The difference between the Christian God/religion and others

Firstly i would like to start by saying i am obviously a Christian. I, however, am not your average Christian. I do not pressure people into my belief, i present them with the facts and let them make their decision as that is all i can do. I do not regularly attend church as i think in most churches Christianity is taught in a way to make people feel better about it. It is sugar coated and the desire to make others feel good and political correctness have caused many flaws to creep in to mainstream Christianity.

Now to the topic, i will first discuss a major misunderstanding about the Christian faith. While some religions main purpose is to explain the unexplainable Christianity is not. It is also not a code of ethics on how to live your life, as other religions are.

The TRUE purpose of Christianity as the Bible teaches it is the redemption of mankind and helping to lead others to accept God's free gift of salvation. We are to witness to others and try to help them get to know God on a personal level. Yes there was a law in the OT but that is not the PURPOSE of our religion and holds no weight when it comes to salvation and acceptance in to heaven.

The above is the whole point and purpose of the entire Bible. All other parts of it including the history, prophecy, etc. is extra information for those that have matured in their faith.

Now i will explain why the Bible is different than all other religious texts. The modern Bible consists of 66 books written by 40+ authors. These people were from various areas and some never met, yet there are no contradictions once the text is studied in the correct context and fully understood. The Bible also claims to predict the future, which it does with startling accuracy. No other book or prophet on Earth has come close to the track record the Bible has for very specific accurate predictions.

The Bible also comments on many facts of life that were rediscovered in modern times as new, yet were written thousands of years ago. Examples being crop rotation, the Earth is not flat, bathe in running water, atoms, and the water cycle just to name a few.

The Bible is a historical account, it is not fables written to explain the unexplainable or to explain why things are how they are or how we gained. This is clear when you understand the point as i presented it above.

The Bible is not about doing as God says and being a good little follower so as to go to paradise, because none of us do as he says and none of us deserve anything. It is not about heaven or hell. It is about YOUR soul and YOUR eternity. It is YOUR choice as to where you go. God gives us a very fair choice. He gives us the two choices, and only a fool would CHOOSE to go to hell when the alternative is just the simple acceptance of a gift.

I will gladly address any questions, thanks.

you lost me somewhere along the lines of your interpretation of what christianity is for all christians and how you dont go to church or have an active relationship with a pastor.

what is your question and why is your post so long with your supportive statements about your "belief" but your thread topic is so far away from the intent of its title.

Ahh yes, the redemption of mankind...

What a joke.

The original sin, where man ate from the tree of knowledge, thereby gaining knowledge himself.

Any God that becomes angry that its creation is gaining knowledge is no God I will pray to, nor ever want to meet. We are supposed to abide by rules set by some jacktard whom tried to keep us home from school, but failed to take precautions.

The bible, the point of christian religion in its entire is profoundly illogical...heres a idea. If God didnt want mankind to eat from the tree of knowledge as he says, why didnt he make us simple animals? and if it was a actual tree that had...knowledgefruit on it, why didnt he simply put it on the bloody moon or mars or something?

The bible is a business that was thrown together to gain tithe and power from the savages. Some rules on how to cultivate a society, how to prepare for war as a nation, and to ensure enslavement of entire populations by the concept that the great space boogieman will strike you down if your naughty and forget to give your cash back to the institution.

besides the billions of deaths religion has caused over the years, it has also stagnated completely personal spiritual growth and connection with the universe. Want salvation and atonement from our fall...step 1 would be burn the bible. ALL structured religion is nonsense...but hey, at least they all have that in common.

I do not agree with the notion that the Christian faith is somehow a non-conformist and non-compulsory philosophy. It is. I do not feel I need a free ticket to salvation, and yet a refusal would pit me in an eternity of pain. It is not a tender and loving faith, it even goes as far as threatening and judging those who are not Christians.

Which is way I'm not suprised that your arguments seems to stem from fear.

He gives us the two choices, and only a fool would CHOOSE to go to hell when the alternative is just the simple acceptance of a gift.

This logic seems similar to Pascal's Wager. Fear me, love me. Why not believe if the rewards are so great? It is not a flattering philosophy for two reasons. The first is that it is driven by fear, not love or belief. The second is that it implies that you can somehow outwit an omniscient being, if that is what we're dealing with. I doubt that work work.

reply to post by resonance

I do not pressure people into my belief, i present them with the facts and let them make their decision as that is all i can do.

How about a little intellectual courtesy and begin your thread with your facts first ?

Why do you feel the need to present your "so called facts" to anyone ?

No doubt when your average intelligent person rejects whatever it is you are trying to present to them. It is either because they do not trust/like you, you have nothing that would benefit them or your so called facts don't stand up to scrutiny.


