It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Your version of "critical thinking" seems to be to criticize everyone around you who doesn't agree with your narrow-minded zeal.
Religious tolerance is about civil rights: Others define religious tolerance as a human rights issue. Religious tolerance means that you favor extending religious freedom to people of all faith traditions, even though you probably disagree with their validity of theiir beliefs and/or practices. In turn, religious freedom means that a person can, without oppression or discrimination:
*Believe, worship and witness as they wish;
*Practice freedom from belief, worship and witnessing if they wish;
*Change their beliefs or religious affiliation;
*Within reasonable limits, proselytize others in order to convert others to their belief system, and/or
*Associate with others to express their beliefs.
Quotations on religious intolerance:
George H.W. Bush: (R) as Presidential candidate on 1987-AUG-27: "No, I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens, nor should they be considered patriots. This is one nation under God."
Pat Robertson, Fundamentalist Christian minister, on The 700 Club episode for 1991-JAN-14: "You say you're supposed to be nice to the Episcopalians and the Presbyterians and the Methodists and this, that, and the other thing. Nonsense. I don't have to be nice to the spirit of the Antichrist. I can love the people who hold false opinions but I don't have to be nice to them."
Andrew Sandlin, writing for the Chalcedon Foundation, calls for Christian believers to pray to God to exterminate those who think differently from themselves: "God extends his grace to his people (and mankind in general) when he destroys the wicked, because in destroying the wicked, he is averting their evil works that so plague God's children and mankind in general. When he maims and kills cultists and theological liberals, he prevents the spread of heretical doctrine that damns souls...God's judgment -- not his favor -- leads the world to righteousness. We should petition God's judgment on the wicked because judgment is a form of grace."
Moses wrote the Torah, the first 5 "books" of the hebrew bible.
Well the first thing that drew me here was the use of the words New Age. New Age beliefs are a subject I am interested in precisely because of how much of a hodge-podge of different beliefs they can be. A New Ager can accept Crystals, alien entities, channeling spirits, Jesus and reincarnation and apparently not suffer the slightest cognitive dissonance, that alone is quite interesting. New Age is essentially the "pick-your-own-adventure-book" of religions.
Of course the thread turned out to be just some Christian pretending his death cult is somehow so much more enlightened than New Age beliefs. As a former Christian and someone who knows a decent amount about Christian beliefs and scripture naturally I responded.
Originally posted by Deetermined
reply to post by apushforenlightment
There is a strange sense of peace at that moment after a fear imposed amagydala overload since the brain will not be able to feel fear anymore.
What exactly happened at this moment? Can you elaborate some more?
Originally posted by Deetermined
reply to post by apushforenlightment
Lol. I remeber when I in my mind told god that I would never agree to eternal punishment and would reject god if he was a bully and would not have anything to do with Christianety because of it before I had my moment.
Your statement almost concerns me. From my research, it makes me wonder if "rejecting" God based on our own requirements of him is what could possibly lead to deceptions. Does refusing to accept God for who he is, but who we want him to be open a door wide open for other spirits to enter in? I think this may be a possibility.
Do we have every right to get mad at God? Absolutely. Do we have any right to make demands on him based on our own limited understanding of him? I don't think so. However, like you said, anyone is free to reject him.
This is giving me some new ideas on areas of research. Thanks.
Also, there is some evidence that the biblical Moses story was taken from a much earlier story of Sargon of Akkad, a Sumerian Ruler. Both bear a very similar story. In any case, Sumerian tales are older (or at least were written down first.) These stories, carved on clay tablets, are about 1,500 years older than the Bible. The earliest of the Biblical books was written down about 1500 BC. For myself, I am more inclined to take the first story over the copy.
This is called religious intolerance, and in a forum like ATS, there are people from all over the world, and to expect that all of them will immediately become Christians just because one member, or several, tells them they are going to Hell if they don't, well, that dog won't hunt.
God made sure Buddha was sent here to preach gods wisdom. I examine and change all my thought if they do not make sense. If god did not want people who can think for themself and question his motives then why do he keep us around and even teaches some of us to do it? God loves curriosity since it shows the soul is wanting to understand all about god/creation/love and reality.
Your funny. So your research led to facts about the existence of Sargon of Akkad, but archaeologists are unsure as to the time period. But, there is no achaeological evidence that Moses even existed, let alone when! You know, the identity of Moses is a hotly debated topic and some scholars identify him as Pharaoh Akennoten, 1379 BC.
Originally posted by wildtimes
reply to post by apushforenlightment
God made sure Buddha was sent here to preach gods wisdom. I examine and change all my thought if they do not make sense. If god did not want people who can think for themself and question his motives then why do he keep us around and even teaches some of us to do it? God loves curriosity since it shows the soul is wanting to understand all about god/creation/love and reality.
Very well put, push!
I always enjoy your posts. Here's one of my faves.
And here is a quote from the HH the 14th Dalai Lama: