Patronising but a step up from the Emperor Palpatine.
Religion, what's the point?
- Thread starter TheRedFlag
- Start date
Patronising but a step up from the Emperor Palpatine.
I think that was the reason for Limbo. In that they went there and waited. That was the disgusting reasoning behind unbaptised babies who died early being in Limbo. If I'm not wrong the church have now said that Limbo doesnt exist because rational religious people couldn't understand how a rational, just god would allow an innocent child to sit forever in Limbo because a bit of water didn't cross his brow. Personally I would rather get as close to heaven as I can get on earth rather than wait for heaven after death.
The Catholic Church refuses to set out doctrine on the fate of unbaptised infants, so parents of deceased children are still left with the uncertainty of limbo or even hell as the final place of rest for their unbaptised child.
The most cynical thing about the religions and their various Gods is that those us who either don't believe, or have chosen a different God, will suffer eternal damnation. How anyone can worship such petty beings is beyond me.
And the incredible thing is that atheists are apparently the ones who are arrogant.
I absolutely love this. I think it pretty much sums everything up.
It's actually rings as there's more than one so.....
God works in mysterious ways, Elvis.
Not much of a religious response in this thread recently.
Whatever happened to the art of apologetics?
Whatever happened to the art of apologetics?
I worked at a fortnight long Catholic apologetics course at Oxford Uni last year and it was hilarious. A few the lectures/seminars were there to teach them how to criticise other religions all the while remaining utterly oblivious to the fact that those criticisms apply to Catholicism too.
feck sake, my hopes were going high that I won't be in hell. Anyway, I have a simple solution, when I face the omnipotent good God - who loves us but burn us for the eternity - I am going to deny that I ever heard about the [insert religion name] depended on what religion is true. Probably I will even vow (in the name of God) that I didn't heard about that religion. Probably he will believe me
Most religious people don't even bother to defend their faith these days, because I think deep down they realise how ridiculous it all is...and how poor the arguments are in the face of modern-day rational thinking and scientific evidence. Instead, the cop out of 'God works in mysterious ways' or 'we can never know the true intentions of God' is used. Or even worse, a pathetic line like 'it's my faith and let's just leave it at that' is given.
If there is a God and he's going to send me to Hell for not believing in him, and there are religious people reading this who believe that......why the feck are you not doing more to change my mind?
If I found out that somebody was heading for eternal torture on Earth, I would do everything I could to prevent it, even if it was my worst enemy. What does it say about you that you are not making the effort to save me? You should be furiously knocking on my inbox with the Good News.
If I found out that somebody was heading for eternal torture on Earth, I would do everything I could to prevent it, even if it was my worst enemy. What does it say about you that you are not making the effort to save me? You should be furiously knocking on my inbox with the Good News.
There's a very unpleasant and dangerous trend occurring. When a Muslim/Christian/Jew does something particularly bad they're suddenly no longer a member of that faith and probably never have been.
So the Woolwich killers "aren't real Muslims otherwise they wouldn't do that."
I find this disgusting. Just when we need the religious community to step forward and play the MAJOR role in helping society to rid itself of extremism it does the exact opposite, it distances itself.
Check any statement from a religious leader/follower, they'll condemn the action but with the second sentence make it clear it had nothing to do with their faith. It really is terrible.
Hush hush. They are doing enough, if they do even less I would be more grateful.
Yes, the 'No true Scotsman' fallacy. I expect religious people to do it when their religion is concerned, but it irritates me when secular people and atheists do it on their behalf. The Nazi establishment not being RC and the 9/11 hijackers not being Muslims are by far the most annoying.
I think it's a point worth considering. I first thought about it when I asked a JW why he was knocking on my door on a cold Saturday morning. He asked me the question that if I truly believed that a tsunami was heading for my street, would I not make the effort to warn my neighbours. I answered yes and saw his point. From this I now completely understand why JW's do what they do, but it makes me wonder how other religious people can sit by in comfort in the knowledge that billions of their fellow human beings are heading for eternal torture. To do little or nothing when in possession of this belief is actually quite disgusting, and shows an enormous level of selfishness.
