Which religion do you follow? Why did you pick that one?

[sealybobo]

... I thought Jesus was the only person to ever be sin free. Now you're saying Mary never sinned?

To confuse you a little more: I'm not even absolutelly sure, wether Jesus himselve was without sin. But I'm sure: God did not force Mary - so she was without sin. She was free.

And Jesus the same guy who fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fish rose from the dead after being dead 3 days? Just like Jonah did after being in the whales belly for 3 days? Did that happen to? Jesus said it did. And did god really talk to moses and tell him slavery was OK? Did Noah actually exist?

I give your religion 200 years before it is a small cult once again.

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

 

[Foxfyre]

... I thought Jesus was the only person to ever be sin free. Now you're saying Mary never sinned?

To confuse you a little more: I'm not even absolutelly sure, wether Jesus himselve was without sin. But I'm sure: God did not force Mary - so she was without sin. She was free.

And Jesus the same guy who fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fish rose from the dead after being dead 3 days? Just like Jonah did after being in the whales belly for 3 days? Did that happen to? Jesus said it did. And did god really talk to moses and tell him slavery was OK? Did Noah actually exist?

I give your religion 200 years before it is a small cult once again.

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

Jesus went to the only place on Earth where people had been conditioned to hear and understand.

 

[Pogo]

Interesting. I take this quiz every couple of years and it's always different because my views change throughout those years.


Orthodox Quakerism
100 percent
Your beliefs match closest with Orthodox Quakerism

48%
Seventh-day Adventists

76%
Bahá'í Faith

65%
Roman Catholicism

66%
Church of Christ, Scientist

98%
Conservative Christian Protestant

59%
Eastern Orthodox Christianity

31%
Hinduism

95%
Islam

61%
Jainism

80%
Liberal Christian Protestantism

76%
Liberal Quakerism

35%
Mahayana Buddhism

96%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

55%
Neo-Paganism

61%
New Age

55%
New Thought

51%
Atheism

80%
Orthodox Judaism

89%
Reformed Judaism

56%
Scientology

73%
Secular Humanism

79%
Sikhism

53%
Taoism

40%
Theravada Buddhism

99%
Unitarian Universalism

55%
Jehovah's Witnesses

Belief-O-Matic What Do I Believe Faith Quiz What s My Religion Spiritual Beliefs Quiz - Beliefnet.com

Hey Gracie, that's pretty cool.
Here's what it gave me ---- I was brought up Catholic, can you tell?

22%
Seventh-day Adventists

34%
Bahá'í Faith

0%
Roman Catholicism

47%
Church of Christ, Scientist

24%
Conservative Christian Protestant

0%
Eastern Orthodox Christianity

45%
Hinduism

11%
Islam

64%
Jainism

53%
Liberal Christian Protestantism

81%
Liberal Quakerism

70%
Mahayana Buddhism

7%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

59%
Neo-Paganism

66%
New Age

48%
New Thought

63%
Atheism

13%
Orthodox Judaism

38%
Orthodox Quakerism

51%
Reformed Judaism

53%
Scientology

86%
Secular Humanism

55%
Sikhism

99%
Taoism

90%
Theravada Buddhism

14%
Jehovah's Witnesses


As George Carlin used to put it, "I used to be Irish Catholic, now I'm an American. You grow."

Only got a 99 on Taoism. I musta got one wrong
I thought Bahá'i woulda scored higher.
And it didn't copy to the clipboard but at the top of everything was 100% for Unitarian Universalism.

I'm holding on to just enough Judaism to keep enjoying my hammantaschen.

 

[Carla_Danger]

Interesting. I take this quiz every couple of years and it's always different because my views change throughout those years.


Orthodox Quakerism
100 percent
Your beliefs match closest with Orthodox Quakerism

48%
Seventh-day Adventists

76%
Bahá'í Faith

65%
Roman Catholicism

66%
Church of Christ, Scientist

98%
Conservative Christian Protestant

59%
Eastern Orthodox Christianity

31%
Hinduism

95%
Islam

61%
Jainism

80%
Liberal Christian Protestantism

76%
Liberal Quakerism

35%
Mahayana Buddhism

96%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

55%
Neo-Paganism

61%
New Age

55%
New Thought

51%
Atheism

80%
Orthodox Judaism

89%
Reformed Judaism

56%
Scientology

73%
Secular Humanism

79%
Sikhism

53%
Taoism

40%
Theravada Buddhism

99%
Unitarian Universalism

55%
Jehovah's Witnesses

Belief-O-Matic What Do I Believe Faith Quiz What s My Religion Spiritual Beliefs Quiz - Beliefnet.com

Hey Gracie, that's pretty cool.
Here's what it gave me ---- I was brought up Catholic, can you tell?

