A story by a Christian..... please break it down

This was sent to me by a Christian because he realised i was athiest and wanted to change me.
I was wondering if someone could break it down - not because i cant, but because i'd like to see if ive missed any important points.
Its pretty well writted for someone who uses Yahoo chat! ^.^
Thanks in advance.

A plain square room.
No light no dark.
Nothing is.
He awakes.

His eyes open to the plain room, lit by an unknown intense light behind
him which illuminates all.
He turns to observe the light which gave his sight meaning when
suddenly a vice grip grabs his
forearm, staying his motion.
His eyes jerk in front of him, to the source of this power.
Standing in front, looking deep into his soul with calming eyes stands
darkness, molded to his form,
raw power radiates from it and with it a longing unquenchable.
The darkness removes the hand and speaks with a slight smirk.

"Hello." His voice flows like thunder under the ocean, drawing him in.

"Hi..." he hesitantly replies. "Who are you?"

The darkness flashes with indignance but quickly masks it behind a
lopsided grin.
"Have you not heard of me?" After a slight pause he continues
unwavering, his voice a cresendo of sirens.
"I am power. Greatness. Immortality. I am he who fufills your deepest
and most cherised desires.
I am inside all, be it man woman, weak strong, tall short. I am there.
I am always with you.
Your shadow." The grin straightens and broadens.

"My shadow...?" He echos thoughfully as his glance unknowingly falls
slightly. "You sound very wonderful
indeed."

The shadow leans forward and raises his chin, locking eyes. "You have
no idea." Grinning all the while.

"How can you do all those most excellent things?"

"Well I can't really divulge..."

"Please! Tell me, show me, help me. I must know! Why keep them from me?
Do you not take me as
being worthy enough? Do I too not deserve power and immortality? Is the
pie not mine as well? I too
deserve a slice." His eyes flicked back and forth across the shadow's
face, seeking solace.

The darkness grew in statue and leaned in close to his ear, "No no my
boy... You deserve MORE."

His eyes grew wider as a broad grin was stamped onto his face.
"More..."

"Yes, more." The darkness continues. "With me, I can give you all these
things, anything and everything. Nothing is beyond
my grasp." A black arm lengthens to the side, to the man's eye the
black iron fingers wrap into a fist which slowly returns
to the shadow's body as he speaks. "With me you cannot lose." He sweeps
his arm to the side like a black cape, the abyss of
darkness drawing in the young man.

His eyes dilated as he stared in. He began to see things the shadow let
him see. He saw a man in rich attire, surrounded by
friends all laughing and smiling, and material goods. Paintings from
the far reaches of the world. Plush carpets.
Lavish scultures. The vision panned to the side, revealing row after
row of shelves filled to the brim with books upon
books, knowledge of everything imaginable contained within, at the mere
flip of a page he could know. The view altered
again, revealing the same man surrounded by gorgeous shapely women, all
hanging onto his physique, wishing to touch. His
every word oozed with wit and charm, the women swooned. The man wrapped
his arm around a woman, firmly goosing her behind as
the two of them ducked into the rear of a stretch limosine as the young
man spoke as if in a trance. "Who is this man that
commands the respect of all whom entreat upon him and enter into his
presence.."

The shadow replied ever so smooth, the words oiling from his lips.
"That man my boy...is you."

His eyes filled with wonder at this. "ME?! But, but..but how!" His
voice was giddy. "Why? How? When?!!"

The shadow continued demurely. "Or rather I should say...can be."

"Can?" A hint of hysterium in his voice. "What do you mean CAN be? What
must I do to bring it about? You! Shadow! You said
you were power and everything I desired. Well...I desire this! How can
I bring it about that it's not what I can be, but what
I will be?"

Before the darkness could field a response the light seemed to
intensify and warmth flowed through the young man. He saw
himself happy, far happier than in the shadow's curtain. With friends
around him as he sparred against one during a game of
chess. His clothes are humble and drab, a moderate bookcase heaped
erratically with worn books leans precariously against the
wall. A squeal of pleasure cuts in on the scene as a young girl runs up
to the man and tugs on his leg. The man bellows
with jovial laughter as he bends over and places the young girl on his
knee, as he playfully lets her decide his next
chess move. A rather plain looking woman, who's beauty lays masked
beneath toil and whom radiates strength and kindness
enters from the side and smiles at the scene, as the man's opponent
feigns distress at being faced
by the child. The girl turns to the woman and says "Mama! Mama! Look me
and Daddy are pla.."

