What Happened to Church?

[Taz]

Proof positive that most unbelievers really think they are gods. I doubt very much that, except to pray for you, most of us give you a thought when we step away from our computers, and certainly not enough to "go completely over the edge". However, YOU really, really need to think that you're chipping away at our beliefs.

You need us. You might think about exploring why that is.

Truth is, I wouldn't even be praying for Taz if God hadn't metaphorically smacked me upside the head and told me to. God has people in His service who are all about the love and compassion and reaching out to others; I am not one of those people. I can only assume that if God went to enough effort to lay a burden on MY heart, powerful enough for me to take notice of it, something is seriously up. Several somethings.

Left to my own devices, I view Taz as the human equivalent of a mild skin rash.

Me and you both, sister, on the compassionate side that is. I assume you're a sister by the username at any rate. I'm a decision-maker type, what is the right thing to do type. It has its finer points but I have to remind myself of compassion.

Glad you found a church! It's getting more and more difficult these days

Heard that.

I'm usually a member of the "swift kick in the reality" brigade. I have no idea what God wants with Taz or why now, but He is the greatest multi-tasker ever, and it's already obvious one of His goals here is to expand my horizons.

God is using me to test you. Now play nice.

I am certain that God wants many things from me. I'm equally certain that your skewed perceptions of "nice" and what Christians should be aren't even remotely part of it.

You just failed His first test. Want a do-over?

 

[hadit]

You have no idea what's going on in the church today, yet you think you feel qualified to post on this thread. Interesting.

So it's not ok for me to ask questions precisely because I haven't gone to church since I was about 7 years old?

You're not asking questions. You're making declarations disguised as questions. REAL questions involve the desire to find an answer.

I started out asking what you people give in the plate in today's church and nobody would answer. How come? I'm just curious. Something wrong with that?

I told you once. Go back through the thread. You'll find it.

Shut up, cheapskate. I’m not talking to you.

I know that well, and I'm not surprised, because if you paid any attention to what I told you, you would have to realize you already had the answer to your trolling question and would stop asking it.

Do not dismiss lightly God getting your attention.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I don't know. If He is God, He could certainly do it.

I'm not very concerned about kangaroos. I'm more concerned about church and faith and God. Do you have questions like that, or just silly gotcha questions?

I'm trying to figure out if the bible is true.

Let me end your suspense. It is. But you have to read it in context to discover the wisdom. Because if you read it like a jack-a-nape looking to confirm her bias, then you will be wasting your time because you could have just said you don't need to validate your beliefs and spent the time doing something more productive like trimming your toe nails.

She said she is "Very Biblical", you aren't. So stfu.

Don't be silly. I'm Catholic. We love Scripture.

Don't you think the Pope looks drunk all the time?

And doesn't the Pope believe in the 6 day creation story as being true?

Stop. Spamming. The. Thread.

 

[Taz]

Pork chops are off topic? Really?

Let me clear up your confusion, Taz. Dropping pork chops in the collection plate would not be appropriate. Bringing frozen pork chops for a food drive would be appropriate. Or better yet, personally delivering pork chops to a family in need would be even better as this would be the most effective form of subsidiarity and charity. You're welcome.

Kinda like coaching Mowgli after he comes in from the jungle, isn't it?

It's MY topic. If I want to take a post to comment on your incessant attempts to destroy the thread, you have nothing to say about it except "Thanks for noticing my pathetic need for attention".

We were talking about pork chops in the collection plate, not The Jungle Book.

 

[Cecilie1200]

Just a quick aside. She said she is "Very Biblical". I had to test her. Won't take long.

Know one thing. You are not my "tester" in anything. However, the ego revealed in the green smile is predictable.

So why isn't there any evidence about a 40 day worldwide flood?

Could be because you're in the wrong thread for finding evidence of a flood. Possibly if you looked in a thread that's actually ABOUT Noah's flood . . .

Like if you had some proof, you wouldn't stuff it in my face.

You vastly overestimate both your importance and my interest in you.