22%
Seventh-day Adventists

34%
Bahá'í Faith

0%
Roman Catholicism

47%
Church of Christ, Scientist

24%
Conservative Christian Protestant

0%
Eastern Orthodox Christianity

45%
Hinduism

11%
Islam

64%
Jainism

53%
Liberal Christian Protestantism

81%
Liberal Quakerism

70%
Mahayana Buddhism

7%
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints

59%
Neo-Paganism

66%
New Age

48%
New Thought

63%
Atheism

13%
Orthodox Judaism

38%
Orthodox Quakerism

51%
Reformed Judaism

53%
Scientology

86%
Secular Humanism

55%
Sikhism

99%
Taoism

90%
Theravada Buddhism

14%
Jehovah's Witnesses


As George Carlin used to put it, "I used to be Irish Catholic, now I'm an American. You grow."

Only got a 99 on Taoism. I musta got one wrong
I thought Bahá'i woulda scored higher.

I'm holding on to just enough Judaism to keep enjoying my hammantaschen.

I can't believe that Belief-O-Matic is still around. I took that quiz 10 years ago, and ended up at a Unitarian Church. LOL!

 

[Gracie]

It changes mine every few years. Gotta remember to mark how strongly you agree with your multiple choice, too. That has a big impact.

 

[sealybobo]

... I thought Jesus was the only person to ever be sin free. Now you're saying Mary never sinned?

To confuse you a little more: I'm not even absolutelly sure, wether Jesus himselve was without sin. But I'm sure: God did not force Mary - so she was without sin. She was free.

And Jesus the same guy who fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fish rose from the dead after being dead 3 days? Just like Jonah did after being in the whales belly for 3 days? Did that happen to? Jesus said it did. And did god really talk to moses and tell him slavery was OK? Did Noah actually exist?

I give your religion 200 years before it is a small cult once again.

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

Jesus went to the only place on Earth where people had been conditioned to hear and understand.

Actually the Jews and romans werent buying it so they went to Greece where all they had to do was convince then Jesus was real and Zeus wasn't. The one god theory. You should have seen how dumb and gullible my Greek yaya was god rest her soul. It was easy.

The Greeks liked the Jewish synagogue but it was tough becoming a Jew so they made an easy religion for gentiles. All you have to do is believe and get dunked and you're in.

 

[Foxfyre]

To confuse you a little more: I'm not even absolutelly sure, wether Jesus himselve was without sin. But I'm sure: God did not force Mary - so she was without sin. She was free.

And Jesus the same guy who fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fish rose from the dead after being dead 3 days? Just like Jonah did after being in the whales belly for 3 days? Did that happen to? Jesus said it did. And did god really talk to moses and tell him slavery was OK? Did Noah actually exist?

I give your religion 200 years before it is a small cult once again.

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

Jesus went to the only place on Earth where people had been conditioned to hear and understand.

Actually the Jews and romans werent buying it so they went to Greece where all they had to do was convince then Jesus was real and Zeus wasn't. The one god theory. You should have seen how dumb and gullible my Greek yaya was god rest her soul. It was easy.

The Greeks liked the Jewish synagogue but it was tough becoming a Jew so they made an easy religion for gentiles. All you have to do is believe and get dunked and you're in.

The first Christians were mostly or all Jews. It was only after most of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah that his disciples took the message to the rest of the Roman Empire--all of it, not just the Greeks. And goodness, they really didn't have much of an impact did they? The Bible has been the world's #1 best seller pretty much since it was first published and available to everybody. The Church has been the single most influential force in medicine, education, and social services through the world for the last 2000 years. Most of the world's people adhere to a calendar based on the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. And more than 2 billion people on Earth that we know of identify themselves as Christian making it the largest religion in the world and it has been since the Fourth Century. It is difficult to find any populated place on Earth with no Christian presence at all.