Suddenly darkness chokes the room and it fades. The young man looks up
at his shadow breathlessly. "What was that?"

His shadow seems a bit agitated as he replies "Nothing, nothing. A mere
error."

"Error? Or was that another path I could perchance take?"

"In a way perhaps. But still only an error." The darkness quickly
states.

The young man bites his bottom lip anxiously and sits silently in
thought a moment. "I liked the second better.."

"WHAT?!" The shadow scoffs and cackles. "Did you see the shambles? The
clothes? The wife?" The laughter increases.

"But did you see the happiness? The peace?" The young man retorts.

"You call THAT peace and happiness?!?! Shards of glass from the cup of
lesser men is what that is!! I will show you what
this peace and happiness brings." His shadow hisses hastily.

A swish of midnight and the vision returns. All are asleep. No noise is
heard, no wind blows. Quiet. Slowly footsteps are
heard as his gaze scans the room. A disturbance at the door into the
house. The handle twists and the rusted latch at
the corner pulls from the wall. A masked figure steals into the room.
The view twists to behind the intruder, following him.
He creeps down a hall and peeks into the room where the man who was
earlier playing chess and his wife sleep. From his waist
he pulls forth a gun, moonlight from the open door glints off the
handle as he raises it. The trigger is squeezed and a
bullet rips into the man's skull, splattering blood and brain fragments
over the wall. His wife jolts awake and screams.
The intruder takes a step forward and whips the gun against her head,
she falls dazed against the lifelesss body of her
husband. The young girl runs crying and screaming into the room and
into the back of the gunman. She sniffles and looks up
with a wail as a large fist slams down. As the wife shakes her head and
calls the child's name as she raises the gunman
steps closer to her and pulls off his mask. "Oh Go.." the woman utters
before her voice is muffled with duct tape. The man
turns to the younger girl and does the same, in the moonlight the young
onlooker from afar sees his face, the man that had
been playing chess earlier in that very house against the husband who
now lay dead. What transpires is horrible and atrocious
beyond compare, as the man begins to systematically rape and butcher
the mother and daughter with a common kitchen knife.

The young man's eyes turn from the sight but the shadow latches on and
twists it back, forcing him to observe. "This is what
that brings." The shadow teases into his ear. "This is what lack of
power brings."

As the man finished his ghastly task he begins searching the room for
valuables. As this occurs a white light appears near
the three dead bodies. "What!!!" The young man's shadow sharply
breathes in. "No..." His gaze now locked on the sight as he
locked the boy's before.

A man enters the room, clothed in white. Light follows as if the moon
itself answers his need. Never has light seemed more
pure or white. The intruder continues pilfering unbeknowst to this man,
as if he could not be seen.

Tears streamed down the man in white's face as he solemnly knelt down
beside the mutilated body of the child and touched
her forehead softly. The white light of her body intensifies and raises
itself, manifesting into a child of light above the
child of flesh. She smiles and laughs then raises through the ceiling.
The man draped in white does the same to the wife then
kneels next to the husband. As he extends his hand the young viewer
observes a scar along the wrist. The husband raises
in light and glances around, as if seeing the world for the first time.
Suddenly his wife and daughter appear again from
above. Each taking a hand in theirs, raising him up as they smile. He
looks into their faces and smiles as well then all
three rise into peace.

The kneeling man in white raises and turns towards the young onlooker,
as if this was no mere slight of sight but actuality.
His eyes look into the boy, deeper than his shadow had, into what the
boy is, then he too rises silently towards the heavens.

Reality is jerked to the plain room of dark and light as if the very
breath was hit from the young man.

His shadow grumbles.

The young man falls to his knees and begin to weep.

"What is this weakness?!" The darkness sneers at the stooping figure.
"What you saw was not real. After death the only thing
that lives on, the only thing people remember is what you did, who you
knew, the power you had. How far your arms reached.
This business with light and rising again is absurd. The mind is weak
and too readily believes what it desires to be true."