 

[Taz]

So it's not ok for me to ask questions precisely because I haven't gone to church since I was about 7 years old?

You're not asking questions. You're making declarations disguised as questions. REAL questions involve the desire to find an answer.

I started out asking what you people give in the plate in today's church and nobody would answer. How come? I'm just curious. Something wrong with that?

I told you once. Go back through the thread. You'll find it.

Shut up, cheapskate. I’m not talking to you.

I know that well, and I'm not surprised, because if you paid any attention to what I told you, you would have to realize you already had the answer to your trolling question and would stop asking it.

Do not dismiss lightly God getting your attention.

You're not God, so stfu.

 

[ding]

Don't be silly. I'm Catholic. We love Scripture.

Don't you think the Pope looks drunk all the time?

And doesn't the Pope believe in the 6 day creation story as being true?

You should probably read the CCC to be better informed on Catholic dogma. Let me know if you need a link.

Unless you can prove otherwise, we all know that the pope thinks that the story of creation is true. Too bad for you, you fake Catholic. I think they call that a heretic. Right?

You have the logic of a six year old.

If you could provide me with a proper link, you would, not just call me names again.

It isn't my job to do things you can and should do for yourself, Taz. I didn't call you any names, Taz. I said you have the logic of a six year old. Two different things. Think of it this way... if I say you are lying I am not calling you a liar. We are told to judge behaviors and not the person. Honest men can can do dishonest things. That doesn't make them dishonest. It makes what they did dishonest. You can be intelligent and use the logic of a six year old. That doesn't mean you have the intelligence of a six year old. It only means for that specific set of logic it was the logic that a six year old would use. Now do you understand?

 

[Taz]

Just a quick aside. She said she is "Very Biblical". I had to test her. Won't take long.

Know one thing. You are not my "tester" in anything. However, the ego revealed in the green smile is predictable.

So why isn't there any evidence about a 40 day worldwide flood?

Could be because you're in the wrong thread for finding evidence of a flood. Possibly if you looked in a thread that's actually ABOUT Noah's flood . . .

Like if you had some proof, you wouldn't stuff it in my face.

You vastly overestimate both your importance and my interest in you.

You just passed on another chance to stuff some proof in my face. Your concession is duly noted.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I'm trying to figure out if the bible is true.

the 4th century christian bible is a political agenda disguised as a religion patronizing 1st century events to advance its own agenda rather than the aspirations derived from that period, the christ being a primary example.

I mean, Paul went from persecution to an apostle, but then, he was really an outlier.

and has been used for that purpose from that time to the present encapsulated by congregational hegemony without cause ...

I can't decide if leftist religiophobes are just too stupid to understand the phrase "off-topic", or if they just think their calling to evangelize the world with the news that they hate God makes them above the rules.

I take that back. I can decide. Leftists are always too smugly sanctimonious to think that they're subject to the same restrictions as the peasantry.

Taz is a militant atheist. She condemns respect for people of faith and believes it is her mission to subordinate religion.

Taz is a bitter child who has spent her life acting out her rage at some disappointment she suffered in her past.

 

[Taz]

Don't you think the Pope looks drunk all the time?

And doesn't the Pope believe in the 6 day creation story as being true?

You should probably read the CCC to be better informed on Catholic dogma. Let me know if you need a link.

Unless you can prove otherwise, we all know that the pope thinks that the story of creation is true. Too bad for you, you fake Catholic. I think they call that a heretic. Right?

You have the logic of a six year old.

If you could provide me with a proper link, you would, not just call me names again.

It isn't my job to do things you can and should do for yourself, Taz. I didn't call you any names, Taz. I said you have the logic of a six year old. Two different things. Think of it this way... if I say you are lying I am not calling you a liar. We are told to judge behaviors and not the person. Honest men can can do dishonest things. That doesn't make them dishonest. It makes what they did dishonest. You can be intelligent and use the logic of a six year old. That doesn't mean you have the intelligence of a six year old. It only means for that specific set of logic it was the logic that a six year old would use. Now do you understand?