You don't have to like it. But it is pretty difficult to dismiss it as irrelevant.

 

[sealybobo]

And Jesus the same guy who fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fish rose from the dead after being dead 3 days? Just like Jonah did after being in the whales belly for 3 days? Did that happen to? Jesus said it did. And did god really talk to moses and tell him slavery was OK? Did Noah actually exist?

I give your religion 200 years before it is a small cult once again.

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

Jesus went to the only place on Earth where people had been conditioned to hear and understand.

Actually the Jews and romans werent buying it so they went to Greece where all they had to do was convince then Jesus was real and Zeus wasn't. The one god theory. You should have seen how dumb and gullible my Greek yaya was god rest her soul. It was easy.

The Greeks liked the Jewish synagogue but it was tough becoming a Jew so they made an easy religion for gentiles. All you have to do is believe and get dunked and you're in.

The first Christians were mostly or all Jews. It was only after most of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah that his disciples took the message to the rest of the Roman Empire--all of it, not just the Greeks. And goodness, they really didn't have much of an impact did they? The Bible has been the world's #1 best seller pretty much since it was first published and available to everybody. The Church has been the single most influential force in medicine, education, and social services through the world for the last 2000 years. Most of the world's people adhere to a calendar based on the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. And more than 2 billion people on Earth that we know of identify themselves as Christian making it the largest religion in the world and it has been since the Fourth Century. It is difficult to find any populated place on Earth with no Christian presence at all.

You don't have to like it. But it is pretty difficult to dismiss it as irrelevant.

Why do you think Jews Muslims Mormons Hindu and buddhists around the world dont convert to your brand of christianity? Why don't they see it?

 

[Foxfyre]

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

Jesus went to the only place on Earth where people had been conditioned to hear and understand.

Actually the Jews and romans werent buying it so they went to Greece where all they had to do was convince then Jesus was real and Zeus wasn't. The one god theory. You should have seen how dumb and gullible my Greek yaya was god rest her soul. It was easy.

The Greeks liked the Jewish synagogue but it was tough becoming a Jew so they made an easy religion for gentiles. All you have to do is believe and get dunked and you're in.

The first Christians were mostly or all Jews. It was only after most of the Jews rejected Jesus as the Messiah that his disciples took the message to the rest of the Roman Empire--all of it, not just the Greeks. And goodness, they really didn't have much of an impact did they? The Bible has been the world's #1 best seller pretty much since it was first published and available to everybody. The Church has been the single most influential force in medicine, education, and social services through the world for the last 2000 years. Most of the world's people adhere to a calendar based on the birth of Jesus of Nazareth. And more than 2 billion people on Earth that we know of identify themselves as Christian making it the largest religion in the world and it has been since the Fourth Century. It is difficult to find any populated place on Earth with no Christian presence at all.

You don't have to like it. But it is pretty difficult to dismiss it as irrelevant.

Why do you think Jews Muslims Mormons Hindu and buddhists around the world dont convert to your brand of christianity? Why don't they see it?

Some have never heard the message. Some prefer their own faith. Some are threatened with shunning or damnation or physical punishment if they embrace any religion but the mandated one. Some choose Atheism. Heck most Christians don't convert to my brand of Christianity and I don't see any reason why they should. Mormons do consider themselves Christian by the way. But Christianity is a mighty force in the world. And overall it has a pretty good track record at improving the condition of humankind wherever it exists. I think that is something that should be applauded and encouraged. But that's just me.

 

[zaangalewa]

,,, All you have to do is believe and get dunked and you're in.

Hmm ... I heard from a woman who lost her belief in god in one of the nights when the allies bombed Dresden. She was 22 years old in this night. She never found her belief again. So I would not say the real problems are as simple as your imagination about the world is.

 

[zaangalewa]

... As George Carlin used to put it, "I used to be Irish Catholic, now I'm an American. You grow."

“When you’re born into this world, you’re given a ticket to the freak show. If you’re born in America you get a front row seat.”
George Calin

 

[sealybobo]

No, I live in a city.

I haven't come across a single one in the web.

Well I was on very good debate teams both in high school and college and have been a debate coach and judge. But I honestly don't know how good I am against modern day competition, but I probably wouldn't qualify by your standards either. But I am a Christian.

If you have any formal training, I think you would be a all star champion compared to the drek I'm used to. In all honesty I believe in God, and Christ for that matter. So I don't think you and I would disagree on that much. So I doubt a debate between you and I would be very interesting.

I love debating other Christians so long as it remains amicable and all parties are enjoying the exercise. I have yet to meet two Christians who are 100% aligned in their point of view or doctrinal beliefs. A Roman Catholic and a Southern Baptist, for example, can both be devout in their faith and love God with all their hearts. But they will have broad differences of opinion on baptism, the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, and to some degree admission into heaven and hell and how somebody merits either place. And among many Christians there are broad differences in opinion on such things as the Rapture and End Times, interpretation of many points of scripture, predestination, what is and is not immoral or required in our practices, observance of various traditions, etc.

For myself, I don't get too concerned about such things as my personal belief is God is not all that interested in our theology but rather looks to the content of our hearts and minds, but I find it all intensely interesting and fascinating.

I've never come across a person that could have a friendly debate about religion.

You're basically either gonna pretend to agree or you're telling them they've wasted all their time worshipping something that isnt even there.

I met a christian girl. Boss thinks I should have told her I don't believe in god. I don't think its so important that I should have that debate with a girl who clearly believes. Maybe I'll hint at it and ask her a few questions first. Best first question I like to ask is what do you think about non christians go to hell for not believing. Find out what kind of crazy I'm dealing with first. There are believers and then there are BELIEVE ERS.

I am god give me your money and loyalty or go to hell.

And why did god come once but won't come now? So stupid.

 

[sealybobo]

How come in a debate christians never bring up that the proof they have is that god visited their ancient ancestors? Without proof they know this is unbelievable. There may be a creator but god is made up. Clearly.

 

[Foxfyre]

... I thought Jesus was the only person to ever be sin free. Now you're saying Mary never sinned?

To confuse you a little more: I'm not even absolutelly sure, wether Jesus himselve was without sin. But I'm sure: God did not force Mary - so she was without sin. She was free.

And Jesus the same guy who fed 5000 people with 5 loaves of bread and 3 fish rose from the dead after being dead 3 days? Just like Jonah did after being in the whales belly for 3 days? Did that happen to? Jesus said it did. And did god really talk to moses and tell him slavery was OK? Did Noah actually exist?

I give your religion 200 years before it is a small cult once again.

Some believe that Jesus fed the people with a few loaves and fishes. And some speculate that when he demonstrated the sharing of the loaves and fishes everybody brought the food they had out of hiding and shared with all so that all were fed. Either way it was a pretty neat thing. As with most scripture, the original texts were originally first part of oral tradition and finally laboriously carved or written on animal skins, rocks, parchment, wooden tablets or whatever was available at the time. Nobody was following anybody around taking dictation or recording the exact words. And because writing was so tedious, they almost certainly left out a ton of detail that might have otherwise been included, but they trusted the people to be so familiar with the stories that the detail was unnecessary. Of course we would very much like to have the detail now.

Did Jesus say the story of Noah and Jonah were actual events? Or did he allude to the message contained in the stories? Jesus himself utilized a lot of parables or allegorical tales to illustrate the point he intended to make. That was a long standing Jewish tradition spanning millenia.

Did Jesus rise from the dead as the Bible says? The record is pretty specific that he was crucified and nobody has ever been able to present evidence that the basic story is untrue or unlikely to be true. There are minor differences in detail in multiple tellings of the story, but to somebody like me, it is those differences that make them much more credible. You won't find any two eye witnesses who remember every detail absolutely the same about any traumatic event. Had they all agreed on every detail I would think that suspect.

Did Jesus rise from the dead? My experience with the Christ gives me every confidence that he did.

And after all the efforts to destroy it, discredit it, and corrupt it, the fact that Christianity remains strong and has so many adherents willing to speak for it at great personal risk and cost, I have to believe the fact that it has endured for more than 2000 years suggests that it will be around as long as God wants it to be around. If it is gone in 200 years, then so will all of humankind be gone.

It is because I believe these things that I am a Christian.

