What Happened to Church?

[Taz]

I used to go to church, attend an all-boys Catholic school, went to Sunday school... you're the one with no clue who won't leave me alone. Just post after post about how I don't want to discuss church related things, when that's all I'm doing, well, except dealing with a doucher like you who is too afraid to talk about church.

See, now you're being dishonest. First, you know that the topic is about what is changing in the modern church, not just church. Second, you don't even want to talk about church. Instead, you want to pry into how much individuals give and try to insult then about being cheap, even though they don't tell you how much. Then, you want to talk about kangaroos. Then, you want to yammer on about the Bible not being true and make stupid claims about Jesus. You don't want to talk about the thread topic.

You're lying, and not very well. If you want to be left alone, why are you insisting on trolling this thread?

See? You had another chance to talk about church and what do you do? Talk about me.

You can't quit me.

Have you lined up a therapist yet? You still dishonestly refuse to address the thread topic. Quite a tactic, but totally ineffective. You still are not qualified to comment on the internal changes in the modern church and you're still determined to be a troll, and not a very good one either. Heck, you won't even honestly address what you've been doing in this thread. Now, if you want to be "left alone", try trolling elsewhere.

And yet another troll post from you. You can't quit me.

Address what you've been doing in this thread, then we can talk. It's beyond obvious you won't. You will either ignore it completely or lie about it, again. I gave you a list of the things you've been doing, so you can't pretend you forgot.

Admit that now, you're just trolling me. You obviously can't quit me.

 

[hadit]

See, now you're being dishonest. First, you know that the topic is about what is changing in the modern church, not just church. Second, you don't even want to talk about church. Instead, you want to pry into how much individuals give and try to insult then about being cheap, even though they don't tell you how much. Then, you want to talk about kangaroos. Then, you want to yammer on about the Bible not being true and make stupid claims about Jesus. You don't want to talk about the thread topic.

You're lying, and not very well. If you want to be left alone, why are you insisting on trolling this thread?

See? You had another chance to talk about church and what do you do? Talk about me.

You can't quit me.

Have you lined up a therapist yet? You still dishonestly refuse to address the thread topic. Quite a tactic, but totally ineffective. You still are not qualified to comment on the internal changes in the modern church and you're still determined to be a troll, and not a very good one either. Heck, you won't even honestly address what you've been doing in this thread. Now, if you want to be "left alone", try trolling elsewhere.

And yet another troll post from you. You can't quit me.

Address what you've been doing in this thread, then we can talk. It's beyond obvious you won't. You will either ignore it completely or lie about it, again. I gave you a list of the things you've been doing, so you can't pretend you forgot.

Admit that now, you're just trolling me. You obviously can't quit me.

So you've chosen to completely ignore it. Not surprising. It was rather embarrassingly juvenile.

 

[Taz]

See? You had another chance to talk about church and what do you do? Talk about me.

You can't quit me.

Have you lined up a therapist yet? You still dishonestly refuse to address the thread topic. Quite a tactic, but totally ineffective. You still are not qualified to comment on the internal changes in the modern church and you're still determined to be a troll, and not a very good one either. Heck, you won't even honestly address what you've been doing in this thread. Now, if you want to be "left alone", try trolling elsewhere.

And yet another troll post from you. You can't quit me.

Address what you've been doing in this thread, then we can talk. It's beyond obvious you won't. You will either ignore it completely or lie about it, again. I gave you a list of the things you've been doing, so you can't pretend you forgot.

Admit that now, you're just trolling me. You obviously can't quit me.

So you've chosen to completely ignore it. Not surprising. It was rather embarrassingly juvenile.

What? You not wanting to say what you drop in the plate on sundays? I agree. Totally.

 

[BreezeWood]

Sometimes the farmer has to get his hands a little dirty when dragging a pig from its pig pen into the slaughterhouse. But don't you worry.

I have raised hogs, mine were grazed in an open field sometimes referred as pasture land they were entirely a different sort than the one's in a pen ... similar to churches that use the christian bible and not what was naturally given to them, they are an entirely different lot than what is meant for paradise - hadit.

whatever other reference in the modern churches for closeness to the Everlasting they may be experimenting can only be an improvement from the past whether their bible or whatever else drove them to their despair one can only wonder.

