K_Kinnison Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 I am a Christian, but not a catholic. Most people's main experience with Christianity is Catholics and there has been several problems over the years with that version of religion over the years I can understand why people dislike organized religion. I was the same way until I started studying the bible myself and finding my own answers To me my religion and faith is a private thing between God and I. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 ed and crack: GET CALL OF DUTY 4!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah... I'm sure I probably will... especially since my friend already has that. But it most likely won't be in the first crop of games I pick up today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 To me my religion and faith is a private thing between God and I. same goes for me. i'm the non-denominational kinda christian, or protestant, meaning i believe that faith in Jesus alone can save a person from hell. I've been through churches when i was younger and my parents would bring me/force me to go, i believe you should worship God every day, not just on sunday in a churchy click...and it doesn't have to be through singing either. that was my main gripe, i hate to sing and the songs that were sung were sung EVERY sunday...nothing ever new. and the only other way to worship God at church it seemed, was through giving tithe. imo, just follow the 10 commandments the best you can, love your neighbor as yourself and love God with all your heart. you don't need church to do that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Jones Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 I for myself rather do follow the path of Buddha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 I am a Christian, but not a catholic. Most people's main experience with Christianity is Catholics and there has been several problems over the years with that version of religion over the years I can understand why people dislike organized religion. I was the same way until I started studying the bible myself and finding my own answers To me my religion and faith is a private thing between God and I. Sounds like you owe the Catholic Church a lot for providing you with the book from which you have derived your own answers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildstar Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Finally hit 600 posts here...figures it would come answering a post in the "Tech Center", though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ikhnaton Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 faith in God cannot ever be a "private" thing. If you really think that your religion is something that happens behind closed doors without anyone else ever knowing of it, you're missing the whole point. Your light should not be under a bushel basket, but should be placed on a pedestal for all to see. Your religion should be readily evident to others to serve as a good example. Jesus called his followers to spread the good news, not to bury it in the ground so no one sees it. Another problem I have with the decision to "interpret the bible my own way" is that it is one of arrogance. The bible has been around for about 1700 years, and even prior to that, there were many writing by people such as Ambrose, Augustine, etc., who expounded upon the teachings of Christ. For nearly 2000 years, there have been scholars and clergy who have dedicated their lives to the study of Scripture and Jesus' teachings. Do you, Joe Sixpack, really think you have an inside track to interpreting scripture that these people did not have? Also, considering the Bible was not readily available to the average person until the time of Martin Luther and the invention of the printing press (after 1000 AD), it is highly unlikely that Jesus would see fit to entrust the passage of his teachings to a single book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Hmmm... on 2nd thought, I'm staying out of this debate. (But: The short answer is that I'm drifting Agnostic/ Secular Humanist these days anyway, so I have little use for any religion, organized or personal, though I have nothing against anyone practicing either,... as long as they keep thier noses out of my business, and respect my disinterest.) Got enough of that back when I used to frequent the debate forum of the Swamp, anyway. I just don't have the kind of time to dedicate to that much typing anymore. Even less, now that I am a XBox 360 Elite owner!!! :D Details to follow... later. After I've had my fill of fragging the enemy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cmdr. Cracken Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Ed: NICE! I only got an Xbox Pro, but i don't NEED 120 Gigs of HD space. That's what's my computers is forz! Wait... what's your gamer tag... wait... I think I know what it is.... LOL Sunday is Halo 3 Day: The holy day of football and Halo 3 fragging on Xbox live. Catch me if you can, and let's go frag some n00bs. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- By no means am I knocking just Catholicism or Christianity. But I arrived my current viewpoint because of abuses of power by the church institution because of men interpreting the word of God in a way that is clearly not what God intended or Jesus intended. I'm pretty sure we can all agree these two events ALONE were pretty bad, including current crimes the church leaders continue to commit. Of course, by no means are the OTHER religions exempt from this kind of scrutiny. Obviously, this is what I am afraid of, using the Bible or Quran to justify horrible crimes against humanity, torture, and outright murder of other human beings. It's a simple case of absolute power over humans corrupting the leaders absolutely. I don't mid these holy texts being used as a guide for moral human behavior, in a way, I think some of these books saved humanity from self destructing along time ago. But now we run into the problem that people are taking these words and twisting them to some pretty vile ends. THAT'S why I'm against mass organization of religion, because in the wrong hands, that power can be used to create a conflict spanning generations. In terms of public or private worship..... I personally don't think it matter whether you worship privately or publicly. God knows if you have faith, and abide by the teachings of Jesus, and in the end, that may be the only thing that matters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Gamer Tag = edlib02169 (Just plain edlib already taken. ) Give me a few more days getting up to speed on the controls. I am still a n00b. Don't wanna be fragged. Yeah... I just really wanted the Elite. Don't know why. I'll find use for the disk space, somehow. Need to get the rechargeable batteries for the controller. And a wireless headset (preferably black!) Then I'll be in shape. I got Halo 3, Ace Combat 6, and Mass Effect when I bought the game. (Didn't come with any games itself... but a year of Live Silver, which I just bumped up to Gold.) The games were used... but it was buy 2, get one free. Nice. I'm going back to the same store tomorrow to see if the same offer is still valid, and I'll stock up on a couple of other 'must-haves.' Otherwise, (or in addition to...) I'll just see what good deals I can get on a couple of used older games. Spent the night playing more Halo 3 co-op with my buddy. It was a blast! Talking over the headsets and everything man! Yeah, baby! In addition to that rather major purchase, I also dropped a bundle on some other entertainment items: DVDs: Blade Runner Special 4 Disk set Ratatouille Bourne Ultimatum Pirates 3 Harry Potter CD: Iron Maiden: Piece of Mind Book: The 3rd Chronicles of Thomas Covenant: Book 2 Plus a lot of less interesting crap I needed for the house. Gonna be a good credit card bill next month. Need to transfer about $1,000 over to the checking from savings in the morning to cover my mad spree today. Oh well... at least now I feel that all my busting my ass all year and going without a social life (not to mention sleep...) was actually kinda worth it. There's about 4 more people from work I need to talk into an XBox purchase as well. 2 of them already sound interested... shouldn't be tough. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Kinnison Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Sounds like you owe the Catholic Church a lot for providing you with the book from which you have derived your own answers. Then you assume the bible was written by men, and not the inspired word of God The Roman catholic Church is almost as bad as the Pharisees depicted in the Gospels, draining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. There is nothing in the Bible about purgatory, and making Mary the mother of Christ just as important as the tirune God. sorry to break it to you guys, but the Virgin Mary did not stay a virgin. faith in God cannot ever be a "private" thing. If you really think that your religion is something that happens behind closed doors without anyone else ever knowing of it, you're missing the whole point. Your light should not be under a bushel basket, but should be placed on a pedestal for all to see. Another problem I have with the decision to "interpret the bible my own way" is that it is one of arrogance. See that is the problem, people constantly want to measure other peoples faith and they force people to do things they don't need to do. you might want to read Matthew 6:1-2. they way I carry myself everyday is a testament to my faith. When God blesses me and my works, then people will know how strong my faith is. IN fact since I have become a Christian about 10 years ago (thanks to Rosie) my life has turned around and I have become quite successful and independent. I said i studied the bible... I let the Holy spirit help me interpret. And often I use other parts of scripture to interpret itself. As I studied the bible I realized that there was a message there that was repeated over and over that made it a complete whole And Cmdr Cracken.. I agree religion can be easily used to subvert the masses, but then we as individuals need to look at everything at our church with a critical eye to prevent that from happening. if you think it is bad for us to sin, it is far worse for leaders who lead their flock astray with false teaching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 got a damned sore throat yesterday and i just woke up and it's not feeling any better. i'd call off work, but that will make me lose out on a nice paycheck. damn it. i shaved my head yesterday. took me a while, but i didn't have to spend $10. unsure of what i work today. it's either 12-9 or 1-10. hoping it's 1-10. i'm freakin tired. i went to bed "early" last night too. ed: added you to my friend's list, i'm obvious doom just so ya know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 OK. Yeah... I'll track all of you guys down at some point. I've got at least 2 guys from work, and probably a bunch of students who will be in my circle. I'd much rather play with (or against) people I actually know, rather than snotty anonymous 15-year-olds... who will probably wipe up the map with me. That's no fun at all... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 Then you assume the bible was written by men, and not the inspired word of God. The Bible was inspired by God, and written by man. But what I was referring to was the compilation of books. How do you know which of the many writings are the inspired word of God? If you accept the Biblical canon, then you accept the Catholic Church's authority to set it. The Roman catholic Church is almost as bad as the Pharisees depicted in the Gospels, draining out a gnat but swallowing a camel. So...what, Christianity didn't even exist in any useful form until the 16th century? Nice going, Jesus, you really screwed that one up! There is nothing in the Bible about purgatory First of all, who says everything we need to know was written in the Bible? What were Christians doing before there even was a Bible? They had the Church, as we still have the Church. But even so, there are plenty of references to the final purification in scripture. He then took up a collection among all his soldiers, amounting to two thousand silver drachmas, which he sent to Jerusalem to provide for an expiatory sacrifice. In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the fallen to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin. - Macc. 12:43-46 Settle with your opponent quickly while on the way to court with him. Otherwise your opponent will hand you over to the judge, and the judge will hand you over to the guard, and you will be thrown into prison. Amen, I say to you, you will not be released until you have paid the last penny. - Matt. 5:25-26 Then in anger his master handed him over to the torturers until he should pay back the whole debt. So will my heavenly Father do to you, unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart." - Matt. 18:34-35 It was also certainly a belief of the early Church. and making Mary the mother of Christ just as important as the tirune God. This is simply wrong. sorry to break it to you guys, but the Virgin Mary did not stay a virgin. How do you know this? The early Church certainly disagreed with you. I said i studied the bible... I let the Holy spirit help me interpret. And often I use other parts of scripture to interpret itself. As I studied the bible I realized that there was a message there that was repeated over and over that made it a complete whole. You studied the Bible? You're an expert in Hebrew and Greek and the historical periods during which every piece of scripture was written? If the Holy Spirit has given you the proper understanding of scripture, why hasn't He given it to everyone else? Because none of the people who claim that the Holy Spirit has given them the true understanding of scripture actually agree on the meaning of scripture. So who is right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Kinnison Posted December 29, 2007 Share Posted December 29, 2007 How do you know which of the many writings are the inspired word of God? Simple.. study them and you can tell if they have the same message. The first church didn't have to do anything with the old testament. And the New Testament apocrypha does not have anything of value to say about Christian origins and the earliest Christian movement. I never want, or need more. If anything like the young Christian church dealing with the old testament, i find it convenient to use the canon of the new testament that was decided back in the 4th century at Carthage, as well as the later additions in the 16th century And your bible quotes have to do with monetary issues... I fail to see how they can apply to sin, and justify purgatory. Here are some quotes which show the falsehood of purgatory: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 1 Peter 2:24 He {Jesus}Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross. John 19:30 ...Jesus said, "It is finished."... The sad part of the law, is that it is hell, or heaven, there is no middle ground. By having purgatory it cheapens Christ's sacrifice essentially saying "he didn't do a good enough job and we still need something else". Purgatory didn't exist as official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church until at the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century. So now in the last 400 years everyone has had to make up for everyone who fell between the cracks and needs to be purified? And to think that Joesph married Mary, yet never became intimate with her? That is a fairly big assumption. I can only think of two times when virginity should matter: 1. Divine conception 2. After the wedding night. But to think that Mary was without original sin is rather silly and.. wait for it... has only been around since the 1800s. So before the 1800s she was with original sin? yet some miracle occurred in the last 200 years that