A Christian way of thinking might well be to feel sorry for you and your somewhat biased attitude in general.

Personally I just don't think you are worth bothering about.

Les

 

Hi, @SRSport,
I’m glad you stayed with us and I hope the debate has not been the usual puerile stuff you’re used to getting. Please don’t take offence by my reply, it’s not intended.

According to Greek mythology, in c1400 BC, before his ships set sail in the Trojan war Agamemnon, King of Mycenae (Greece to us) sacrifices one of his innocent virgin daughters, Iphianassa to ensure his army’s success against the Trojans. He does it to show his love for his country and so the gods would to guarantee a successful war.

According to the Bible, in Roman times c33 AD, God loved the world so much, he goes one better and sacrifices his only son in a blood sacrifice to saved mankind and make man live forever. [John 3.16 et al]

Would you be promoting the first act as a good thing to do?

Whether, by myth or ‘holy’ book I can not understand why anyone would want to promote or condone child (or adult) blood sacrifice or why anyone would offer it as a fit example or act of wondrous goodness. This is the type of act would probably have gone down well in ancient, desert, nomadic thinking, though.

Jimmy Saville (spit) was a tireless active fund-raiser, raising £millions for good charitable causes for many years. But if he were around today, no-one would want anything to do with him.

Today we don’t consider it to be acceptable to be really good most of the time but really cruel and bad the rest of the time.

We’d shun anyone who behaved like that by a mile, wouldn’t we?

 

Oh, no! Les, stay and help me, .... please. Your contributions help me with my insecurity and I need to reply to you to bolster myself up!

But it's rude of you to refer to my fully developed, wide ranging, obsessive prejudices as "somewhat biased".

So, maybe on second thoughts ....

 

The objective although similar is different. One is to benefit the immediate, physical safety of people the other is eternal spirit of billions.

When talking about God there is far too much focus on the short term, physical consequences of actions and not much on the spiritual. There are many comparisons given in the Bible between the spirit which endures forever and the flesh which will perish (in the grand scheme of time) very quickly. Gods concern is first and foremost for our spiritual wellbeing although this is not to say that he ignores or does not value our physical needs as I have on many occasions witnessed.

 

That Stephen Hawking chap - he's a card, isn't he.........

 

does this explain why, through Jesus, a rapist and mass murderer will be welcome into the kingdom of heaven

and conversely SouthwalesSam will not

 

Matthew 20:1-16

 

yes, i can see how that gives "cover" for Priests (and other religous perverts) to fvck little boys

 

Sorry I don't really see how. Do you think that these 'priests' are Christians?

 

For something to have ‘being’, as opposed, say, to being a rock or dust or ashes, takes work.

That work stops the system of that being from decaying and falling apart - even though the being does nothing other than exist.

To do work requires energy and you have to source that energy from somewhere, somehow and using energy produces by-products.

We use our bodies (flesh as you prefer) as an energy processor to support our state of being. When our body dies, we die.

But the Bible says my body must perish but my spirit can break apart and exist independently and unaided and smash the known (thermodynamics) laws of the universe. (ref: The Uncaged Monkey, ***, B)

Good scientists know we have only theories, as although we continue to question, we don’t have all the answers. But we know for sure that we have more answers than the Bible when it comes to ‘laws’ of the natural universe.

However, the Bible and its believers need no such modesty or need for question.
It took 400 years for the Vatican to apologise for excommunicating Galileo for heresy when he dared to contradict the Bible and support Copernicus' theory that the Earth went round the Sun.

Given the Bible’s poor track record on its attempts to explain the natural universe, you’ll understand my reluctance to accept its explanations of how things are going to work in the supernatural multiverse.

 

No, I probably won’t be welcomed.

But I’ll not turn up hammering on Heaven’s Gate like Roy Batty arriving at Tyrell Corp, as fortunately I have no overwhelming need to live forever.

I don’t hanker to hang around long enough to see “attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion, [or] watch c-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate”.

I’m happy just to have been, and to have passed on some values to my children...

... and I’ll be content, even though “all [my] moments will be lost in time, like tears in rain.” (ref: Well, you know……!)

 

why are you asking me? as I think religion in a bit of a fraud

but according to the bible -- and christian teaching, it is my understanding that they will be welcome into the kingdom of heaven, if they ask for forgiveness and accept Jesus in their lives (and it is this that is central to Christianity)

does God put a limit on the number of times this forgiveness can be asked for and given?

consider the Parable of the smoker, who knows smoking is damaging his body and killing him

He hates himself for smoking – but needs help and understanding to repair his damaged body for being so stupid

He ask the magical doctor in the sky for help every night – who hearing his plea magically fixes his damaged body

The next morning the smoker is truly grateful, but because he is weak willed (and starting with a “healthy” body) smokes all day untill teh evening

Repeat the above ad infinitum (and replace smoking with any vice you like, including sex with children)

the catholic church seem to have institutionalised this, in the form of the confessional

a sort of moral reboot every week -- a mechanism, using the central teaching of Christianity (as described above) that allows people to abdicate their human responsibility to one another - to a mythical being in the sky

the total antitheses to humanity

 

That's ok and yes it does help, Sam, thanks. Just a few more questions if you don't mind: are you familiar with the ignostic position, are you aware of Unitarian Christianity and finally are you comfortable discussing panentheism, pantheism and deism?

 

I find it so much easier and more relaxing to just make up my own mind about my personal beliefs and I really cannot be bothered to try to make others think the same way.

I reserve the right to defend my own way of thinking however when under attack.

Les

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-28300618

 

Good news.

 

The Anglicans have finally stopped bashing the Bishop to let women have a go. Well done!

 

Carries about the same amount of relevance to the wider world as hearing that Cheryl Cole has got married

Not news

 

+1

About as important as Eastenders.

The fact it has received so much coverage shows how out of touch much of the media is.

 

About time.