 

[hadit]

Have you lined up a therapist yet? You still dishonestly refuse to address the thread topic. Quite a tactic, but totally ineffective. You still are not qualified to comment on the internal changes in the modern church and you're still determined to be a troll, and not a very good one either. Heck, you won't even honestly address what you've been doing in this thread. Now, if you want to be "left alone", try trolling elsewhere.

And yet another troll post from you. You can't quit me.

Address what you've been doing in this thread, then we can talk. It's beyond obvious you won't. You will either ignore it completely or lie about it, again. I gave you a list of the things you've been doing, so you can't pretend you forgot.

Admit that now, you're just trolling me. You obviously can't quit me.

So you've chosen to completely ignore it. Not surprising. It was rather embarrassingly juvenile.

What? You not wanting to say what you drop in the plate on sundays? I agree. Totally.

Wow, deliberately obtuse. You're putting on a troll clinic, but you're still not relevant. I'm serious, you really need to talk to a therapist about your obsessive disorder.

 

[Taz]

And yet another troll post from you. You can't quit me.

Address what you've been doing in this thread, then we can talk. It's beyond obvious you won't. You will either ignore it completely or lie about it, again. I gave you a list of the things you've been doing, so you can't pretend you forgot.

Admit that now, you're just trolling me. You obviously can't quit me.

So you've chosen to completely ignore it. Not surprising. It was rather embarrassingly juvenile.

What? You not wanting to say what you drop in the plate on sundays? I agree. Totally.

Wow, deliberately obtuse. You're putting on a troll clinic, but you're still not relevant. I'm serious, you really need to talk to a therapist about your obsessive disorder.

You can't quit me. How cute.

 

[hadit]

Address what you've been doing in this thread, then we can talk. It's beyond obvious you won't. You will either ignore it completely or lie about it, again. I gave you a list of the things you've been doing, so you can't pretend you forgot.

Admit that now, you're just trolling me. You obviously can't quit me.

So you've chosen to completely ignore it. Not surprising. It was rather embarrassingly juvenile.

What? You not wanting to say what you drop in the plate on sundays? I agree. Totally.

Wow, deliberately obtuse. You're putting on a troll clinic, but you're still not relevant. I'm serious, you really need to talk to a therapist about your obsessive disorder.

You can't quit me. How cute.

I don't have to. I've revealed to everyone your vacuity, obsessive behavior and reluctance to talk about your problems. Now it's up to you to seek help.

 

[Cecilie1200]

"What Happened to Church?" You and smug, presumptuous folks like you killed it. Best church experience I ever had was in a Mennonite church. Lots of laughter, smiles, singing and great food.

Eh. No church is perfect, I can tell you that. But generally Americans have a romanticized view of Amish and Mennonites. In reality, they can be quite legalistic. The Mennonites less so, but the Amish very much so. I mean these are people who "shun" their own family if they don't live up to their legalistic lifestyle, such things as wearing the right clothing. For compare and contrast, I am an evangelical Christian who is opposed to gay marriage and yet have come nowhere NEAR to "shunning" the gay members of both sides of my family, me and my husband's.

But people are easily swayed. Make some nice furniture, cook some nice pies, wear a cap on your head I guess, there it is.

Humans like rules, oddly enough. I've always believed that there are Ten Commandments because people want rules to follow and parse and play legalistic games with. Jesus said that the most important Commandments were to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself, because if you are truly doing both those things, all the other stuff will follow naturally without you having to be told. But actually BEING a good person and loving God and others is difficult, where following nitpicky rules without ever having to improve yourself as a person is much easier.

So, do you love your Messikin neighbours?

Why wouldn't I? I've lived surrounded by Mexicans my entire life. My favorite niece-in-law is Mexican. They're just people, same as everyone else.

Don't you just love how the haters try desperately to find something they think defines Christians and then demand to see how you're doing it?

I always enjoy being lectured on how to do something by people who don't actually do it themselves. Goodness knows, those are the "experts" whose advice and guidance I'm desperate for.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Don't you just love how the haters try desperately to find something they think defines Christians and then demand to see how you're doing it?