YOU said "Let me know if you need a link.". Go for it.

 

[Taz]

I'm trying to figure out if the bible is true.

the 4th century christian bible is a political agenda disguised as a religion patronizing 1st century events to advance its own agenda rather than the aspirations derived from that period, the christ being a primary example.

I mean, Paul went from persecution to an apostle, but then, he was really an outlier.

and has been used for that purpose from that time to the present encapsulated by congregational hegemony without cause ...

I can't decide if leftist religiophobes are just too stupid to understand the phrase "off-topic", or if they just think their calling to evangelize the world with the news that they hate God makes them above the rules.

I take that back. I can decide. Leftists are always too smugly sanctimonious to think that they're subject to the same restrictions as the peasantry.

Taz is a militant atheist. She condemns respect for people of faith and believes it is her mission to subordinate religion.

Taz is a bitter child who has spent her life acting out her rage at some disappointment she suffered in her past.

More insults, what a ******* SURPRISE!!!!!

 

[hadit]

Proof positive that most unbelievers really think they are gods. I doubt very much that, except to pray for you, most of us give you a thought when we step away from our computers, and certainly not enough to "go completely over the edge". However, YOU really, really need to think that you're chipping away at our beliefs.

You need us. You might think about exploring why that is.

Truth is, I wouldn't even be praying for Taz if God hadn't metaphorically smacked me upside the head and told me to. God has people in His service who are all about the love and compassion and reaching out to others; I am not one of those people. I can only assume that if God went to enough effort to lay a burden on MY heart, powerful enough for me to take notice of it, something is seriously up. Several somethings.

Left to my own devices, I view Taz as the human equivalent of a mild skin rash.

Me and you both, sister, on the compassionate side that is. I assume you're a sister by the username at any rate. I'm a decision-maker type, what is the right thing to do type. It has its finer points but I have to remind myself of compassion.

Glad you found a church! It's getting more and more difficult these days

Heard that.

I'm usually a member of the "swift kick in the reality" brigade. I have no idea what God wants with Taz or why now, but He is the greatest multi-tasker ever, and it's already obvious one of His goals here is to expand my horizons.

Most all of the Internet Atheist Brigade think our faith is very light and weak. They think if they make a few snide remarks or ask a few difficult questions, they can pierce it and eventually destroy it.

For some, because this is how it happened to them, this is how they assume it must happen for everyone. At the very least, this reveals a certain paucity of imagination. It also reveals that they didn't have much faith to begin with. And we both know I don't mean faith like 'blind belief', which is how THEY think we use it. Because that's all they think faith is.

Oh, it's not just people on the Internet. Look at virtually any cultural representation of Christians, be it movies, television, books . . . As far as they're concerned, Christians are falling away from God in droves over "crises of faith" that are mostly only crises to people observing Christianity from the outside.

And to bring it back around to my topic, this sort of thing is exactly why "drive-through Christianity" alarms and upsets me: because by trying to "modernize" itself to conform to the very last people in the world who should be setting standards, the Church is producing a generation of weak Christians who really are likely to fall down the first time things are rough.

When the Word is less important than the entertainment, the seed falls on rocky ground and quickly dries up and blows away. Entertainment can help carry the message, but it can also overwhelm and drown it out.

 

[ding]

Morality and virtue exist in and of themselves, Taz. It isn't what you say it is. You will know if you are right or wrong by your outcomes because error cannot stand. We reap what we sow regardless of whether we think something is moral. The Chinese think forced abortions are moral. They are now reaping what they have sown because forced abortions are not moral or virtuous.

What are the Chinese reaping?

A disproportionate number of males to females. That won't end well.

That had nothing to do with forced abortions, people were choosing to have too many boys. So that makes you wrong. Gee, I'm almost shocked.

It has everything to do with forced abortions (aka the one child policy). If they could have more than one child they would not choose to abort the females. That's why there is a disproportionate number of males to females in China. Because if they can only have one child they want it to be a male.

