly inaccurate?

i dont care enough to find a link to a website that talks about this but if you put any effort into it youll find what im talking about.

nope, most of the NT was written before 70 AD, some as late as 130 Ad... if memory serves.

interesting that the dead sea scrolls (found in 1947 if i remember) varify much of the NT and some portions of the OT.

If your too lazy to look it up, then so am I.

quote:Originally posted by GrtZ:

so your an aithiest?

if you don't want to be a aithiest then pick a religion. everyone has to have something to believe in.



athiest: one who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

You can belive in god and not be part of a religion. Many people are.

This is the same reason why i stoped being a chirstain as well. I don't belive that a being of such power and intelect could be so close minded and unreasonable.

And yes there is alot of proof that people were actually preaching the Bible before they even wrote it. I've talked to alot of christains and most beleive the bible word for word. It's odd how inconsistand each different church is within christianity.

I belive more in spirituality and philosophy and less in religion. Chirstianity is probably one of the most ludacris religions out there. You'd liek George Carlin's new book alot. look it up.

quote:Originally posted by Steve Rogers:

athiest: one who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

You can belive in god and not be part of a religion. Many people are.

This is the same reason why i stoped being a chirstain as well. I don't belive that a being of such power and intelect could be so close minded and unreasonable.

And yes there is alot of proof that people were actually preaching the Bible before they even wrote it. I've talked to alot of christains and most beleive the bible word for word. It's odd how inconsistand each different church is within christianity.

I belive more in spirituality and philosophy and less in religion. Chirstianity is probably one of the most ludacris religions out there. You'd liek George Carlin's new book alot. look it up.

i love you

Allah is ruthless. He wiped out an Arab tribe because they ignored one of his messengers and refused to worship him. Their homes are still intact, which were carved out of rock. You can google it if you want.

quote:Originally posted by Loc Dogg:

Allah is ruthless. He wiped out an Arab tribe because they ignored one of his messengers and refused to worship him. Their homes are still intact, which were carved out of rock. You can google it if you want.

Which tribe would this be?