Christians Please Explain

by AK - Jeff 134 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  THE GLADIATOR

  A large number of the population’s older people are Christians because they were brought up by Christian parents. Their view of right and wrong has come from the bible which they were taught at school and in church. They are decent people who have a common set of principles to live by that they share with their community.

  They have never searched for truth or questioned the bible account of things. They are content to stay in line and enjoy the security that comes from believing that everything is sorted and explained. They are not personally responsible for the world’s evils or the evils of religion throughout the centuries. Without religion the world would be much the same as it is. Wars are fought by greedy men in power in ‘the name of religion.’ Without religion there would be other regimes that may be less desirable who would find another excuse to fight for power and exploit and control the population.

  The new version of Christianity embraced by younger people is said to be based on the original teachings of Jesus. It is based on a perceived direct spiritual connection with Jesus and, teaches love and belief in a benign god. As I understand it, the bible and all its offending scriptures depicting a vengeful and angry god have been assigned to the status of a novel. Only the parts that teach love and forgiveness are accepted as inspired.

  Thought not a follower of Christ myself, I can think of philosophies or beliefs that are a lot worse to adopt and live by. Society will work itself out by consensus but whether a world without the influence of Christianity would truly be a better world is debatable. Is the behaviour of people in a secular society really improved by the loss of Christianity? As the influence of Christianity on society diminishes, the void needs to be filled to maintain a balance. As society evolves we are able to watch and decide but it could be a mistake to throw the baby out with the bathwater.
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  still thinking

  smiddy...This has really interested me lately....why so many different religions? why does every culture have a belief of some sort? Is it because, as you say we have created god and he is a figment of our imagination? or is there another reason?

  Maybe...God didn't select a nation....maybe that understanding of god has been created by humans making decisions based on ignorance and arrogance and manipulation...maybe all religions at their core, are basically right because they are understood by their respective cultures. Wouldn't a loving god want people to understand? Don't all religious beliefs have the basic teachings of love....(I don't know about satanism of course, but thats not what we are discussing)....Maybe.....now that cultures are so wide spread and integrated our understanding of God has been diluted by misunderstanding and confusion and of course human interferance...or maybe.....we need to strip away ALL the doctrine, the facades, the rituals, the RELIGON and get back to what they all REALLY teach...and that is...GOD is love, none of them teach that god hates them, do they?
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  startingover

  Sizemik said:

  What I don't believe defines me I guess . . . which is strangely opposite to those with a firmly held religious belief.

  What I don't believe . . . is that there is a higher power responsible for the way things are . . . with malevolence, benevolence, all knowing, all powerful. I don't believe in a God that rewards and punishes while presiding over this randomness. It can no longer make the slightest bit of sense to me on the most basic level. It has all the hallmarks of a human concept . . . inspired by human needs. Maybe it's fear of the unknown, fear of death, survival, the need to dominate, personal comfort, whatever.

  What I do know . . . if a God reveals himself in some way . . . through physical evidence or miraculous revelation (even a voice from within would do it if I was confident of my sanity) . . . and that God made sense to me in the context of the world around me . . . I would gladly choose him.

  Exactly how I feel about the situation. I just want to add concerning the last 5 words in that quote, I have uttered those words too. But if a being like that emerged and was anything related to the bible god, I would sooner die than believe and worship. At this point things have gone on much too long and too many games have been played for me to be involved.
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  N.drew

  NewChapter hello! uh, how can I say nonbelievers believe god does not love them? I pride myself on not being able to say that. I am sorry if I can not write my thoughts so that they are understood by all. Hey! Never mind.

  I remember just one wonderful example. It does not mean that Christ caused the phenomenon but I can thank God, never the less because I want to. OK I was so disappointed in everything and everybody. I had no good reason to stay here. I was walking, it was not very cold. Then it started snowing great big beautiful flakes. But they were all coming down in great quantity perfectly strait. Never saw a thing like that before or since. It was so wonderful, that I wished to thank SOMEBODY. Where there is a physical body there is a spiritual body. The world is a physical body. The spiritual body (not the many, but the ONE) that coincides with it is the ONE I seek to thank and to please. The outcome is not the same. You might end up alone and lonely, I will never be alone. Sometimes I feel lonely, but never for long and never anymore to the point of hurting.
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  NewChapter

  I've seen snow fall straight.

