Why or Why Not, Do you believe the Bible or Christianity?

I Have been raised as Christian, since I was practically born. Went to Christian school in kindergarten - 9th. We studied alot there everyday about the Bible and so on. I am very knowledgeable of this religion and had been studying for a long time.

I have made this thread for this reason. I was talking to a couple of friends and theirs. We were discussing things in the world and one just kept trying to question me and someone else repeatedly about what if Satan, and God and blah, blah. His input on everything was that Satan was up to something. How he wouldn't be able to live without Christ and all that. "We are talking about things that could be answered with rational thinking." He just starts getting angry after that comment and we asked why. He just kept rambling on, and finally someone really offended him.
Finally he tried to start telling us about the Bible and what to believe and what was true and someone with us started to agree with him. He is getting really upset, especially when I say I went down that road but I just see to many things that I could question and so on.

This guy takes a swing at me! It really surprised me. I was surprised no one wanted to step in out of the five of us. So I ended up fighting this guy until he finally said he was hurt. I found that pretty crazy. I am still pissed at this guy right now. I still have bruises and so does he, if this is what religion does to some people is it really that good for us?

Remember I was raised into it going to Church since a baby, in school I had chapel every Wednesday, and was with a Church going family. He is not the only persons I have met like this.

I would just like to see why or why not believe, what you guys think. Maybe even what made you believe or didn't.
(My reason was I found to many contradictions and things that didn't add up for my taste, and the bad things it has done to people.)

For an idea of what this guy was like and why, I am so interested in this thread was, because, this guy claimed to have joined Christianity because he felt as if his life was worthless. And someone else he mentioned joined because his friend died. It makes me wonder...

Thanks for your input.

Well, the concept of Christianity is true I believe. However, I think that it has been so manipulated over the ages that much of its true form has been lost. The Roman empire drove the Cathars and the Gnostics underground because their form of Christianity did not mesh with the "christianity" of the Roman empire. Honestly, I think that is when Christianity lost its true form.

As far as the bible is concerned, one has to remember that it has been translated 100s of times, and not all scholars and theologians agree upon theexact meaning of the translations. The King James version of the bible is really nothing more than a political manuscript.

To get real understanding, one must know Hebrew and the mindset of the ancient man. A lot of the wording the prophets used were placed in their terms, not ours.

I have mentioned this is an other post , I recommend you read a book called , Misquoting Jesus by Bart D Ehrman . I am sure you will find it of great interest and it will help explain how the bible came to be what it is today .

reply to post by thehype16


I'm sure that guy thinks he get brownie points for sticking up for his religion. He's probably thinking that you'll burn in hell while he laughs from heaven

I almost became a christian when i read and watched alot of propaganda about heaven and hell (especially those videos about some people being takne to hell by Jesus) but eventually I decided I don't like the idea of worshiping a God that represents everything bad about humanity (jealousy, anger, revenge, and hate - I don't see a loving/forgiving God sending his creations to hell for all eternity for being totally unaware or by his piss-poor effort to make his existence known)

His "love" has been the death of countless millions and millions.

In my eyes, its far more likely, given the size of the Universe (or even our galaxy) that an Alien species interfered or was misinterpreted as Gods, and gave us the Bible.

edit: typo

[edit on 15-8-2008 by dodgygeeza]

I don't believe in religion, but I don't think other sheeple shouldn't

www.youtube.com...


peace

Try not to equate the religious with the spiritual.

I'm surprised that the guy took a swing at you. It seems so atypical of a follower of Christian doctrine.

But, people will be people, regardless of what they believe is right or wrong.

Ok , what I am gonna do is paint the yellow circle with the cross in it all over the target areas of old Quoquilam . The city is closed , the coastal flag is sideways in the abandoned buildings and the city is on emergency because of wraith .

We can hit the entire target area and close it for good a few days after I finish painting or any time afterward without penalty that is the law . I already told town they are on an old Coast Guard Station on a Primary burial ground of my people .

We did this in the old days but nothin got finished because we didnt have the drone built . That is a nice plane seeing it with the CF 100 training . Old abandoned Quoquilam is just target practice for the native marine stations and native air force of Kanata .

[edit on 15-8-2008 by jokerdazey2]

Too many inconsistencies, contradictions, and passages that are downright bizarre (God not minding Lot's two daughters getting him drunk and having sex with him, but eating shellfish is a mortal sin? Ok...).

