Religion Questions??

[TheTGB]

This may be kind of an odd question, but why is it that all my Christian friends keep trying to convert me even though I tell them not to? They tell me they pray for me (in the sense they want me to be a Christian) and I tell them to please not to and they continue to anyway. I mean, I understand the logic that God wants you to "save people" or "help them find the way" or whatever, but is there a line with respecting others wishes? Sure, in my eyes at least, praying won't harm me or do anything to change my views at this point in my life, but I still feel like they are intruding on me. These people are just other college kids whom were my first friends when I moved out to Oregon who invited me to Bible study and I wasn't busy and I brought a different perspective on things so I decided to go. Funny thing now, since I don't go to Bible study anymore, they haven't contacted me to hang out.

Another interesting note, I graduated from a Christian (Nazarene) high school and they did the same thing to me because they knew when I transfered there my senior year that I wasn't Christian.

Talk about a way to turn someone off to religion.

[OnePimpTiger]

I think this pretty much sums up why I have no desire for religion. Misquoting a book which is supposed to be sacred, missing the meaning of passages, not understanding what is being said. There are too many branches, too many interpretations, and too many people saying this is what it means not that. That is why I have no liking of it.

Yeah that's a common reason for the dislike of religion. And somewhat understandable. But the way I see it, read the book and see for yourself what it means. I was raised Southern Baptist, I go to a Church of God church, and I've read a lot about different branches (ie Catholic, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, etc) and different religions (ie Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc), but I don't ascribed to any of them wholly. I don't think anyone has it exactly right, but that doesn't mean they're all entirely wrong either. It's just like with politics, you've got to do your own research and find the truth in all the BS. And remember that one of the things religion teaches is that no one's perfect...everybody screws up, including in their attempt to represent their religion appropriately. It's not really fair to write off a Heavenly concept because humans get it wrong a lot of the time...You need to look at the religion itself, and try not to focus on how humans screw it up. Humans screw up everything...nature is a beautiful thing, but humans screw it up. Does that mean nature is bad?

[walt55054life]

This may be kind of an odd question, but why is it that all my Christian friends keep trying to convert me even though I tell them not to? They tell me they pray for me (in the sense they want me to be a Christian) and I tell them to please not to and they continue to anyway. I mean, I understand the logic that God wants you to "save people" or "help them find the way" or whatever, but is there a line with respecting others wishes? Sure, in my eyes at least, praying won't harm me or do anything to change my views at this point in my life, but I still feel like they are intruding on me. These people are just other college kids whom were my first friends when I moved out to Oregon who invited me to Bible study and I wasn't busy and I brought a different perspective on things so I decided to go. Funny thing now, since I don't go to Bible study anymore, they haven't contacted me to hang out.

Another interesting note, I graduated from a Christian (Nazarene) high school and they did the same thing to me because they knew when I transfered there my senior year that I wasn't Christian.

Talk about a way to turn someone off to religion.

I have a question for you, do you have a religion?

Also I was curious about revelation, all of those beasts and creatures confuses me and I don't do organized religion but I know a few people at DUKE and Cambell divinity schools (I do God on my time I guess you could say). So I don't have a pastor I could ask these with.....well I do I just don't make time to do it. Also I know many pastors/rabbi who get together w/ others when they have questions themselves about the Bible/Tanakh that they don't understand their interpertation, do you?

[daniel3417]

This is my question, not an attack: ensberg, how do we know the Bible is the truth?

[maccards44]

It's not really fair to write off a Heavenly concept because humans get it wrong a lot of the time...You need to look at the religion itself, and try not to focus on how humans screw it up.

Great Post - Totally Agree

Daniel - Great question

[gatorboymike]

Here's a question for you. I hear all the time from Christians that their god is a jealous god. But jealousy is supposed to be a sin; the Catholics in fact call it one of the seven deadly sins. The Christian god is supposed to be a perfect, sinless entity. So how can it be jealous? And furthermore, what does it have to be jealous of? Is it so petty and vindictive that if any one person worships something else, or nothing at all, that it goes out of its mind with rage?

I have a few theories:
1. You say "God's ways are not our ways" because you really have no idea why this should be so.
2. Everything your god does is good by definition. That means that things that are considered evil when humans do them are good when your god does them.
3. You don't really think that jealousy is a sin, no matter who does it.