They should be in this thread tonight, trying their best to convince those of us who are unbelievers that we are wrong.
Very good point, it's similar to my point about them immediately distancing their faith from the horrible actions of one of their followers. Just when you think they should be reaching out, should be trying to help, they do the exact opposite.
I think many religious people take a sadistic sort of enjoyment out of the thought of non-believers going to Hell. Especially those who are critical of religion. We saw it when Christopher Hitchens died, a sort of smug pleasure that he, according to them, would now be roasting in Hell, because he was wrong and they were right.
On the plus side, people like that should burn in hell with us anyway.
I know exactly what are you saying. Anyway, I really hate when people try to educate me about religion. I know a lot of stuff about religion (especially about Islam and Christianity) and I have chosen to become an atheist for some years now. I have read a lot of things about religion and I doubt that I can ever be convinced that one of the religions is right and that Abraham God does really exist. So, why some times ago I loved to go into debates with theists now I don't enjoy that much because I know that chances that someone will change the mind are near zero. Also, the worst part is that usually those who try to educate me about their religion know less for their religion than myself.
Well, there's very often a gulf between what people profess to believe, and what they actually believe. Especially here in the West where religion has become very relative and watered-down.
I wonder how many people have taken Pascals Wager, as opposed to actually having faith in god.
A lot of them I think. The God should not count that though, he knows anything and knowing that they just bet for the save horse (instead of truly believing the God) shouldn't be enough. They should burn for eternity together with us who haven't sided with God.
Pascal's wager is probably the dumbest thing any mathematician has ever come up with.
But how pissed off would you be if you took Pascals wager and still chose the wrong god. Your entire life ruined, then eternal damnation to boot.
I doubt a large proportion have taken it to be honest, it's so clearly intellectually dishonest.
you reject the faith when you do not live the life that Christ teaches us to live.
Rejection is an act of not practicing the faith. The son who said yes to his father and did not do his will, rejected his father's will. The other son who did not obey his father but thought better of it later did his father's will.
Where does that leave people who are brought up in Buddhist countries? Or in tribal communities with little access to information? Or people with access to Christ's message, but whose upbringings mean they are no more likely to live their lives by it than by the message of Mohammed, or Guru Nanak?
In hell, being bummed by atheists!
they will be saved so long as they treat their fellow human beings the way they would be treated. Christ dying on the cross saved everyone.
Isn't it Catholic teaching that the only certain way into Heaven is through Christ and his Church?
There are earlier posts about being saved by the 'act' of saying you accept Jesus and His teachings...and by practicing the Faith.
Lets remember the pharisees also prayed.
EDIT: The current pope was in fact articulating what I was brought up to believe as a Catholic. Those not of the Catholic faith may also be saved.
It really is what good we can and must do as human beings. So many we can help.
The only requirement to go to heaven, as per catholic teachings, is to accept Jesus as the son of God.
Even Jimmy Saville, or any mass rapists/murder will go to heaven if he believed in Jesus and asks god for repentance.
Even Jimmy Saville, or any mass rapists/murder will go to heaven if he believed in Jesus and asks god for repentance.
Are all who came before Jesus then not saved, no matter how they lived their lives?
Or are only Jews saved?
No. You are saved by the how live your life. True like the good thief, you can be redeemed by repentance.
there are many ways to God.
If there is a single soul in Hell, doesn't that make the all-powerful being who sent him there worse than any human to have ever lived? I mean, nothing we do on Earth could even come close in its evilness to causing a soul to be tortured for eternity. Does it make you uncomfortable to worship such a being?
To add to that, how could god justify rewarding the soul of a child molester when someone can suffer for all eternity for worshiping a different god? (Or false idol, as they say)
I believe in Thor and Odin. I'm going to have a 3some with them in Valhalla whilst all you heathens burn in hell for eternity.
How much confidence do you have in your ability to sexually satisfy a god?