Interestingly enough, you can find christians doing this to each other every single day, right here on this message board.

Interestingly enough, Christians at least aren't lecturing people on how to do something they themselves disdain.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I obviously cannot take my eyes off you thread hijackers for two seconds. If you want a thread about "How many irrelevant things can I say about your religion just to be rude", then go start your own thread.

If you cannot stop yourself from encouraging these people by answering them as though their behavior deserves dignifying, go join that thread.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Beautiful story, but I'm not getting the connection to having god connect with you. Saying that I wouldn't understand is a cop-out, you either have something or you don't, you don't seem to, you admitted as much. Seems kind of weird though to believe in something you don't know is even there.

The definition of "cop-out" isn't "That isn't the way I want it to be". Some things really CAN'T be explained sufficiently to replace the actual experience.

Look at it this way. I've never been in space, outside of Earth's atmosphere. Other people have. They've spoken about it, written about it, described it. But they will also tell you that none of that can really do the experience justice, or really make you understand what it's truly like if you haven't been out there yourself. Is it a "cop-out" for them to state that very simple fact?

As for the "admission" you think you've discovered, I never said anything of the sort, nor will I in the continuation you didn't bother to wait for before leaping to, "Aha! I am going to claim to have heard what I determined I was going to hear, no matter what, before you ever started speaking!"

You asked, and I'm answering. Whether or not you make the effort to hear what I'm saying, or just sit there and hear what you want to hear regardless of anything I say, is entirely up to you. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.

But outer space is something real, that you can see and float around in, and they've sent pictures back, and videos... samples of asteroids... went to Mars... Has ANYONE ever had such a real experience with god?
And you said that you had no road to Damascus moment, which I took as you've had no substantial connect with god. Was I wrong?

Define real. Is it real if the experience is internal and personal? Yes it is, but it can't be replicated in a lab, so your ilk insists it's not real. The best evidence of all is the lives that are changed.

Let me help. When leftist atheists say "real", what they mean is materialism. They're demanding a world where people believe in nothing but things. What's weird and funny about it is how they will turn around and then demand that we believe in stuff that isn't material as "real" because they approve of it, and never see the contradiction.

.

Let me help. When leftist atheists say "real", what they mean is materialism. They're demanding a world where people believe in nothing but things. What's weird and funny about it is how they will turn around and then demand that we believe in stuff that isn't material as "real" because they approve of it, and never see the contradiction.

When leftist atheists say "real", what they mean is materialism ...

it is obvious, for this christian all leftist are atheist in so much the synonymy is that a leftist by definition is an atheist.

they are a prime example of the disparity between the true religion as expressed in the 1st century and the one sided convolution that emerged as the 4th century christian bible.


They're demanding a world where people believe in nothing but things ...

the convolution continues as a blanket indictment against all people not represented by their 4th century religion as similarly not represented by the events of the 1st and has through the centuries been their ability to persecute and victimize the innocent for their true beliefs reflected by the 1st against those that are self emulating forgeries of their 4th.


and never see the contradiction ...

the contradiction has always been in the writings of their document that is a political agenda disguised as a religion ... to corrupt the true Religion of Antiquity, the Triumph of the Spirit over evil as a tool for their own selfish motivations.


the Religion of Antiquity is as secular as theistic and will never conform to any of the desert religions.

- their church should be labeled accordingly.

I just heard, "Oh noes! Someone is talking about something other than how stupid I think Christianity is! Quick, ANTIQUITY! 4TH CENTURY! Pay attention to me and think I'm brilliant!!!!"

 

[Cecilie1200]

(Continued.)

Sorry I've been too busy to finish this.

When I met my husband, I had a boyfriend. He was planning to visit a new RPG group one night at a game store near my house, and I decided on a whim to go with him. We all sat down around this big conference table, and down at the end, next to the GM, was this handsome Chinese man. When I looked at him, all the sound in the room just vanished, and I heard a Voice, as clear as if someone had shouted it in my ear, saying, "That's him. That's the man you're going to marry." I went home and broke up with my boyfriend that same evening. Two months later, almost to the day, my husband and I got married. Literally everyone I knew, including other Christians, thought I was completely insane. But 23 years, 3 kids, and 4 grandchildren later, we're still married, and still making people say, "You're so perfect together. I wish my marriage was like yours."