They weren't forced to abort the females. You know nothing. As usual.

Right. They chose to do that because they could only have one child. So they chose to abort females and keep the male. None of that changes my point which is that it is outcomes that determine whether or not something is moral or virtuous. Why? Because error cannot stand. Eventually the error reveals itself in outcomes. It's that whole normalization of deviance and predictable surprise thingee. I'm sure you are familiar with that. We reap what we sow, Taz, we reap what we sow. Choose wisely.

 

[Cecilie1200]

I like the fact that you run away from your beliefs. That means you know what you believe is fucked up.

You need me to be like that in your mind, otherwise, you'll go completely over the edge. Hope you feel better soon.

Proof positive that most unbelievers really think they are gods. I doubt very much that, except to pray for you, most of us give you a thought when we step away from our computers, and certainly not enough to "go completely over the edge". However, YOU really, really need to think that you're chipping away at our beliefs.

You need us. You might think about exploring why that is.

Once you get to know dingbat, you'll see him for the fool he is. I came here looking for proof of god. So far nothing, just a lot of hot air, and surprisingly, a ton of insults constantly.

Perhaps if you started by being honest, you'd encounter fewer insults.

So it's ok for self-professed Christians to insult people at will? Is that your final answer?

At what point did anyone, let alone me, indicate that they were hungering for your judgement and advice on being a Christian?

I realize that would you prefer if all Christians adhered to the funhouse caricature people like you have of a bunch of pacifists who just mill around while you take potshots at them, because God knows, that's literally the only way you could ever win an argument.

Be that as it may, let me clarify: your approval or disapproval means less than nothing to me.

 

[Taz]

What are the Chinese reaping?

A disproportionate number of males to females. That won't end well.

That had nothing to do with forced abortions, people were choosing to have too many boys. So that makes you wrong. Gee, I'm almost shocked.

It has everything to do with forced abortions (aka the one child policy). If they could have more than one child they would not choose to abort the females. That's why there is a disproportionate number of males to females in China. Because if they can only have one child they want it to be a male.

They weren't forced to abort the females. You know nothing. As usual.

Right. They chose to do that because they could only have one child. So they chose to abort females and keep the male. None of that changes my point which is that it is outcomes that determine whether or not something is moral or virtuous. Why? Because error cannot stand. Eventually the error reveals itself in outcomes. It's that whole normalization of deviance and predictable surprise thingee. I'm sure you are familiar with that. We reap what we sow, Taz, we reap what we sow. Choose wisely.

You said that China's forced abortion policy created the gender imbalance. You stand corrected. Again.

 

[ding]

I'm trying to figure out if the bible is true.

the 4th century christian bible is a political agenda disguised as a religion patronizing 1st century events to advance its own agenda rather than the aspirations derived from that period, the christ being a primary example.

I mean, Paul went from persecution to an apostle, but then, he was really an outlier.

and has been used for that purpose from that time to the present encapsulated by congregational hegemony without cause ...

I can't decide if leftist religiophobes are just too stupid to understand the phrase "off-topic", or if they just think their calling to evangelize the world with the news that they hate God makes them above the rules.

I take that back. I can decide. Leftists are always too smugly sanctimonious to think that they're subject to the same restrictions as the peasantry.

Taz is a militant atheist. She condemns respect for people of faith and believes it is her mission to subordinate religion.

Taz is a bitter child who has spent her life acting out her rage at some disappointment she suffered in her past.

More insults, what a ******* SURPRISE!!!!!

Your righteous indignation would carry more weight if your mission wasn't to condemn respect for people of faith. It seems that you can dish it out but are not very good at taking what you dish out.

 

[ding]

A disproportionate number of males to females. That won't end well.

That had nothing to do with forced abortions, people were choosing to have too many boys. So that makes you wrong. Gee, I'm almost shocked.

It has everything to do with forced abortions (aka the one child policy). If they could have more than one child they would not choose to abort the females. That's why there is a disproportionate number of males to females in China. Because if they can only have one child they want it to be a male.