So please present your facts and then we can deal with your opinions afterward.

reply to post by Oscitate


this is in no way a flaw in logic..ill give you an example

lets say you have two roads that lead to the same place and you know nothing about either road.

you look at road #1 and it looks dangerous, hard, and long

you look at road #2 and it looks easy to travel

so you pick road #2...you do this knowing nothing about either..you just know road #2 looks better than road #1 and you therefore choose #2 just because you dont want to take #1...so in effect you CHOSE not to go down road 1 although you could if you wanted

It is not about God sending you to hell for punishment...your soul has to spend eternity somewhere, it cannot die, it is eternal...so you have your two choices...your 2 paths to travel for eternity, heaven or hell...God gives you the choice and if you choose not to take the easy path to heaven you are in effect willingly choosing the other path which leads to hell. what makes this better though is that God tells us about each path yet many still reject the easy one

[edit on 12-1-2010 by resonance]

reply to post by resonance

The TRUE purpose of Christianity as the Bible teaches it is the redemption of mankind and helping to lead others to accept God's free gift of salvation.

This is just your opinion which you may or may not choose to believe but cannot conclusively verify as the authors of the bibles are unknown and long dead.

The bibles are a collection of compiled manuscripts reprinted and edited time and again by men.

Your interpretation of the contents of the bibles can be no more nor less valid than that of anyone else including myself.

reply to post by moocowman


I did present facts although i did not cite sources. I would encourage people to do their own intense study as i have.

It is a fact that the bible is historically accurate, it is a fact it has predicted future events, it is a fact it talks about scientific knowledge that is now common place but for centuries was not, it is a fact that it is a combination of 66 books by 40 authors that combines to make one harmonious book with no contradictions. Muhammed contradicts himself and for the most part created Islam alone. The book of mormon is contradictory as well.

People say religion is a way to control people...and yes that may be in some cases..but if the Christian religion is perverted to be that way it is the fault of humans... it was not originally intended this way at all...when the gospels were written it was when people were alive who knew of the events described or knew someone who did..they could have checked these facts out..they were written within a lifetime of what the describe (another fact).

The books of the bible were all combined..they were not all one text to make a religion like islam or buddhism ..they were originally documentation of worldly events

reply to post by moocowman


my interpretation is correct and i have no fear in saying this..the bible explains itself..it is a very easy book to understand and as we have old copies in the original languages that are the same with only minor translation errors

the bible is not about interpreting in your own way as religious leaders like to have you believe..this is what i was talking about when i said they try to sugar coat it to make others feel better...

the bible is to help you redeem yourself..that is the story from the beginning..its all about man's fall and redemption..to argue that is just mere lack of understanding and study..

So our lives last a split second in gods marvelous creation and if we dont except a certain teacher, in this case were talking about jesus/jeshuwa, then god will punish us in a tormented hell presided over by demons? yes or no?

Originally posted by Oscitate
I do not agree with the notion that the Christian faith is somehow a non-conformist and non-compulsory philosophy. It is. I do not feel I need a free ticket to salvation, and yet a refusal would pit me in an eternity of pain. It is not a tender and loving faith, it even goes as far as threatening and judging those who are not Christians.

Which is way I'm not suprised that your arguments seems to stem from fear.

it is a loving faith...PEOPLE are the ones that choose to try to make you fear hell and preach all the fire and brimestone nonsense..nowhere in the bible does it say to fear hell..it says love everyone..

also i have no fear at all lol..i do not fear death..i am completely set in my belief and came to be this way through intense study...i originally came to christ because i wanted to know about life after death..i studied many things and came to christianity last as it was the one i was most familiar with...my belief has nothing to do with fear

[edit on 12-1-2010 by resonance]

reply to post by resonance



The flaw in logic resides in the fact that despite God "loving us", he also requires our fear. We use the term "God-fearing" as a positive adjective today do we not?

In order to make the choice you are employing reason, not faith. You are imposed an infantile question which is tantamount to "My way or else". It is not as simple as saying a long, arduous path. I may live what religion and society awknowledge is a moral and altrusitic life, but if continue to refuse salvation on the basis that there is not a shred of evidence for it, then I will bask in hell eternally, without salvation.

Hell is eternal.

everlasting fire — Matthew18:8 25:41
everlasting punishment — Matthew 25:46
everlasting chains — Jude 1:6
eternal damnation — Mark 3:29
eternal judgment — Hebrews 6:2
eternal fire — Jude 1:7
unquenchable fire — Matthew 3:12
the fire that never shall be quenched — Mark 9:43, 44, 45, 46, 48
fire unquenchable — Luke 3:17
mist of darkness is reserved for ever — 2 Peter 2:17
the blackness of darkness for ever — Jude 1:13

It all seems quite infantile to me, and unquestionably human. But I doubt we'll change each others beliefs, so for what its worth -- we agree to disagree.

reply to post by EagleClaw


absolutely not..it is not about punishment..and it is not about accepting what jesus taught..

it is merely about accepting that due to man's original sin we needed a savior..we needed someone pure to die to pay our debt..as adam's death could not..

