Dr. Mantis Toboggan

Have you? Because the below is probably the most ignorant question I've ever heard someone that used to be in the faith ask: You claim that Christianity is a violent religion based off of OT quotations without context. Erroneously, I might add. No, the Old Testament is not "followed" by Christians, so news for you! Studied? Yes. Learned from? Yes. Inspired? Yes. Followed? No. That is what Jesus is for. Jesus was non-violent. He was tenaciously peaceful. He was the one who taught his followers peaceful but opposing methods of combatting injustice (turning the other cheek wasn't just to get hit again, but to make the person who struck you strike you again with the palm of his hand rather than the back of it, which was seen as a statement of equality in that time, as one example.) Jesus is who we follow. Further, You are allllll kinds of inconsistent here, friend. First you make a few posts about how you left Christianity because of the people (which is sad, but also poor logic, because people don't define Christianity and every people group are hypocrites - that's not exclusive to Christianity), and then you say if people actually acted like Christ you might give it another shot, but then you backtrack and say you don't believe it because of all the magic fairy tale stuff. Which is it? If it's the former, my response would be to let Christ represent Himself and stop attaching humans to your image of God, because we are helplessly out of our depths. If it's the latter, I would say stop spewing b.s. about what Christianity actually teaches and also stop picking one ugly subsection of "Christian" followers as the representative whole. See above. People have been perverting Christ's teaching since the very start, so if Christianity means in 2015 what misguided masses twist it to means, then 2000 years ago it still meant what the misguided masses decided. Or, if 2000 years ago Christ taught peace and justice, then He still does today. I know I strive to follow Jesus, yet I don't follow a single one of the things you just listed, and living south of the Mason-Dixon line, in the heart of the Bible belt for the last 7 months, I can point to a whole bunch of others that reject those things as well. I don't know what is worst. The incoherent trash you just spewed or someone actually +1 what you said. Whatever dude, get off your soap box. Your faith is far from perfect my friend.

My bad, didn't mean to go off topic.

All I can hear in my head is Jim Ross saying: "Oh my god! That's Scott Frost's music!" As Frost rappels in from the rafters, no less. What would his finishing move be? Frostbite

All I can hear in my head is Jim Ross saying: "Oh my god! That's Scott Frost's music!" As Frost rappels in from the rafters, no less. What would his finishing move be?

I'm going to let the Christians on this board answer this more fully, but surely you were taught about the Covenants God entered into with Israel throughout the Old Testament, and how the humans kept breaking those Covenants because they were sinful and incapable of keeping them, so God sent Jesus to be the ultimate Covenant, the last Covenant, between God & Man... right? Yes, that is in the good book. But, just going off of some conservative christians, they tend to throw out scripture from the old testament when it comes to abortion or homosexuality but neglect to mention all of the bad stuff in the bible. Really, if more christians started acting more like Christ I might consider giving the religion another go at it. Don't you think it's possible to be Christian in the view that you believe it should be? Do you have to relate to those other people who claim to be Christian? Shouldn't someone who is considering being a Christian simply ask "Is this what Christ asked me to do" and read Christ's teachings to find out? To be a Christian, you don't have to follow what humans are doing while trying to act like a Christian. Well, with me it goes deeper than just that. I have a hard time believing in the virgin birth, the resurrection, and all of the other magical stuff. I just simply believe that if you are a good person then it doesn't matter what you believe in. This is my whole take on religion as a whole... People thrive on believing that there is life after death, and without that belief people would panic. People become so obsessed with death that they think that they must devote their whole life to that religion and follow every word in the book they follow so they can have a wonderful afterlife. Thus why you see crazies in every religion, and right now the Muslim religion is getting the most attention. If people would actually stop, and just be good to others instead of worrying about pleasing their god then does it really matter what you believe in? If you are a good person, and if there is a heaven why wouldn't you get through those pearly gates regardless of what you believe in? In most books it states that God is a jealous God, that is a human flaw, why would God have such a horrible flaw as jealousy? that would make god not perfect. So, instead of worrying about what is going to happen when you die and which god to follow, why not just enjoy this trip we call life, because it is a short life and I am not going to spend my short days on this planet worrying about making an all powerful being jealous who may or may not be there.

I'm religophobic... I think that's a word. If not someone call webster!!!

I'm going to let the Christians on this board answer this more fully, but surely you were taught about the Covenants God entered into with Israel throughout the Old Testament, and how the humans kept breaking those Covenants because they were sinful and incapable of keeping them, so God sent Jesus to be the ultimate Covenant, the last Covenant, between God & Man... right? Yes, that is in the good book. But, just going off of some conservative christians, they tend to throw out scripture from the old testament when it comes to abortion or homosexuality but neglect to mention all of the bad stuff in the bible. Really, if more christians started acting more like Christ I might consider giving the religion another go at it.