removed her original sin? You studied the Bible? You're an expert in Hebrew and Greek and the historical periods during which every piece of scripture was written? If the Holy Spirit has given you the proper understanding of scripture, why hasn't He given it to everyone else? Studied? yes Expert in the historical periods scripture was written, Hebrew and Greek? why would i need to be? I never said it was perfect, yet you seem to assume I am. I have made mistakes, and I have teachers who ARE experts in hebrew, greek, and the historical periods to help me and guide me. and he has given everyone else proper understanding of the bible, too often people don't want to listen and are caught up in pride or arrogance of their own sinful nature Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 wasn't jesus bro's with one of his disciples, i think james or was it thomas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Kinnison Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 The common explanation is that they were "brothers" of the church. But, the specific Greek word for “brother” is used. While the word can refer to other relatives, its normal and literal meaning is a physical brother (males who shared the same womb). There was a Greek word for cousin, and it was not used. Further, if they were Jesus’ cousins, why would they so often be described as being with Mary, Jesus’ mother? There is nothing in the context of His mother and brothers coming to see Him that even hints that they were anyone other than His literal, blood-related half-brothers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cmdr. Cracken Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Patriots are on their way to join the 72 Dolphins as the ONLY team to perfect a season, including a Super Bowl win. They can go *#%& themselves. But I will say, that is DAMN fine work. Dirty cheaters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Heh... Did more shopping today. Got Halo 2, GRAW 2, The Orange Box, Oblivion, and a WWII flight combat sim (that I'm forgetting the name of right now.) Plus the RF headset and battery pack for the controller. Also got a humidifier for the house (other one croaked last month,) a replacement fill valve for the turlet, a couple of Genesis CDs ('Genesis' and a 2 CD greatest hits compilation...) plus some other desperately needed supplies. That has to be it for a while, though. My Amex card is glowing and smoking from all the times it's been swiped in the last 2 days. They are dancing in the cubicles in the home office tonight looking at my current balance. Time to take it easy for a while... and just sit back and enjoy all the swag for a bit before going back to work. Didn't do much gaming tonight. Waiting for batteries to charge. Plus had a hard time connecting to Live tonight. Then mom wanted to see the Pirates 3 DVD I bought the other day. Then the Pats game. After all that I completed the first mission in Ace Combat, and played a little Mass Effect. No plans for tomorrow... other than fix up the toilet, set up the humidifier, and hook up the digital thermometer I scored at X-Mas. Then it's all XBox all day after those chores are behind me! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 nice, we can get a GRAW 2 match going soon then. i probably suck at it now, i've been on cod4 from when i get off work-1 or even 3am lol. dayquil doesn't work. i hate feeling like falling asleep while at work. -_- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Nitro has convinced me that I need to get COD 4 ASAP, too. The second this month's credit card statement is behind me... I promise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rogue15 Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Nitro has convinced me that I need to get COD 4 ASAP, too. The second this month's credit card statement is behind me... I promise. goooooood. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edlib Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 Of the year, (and by association, this thread,) that is. Well, it's been a very productive year for us as a group... or an incredibly unproductive year for each of us personally,.. depending on your perspective about the rather sizable post-count this thread has accrued in the last 12 months. So... I suppose it now all comes down to this: Do we do it all over again? (I believe that's a given... but it's never safe to assume anything...) What do we call the new one? Who starts it this time? And to now catch up all those who might be joining us late - 5 years at a glance: XWA and the Sorcerer's Stone XWA and the Chamber of Secrets XWA and the Prisoner of Azkaban XWA and the Goblet of Fire XWA and the Order of the Phoenix Okay... it would be a very extended glance if you bother to set out and read that pile of spamminess in it's entirety... but the option is there if you so wish. (And like the Harry Potter books, the threads seem to get bigger, longer, and darker with each passing year... though I don't see any hope of any of us actually reaching graduation at any time in the near future. ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keyan Farlander Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 And your bible quotes have to do with monetary issues... I fail to see how they can apply to sin, and justify purgatory. It has nothing to do with money. Why would Jesus care about money? Jesus' business was the salvation of souls. See my note on Tertullian below. Here are some quotes which show the falsehood of purgatory: Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Matthew 20:28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. 1 Peter 2:24 He {Jesus}Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross. John 19:30 ...Jesus said, "It is finished."... Those are all wonderful and true scriptures, but they have nothing to do witht he existence (or lack thereof) of Purgatory. The sad part of the law, is that it is hell, or heaven, there is no middle ground. By having purgatory it cheapens Christ's sacrifice essentially saying "he didn't do a good enough job and we still need something else". Purgatory didn't exist as official doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church until at the Council of Trent in the mid-sixteenth century. So now in the last 400 years everyone has had to make up for everyone who fell between the cracks and needs to be purified? I think you do not understand what Purgatory is. It is not in between heaven and hell. It is the final purification for souls going to heaven. It does not cheapen Christ's sacrifice at all; on the contrary it is one of the fruits of it. Purgatory has been a belief of the Church since the beginning - it was only reiterated at Trent. Consider this early passage by Tertullian: "All souls, therefore; are shut up within Hades: do you admit this? It is true, whether you say yes or no: moreover, there are already experienced there punishments and consolations; and there you have a poor man and a rich...Moreover, the soul executes not all its operations with the ministration of the flesh; for the judgment of God pursues even simple cogitations and the merest volitions. 'Whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.' Therefore, even for this cause it is most fitting that the soul, without at all waiting for the flesh, should be punished for what it has done without the partnership of the flesh. So, on the same principle, in return for the pious and kindly thoughts in which it shared not the help of the flesh, shall it without the flesh receive its consolation. In short, inasmuch as we understand 'the prison' pointed out in the Gospel to be Hades, and as we also interpret 'the uttermost farthing' to mean the very smallest offence which has to be recompensed there before the resurrection, no one will hesitate to believe that the soul undergoes in Hades some compensatory discipline, without prejudice to the full process of the resurrection, when the recompense will be administered through the flesh besides." Tertullian, A Treatise on the Soul, 58 (A.D. 210). And to think that Joesph married Mary, yet never became intimate with her? That is a fairly big assumption. I can only think of two times when virginity should matter: 1. Divine conception 2. After the wedding night. But to think that Mary was without original sin is rather silly and.. wait for it... has only been around since the 1800s. So before the 1800s she was with original sin? yet some miracle occurred in the last 200 years that removed her original sin? A dogmatic definition does not create new beliefs. In fact, that is exactly what it must not do. A dogmatic definition explicitly defines a belief that has always been held by the entire Church, for the benefit of the faithful. I don't see why this belief is such a stretch. Mary was set aside, from the moment of her conception, to be the mother of God. Joseph, understanding this and cooperating with this, would certainly have refrained from relations with her because of this. Since Joseph was probably an older man, this is not really all that big of a deal. Studied? yes Expert in the historical periods scripture was written, Hebrew and Greek? why would i need to be? Because many essential aspects of the text can only be clearly understood when reading it in the original languge. This is what leads to errors like thinking Jesus had biological brothers and sisters. ...and I have teachers who ARE experts in hebrew, greek, and the historical periods to help me and guide me. Exactly! and he has given everyone else proper understanding of the bible, too often people don't want to listen and are caught up in pride or arrogance of their own sinful nature I think it's pretty uncharitible to think that everyone who does not agree with your interpretation of scripture does so out of pride and arrogance. I know many great Christians of all denominations. They all truly love God and honestly and openly seek to know the truth. And they have studied scripture very hard. But the thing is, they don't all agree on what scripture says. They are not ignorant, and they are not bad people; they have simply come to different, contradictory conclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K_Kinnison Posted December 30, 2007 Share Posted December 30, 2007 do we really need the Harry potter themed review? Since I wont be doing much this new year eve.. except drinking a bottle of wine I have been saving for a year (hope it is still good) I don't really like going out to large loud parties (due to my hearing) and it is more difficult to enjoy yourself when your single. Maybe I can start it.. if the PTB don't mind? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.