Actually we have lots of writings from older societies. Rome the Greek gods and pharohs all left stuff behind. But Jesus went the the poorest most illiterate people in the most remote part of the world. How convienent. When you admit your stories are all embellished and still believe.

And I never did respond to your last line here. At no point in this discussion have I argued that the stories are all embellished. I have not argued that any of the stories are embellished. There may be a few that are plain old fashioned Jewish exaggeration for effect, but not in any way that changes the point of the story. It would be more in the context of how we exaggerate for effect: "I've told you a million times. . . . ." Nobody takes the million literally but understands the point.

 

[zaangalewa]

How come in a debate christians never bring up that the proof they have is that god visited their ancient ancestors? Without proof they know this is unbelievable. There may be a creator but god is made up. Clearly.

So you don't trust yourselve to be able to search god in this world here, because you are convinced god is nowhere. What about not to try to take a look into the nowhere to search for god but into the now here for your belief in god? Sometimes a little more distance changes a lot.

 

[amrchaos]

My religion?

I guess secular humanism mostly reflects my concepts of ethics and world view. I also have some "criticisms" of it as well, but less so than other systems of beliefs

OH--I'm also an (agnostic) atheist. I've added that to help some understand that theism/atheism are not religions, but categories of religion.

 

[Foxfyre]

Beats the heck out of me. Do you live as a hermit on a desert island? Or in a cave in some remote secluded place. I would be dishonest if I said all Christians can debate, because some really are masters of logical fallacy or are too fixed in their positions to be able to see any other. But those are in a distinct minority.

As for champion debaters--people that I would bet good money that they would win in a formal debate--most that I know are devout Christians. Christians are very often able to think outside the box and see/consider concepts that are not immediately obvious, and that makes them great debaters.

No, I live in a city.

I haven't come across a single one in the web.

Well I was on very good debate teams both in high school and college and have been a debate coach and judge. But I honestly don't know how good I am against modern day competition, but I probably wouldn't qualify by your standards either. But I am a Christian.

If you have any formal training, I think you would be a all star champion compared to the drek I'm used to. In all honesty I believe in God, and Christ for that matter. So I don't think you and I would disagree on that much. So I doubt a debate between you and I would be very interesting.

I love debating other Christians so long as it remains amicable and all parties are enjoying the exercise. I have yet to meet two Christians who are 100% aligned in their point of view or doctrinal beliefs. A Roman Catholic and a Southern Baptist, for example, can both be devout in their faith and love God with all their hearts. But they will have broad differences of opinion on baptism, the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, and to some degree admission into heaven and hell and how somebody merits either place. And among many Christians there are broad differences in opinion on such things as the Rapture and End Times, interpretation of many points of scripture, predestination, what is and is not immoral or required in our practices, observance of various traditions, etc.

For myself, I don't get too concerned about such things as my personal belief is God is not all that interested in our theology but rather looks to the content of our hearts and minds, but I find it all intensely interesting and fascinating.

I've never come across a person that could have a friendly debate about religion.

Again you just need to get out more.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well I was on very good debate teams both in high school and college and have been a debate coach and judge. But I honestly don't know how good I am against modern day competition, but I probably wouldn't qualify by your standards either. But I am a Christian.

If you have any formal training, I think you would be a all star champion compared to the drek I'm used to. In all honesty I believe in God, and Christ for that matter. So I don't think you and I would disagree on that much. So I doubt a debate between you and I would be very interesting.

I love debating other Christians so long as it remains amicable and all parties are enjoying the exercise. I have yet to meet two Christians who are 100% aligned in their point of view or doctrinal beliefs. A Roman Catholic and a Southern Baptist, for example, can both be devout in their faith and love God with all their hearts. But they will have broad differences of opinion on baptism, the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, and to some degree admission into heaven and hell and how somebody merits either place. And among many Christians there are broad differences in opinion on such things as the Rapture and End Times, interpretation of many points of scripture, predestination, what is and is not immoral or required in our practices, observance of various traditions, etc.

For myself, I don't get too concerned about such things as my personal belief is God is not all that interested in our theology but rather looks to the content of our hearts and minds, but I find it all intensely interesting and fascinating.

I've never come across a person that could have a friendly debate about religion.

You're basically either gonna pretend to agree or you're telling them they've wasted all their time worshipping something that isnt even there.

