CHRISTIAN: one who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin.
Ambrose Bierce, The Devil’s Dictionary.
The quote is from 1911, not much has changed.
CHRISTIAN: one who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin. Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.That's funny ;-) Especially that last part.
CHRISTIAN: one who believes that the New Testament is a divinely inspired book admirably suited to the spiritual needs of his neighbor. One who follows the teachings of Christ insofar as they are not inconsistent with a life of sin. Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary.Good one, The Devil's Dictionary is one of my favorites.
Very amusing! But, looking at the subject seriously, it’s important to note that there are several different kinds of Christians:
- Someone who is in a relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ by the infilling of the Holy Spirit.
- A person who attends church and maybe even a Bible study, but has no relationship with the Lord.
The person who is in a relationship with the Lord is a true Christian while the person who isn’t is merely a nominal Christian. You will find both of these kinds in any given Christian church.
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don’t give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don't give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!Nope. We follow humanist precepts. It's not our fault that Christians also stumbled onto the same precepts and decided to lay claim to them.
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don't give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!Nope. We follow humanist precepts. It's not our fault that Christians also stumbled onto the same precepts and decided to lay claim to them. The interesting thing about that, the idea that we should not kill each other (for example), is not only a humanistic mode of thinking, there other species who follow this line of "reasoning". It's not often you see another bonobo, for example, kill their own kind, but when you do, they are often chased out of the "tribe", esp if it is an intentional killing. The idea of not killing one's own species, though humans throughout history have done it and it's even in the Bile, is a means to continue the species. Oddly enough, a mother cat (both wild and domestic, because it is a behaviour engrained) eat their young born dead, in an effort to keep predators from coming along and killing her live young. It is a means of survival of the species. We all have these ways of perpetuating the species. However, some radically religious people, which includes Xians and Muslims, loose this "norm and ideal", when it comes to others, probably in part because they believe their god will forgive them and an afterlife awaits them. They don't seem to find anything wrong with going to war with their fellow man or hunting another animal to extinction, not realizing that it could possibly lead to our own doom. It's even in their own religious texts to kill others and some even believe that other animals were put on this planet by their god to use as we see fit, even if it leads to the extinction of that animal (see Sarah Palin and her love for killing wolves or Teddy Roosevelt, a supposed president who loved nature, but yet ordered the killing of buffalo to exterminate the American Indian). These people contradict themselves with the use of the book that also contradicts itself. Oddly enough, it's in the Humanist Manifesto] to care for the earth, other humans, and even the environment. So atheistic philosophies go beyond most religious thinking. This is something Overcomer has not even attempted to explore because he's too into his own beliefs, not willing to explore others, thus the links, which my fellow atheists and humanists forgive me for pointing out to Overcomer, who really needs to learn about other philosophies, other than his own. Without anyone offering him these links to various resources, he will continue to keep his head in only one world view, not knowing what others think and believe. He doesn't even realize that atheism is a lack of belief in god(s) and these various atheistic philosophies are what various atheists do believe. He doesn't even realize that some cultural Christians, which I can name a few, are also humanistic. He doesn't realize that while atheists don't believe in a deity, they do have norms, ideals, and ethics, that have nothing to do with his religion, but apply very much to humans and personally, I'm getting a little tired of reading his ignorance and would like to see him learn something.
