Why do people care so much?

[duwal]

Apparently I'm forbidden from using the name of the place where Christians think non-Christians will go when they die here on a board where religion is discussed.

If you or OPT wants to suggest a different word to use, go ahead. Sheol? Gehenna? Hades? The lake of fire? The inferno? The underworld? "Down there"?

I think we can all understand that the use of that word as an expletive and the use of it as a proper name are not related. So by all means, tell me what I'm supposed to say instead.

how about earth's core which is all it really is

[WilyWestbrook0]

thank you all for the answers and i think i get it now :)

Glad we could be of help. When I was your age, I was only beginning to really consider these issues as well. As a youngster, we always have so much to learn as life has seemingly endless facets to it. Burdening ourselves with the uncertain fate of humanity can be overwhelming, even as adults.

[tyude2]

Glad we could be of help. When I was your age, I was only beginning to really consider these issues as well. As a youngster, we always have so much to learn as life has seemingly endless facets to it. Burdening ourselves with the uncertain fate of humanity can be overwhelming, even as adults.

well put

[shapingle]

But as to why people get so attached to religion in the first place, most religions (especially Christianity in all its forms and derivatives) offer you a 30-second ritual that you can bumble your way through without even meaning it, and then for the rest of your life, have an excuse to never do any thinking, never do any work, and treat everyone you see like garbage, while making a claim to absolute certainty of unknowable things and a pretention that you're better than everyone else. Since people are ignorant, lazy, selfish and belligerent by their very nature, they eat this stuff up. The last thing most of them want is to have to say they don't know everything, or to give any serious thought to their worldview. Religion, at its core, is nothing but a tool for making people proud of their worst qualities.

no, thats wrong, if your a Christian, a true christian, then you dont walk around treating people like garbage. And its not a 30 second ritual that the church makes you say. My church doesnt tell you a "30 second ritual" or anything like that. Its simply asking God to forgive you, and save you. and from that point try to live a good life, representing God and the Christian belief. Hope this helped..

[gatorboymike]

no, thats wrong, if your a Christian, a true christian, then you dont walk around treating people like garbage. And its not a 30 second ritual that the church makes you say. My church doesnt tell you a "30 second ritual" or anything like that. Its simply asking God to forgive you, and save you. and from that point try to live a good life, representing God and the Christian belief. Hope this helped..

Then why is it that whenever we hear a news story about some Christian who committed murder because of religious reasons, they always interview friends and family who were dead-sure and would have bet their lives that the murderer was a "true Christian" and then other people who didn't know him so well proclaim as if it were obvious fact that he wasn't and never had been a "true Christian"?

The term "true Christian" is meaningless. All it means is someone who thinks, speaks and acts exactly like the person using the term. In other words, all Christians think that anyone who thinks, speaks and acts exactly like they do are "true Christians" and anyone who doesn't is a "false Christian." It doesn't matter what you personally think, say and do, I can find a dozen different people who all call themselves Christian, who all think, say and do different things from you and from each other, who will assert with just as much confidence and conviction as you have that it's actually they who are true and you who are false. Then they'll all turn around and say that to each other.

And how is "asking God to forgive you and save you" NOT a 30-second ritual? Again, as Christians aren't in the habit of questioning their neighbors' faith until and unless their neighbors do something despicable, I could walk into your church, hit my knees, and say "Lord, forgive me for all my sins, come into my heart so that I may be born again and live according to your will," then look around to make sure everyone was watching, and say "Hah, God just forgave me! I'm a Christian now!" and I would be showered with unquestioning applause and compliments. Then I could walk out of there, being hateful, nasty and violent to everyone I see, and tell them I have the right to be a jerk to them because God already forgave me in advance for all the evil things I would ever do, so I have permission from God to do all the evil things I want. More than once, Christians who have wronged me used that very language, though not in those exact words, as their justification for doing so.

[shapingle]

like i said, if your a true christian, then you wouldnt walk out of church acting liek that, you want to be example of christ. and its actually not a 30 second ritual, only to some people like you it is, its more than that, its your eternal security that you can lay your head down at night and know your going to heaven. you can argue the flaws about christianity but the bible doesnt lie.

[gatorboymike]

If you're not going to read what I write, then why should I even bother to deal with you at all?

[shapingle]

dont deal with me brah, go find somebody to argue about why people committ suicide.. I DONT KNOW and all your other problems

[streicher187]

To quote jesse ventura "religion is a crutch for the weak minded" It is used to fill in answers that people don't understand..

I have no problem with people believing in god it's religion that I think is a joke.. Any group that allows men to bang little boys and get away with it 3 times befor reporting it.. And telling people to give money they can not afford so they can help the mob launder money needs some looking into..