The boy continues to cry on his knees.

"Why do you lower yourself? Stand. You are man. You do not bow or
buckle. Stand proud! The earth is your cast, mold it
as you see fit. There is no time nor place for cowards and cry babies."

The boy's tear stained face glanced up at the shadow. "Who was that
man?"

"I told you!" The darkness persisted. "No one. What you saw was not
real! It will never be real."

A voice spoke into the young man's mind. "I am Jesus the Christ. Son of
God. I am He."

His shadow's head jerks up. "What?! NO!" His breathing increasing.
"Listen boy. Ignore the voice. Listen to me. I am here.
I am real. Do you not see me?! Look!"

The boy saw the shadow as he spread his arms to the side and rose
higher. The darkness seemed to grow.

"I love you. I am here for you, let me carry your troubles. Your burden
is not light but together we shall bear it." The
voice continued into his mind.

"What...is this..!?" The young man gasps.

The irrate shadow flails his limps. "Trickery! Folly! The light is
cunning. Oh yes, cunning indeed. It thinks itself divine,
perfect!" The darkness scoffs deep into it's throat. "It will confuse
and befuddle you. Warp you to become something
unnatural. Something it desires you to be in order to control. It
desires to steal your individuality as the masked man
robbed the family of life." This reference jolts the young man's mind
to the death and cruelty he witnessed of the world at
the hand's of man.

The voice parts the filth like a warm knife through butter. "I am the
creator. Only with me will you suffer and feel pain no
more. Only with me can you find eternal bliss and live forever in
Heaven. Immortal and joyous together."

The vision fades and the boy stands once again.

"Good good" his shadow purrs. "You should stand proud and tall. The
ground is meant for dogs."

"No." The young man says. "That is not why I stand."

His shadow begins to interject but is silenced and drowned with the
righteous words of this young man.

"Long have I sat alone listening to the words of darkness. Long did it
comfort me to know the potential resides within me,
waiting to be grasped and harnessed to my bidding. Power." He states
with contempt then continues. "But also long
have I been blinded by that very darkness. The ails of a grieving world
alluding my gaze. The many that were torn down
beneath the rise of a man. Me."

He shifts his body to turn when rapidly the darkness manifests itself
and lunges forward around his throat. "You cannot turn
aside from your path so easily boy. You cannot ignore the plea within
yourself, your very nature. You are sin and the need
for power. YOU ARE ME!"

His shadow flings itself back against the wall and takes the shape of
the young man perfectly. "Do you not see?" The
darkness continues. "We are one and the same. Light creates me. What
good is light that creates this lust within yourself
to begin with? It slaps the very temptation it planted in the face and
man is torn in the middle from the strife of nature
and morals. Can you see a manifestation of the light like you do me? It
is transfixed. Stationary. It moves for nothing.
What observes the evils of life and then calls itself good which lets
evil occur? Am I not here because of light?"

The young man stood for a moment then spoke. "Light did not create you
shadow. You are an ill begotten effect. Light is all
around, it is men that creates the shadows. Darkness is a throw back of
man, our sinful interior. Yet we must not wallow in
it and strengthen the dark."

With that the young man's shadow quailed as light shone through it. The
innermost shadows who were once guarded from the
light unknowingly by the very sin which created and nourished yet
loathed them were now placed before it and withered.
No longer was the light only around the young man, but it shone through
him. And through him his shadow was vanquished.

With tears of joy steaming down his face the boy turned into the light.

Well, although they have a pretty good writing stile, it doesnt sound much different from most of the Christian propaganda Ive had given to me here and there. Unwantedly, I might ad.
The problem that I have with this story, and most like it, is that the story itself seems to assume that you already believe most of the stuff anyways, youve just been 'led astray' for one reason or another.
Its sort of hard for a lot of xtians to grasp the fact that many many people really do not believe this stuff at all.

Struggle of inner good and evil. Thats the only thing I got from it, sprinkled heavily with religious psycho-jargon.

"The problem that I have with this story, and most like it, is that the story itself seems to assume that you already believe most of the stuff anyways, youve just been 'led astray' for one reason or another."

yeh thats true

A plain square room.
No light no dark.
Nothing is.
He awakes.

Here's the short and sweet...