Joe and I actually eloped one weekend on the spur of the moment. Because Arizona doesn't have any sort of waiting period for getting married, we didn't have to leave town to do it. So we got the license and rings, gathered our families at the church, and did it. Because we both lived at our parents' houses at the time (we were both taking care of extremely sick parents), we didn't want to spend our wedding night at either place. So we reserved a room at a local hotel. Afterward, his mom took everyone out for dinner, and it ended up running late. When we got to the hotel, we found out that they had given our room to someone else. Then we found out that we had gotten married on the same weekend that both the rodeo and the Gem and Mineral Show were in town. Every hotel room in the city was booked up.

So there we are, at 10 pm on our wedding night, driving around looking for a place to stay and being turned away everywhere. Hoo boy. We're both tired and emotionally overwrought, and now we're having our first fight of our marriage. Finally, I told him to pull the car over. He did so, reluctantly, and asked what I was going to do. I think he thought I was going to get out of the car and storm away or something, but I told him that I was going to pray about it. Okay, now my new husband is looking at me like, "Oh, God, I married a lunatic." But he kept quiet, and I prayed. Then I told him to stop at the very next place, which would normally have been out of our price range.

We went in, told the desk clerk that we had just gotten married, and we needed some place, any place, to stay that night. The desk clerk said, "Well, I just got off the phone with a cancellation, so I could let you have his room. But I don't think you'll want it, because it's not a standard room. It's handicapped. So I can give you a discount on it if you don't mind that."

All the way up to the room, Joe didn't say a word, but he just kept looking at me like I had grown another head or something. I said, "What?" And he burst out, "How did you DO that?"

Throughout our marriage, I've made a practice of praying for help and guidance whenever things seemed unsolvable. Although Joe officially converted to my faith ten months after we married, he wasn't raised to believe in a relationship with God that was quite THAT personal and direct, and I suspect he's never entirely lost the notion that I'm nuts, but he always goes along with whatever I tell him God has said, no matter how unlikely it seems, and it's always right. We moved to Phoenix last year that way, even though it was a huge and risky leap of faith, and our lives have improved immeasurably.

Two weeks ago, I prayed for help and guidance, because our financial situation was stuck at a dead stop, and there didn't seem to be any way clear. We were both working two jobs to make ends meet, my day job was at a standstill, and his day job required a horribly long commute that was exhausting him. After I prayed, my boss suddenly decided that I needed to be offered a generous raise, and I told Joe that the time was right for him to quit his day job and go full-time with his second job, which is working from home as a legal transcriptionist, even though my salary alone - even with the raise - is not enough to support us. He was very leery of the whole thing, but he did it. The next day, he was assigned the largest job he's ever been given, which more than replaces his previous salary for the same period of work.

Like I said, God has never had to smack me to the ground with a road-to-Damascus moment, because I've never really fought against believing in Him in the first place.

Nice story, really, but If you pray, eventually something good will coincide with one. I'm sure you've prayed many other times that nothing happened. You can be the cherry picking prayer. How's that?

I told you you wouldn't understand before we started, remember? No one asked your opinion or observations. YOU asked, and I answered. No input from you is required or will have any meaning.

 

[Auld Phart]

Sure, the story would be fake if that was what the story was about.

But, if the story about Jesus living the wilderness was figurative for jesus living in roman settlements outside of the reach of Jewish law, and the wild beasts was simply referring to the Romans,,, No. Not fake.

If he was living among the wild beasts one can assume that Jesus was doing what Romans do...Yes?

Makes sense. Conforms to reality, and resolves many mysteries.

All the pieces fit perfectly.

Do you think that Jesus liked to get laid?

lol.... when the Pharisees were astonished that some people believed that Jesus was the messiah, they said... "Waaa? We know this man is a sinner! He keeps company with prostitutes!"

What do you think Jesus was doing?

Playing canasta?

They were his fag hags. He only banged a woman once, and once means he didn't like it.