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don't give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!Nope. We follow humanist precepts. It's not our fault that Christians also stumbled onto the same precepts and decided to lay claim to them. The interesting thing about that, the idea that we should not kill each other (for example), is not only a humanistic mode of thinking, there other species who follow this line of "reasoning". It's not often you see another bonobo, for example, kill their own kind, but when you do, they are often chased out of the "tribe", esp if it is an intentional killing. The idea of not killing one's own species, though humans throughout history have done it and it's even in the Bile, is a means to continue the species. Oddly enough, a mother cat (both wild and domestic, because it is a behaviour engrained) eat their young born dead, in an effort to keep predators from coming along and killing her live young. It is a means of survival of the species. We all have these ways of perpetuating the species. However, some radically religious people, which includes Xians and Muslims, loose this "norm and ideal", when it comes to others, probably in part because they believe their god will forgive them and an afterlife awaits them. They don't seem to find anything wrong with going to war with their fellow man or hunting another animal to extinction, not realizing that it could possibly lead to our own doom. It's even in their own religious texts to kill others and some even believe that other animals were put on this planet by their god to use as we see fit, even if it leads to the extinction of that animal (see Sarah Palin and her love for killing wolves or Teddy Roosevelt, a supposed president who loved nature, but yet ordered the killing of buffalo to exterminate the American Indian). These people contradict themselves with the use of the book that also contradicts itself. Oddly enough, it's in the Humanist Manifesto] to care for the earth, other humans, and even the environment. So atheistic philosophies go beyond most religious thinking. This is something Overcomer has not even attempted to explore because he's too into his own beliefs, not willing to explore others, thus the links, which my fellow atheists and humanists forgive me for pointing out to Overcomer, who really needs to learn about other philosophies, other than his own. Without anyone offering him these links to various resources, he will continue to keep his head in only one world view, not knowing what others think and believe. He doesn't even realize that atheism is a lack of belief in god(s) and these various atheistic philosophies are what various atheists do believe. He doesn't even realize that some cultural Christians, which I can name a few, are also humanistic. He doesn't realize that while atheists don't believe in a deity, they do have norms, ideals, and ethics, that have nothing to do with his religion, but apply very much to humans and personally, I'm getting a little tired of reading his ignorance and would like to see him learn something. Overcomer is wearing Christian blinders. He will never be able to comprehend these things. He doesn't realize and probably would refuse to accept that what became Christian norms and ideals were fashioned after the norms and ideals already in place in societies that predated Christianity by millennia.
Overcomer is wearing Christian blinders. He will never be able to comprehend these things. He doesn't realize and probably would refuse to accept that what became Christian norms and ideals were fashioned after the norms and ideals already in place in societies that predated Christianity by millennia.This is true. Even my own mother, who is a Fundamngelical Xian, believes humanism and every other philosophy/world view that's not Xian or she knows nothing about, such as the U.U. are pagans and refuses to even look at anything she does not deem Xian. Really makes for a very poor knowledge base in which to learn anything new.
And how about rape? Does any of the ten commandments forbid rape? Not really. There’s the one about coveting your neighbor’s wife, but rape is a crime of violence as much as lust. Leviticus I think even says it’s perfectly okay to beat your slave to within an inch of his life, as long as you don’t kill him. So if you abhor rape, you must be a humanist. You don’t find it in “God’s word”.
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don't give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!Nope. We follow humanist precepts. It's not our fault that Christians also stumbled onto the same precepts and decided to lay claim to them. However, some radically religious people, which includes Xians and Muslims, loose this "norm and ideal", when it comes to others, probably in part because they believe their god will forgive them and an afterlife awaits them. They don't seem to find anything wrong with going to war with their fellow man or hunting another animal to extinction, not realizing that it could possibly lead to our own doom. It's even in their own religious texts to kill others That seems kind of paradoxical That the people who commit these crimes are "some redically religious people", yet it is "in thier own religious texts." Wouldn't we expect to see many more crimes by religious people. Is it just a coincidence for example that these radicals are often fromwar torn areas http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/are-drone-strikes-killing-terrorists-or-creating-them and accordingto research by an advisor to Stanford University have no proper religious education. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxiR27qmWw4 (2:00-3:00) http://standforpeace.org.uk/yvonne-ridley/
Overcomer is wearing Christian blinders. He will never be able to comprehend these things. He doesn't realize and probably would refuse to accept that what became Christian norms and ideals were fashioned after the norms and ideals already in place in societies that predated Christianity by millennia.This is true. Even my own mother, who is a Fundamngelical Xian, believes humanism and every other philosophy/world view that's not Xian or she knows nothing about, such as the U.U. are pagans and refuses to even look at anything she does not deem Xian. Really makes for a very poor knowledge base in which to learn anything new. Couldn't agree more with the last sentence Coming across these kind of "religious" people is hard to talk with When you say "Fundamngelical", did she have a "born again" experience or was she raised that way. I am guessing it is the latter but I could be wrong
Very amusing! But, looking at the subject seriously, it's important to note that there are several different kinds of Christians: 1. Someone who is in a relationship with God through the person of Jesus Christ by the infilling of the Holy Spirit. 2. A person who attends church and maybe even a Bible study, but has no relationship with the Lord. The person who is in a relationship with the Lord is a true Christian while the person who isn't is merely a nominal Christian. You will find both of these kinds in any given Christian church.Could that be restated: Those who believe God Almighty has a personal relationship with them and they "know" God's will. Those who know that God is a mystery and their own interpretation is their own interpretation.