1. Where did the room come from?
2. Where did "He" come from?

for there are no answers to these questions to be found in Christianity...

As for the conversation...the whole thing can be nullified. While conversations with God, and miracles seemed to abound earlier.....God hasn't put in a personal appearance in over 2000 years...therefore he isn't likely to talk to one...

Follow me, love me, obey me, and I shall be your slave....yep heard that before...but it was David Bowie in the movie Labyrinth, hehe.....

Well he is obviously quite cunning, and my guess is that he had this grin on his face which he writes about when he wrote. That's all. Doesn't look very authentic to me. Just drama without sense, prooving lack of spiritual knowledge and a massive wish to judge the innocent. That's more. It seems he has written the story of his life. How else would he know so much about it, but still be ignorant to the basics thereof.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

Notice that the "God" doesn't offer the man Truth, and Knowledge. No, he offers him "eternal bliss and happiness without any worries". But the "God" forgets to mention that when you worry and experience negative things you LEARN from them, and if you take away those things, you will not KNOW THEM when you see them etc etc... ALL lessons are equally important.

Also, eternal bliss and happiness in light and love are a bribe, a HUGE bribe that pushes your "pleasure" button, you know, the part of you that just wants pleasure. God basically says, follow me and you'll get all the pleasure you want without any trouble for eternity. The darkness then says the exact same thing, and offers pleasure in a different context.

Whatever happened to the 3rd entity that says, "I do not ask you to worship, nor follow me. I do offer you truth, and lessons of both kinds, negative and positive. I only give when asked, and NEVER pass judgement. Your free will is fully respected, and all I am here for is a service, to provide knowledge of all that exists, so that you may learn and grow yourself. Remember, power over others means their willful submission, for NO ONE can have any power over you unless you submit to them and are tempted."

So both entities are wrong, and are just fighting to get "recruits" on their side. Both, light, and dark are service to self. The path to enlightenment seems to be exactly in the middle, to learn to DISCERN the difference between service to self, and service to others, and SEE the choices you have, and make them accordingly... based on what YOU decide is important to you. Anyone who tries to tempt you with future rewards or scare you with future punishments just wants to CONTROL you, and NEEDS YOU TO SUBMIT WITH YOUR FREE WILL, since the "entity" knows it cannot violate your free will, that is impossible. But if you go along with it and accept it as your "God" or your "leader", then it is easy.

All religions are based on that trick, that illusion, and that lie. Is that not obvious? To me it is...

The"god" as you put it, is an obvious image of Satan. There have gone many false prophets out in this world. And here, in my opinion, is one of them.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

David Bowie Gaz? Isn't that the guy who created the Bowie knife lol..or am I wrong here? lol...



I dunno about the story, as the writer feels he is doing his duty to try and convert people (some Christian based religions require this) and I don't think he was personally targeting you, he or she just found an atheist and boom, ya know? As for some things, like you said Gaz, where did "He" come from. The thing with God and religion is, you can't disprove it, nor prove it, its a paradox.

As I heard in one of lilblam's arguements, he says "Something cannot come from nothing" Well, obviously it did, because we wouldn't be here if it didn't happen that way. Think about it, lets leave God out this for now. Where did the big bang come from? The Big Bang was obviously made up of particles and bits that formed stars and planets, but if that is true, where did the particles and bits come from? According to that arguement, that would be impossible, since something cannot come from nothing. If the stars are infinite, that is also impossible, yet it isn't, because we are here. Try to imagine the beginning of time. The first star appears. According to that arguement, however, that would be impossible, because something cannot come from nothing. Maybe something put the star there? What put the thing that created the star there? You just keep going back, and eventually it contradicts itself. Something cannot come from nothing, its scientifically proven, but that can be nullified as well, because thats not true. SOMETHING had to put the first particle there, since the particle could not "appear" on its own. SOMETHING put the universe here, unless the universe is infinite, which most atheists disagree with. Contradictory...hmm...

