Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance SPP, I'm not really sure what to say to all of that. Thanks for taking the time to type it all out though. Strange coincidences are statistically bound to happen, but for me that doesn't equate to there being some Godly force behind them. If there was a God, I doubt he'd be involved much in our day to day lives to effect them much. But, you're not me, and we aren't made the same, so you're not going to have the same reaction to events as I would.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ~~~One more question for anyone who is willing to respond: as a Christian, or follower of Christ, do feel compelled to believe that he rose from the dead, ascended to Heaven, and will return to Earth one day?~~~ I'm willing to respond... and my answer is yes. I do believe all of that. It's my personal belief and I don't (or would never) push that belief on anyone else. I also believe God is in my day to day life. I don't always see or feel it. I just know. He is my reason for being. He is the reason for all of the blessings in my life. He has given me free will to love and be happy... and to make mistakes along the way.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 "Stem cell research, gay/lebsian rights, Pledge of Allegiance in schools, etc. " I said "as long as it does not hurt anyone" and I think things like discriminating against gays and refusing to fund stem cell research do hurt people. In that case you are right. I do not believe you have the right to hurt someone because of your religious beliefs. For example, you can believe that being gay is a sin but Jesus said multiple times in multiple ways that we do not have the right to judge anyone. If we do not have the right to judge, we do not have the right to discriminate. As a Christian I get pretty mad when people use my religion to discriminate based on their own beliefs in the name of God. I fully agree with you; it is wrong. ~~~One more question for anyone who is willing to respond: as a Christian, or follower of Christ, do feel compelled to believe that he rose from the dead, ascended to Heaven, and will return to Earth one day?~~~ I do believe that. When I was a teenager my pastor told all the High School kids that we had to question our faith. He said it wasn't enough to believe simply because our parents did because, unless we asked ourselves that very question, "do I believe", we would only parroting what others believe. So I asked myself that question and did not really know for certain what the answer was for a couple of years. After a lot of thought I came to the conclusion that yes, I believe that Jesus is the son of God, that he died for the forgiveness of my sins, that he is in heaven and will return one day. You did phrase the question in an interesting way. Do I feel compelled to believe it? No, I just believe. There is nothing pushing me to believe.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ~~~You did phrase the question in an interesting way. Do I feel compelled to believe it? No, I just believe. There is nothing pushing me to believe.~~~ I agree with that too. I've never let anything influence me to believe what I do. Sure, I've been given food for thought through the years but I've always followed my heart.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Thanks for the response PrincessJenn and LPFan22. I truly mean no disrespect to either of you, and in fact, and very appreciative of your modern (for lack of a better word) views on religion. If only all people could be as open minded as the both of you. There would be no reason to ever have any conflicts between the two sides.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 I haven't taken anything you have said to be disrespectful Constance. I wish everyone, whether they are religious or not, could have more discussions like this one. It is good to have respectful dialog about beliefs, as long as both sides can be open about what they believe without being insulted or insulting.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 ^^That's very nice of you to say. I just try to show respect and get along with everyone. I want to live my day to day life and be the best person I can be. I don't have to agree with everyone... and they don't have to agree with me. But we can still get along and have a good time.
Originally Posted By CuriouserConstance Thank you both, and it is good to have discussions like this. I think it's important for both sides to understand where the other is coming from.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "You did phrase the question in an interesting way. Do I feel compelled to believe it? No, I just believe. There is nothing pushing me to believe." I purposely posed the question in that context because this discussion has mostly been about "picking and choosing" which Christian tenants you want to accept or believe. Someone earlier said that not everything in the Bible should be taken literally, so I was curious to know if any of you thought that Jesus' self proclaimed supernatural abilities and his prediction that he would return to Earth are parables or statements that were meant to be taken seriously.
Originally Posted By dshyates This convo is just too heavy, man. I am thinking about starting my own religion. Pastafarian. Where we all just get really high and communion is lasagna and chianti. I think it would be a pretty popular cult.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 No, I do not they were parables. A lot of what Jesus preached was done in parables but not any of the passages proclaiming him to be God's son. As far as taking the Bile literally, it is not that I think parts of it should not be taken literally but that, overall, it should not be taken as literal. While I am a Christian I also know the history of how the Bible was written. Up until the first Bible was complied the Maggi told the stories verbally. They were passed from person to person. There were also some written accounts of what took place. There were many accounts that never made it into the Bible when it was being compiled. Since the compilation was done be people I believe that it was done, to a certain extent, in a way which validated the beliefs of the church in that time. That is probably why there are so many contradictory aspects to the bible. You could find support for just about any side to any argument in there. I believe that it is the overall message of Jesus that counts and that the Bible should be taken more as a guide to understanding the message of Jesus than as literal law. For example, I believe that God created the Earth and all of the life on it but he didn't leave step by step blueprints on how he did so. I do believe that evolution is the way we came to be here. I think that the account in Genesis was the best theory going at the time when the Bible was written but since no one actually there and there was not really any science as we know it today they came up with the most logical explanation they could. If you read the story about the boy with seizures that Jesus cured it says that he was possessed by demons. At the time that was the medical explanation for just about everything, including epilepsy.
Originally Posted By Labuda "Many of us believe that the OT is also full of parable and metaphor, but not introduced as such. The obvious one is the creation story. No, I don't believe it was 6 actual days. Some do, though fossil records kind of put the kibosh on that one. But what of "days" that are millions of years long each? " Wow, that harkens back to my youth. That's something no Priest or CCD teacher was ever able to answer for me, so I ended up deciding that a day in the week the world was created was hundreds, if not millions, of days longer than one of ours. And,m I guess if pressed, I'd say that's what I still believe. Just like I believe that Jesus was a super cool dude, but no more the son of God than I am.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "Where we all just get really high and communion is lasagna and chianti." You are welcome to use my place as your temple of worship.
Originally Posted By DAR <<As far as taking the Bile literally>> I think if you cook the liver you don't have to worry about that.
Originally Posted By Dr Hans Reinhardt "I believe that it is the overall message of Jesus that counts and that the Bible should be taken more as a guide to understanding the message of Jesus than as literal law." Fair enough. How do you decide what is to be taken for fact? If the Bible is mostly just a guide then how is it that the second coming is indeed a real prophecy? "If you read the story about the boy with seizures that Jesus cured it says that he was possessed by demons. At the time that was the medical explanation for just about everything, including epilepsy." Then why didn't Jesus just say so? No need then for all the demonic talk. An all knowing supernatural being seeking truth with healing powers should have been able to explain that no demons were present in the child and that it was simply an illness. OK, I'm sorry. I think I need to back away from this discussion. Carry on.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 "This convo is just too heavy, man. I am thinking about starting my own religion. Pastafarian. Where we all just get really high and communion is lasagna and chianti. I think it would be a pretty popular cult." I think you would get a lot of followers, especially if you did not make up stupid rules like only being being allowed to use two squares of toilet paper at a time
Originally Posted By utahjosh <Just like I believe that Jesus was a super cool dude, but no more the son of God than I am> Interesting. I believe you both are children of God - Jesus just got him for a Dad of his spirit AND his body!
Originally Posted By DAR <<I believe that it is the overall message of Jesus that counts and that the Bible should be taken more as a guide to understanding the message of Jesus than as literal law.>> This. Plus I also enjoy the Bible as a group of really good stories.
