A word on catholicism...

originally posted by: whereislogic

Most notably, with what can be labeled as their* Trinity doctrine (*: in the sense that they were instrumental in popularizing it and forcing it upon the populace by means of a death penalty for not going along with it; using people like Clovis to butcher groups of people with opposing views, such as the Arians). ...

Not that the Arians had clean hands when it came to political intrigue, from that article:

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The Arian Controversy

About 320 C.E., Arius, a priest in Alexandria, Egypt, began to spread radical ideas concerning the Trinity. Arius denied that the Son was of the same essence, or substance, as the Father. The Son could not be God or equal to the Father, since he had a beginning. (Colossians 1:15) As for the holy spirit, Arius believed that it was a person but that it was inferior to both the Father and the Son. This teaching, which gained wide popularity, roused fierce opposition within the church. In 325 C.E., at the Council of Nicea, Arius was exiled and his teachings were condemned.*

However, this did not end the controversy. The doctrinal crisis went on for some 60 years, with successive emperors siding with one party or the other. Finally, in 392 C.E., Emperor Theodosius I made orthodox Catholicism with its Trinity doctrine the State religion of the Roman Empire. In the meantime the Goths had been converted to Arianism by Ulfilas, a Germanic bishop. Other Germanic tribes were quick to adopt this form of “Christianity.”*

By the time of Clovis, the Catholic Church in Gaul was in crisis. The Arian Visigoths had been trying to suppress Catholicism by refusing to allow bishops who died to be replaced. Furthermore, the church was in the throes of two papal schisms, with priests from opposing factions killing one another in Rome. Adding to this confusion, some Catholic writers had put forward the idea that the year 500 C.E. would mark the end of the world. Thus, the conversion of the Frankish conqueror to Catholicism was seen as an auspicious event, heralding “the new millennium of the saints.”

But what were Clovis’ motives? While religious motivations cannot be ruled out, he certainly had political goals in mind. By choosing Catholicism, Clovis gained favor with the predominantly Catholic Gallo-Roman population and the support of the influential church hierarchy. This gave him a decided advantage over his political rivals. The New Encyclopædia Britannica notes that “his conquest of Gaul became a war of liberation from the yoke of the hated Arian heretics.”

Who Was the Real Clovis?

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Source: The Baptism of Clovis—1,500 Years of Catholicism in France

I bolded the sentence above because it's related to my remark about:

"Most notably, with what can be labeled as their* Trinity doctrine". Which was what my footnote earlier was about as well.

Not because of what I said about the Arians now in this comment.

a reply to: GolgothaBridge

Oh yes....the arrogance, ignorance, conceitedness, sanctimony, vanity and intolerance of the faithful all seem to be such common denominators in all religions and their numerous denominations.

a reply to: whereislogic

My only real argument there would be the fact that God walked physically through the garden in Eden, appears in a furnace with some believers in Babylon, and then as the Messiah. I believe these to be the same entity, goes human form. Yes, the body had a begining on earth at a time, but keep in mind that God is beyond time. Before and after mean nothing.

originally posted by: GolgothaBridge
a reply to: whereislogic

My only real argument there would be the fact that God walked physically through the garden in Eden, appears in a furnace with some believers in Babylon, and then as the Messiah. I believe these to be the same entity, goes human form. Yes, the body had a begining on earth at a time, but keep in mind that God is beyond time. Before and after mean nothing.

It's alway now........
What is happening is God.

There is nothing outside of what's actually occuring.

It is only because of concepts like time that concepts can seem to walk outside what's happening.......but concepts can't do anything. Concepts are just ideas.

God is what actually is.......non conceptual reality.