Now lets bring God in. Say God created the universe and planets and stars. That would be a logical explanation. EXCEPT! The question still remains, WHERE DID GOD COME FROM? "Something cannot come from nothing" So, according to that, God cannot exist, but the universe cannot exist either, because the universe (something) cannot come from nothing! There IS NOT an answer to either side of this arguement, at all. Some choose to believe in an infinite God, some choose to believe that the universe created itself, which, by science, is impossible, because something cannot create nothing. The arguement is a paradox to the fourth power, it is impossible to solve this, at least while you are here on Earth. Please read this, all of you.

peace,

-wD

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by WeBDeviL]

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by WeBDeviL]

Originally posted by mikromarius
The"god" as you put it, is an obvious image of Satan. There have gone many false prophets out in this world. And here, in my opinion, is one of them.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

But in all religious documents it is GOD who offers Heaven, the ultimate pleasure temptation! Unless of course, all religions are lies as I suspect they are, and created for the purposes of control and to make us submit our free will to an invisible "force" that we don't really know. Tsk tsk..

Originally posted by WeBDeviL
David Bowie Gaz? Isn't that the guy who created the Bowie knife lol..or am I wrong here? lol...

I dunno about the story, as the writer feels he is doing his duty to try and convert people (some Christian based religions require this) and I don't think he was personally targeting you, he or she just found an atheist and boom, ya know? As for some things, like you said Gaz, where did "He" come from. The thing with God and religion is, you can't disprove it, nor prove it, its a paradox.

As I heard in one of lilblam's arguements, he says "Something cannot come from nothing" Well, obviously it did, because we wouldn't be here if it didn't happen that way. Think about it, lets leave God out this for now. Where did the big bang come from? The Big Bang was obviously made up of particles and bits that formed stars and planets, but if that is true, where did the particles and bits come from? According to that arguement, that would be impossible, since something cannot come from nothing. If the stars are infinite, that is also impossible, yet it isn't, because we are here. Try to imagine the beginning of time. The first star appears. According to that arguement, however, that would be impossible, because something cannot come from nothing. Maybe something put the star there? What put the thing that created the star there? You just keep going back, and eventually it contradicts itself. Something cannot come from nothing, its scientifically proven, but that can be nullified as well, because thats not true. SOMETHING had to put the first particle there, since the particle could not "appear" on its own. SOMETHING put the universe here, unless the universe is infinite, which most atheists disagree with. Contradictory...hmm...

Now lets bring God in. Say God created the universe and planets and stars. That would be a logical explanation. EXCEPT! The question still remains, WHERE DID GOD COME FROM? "Something cannot come from nothing" So, according to that, God cannot exist, but the universe cannot exist either, because the universe (something) cannot come from nothing! There IS NOT an answer to either side of this arguement, at all. Some choose to believe in an infinite God, some choose to believe that the universe created itself, which, by science, is impossible, because something cannot create nothing. The arguement is a paradox to the fourth power, it is impossible to solve this, at least while you are here on Earth. Please read this, all of you.

peace,

-wD

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by WeBDeviL]

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by WeBDeviL]

I really don't want to hijack this thread with discussion about proofs of God so I won't. But I will comment, that I see no Paradox. What I see is, if God put the first star somewhere (question does remain, how he made that star, where did the materials come from) but if he did put it, who put GOD there? So you go back for infinity, and realise, you can't do that. Also, you understand that you cannot come out of nothing. The only reasonable explanation is that TIME doesn't exist, so there is no such thing as "creation" and no such thing as existing for eternity. But if there's no time, that means there's no such thing as creation. And if there's no such thing as creation, God has no purpose/reason for being, as the ONLY reason applied to him is that he's the Creator. Since he's no longer the Creator, he's no longer God.. he's now just a result of the infinity of consciousness that permeates all that is, in the infinite now. He no longer is all powerful, and there's no longer any reason to worship him at all. Would you worship a cow? How about me? Do you want to worship me? What about your parents, they created you, do you worship them?

So anyways, without time, there is no creation. Without creation there is no God.

Originally posted by lilblam

Originally posted by mikromarius
The"god" as you put it, is an obvious image of Satan. There have gone many false prophets out in this world. And here, in my opinion, is one of them.

Blessings,
Mikromarius

But in all religious documents it is GOD who offers Heaven, the ultimate pleasure temptation! Unless of course, all religions are lies as I suspect they are, and created for the purposes of control and to make us submit our free will to an invisible "force" that we don't really know. Tsk tsk..