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don't give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!Nope. We follow humanist precepts. It's not our fault that Christians also stumbled onto the same precepts and decided to lay claim to them. Exactly! Lois
There are, of course, also cultural Christians, that is, people who have grown up in a society based on Christian norms and ideals. They follow Christian precepts, but don't give God any credit for them. There are, in fact, a lot of atheists who are cultural Christians whether they admit it or not!Nope. We follow humanist precepts. It's not our fault that Christians also stumbled onto the same precepts and decided to lay claim to them. However, some radically religious people, which includes Xians and Muslims, loose this "norm and ideal", when it comes to others, probably in part because they believe their god will forgive them and an afterlife awaits them. They don't seem to find anything wrong with going to war with their fellow man or hunting another animal to extinction, not realizing that it could possibly lead to our own doom. It's even in their own religious texts to kill others That seems kind of paradoxical That the people who commit these crimes are "some redically religious people", yet it is "in thier own religious texts." Wouldn't we expect to see many more crimes by religious people. Is it just a coincidence for example that these radicals are often fromwar torn areas http://asiasociety.org/blog/asia/are-drone-strikes-killing-terrorists-or-creating-them and accordingto research by an advisor to Stanford University have no proper religious education. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxiR27qmWw4 (2:00-3:00) http://standforpeace.org.uk/yvonne-ridley/ It all comes down to determinism. We are all motivated by millions of factors, most of which we don't know about or understand. Even if we could know the factors that drive human actions, we would not know which ones are going to take precedence and which ones are going to be superseded. What will be, will be, no matter how much we think we can control and understand the process. Lois
Overcomer is wearing Christian blinders. He will never be able to comprehend these things. He doesn't realize and probably would refuse to accept that what became Christian norms and ideals were fashioned after the norms and ideals already in place in societies that predated Christianity by millennia.This is true. Even my own mother, who is a Fundamngelical Xian, believes humanism and every other philosophy/world view that's not Xian or she knows nothing about, such as the U.U. are pagans and refuses to even look at anything she does not deem Xian. Really makes for a very poor knowledge base in which to learn anything new. Couldn't agree more with the last sentence Coming across these kind of "religious" people is hard to talk with When you say "Fundamngelical", did she have a "born again" experience or was she raised that way. I am guessing it is the latter but I could be wrong She was not only raised that way, but she was also born again, several times over (at least 3x's that I know of). In the Church of God, Anderson Indiana sect (a Wesleyan sect), they call it something else, which oddly escapes, but it's basically the same thing- there's a forever long altar call, people start crying, go up to the altar, and turn their lives over to God. Same song and dance, but in the Wesleyan branches, one does this each time they backslide, striving for perfection, which they will never achieve until they get to heaven, but they still have to strive for perfection even so... thus the repeated "born again" deals each time they backslide. People think Calvinism is hell, they should try Wesleyanism. The Doctrine of Perfectionism is a vicious circle that only makes a person ill- mentally and physically.