God doesnt send us to hell for punishment..we are sent to hell because we chose not to accept a free gift..it takes 2 seconds lol..if you really just believe it and thank him and accept it your good..its that easy..

reply to post by resonance


I agree with you, but i also think your clinging on to hard of what other people think to let yourself grow. everyone will start following the law of love one way or another, then we can all agree.

To accept jesus as "Gods son" is another way of saying this is the pure way in which "God" wanted us to achieve. The bible is full of parables that not alot of people can agree on the meaning, thats why there is countless "sub" chiristian groups, like penecostal and so on.

Weather we like it or not, theres one god. if someone worships a god, they are worshiping either god, or the "gift of creation" or a result of it.

Yet, i feel the word creation has a broken meaning. Too many biases to attribute it to what i mean, and only few on here will understand.

(not a christian, do believe the bible holds wisdom, but some sadly has been put in there for peoples own interest or gain. like most religions, there is always something you can take. something pure, which is usally what the religion was first based on. and remember, allow yourself to grow, and a way to tell is look over words of wisdom that had strong meaning a long time ago, and if it has different meaning thats more deep, you have grown.)

[edit on 12-1-2010 by gandhi]

[edit on 12-1-2010 by gandhi]

Originally posted by Oscitate
reply to post by resonance

 

The flaw in logic resides in the fact that despite God "loving us", he also requires our fear. We use the term "God-fearing" as a positive adjective today do we not?

In order to make the choice you are employing reason, not faith. You are imposed an infantile question which is tantamount to "My way or else". It is not as simple as saying a long, arduous path. I may live what religion and society awknowledge is a moral and altrusitic life, but if continue to refuse salvation on the basis that there is not a shred of evidence for it, then I will bask in hell eternally, without salvation.

Hell is eternal.

It all seems quite infantile to me, and unquestionably human. But I doubt we'll change each others beliefs, so for what its worth -- we agree to disagree.

it has nothing to do with a my way or else...also, humans are not good creatures, some of us may do good things but as a whole we are horrid so if you think because you are good by the moral standards of the day that this actually makes you a good person you are mistaken and again this is NOT what its all about..god has to be separate from sin..your soul has to be cleansed by the blood of jesus christ..since your soul is eternal it has to spend eternity somewhere..and if you reject god and therefore cannot enter heaven, the alternative is hell..

reply to post by resonance

The above is the whole point and purpose of the entire Bible. All other parts of it including the history, prophecy, etc. is extra information for those that have matured in their faith.

Again, you cannot make any factual claims of in relation to the purpose of these books that are more or less valid than anyone else including myself.

Again the authors were unknown and dead, to claim that a bulk of these books is for those that have matured in "faith" makes you look foolish when you've previously claim to present facts.

Faith as we know, is believing something without the need for any facts whatsoever.

So you begin your thread claiming to present "facts " in order to back up your case when presenting it to other people that you claim not to "force it upon".

Yet you immediately fail to present any facts and introduce "faith" as concept which is normally rejected by intelligent rational human beings.

It would seem then, that in order for you not to force your case upon other people you choose to use misrepresentation and deceit (even if this is self deceit) and appear to be no different to a very poor salesman stuck with 30000 liters of magic car wash, that he convinced himself is the dogs bollocks but can't get rid of.

reply to post by resonance


He could send them somewhere else, other that hell could he not? You seem to want to absolve God of subjecting us to eternal torture.

reply to post by SaturnFX


my my my...such a lack of understanding..

it wasnt about us gaining knowledge..it was about disobeying our creator..he made a simple request and we disobeyed which allowed sin to enter the world..

it is not about following rules..nowhere does it say that gets you in to heaven..it does however say that through the simple belief in jesus christ we can be saved

it is not illogical for god to give us a way to sin...god wants us to love him...he therefore gave us free will...this will also includes the ability to disobey..forced love is not love at all...

and the idea that the bible was thrown together to gain money and power is the most ridiculous thing i have ever heard..it was written by 40 people many who never met or lived at the same time..yes humans turned it in to that..but that is our folly and in no way ruins the integrity of the book

and religion has not caused deaths...people have caused deaths in the name of religion...

reply to post by resonance

my interpretation is correct and i have no fear in saying this..

Then why have you not rewritten the extant bibles so that there is only one interpretation namely yours, the correct one?

Your arrogance is not new my friend and makes you look foolish.

By the where's the facts you speak of ?

reply to post by Oscitate


where would you have him send you...he cant send you somewhere without sin..so he has to send you somewhere with sin..its all simple..but you try to find hole and therefore complicate it...