And Satan is the one who says he has this power, but hasn't. He has always walked around and promised the world to anyone who serves him and worships him.

And his problem is ofcourse that he has been doing too much of it. And believe it or not, their souls, the has no power over them. Satan's magic can hurt indeed, even kill you, but the soul? How can he fetch down even one single star?

Blessings,
Mikromarius

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by mikromarius]

The story is just that, a story. It really has no meaning to those that don't already believe. It just shows what they want it to. I don't even see any argument exept that old "you'll be happy and in heaven with god" which is BS to those that don't believe.

If you really wanna have fun with fundies (what we call Jesus Freaks around here) when one of em asks you if you have given any thought to your salvation ask them a Zen question, which is a question without a logical answer that Zen students are to meditate on to free their minds of everyday clutter. A couple of my favorites are "What was the sun called before man?" and "What sound would one hand clapping make?" It keeps the zelots on their toes and off of your back.

~Urban

But where does God play into this? You keep saying Satan like you're talking about someone else. I was talking about the Holy Spirit, The "Lord God Almighty" from religion. He's the one who promises Heaven. The problem is, Heaven is just a way to dumb you down in a constant, eternal wave of pleasure. What happened to TRUTH, or KNOWLEDGE? Humans are pleasure-seeking creatures, so obviously PLEASURE is what is used in religions to tempt them into blind belief and worship.

If you told someone you only offer them the truth, but he'll receive negative and positive experiences while learning it, but it is only his impression/judgement that makes them negative or positive.. that wouldn't be as impressive or tempting as saying "I'll give you Heaven. Eternal bliss and happiness, without a single negative issue or a single worry". That tends to hook people in.

Of course if that doesn't do the trick, the same God then proclaims "If you don't accept me and my temptation of PLEASURE (aka Heaven), you'll burn in Hell (eternal damnation) forever". Well that scares the crap out of a primitive, gullible creature.. and of course that's how religion has such a strong hold on people. It is saddening, but ah well, such is life.

[Edited on 23-1-2004 by lilblam]

Originally posted by urbanmastermind
The story is just that, a story. It really has no meaning to those that don't already believe. It just shows what they want it to. I don't even see any argument exept that old "you'll be happy and in heaven with god" which is BS to those that don't believe.

If you really wanna have fun with fundies (what we call Jesus Freaks around here) when one of em asks you if you have given any thought to your salvation ask them a Zen question, which is a question without a logical answer that Zen students are to meditate on to free their minds of everyday clutter. A couple of my favorites are "What was the sun called before man?" and "What sound would one hand clapping make?" It keeps the zelots on their toes and off of your back.

~Urban

What was the sun called before man? Well you'd have to specify which race of creatures, and from what constellation, and what language first!

What sound would one hand clapping make? It would have to create sound waves upon impact with something else, even if it is not another hand. So if it makes no sound waves, obviously it makes no sound. But I dunno... if someone approached me (as they have) and asked me if I considered my salvation, I just asked them "What would I need to be saved from?". If they start talking about the oringial sin thing, I just say "Look, if you're upset, why don't you just take me to court? If you can't prove it in the court of law, I suggest you stop making # up about something I did "wrong" at some point, as it is slander, and really damages any credibility you might've ever had. Thanks."

but you can clap with one hand... Bart Simpson did it, just make a fist and open and close your hand.

there you go, the sound of clapping with one hand

Well, lilblam, it seems we have come to to the end, like I hoped to. You see, what you just said is that neither of us can solve this, lol...so what is the point of debating it? We are getting nowhere lol..

-wD

Originally posted by WeBDeviL
Well, lilblam, it seems we have come to to the end, like I hoped to. You see, what you just said is that neither of us can solve this, lol...so what is the point of debating it? We are getting nowhere lol..

-wD

I gotta admit, the Shadow thing in the story reminds me of Scary Movie 1. Remember how they made a spoof of Scream? Well remember the guy in the black suit with the mask on inside her house hiding behind her couch and she could see his legs? And then she told him she knows where he is hiding (she sees the legs) he says something like "What?!? How do you know that!!" etc.. with that funny voice...

Well I think of that moment when I read the story above and the creature gets all upset about the "Light" etc.. it's funny