"Religions" don't do those things. People do those things. Billions of Muslims don't abuse women or kill innocent people, just like billions of Christians don't leave the cities in which they live because the population is full of unbelievers. So you are saying, the bible, specifically the old testament which is followed by Jews and Christians has no reference to beating your wife or killing non believers. With out the Bible there is no Christianity and no Judaism. That is religion! I think you are mistaking faith for religion as those two have different meanings. Christians are people who follow Christ's example and teachings. I don't remember Christ (this would be in the new testament) beating anyone or telling the men to go home and beat their wives.. The old testament isn't followed by Christians? I have only been out of the faith for a little over a year now. That's news to me. When you went to Church, did they teach you to kill your kid if they leave the faith? Did they teach you to beat your wife? If they did, I understand why you left. Have you actually read the bible? Or do you just listen to some guy on sundays?

"Religions" don't do those things. People do those things. Billions of Muslims don't abuse women or kill innocent people, just like billions of Christians don't leave the cities in which they live because the population is full of unbelievers. So you are saying, the bible, specifically the old testament which is followed by Jews and Christians has no reference to beating your wife or killing non believers. With out the Bible there is no Christianity and no Judaism. That is religion! I think you are mistaking faith for religion as those two have different meanings. Christians are people who follow Christ's example and teachings. I don't remember Christ (this would be in the new testament) beating anyone or telling the men to go home and beat their wives.. The old testament isn't followed by Christians? I have only been out of the faith for a little over a year now. That's news to me.

The Hoe-bbit would have been a better title IMO. Take it FWIW

I do love debating with you knapp. I always learn something new.

I'll try it out in the football forum. I actually used this reference once in the football forum and the quote was sent directly to the DBHOF lol The nature of the discussions held in this forum allow for more freedom of expression than the football forum. We have always allowed a wider range of expression here, with the expectation that people who choose to engage in P&R discussions understand the different natures of these forums. Understandable, that comment I made in the football forum was well deserving of the DBHOF lol

I'll try it out in the football forum. I actually used this reference once in the football forum and the quote was sent directly to the DBHOF lol

Okay, now I understand that. Sorry, never heard that term used before as a meaning of entrapment. But, that wasn't my agenda in asking the question. I was wanting to have a debate over the matter as I am open to change if someone provides the proper factual information regarding religion.

"Religions" don't do those things. People do those things. Billions of Muslims don't abuse women or kill innocent people, just like billions of Christians don't leave the cities in which they live because the population is full of unbelievers. So you are saying, the bible, specifically the old testament which is followed by Jews and Christians has no reference to beating your wife or killing non believers. With out the Bible there is no Christianity and no Judaism. That is religion! I think you are mistaking faith for religion as those two have different meanings. No, I'm saying, as Junior pointed out HERE, that no matter what those books say, people are free to choose how they act. The Bible talks about "an eye for an eye," but you don't have to do that, and most people don't. The inference is that abusing women and killing innocent people is endemic to Islam, and this isn't true. Billions of Muslims don't do this, wouldn't even dream of doing it. It happens that some do, but they don't represent all, nor should we condemn all Muslims because of the acts of a few. You are right and if you would see in my first post that I mention that there are many wonderful muslims. But what I am trying to say is that acts like what happened in Paris is because of religion. Peaceful Christians condemn and punish people who kill abortionists, christians separate themselves from groups like westboro. 400 years ago this wouldn't be the case with Christians, but TODAY it is. How many Muslims do you see beheading another muslim or sending them to jail for a terror act in the name of their prophet, TODAY? These peaceful muslim countries, some of which are our own allies continue to harbor these terrorist and we are suppose to tolerate that because the nice muslims tolerate the bad ones?

Have you stopped beating your wife yet? Um... what? Google it. I'm agnostic so the words of those books do not apply to me

"Religions" don't do those things. People do those things. Billions of Muslims don't abuse women or kill innocent people, just like billions of Christians don't leave the cities in which they live because the population is full of unbelievers. So you are saying, the bible, specifically the old testament which is followed by Jews and Christians has no reference to beating your wife or killing non believers. With out the Bible there is no Christianity and no Judaism. That is religion! I think you are mistaking faith for religion as those two have different meanings.

Have you stopped beating your wife yet? Um... what?

I would like one person to answer my question. Why should we tolerate religions who are intolerant of other religions, abusive towards women and kill innocent people because a 6000 year old Bible or a 1400 year old Quran said so?

I liked GSG's better.... Yours took too much time for me to understand. When i come on HB, i like to not think. the Colorado We-Have-Legal-Weedaloes Does that work better for ya?

True, Christians pick and choose which parts of their religious teachings to follow. Could be because a 6000 year old book might be a little outdated

THANK YOU!

The bible says the same thing: So pretty much religion sucks. My first thought was to go pull verses from the Bible encouraging war and atrocities, but I figured the point wouldn't be accepted. Glad someone did it, though. Knapp, I agree with you on that. That is why I am not christian. I am not saying christians are better than muslims. But trying to say Muslim (or Christianity) is a peaceful faith is a very false statement.