But all of this belies a more important question. It's one thing to say your god's ways are not our ways, I can certainly understand that. So naturally, there is a different concept of morality that is applied to your god than that which is applied to us. But shouldn't the god-morality be stricter than the human-morality? Shouldn't it be superior? A supposedly perfect being should be held to infinitely higher standards than imperfect beings, so how can you try to claim that things that are evil when man does them, are good when your god does them?

[chljoe]

Yeah that's a common reason for the dislike of religion. And somewhat understandable. But the way I see it, read the book and see for yourself what it means. I was raised Southern Baptist, I go to a Church of God church, and I've read a lot about different branches (ie Catholic, Methodist, Mormon, Jehovah's Witness, etc) and different religions (ie Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, etc), but I don't ascribed to any of them wholly. I don't think anyone has it exactly right, but that doesn't mean they're all entirely wrong either. It's just like with politics, you've got to do your own research and find the truth in all the BS. And remember that one of the things religion teaches is that no one's perfect...everybody screws up, including in their attempt to represent their religion appropriately. It's not really fair to write off a Heavenly concept because humans get it wrong a lot of the time...You need to look at the religion itself, and try not to focus on how humans screw it up. Humans screw up everything...nature is a beautiful thing, but humans screw it up. Does that mean nature is bad?

I also put very little stock into the Bible because of the various translations, what books go in and get taken out, and who actually wrote it.

[shortking98]

Here's a question for you. I hear all the time from Christians that their god is a jealous god. But jealousy is supposed to be a sin; the Catholics in fact call it one of the seven deadly sins. The Christian god is supposed to be a perfect, sinless entity. So how can it be jealous? And furthermore, what does it have to be jealous of? Is it so petty and vindictive that if any one person worships something else, or nothing at all, that it goes out of its mind with rage?

I have a few theories:
1. You say "God's ways are not our ways" because you really have no idea why this should be so.
2. Everything your god does is good by definition. That means that things that are considered evil when humans do them are good when your god does them.
3. You don't really think that jealousy is a sin, no matter who does it.

But all of this belies a more important question. It's one thing to say your god's ways are not our ways, I can certainly understand that. So naturally, there is a different concept of morality that is applied to your god than that which is applied to us. But shouldn't the god-morality be stricter than the human-morality? Shouldn't it be superior? A supposedly perfect being should be held to infinitely higher standards than imperfect beings, so how can you try to claim that things that are evil when man does them, are good when your god does them?

I can help with this one. As I'm sure you are aware, the Bible was written mostly in Greek for the NT and Hebrew for the OT. The word that is translated "jealous" in the term "jealous God" is a different Hebrew word although it is translated the same in English. This is a completely different word in the original text and although I am not an expert in Hebrew I can tell you that the two words are certainly not the same. Hope that clears things up for you a little. If you want more information you should be able to research the two words and find out where the differences are.

[OnePimpTiger]

This is my question, not an attack: ensberg, how do we know the Bible is the truth?

It was directed to me, but here's the answer: We don't. It's faith...that's what the whole idea of religion is based on, whether it's Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, etc.

I have a few theories:
1. You say "God's ways are not our ways" because you really have no idea why this should be so.

I don't know about the jealousy thing, I've never thought about that. I've never heard that jealousy was a sin, but coveting is a form of jealousy and is a sin, so I really don't know about that. As far as that quote, though, that's exactly right. Sometimes we have no idea why God does something. But that's ok, he knows....he has more information on the situation and knows how it will turn out, we don't. It's like when you're a kid and your parents do something that you can't understand at all...

2. Everything your god does is good by definition. That means that things that are considered evil when humans do them are good when your god does them.

I'm not sure what you mean there. Like I said above, I'm not sure on the whole jealousy thing, but what's another example?

I also put very little stock into the Bible because of the various translations, what books go in and get taken out, and who actually wrote it.

That's understandable. I guess I look at the most widely accepted version, but I guess that doesn't mean it's right just because it's accepted more. Not sure what to say on that...

[RedGoneWILD]

What happens to atheist, agnostics, devil worshippers, and people from other religions when they die? Do they all go to hell? Is there only one God?

And also, since you are a minister, would you ever baptize a ™™™™™™™ child who's parents were not married when the child was conceived?