Thanks for posting. You guys make some good points and I agree with some of you. My guess is that this guy was so crazy about being wrong or standing up for his religion. It still surpried me some people take "jesus freak" or "I'm crazy for Christ" too seriously. Hopefully, I won't see him again. I used to be a strong Christian believer. But when you grow up studying it, you see the all the things that don't add up.

Why would God be a jealous God, Jealousy is one of the 9 deadly sins.

I believe Jesus was who he said he was. One primary reason is that demons/evil entities hate the name Jesus and must obey commands given in his name. However, they do not respond to the names Buddha, or Muhammad, etc.

Of course you will ask for proof and I personally can not show you proof.

reply to post by SailorinAZ


How do you know it was a demon?
There are stories of them supposedly being stopped by other names.

Originally posted by Maxmars
Try not to equate the religious with the spiritual.

Excuse me!!! I don't think a spiritual person would feel so strongly that they would take a swing at someone over a disagreement, only someone who has been religiously brainwashed would do such a thing, in my experience. Thank ya.

I don't because I have no reason to. It's simple. If there was proof, I would have logical backing to my belief, and would believe.

Dude, in my opinion, I would not put to much focus on the old testament. Stick to Mat, Mark, Luke, & John only. Even then, you need to understand that these books most likely are tainted by sinful man.

Well some reason not to believe in god's are.....

the source of the info.

people who wiped there butt's on leaf's .
thought the world was flat.
to even think about another god or other possibility was a crime and they killed million's. in the name of god lol

they could only see as far as the human eye would allow.
no technology to help prove or disprove what they said was true.

the ancients where so advanced they made house's out of mud.
yet they knew the answer to all thing's ....IMPOSSIBLE



But then on the other hand...one can never know lol
if we knew for positive god existed
we would be servants to a way far superior being.
and i assume that is what god's intention would be.
not to never know but wonder.
that way we make up our own mind's..to be good people and what not lol

Originally posted by SpeakerofTruth

Originally posted by Maxmars
Try not to equate the religious with the spiritual.

Excuse me!!! I don't think a spiritual person would feel so strongly that they would take a swing at someone over a disagreement, only someone who has been religiously brainwashed would do such a thing, in my experience. Thank ya.

I'm sorry, that was what I was trying to say. I didn't mean for that to come off the other way.

I abandoned it when I learned that King James had his original translator burned at the stake before "retranslating it" himself. I had grown up respecting it because religion had been around for so long I figured if people really believed in it for so many years it had to have some sort of relevance. But once it became apparent to me that history is made from people manipulating sacred texts to get political power I tuned out completely.

If they didn't respect it, why should I? Their belief must have been even shakier than modern man's if they had no fear of changing things to say what's more convenient. And this is the age of rife spirituality honored today by the continued worship of false idols on a cross?

Also when I started talking to hardcore fundamentalists. That they can use Jesus to spread hatred while knowing and not caring Jesus never said such a thing did some damage to the credibility of extremely "faithful followers" in my eyes.

The only Christians I can really respect are the ones who understand it as cultural mythology and find spirituality from it in that way. And in that regard, Christianity is pretty awesome.

Many of my reasons to reject christianity have been put forward by others, but the guy taking a swing at you illustrates one of my main reasons.

So few christians live by their own principles - turning the other cheek , for instance, would have been the appropriate principle for your assailant to follow instead of hitting you. Not to mention 'love they neighbour'.

(turning the other cheek, metaphorically, I'm not suggesting you tried to hit him first).

I've taken an interest in other religions from an early age and buddhism and hinduism make a lot more (spiritual) sense to me. I can't claim to be an expert but I haven't found the same lack of logic that you find in christianity.

Currently, I'm a happy heathen - I've never been christened or baptised or otherwise 'accepted' into any religion - but I am always very interested to know about religious ideas or debates of any kind.

I do believe there are forces or powers one can appeal to in times of need.
I suppose it would be considered complete blasphemy, but I think some christian saints have taken on the mantles of some of the old gods.

If I need guidance, I'd just prefer to picture the 'power' I'm appealing to in an older guise.

As for a creator god - I think that if there is a creator god it must be more complex than a god who created this heaven and earth. I'd really like to know what the ancients meant by 'heaven' - did they have any idea how vast the universe is and did they mean to claim that their god created all of it?

I believe I am a better person now than I EVER would have been under Christianity.

I think that some people lose sight of the fact that religion is philosophical and God is conceptual. Neither of which being definitive.

It is sad, but that is life.