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

 

[Erinwltr]

Eh. No church is perfect, I can tell you that. But generally Americans have a romanticized view of Amish and Mennonites. In reality, they can be quite legalistic. The Mennonites less so, but the Amish very much so. I mean these are people who "shun" their own family if they don't live up to their legalistic lifestyle, such things as wearing the right clothing. For compare and contrast, I am an evangelical Christian who is opposed to gay marriage and yet have come nowhere NEAR to "shunning" the gay members of both sides of my family, me and my husband's.

But people are easily swayed. Make some nice furniture, cook some nice pies, wear a cap on your head I guess, there it is.

Humans like rules, oddly enough. I've always believed that there are Ten Commandments because people want rules to follow and parse and play legalistic games with. Jesus said that the most important Commandments were to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor as yourself, because if you are truly doing both those things, all the other stuff will follow naturally without you having to be told. But actually BEING a good person and loving God and others is difficult, where following nitpicky rules without ever having to improve yourself as a person is much easier.

So, do you love your Messikin neighbours?

Why wouldn't I? I've lived surrounded by Mexicans my entire life. My favorite niece-in-law is Mexican. They're just people, same as everyone else.

Don't you just love how the haters try desperately to find something they think defines Christians and then demand to see how you're doing it?

I always enjoy being lectured on how to do something by people who don't actually do it themselves. Goodness knows, those are the "experts" whose advice and guidance I'm desperate for.

You're really good at being facetious. Is anyone listening anymore?

 

[BreezeWood]

Do you think that Jesus liked to get laid?

lol.... when the Pharisees were astonished that some people believed that Jesus was the messiah, they said... "Waaa? We know this man is a sinner! He keeps company with prostitutes!"

What do you think Jesus was doing?

Playing canasta?

They were his fag hags. He only banged a woman once, and once means he didn't like it.

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

.

got some proof of that?

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

 

[Auld Phart]

lol.... when the Pharisees were astonished that some people believed that Jesus was the messiah, they said... "Waaa? We know this man is a sinner! He keeps company with prostitutes!"

What do you think Jesus was doing?

Playing canasta?

They were his fag hags. He only banged a woman once, and once means he didn't like it.

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

.

got some proof of that?

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya got anything for proof...

One question.


Why are you assholes spamming the thread?

 

[Erinwltr]

They were his fag hags. He only banged a woman once, and once means he didn't like it.

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

.

got some proof of that?

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya not anything for proof...

One question.


Why are you assholes spamming the thread?

Answering means I'm an Asshole. OK.
The thread is BS. Just like God.

And by the way WillHaftawaite you are a Dick.

 

[BreezeWood]

They were his fag hags. He only banged a woman once, and once means he didn't like it.

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

.

got some proof of that?

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya not anything for proof...

One question.


Why are you assholes spamming the thread?

.

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya not anything for proof...

I have plenty of proof, I just asked for yours, where is it f-trd ...

 

[Auld Phart]

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

.

got some proof of that?

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya not anything for proof...

One question.


Why are you assholes spamming the thread?

Answering means I'm an Asshole. OK.
The thread is BS. Just like God.

And by the way WillHaftawaite you are a Dick.

The thread is BS.

Is that a reason to spam it?

you dont' like religion?

no one is forcing you to reply in this thread, or even read it.

and the first name is Will, not Richard (dick).

 

[Auld Phart]

lol..

Is that what happened to you?

Why the resistance? You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes....but jesus being gay triggers you? What am i missing, here?

You have no problem accepting that jesus lay with prostitutes.

He did?

but jesus being gay triggers you?

got some proof of that?

.

got some proof of that?

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya not anything for proof...

One question.


Why are you assholes spamming the thread?

.

the same proof you might provide that Jesus claimed during the 1st century events that everyone is a sinner and that attaining admission to the Everlasting is only possible by his permission ... your tangible proof.

so, none of ya not anything for proof...

I have plenty of proof, I just asked for yours, where is it f-trd ...

you have proof Jesus was gay, slept with women?

I haven't opened a bible for over 50 years, but I don't remember that in it.

(psst, I'm agnostic)