[jessejordan419]

Then why is it that whenever we hear a news story about some Christian who committed murder because of religious reasons, they always interview friends and family who were dead-sure and would have bet their lives that the murderer was a "true Christian" and then other people who didn't know him so well proclaim as if it were obvious fact that he wasn't and never had been a "true Christian"?

The great liar clouds the mind. By the way, how many instances are you referring to? Or are you just using a blanket slander? By the way, even "true Christians" continue to sin, and to God, murder is the same is stealing a package of gum at the store, and is the same as thinking of a woman in a lu™™™™l way, or telling a "little white lie".

The term "true Christian" is meaningless. All it means is someone who thinks, speaks and acts exactly like the person using the term. In other words, all Christians think that anyone who thinks, speaks and acts exactly like they do are "true Christians" and anyone who doesn't is a "false Christian." It doesn't matter what you personally think, say and do, I can find a dozen different people who all call themselves Christian, who all think, say and do different things from you and from each other, who will assert with just as much confidence and conviction as you have that it's actually they who are true and you who are false. Then they'll all turn around and say that to each other.

A "true Christian" is someone who has faith that Jesus/Yeshua as the son of Jehova/Yahweh, who was born to the ****** Mary, who lived a sinless life, who was sacrificed on the cross as the "Lamb of God", who was resurrected after 3 days, and whose blood washes clean the sins of the believer, thereby allowing them to be in the prescence of a Holy God who knows no sin.

The only example of how a True Christian should act and live is Jesus Himself. Everyone else's life is "dirty rags" compared to Jesus, even Mother Theresa.

And how is "asking God to forgive you and save you" NOT a 30-second ritual? Again, as Christians aren't in the habit of questioning their neighbors' faith until and unless their neighbors do something despicable, I could walk into your church, hit my knees, and say "Lord, forgive me for all my sins, come into my heart so that I may be born again and live according to your will," then look around to make sure everyone was watching, and say "Hah, God just forgave me! I'm a Christian now!" and I would be showered with unquestioning applause and compliments. Then I could walk out of there, being hateful, nasty and violent to everyone I see, and tell them I have the right to be a jerk to them because God already forgave me in advance for all the evil things I would ever do, so I have permission from God to do all the evil things I want. More than once, Christians who have wronged me used that very language, though not in those exact words, as their justification for doing so.

This is paying lip service, and not giving your heart to God. I'm not saying you will never sin again once you accept Christ, but no one truely becomes a Christian in the example you gave.

Once you accept Christ as your Lord and Saviour, the next step is growing in the Faith. You are to be responsible for you own growth. You are to, as Christ said, "walk in good works that have been prepared for you". You are to try to change your heart and life to conform to the Lord Jesus. He will help you if you ask Him.

This example and a lot of other posts are giving this young man the wrong impression. I see a lot of slander, and no beef. I see a lot of hurt people who have a "bad taste in their mouth" and want to steer people away from religion, and I cannot figure out why. I've had bad experiences at resturaunts: does that mean I'll never eat again?????

I find it funny that the same people who say not to stereotype are usually the one's who stereotype the most, especially towards Christians.





I don't sit in church....yet. I haven't found the one for me....yet. I watch people on t.v. who preach the Word of God, not people who ask for money all the time.

*****I LOVE reading the Bible, getting to know Christ, learning about myself and how much I need to change, conforming more to Christ's image, ministering to others when I'm not too cowardly to, helping people when I get the chance, etc.

So you see, it's not all about a 30 second mantra and then do what I want to do. And it's only a mantra if you don't mean what you say. If you mean what you say, it's lifechanging words, followed by a lifetime of getting to know Jesus and conforming to His image.




Church is where you worship the Lord, among other things. People on this thread have tried to bash church as an excuse not to be a Christian. Jesus is your example, not the church. Remember, everyone is a sinner, even Christians in church. That is why we need Jesus.

If you find things you can't accept in one church, try another. In towns of as little as 1,000 people there are probably at least 5 churches or more. In towns of 20,000-100,000 there are hundreds if not thousands of churches, just in Christianity. Don't bash all churches until you've tried them all!





And to tyude2, even if you don't make it to church all that much you can still read the Bible in your spare time. That's what really counts: your reading & gaining knowledge of God's Word, and growing in your relationship with Him. If you don't have a Bible, I'd be glad to send one to you. All the answers can be found in the Bible, all you have to do is have the discipline to keep reading(I could always use more of this).

Genesis is a great place to start, just start on the first verse and don't stop until you've read the whole book; even if it takes a few months. You could probably skip the geneologies, I'm sure it would bore you as it did me when I was younger, lol.

A study Bible is best, that way you have lots of references to help you understand harder passages. Joshua and Judges are also great books of the Old Testament, and of course Exodus. 1st & 2nd Chronicles are great as well.

John is a great place to start in the New Testament, then Acts is pretty good to see how the church is started. You can't go wrong with any of the Gospels though: Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John.

I hope this has helped, sorry if it's too long of a post, lol.