They weren't forced to abort the females. You know nothing. As usual.

Right. They chose to do that because they could only have one child. So they chose to abort females and keep the male. None of that changes my point which is that it is outcomes that determine whether or not something is moral or virtuous. Why? Because error cannot stand. Eventually the error reveals itself in outcomes. It's that whole normalization of deviance and predictable surprise thingee. I'm sure you are familiar with that. We reap what we sow, Taz, we reap what we sow. Choose wisely.

You said that China's forced abortion policy created the gender imbalance. You stand corrected. Again.

The forced abortion policy and the one child policy are one in the same, Taz.

 

[Taz]

You need me to be like that in your mind, otherwise, you'll go completely over the edge. Hope you feel better soon.

Proof positive that most unbelievers really think they are gods. I doubt very much that, except to pray for you, most of us give you a thought when we step away from our computers, and certainly not enough to "go completely over the edge". However, YOU really, really need to think that you're chipping away at our beliefs.

You need us. You might think about exploring why that is.

Once you get to know dingbat, you'll see him for the fool he is. I came here looking for proof of god. So far nothing, just a lot of hot air, and surprisingly, a ton of insults constantly.

Perhaps if you started by being honest, you'd encounter fewer insults.

So it's ok for self-professed Christians to insult people at will? Is that your final answer?

At what point did anyone, let alone me, indicate that they were hungering for your judgement and advice on being a Christian?

I realize that would you prefer if all Christians adhered to the funhouse caricature people like you have of a bunch of pacifists who just mill around while you take potshots at them, because God knows, that's literally the only way you could ever win an argument.

Be that as it may, let me clarify: your approval or disapproval means less than nothing to me.

Well I at least got you to address one post to me without insulting me, so I do have an influence on you. Or is it God doing his dirty work again?

 

[hadit]

You're not asking questions. You're making declarations disguised as questions. REAL questions involve the desire to find an answer.

I started out asking what you people give in the plate in today's church and nobody would answer. How come? I'm just curious. Something wrong with that?

Did you somehow miss the multiple times that you were told it's nosy, none of your business, off-topic, and shockingly crass and ill-mannered?

I'm fairly certain you were raised around human beings at least part of your life, so I fail to see how you could be so ignorant of basic social courtesies.

I was thinking of going to church and I just wanted to know what's appropriate these days to drop in the plate? How about a couple of pork chops?

Pork chops are off topic? Really?

The entire subject of giving is off topic precisely because you are attempting to use it to divert and distract. It has nothing to do with the OP.

Since you don't go to church, you're not even qualified to comment on the thread.

 

[Cecilie1200]

You need me to be like that in your mind, otherwise, you'll go completely over the edge. Hope you feel better soon.

Proof positive that most unbelievers really think they are gods. I doubt very much that, except to pray for you, most of us give you a thought when we step away from our computers, and certainly not enough to "go completely over the edge". However, YOU really, really need to think that you're chipping away at our beliefs.

You need us. You might think about exploring why that is.

Truth is, I wouldn't even be praying for Taz if God hadn't metaphorically smacked me upside the head and told me to. God has people in His service who are all about the love and compassion and reaching out to others; I am not one of those people. I can only assume that if God went to enough effort to lay a burden on MY heart, powerful enough for me to take notice of it, something is seriously up. Several somethings.

Left to my own devices, I view Taz as the human equivalent of a mild skin rash.

So why would God ask you to pray for me, why doesn't he just contact me Himself?

Because, contrary to your obvious worldview, everything's not just about you.

God is the ultimate multi-tasker. Everything He does is intended to work His will in many lives, not just one.

So you don't know, got it.

So you once again asked a question not to get an answer, but to pretend the asking itself WAS an answer. Got it.

And this is why 1) everyone thinks you're a pathetic liar when you bleat, "I came here for answers", and 2) views you as an object of ridicule who's not even bright enough to recognize it.