I met a christian girl. Boss thinks I should have told her I don't believe in god. I don't think its so important that I should have that debate with a girl who clearly believes. Maybe I'll hint at it and ask her a few questions first. Best first question I like to ask is what do you think about non christians go to hell for not believing. Find out what kind of crazy I'm dealing with first. There are believers and then there are BELIEVE ERS.

I am god give me your money and loyalty or go to hell.

And why did god come once but won't come now? So stupid.

"The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned" (1 Cor. 2:14). The Apostle Paul was speaking about the scoffers and those unwilling to know the living God. And I believe that is as true now as it was when he wrote those words.
It is all explained in some detail in the Fourth Gospel--The Gospel According to John.

I just hope someday you can understand that God has always been here--He joined us on Earth in human form for a brief time before returning to spirit form--but He is still very much here. But we know Him spiritually. It is a wonderful thing.

But to be fully understood and appreciated, it has to be personally experienced by us here and now.

 

[Inevitable]

No, I live in a city.

I haven't come across a single one in the web.

Well I was on very good debate teams both in high school and college and have been a debate coach and judge. But I honestly don't know how good I am against modern day competition, but I probably wouldn't qualify by your standards either. But I am a Christian.

If you have any formal training, I think you would be a all star champion compared to the drek I'm used to. In all honesty I believe in God, and Christ for that matter. So I don't think you and I would disagree on that much. So I doubt a debate between you and I would be very interesting.

I love debating other Christians so long as it remains amicable and all parties are enjoying the exercise. I have yet to meet two Christians who are 100% aligned in their point of view or doctrinal beliefs. A Roman Catholic and a Southern Baptist, for example, can both be devout in their faith and love God with all their hearts. But they will have broad differences of opinion on baptism, the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, and to some degree admission into heaven and hell and how somebody merits either place. And among many Christians there are broad differences in opinion on such things as the Rapture and End Times, interpretation of many points of scripture, predestination, what is and is not immoral or required in our practices, observance of various traditions, etc.

For myself, I don't get too concerned about such things as my personal belief is God is not all that interested in our theology but rather looks to the content of our hearts and minds, but I find it all intensely interesting and fascinating.

I've never come across a person that could have a friendly debate about religion.

Again you just need to get out more.

I get out plenty. There are typically deeply emotional ties one has to their religion and thus are incapable of rationally discussing it.

 

[Foxfyre]

Well I was on very good debate teams both in high school and college and have been a debate coach and judge. But I honestly don't know how good I am against modern day competition, but I probably wouldn't qualify by your standards either. But I am a Christian.

If you have any formal training, I think you would be a all star champion compared to the drek I'm used to. In all honesty I believe in God, and Christ for that matter. So I don't think you and I would disagree on that much. So I doubt a debate between you and I would be very interesting.

I love debating other Christians so long as it remains amicable and all parties are enjoying the exercise. I have yet to meet two Christians who are 100% aligned in their point of view or doctrinal beliefs. A Roman Catholic and a Southern Baptist, for example, can both be devout in their faith and love God with all their hearts. But they will have broad differences of opinion on baptism, the Eucharist/Lord's Supper, and to some degree admission into heaven and hell and how somebody merits either place. And among many Christians there are broad differences in opinion on such things as the Rapture and End Times, interpretation of many points of scripture, predestination, what is and is not immoral or required in our practices, observance of various traditions, etc.

For myself, I don't get too concerned about such things as my personal belief is God is not all that interested in our theology but rather looks to the content of our hearts and minds, but I find it all intensely interesting and fascinating.

I've never come across a person that could have a friendly debate about religion.

Again you just need to get out more.

I get out plenty. There are typically deeply emotional ties one has to their religion and thus are incapable of rationally discussing it.

Sorry that such has been your experience. It is not the experience of most people of faith, however. I have found the 'prejudiced' non believer far more unwilling to discuss it on any kind of rational level. For those folks it usually boils down that if we can't prove there is a God or show evidence for a God, then God doesn't exist. And I can't imagine being much more irrational than that.

In the circles I move, I know many people of faith, many who are highly educated, some with multiple PhDs, some in the sciences and engineering fields, and all are 100% rational and can discuss all concepts of religion and religious faith quite competently.