  I was feeling down this month. I've experienced serious illness and financial troubles. I used to get my hair done every 6 weeks, buy new clothes regularly, and go out with friends. Lately I've felt a bit better and want to go out with friends on occasion. But I only have one "going out" outfit! When you are very sick, going out clothes just don't get priortiy. So I made some off the cuff remark about it and . . .

  One friend showed up with a bag of brand new clothes that she picked just for me! They are my size and my style. She even threw in this amazing necklace that is so totally me!

  Another friend gave me a gift certificate to the place I always go to cut and highlight my hair! She actually did gymnastics trying to figure out who I went to---because she didn't want to give me a certificate to any old place.

  Both friends are atheists. My heart was so full of gratitude, and life felt so bright for that moment that I really wanted to thank someone. So I thanked them.

  NC
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  N.drew

  I really don't know what your point is. It sounds like you are saying my God ignores atheists?

  What you write means God does good only to them that believe? Or you think I believe that?

  That is not how I understand my God, and The Word. Who do you think I should say "thank you" for the

  snow that turned my opinion around? If you want to call it nobody, so what? I have been lambasted by so many

  strangers on more than a couple sights, what do you think I should do? I should live according to evil? I don't want to.
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  tec

  Where there is a physical body there is a spiritual body. The world is a physical body. The spiritual body (not the many, but the ONE) that coincides with it is the ONE I seek to thank and to please.

  Quite often you say a lot of things like this in your posts. They pop out at me, like gems. I just wanted to let you know that I love that :)

  Peace,

  Tammy
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  N.drew

  So kind of you to say so Tammy, thank you!
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  Razziel

  AK-Jeff,

  "Religionists" can't answer your question, but Terry Goodkind did a pretty good job of answering it in his fantasy novels!

  Wizard's First Rule

  People are stupid, they will believe something because they want it to be true; or they're afraid it might be true.

  Given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe its true, or because they're afraid it might be true. Peoples' heads are full of knowledge, facts and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool. (Wizard's First Rule, Chapter 36, Page 397)

  Wizard's Sixth Rule

  The only sovereign you can allow to rule you is reason.

  The first law of reason is this: what exists, exists; what is, is; and from this irreducible bedrock principle, all knowledge is built. It is the foundation from which life is embraced.

  Thinking is a choice. Wishes and whims are not facts nor are they a means to discover them. Reason is our only way of grasping reality; it is our basic tool of survival. We are free to evade the effort of thinking, to reject reason, but we are not free to avoid the penalty of the abyss that we refuse to see. Faith and feelings are the darkness to reason's light. In rejecting reason, refusing to think, one embraces death. (Faith of the Fallen, Chapter 41, Pages 459-460)

  Wizard's Seventh Rule

  Life is the future, not the past.

  The past can teach us, through experience, how to accomplish things in the future, comfort us with cherished memories, and provide the foundation of what has already been accomplished. But only the future holds life. To live in the past is to embrace what is dead. To live life to its fullest, each day must be created anew. As rational, thinking beings, we must use our intellect, not a blind devotion to what has come before, to make rational choices. (Pillars of Creation, Chapter 60, Page 549)

  Wizard's Ninth Rule

  A contradiction can not exist in reality. Not in part, nor in whole.

  To believe in a contradiction is to abdicate your belief in the existence of the world around you and the nature of the things in it, to instead embrace any random impulse that strikes your fancy - to imagine something is real simply because you wish it were. A thing is what it is, it is itself. There can be no contradictions.

  Faith is a device of self-delusion, a sleight of hand done with words and emotions founded on any irrational notion that can be dreamed up. Faith is the attempt to coerce truth to surrender to whim. In simple terms, it is trying to breathe life into a lie by trying to outshine reality with the beauty of wishes. Faith is the refuge of fools, the ignorant, and the deluded, not of thinking, rational men.

  In reality, contradictions cannot exist. To believe in them you must abandon the most important thing you possess: your rational mind. The wager for such a bargain is your life. In such an exchange, you always lose what you have at stake. (Chainfire, Chapter 48, Page 489)
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  N.drew

  "They will believe a lie because they want to believe it's true"

  Well, it seems to me the same thing can be said of atheism and it also seems to me to not believe is more practical than to believe, because you have only yourself to answer to.

  But some of that other stuff is true. Some of it reflects faith. Hm.