Christianity kept me clean, too clean, f'd me up early on

[Atom Smasher]

Question everything. Trust no man

Adultry and fornication do not carry the same meaning. Ive been back and forth through these questions off and on for 30 years. Theres no one answer.
Paul said everything is pure to the pure in heart. Chew on that for a few.
Talk about mind blower. Lol

Who is the pure in heart in God's view according to scripture?

 

[Black Widow Void]

Left wing faggotry on overdrive.

Judging by your above posting (and another one several postings above) I take it that you are an agnostic or atheist?

I've been one or the other for over 40 years. However, our similarities end there.

Over the past ten years, I typically visit one church a year (just to keep an open mind) and always leave having my non-religious beliefs even more reaffirmed.

Lately though, I've noticed a correlation. It seems like the people I respect the most actually do have some core religious belief. And they don't seem uncool or some cookie-cutter christian types (this also includes members on this forum).

In some weird twist, your behavior is an alert that actually arrives at a perfect time (as I have currently been reevaluating things). Suffice to say, even during my most skeptical times, I've never behaved as you (I've always been respectful of those that had religious beliefs) . In fact, realizing that some members here (whom I respect) I'm now discovering are religious ... actually inspires me to look back into religion (more so than in my past).

 

[Poonani Maker]

You are not up for debate yet you are raising a new argument about what Jesus said about salvation even though it out of context? I'm not going to bother responding to this then. The issue is with the OP not with you anyway. Sounds like you tried to start something you don't know how to finish.

Jesus blessed the Wedding at Cana (his first show of miracle turning water to wine). Would He have blessed this couple IF they had been Jew groom marrying a Gentile bride? I think not!

 

[Poonani Maker]

I have been tempted before to blame my shortcomings with women on my Independent Baptist upbringing. However, my friend of the same upbringing does well with women. I have been tempted to blame my 5'7" height. Well, he is the same height as me. You know what the difference is? When he sees a woman he likes he approaches like it's second nature. Me? In the past I overthink it and never approach. Who's fault is that? My parents? No. The church I grew up at? No. Women? No. It is my own.

See, you cannot change your past. Why even concern concern yourself with blaming it? Change your PRESENT. Not tomorrow. Not even today. Change right now! Now!

I was just analyzing my HS annual pic (and page) as shown to me by Ancestry.com (btw, how did they get it?). I hadn't seen it since the year it was taken. Was attempting to ascertain what made up that 17 yr old me (very troubled and just angry as can be). I guess I'm still that guy, but age mellows or tires you out. I certainly didn't Work then like I do now. I "worked" in sports but that's not the same day in and day out. It took a long time for me to grow up.

 

[taiyuu_otoko]

Are you really trying to dismiss the entire Bible as simply an attempt at mind control? Because if you are, I have no words.

I was very careful to specifically not do that in my post.

Now you're asking me if I'm trying to dismiss the ENTIRE BIBLE as simply an attempt at mind control.

If you're a bible guy or a God guy, that's fine. I got no problem with God people or Bible people.

There are plenty of ways to interpret scripture (even the devil can do so for his own purposes) for own needs.

But since you potentially "have no words" for something you essentially assumed about my intentions, this suggests a kind of emotional reaction to my OPINION.

Which suggests you may not question things as much as you'd like others to believe.

The idea of somebody having "no words" to another's opinion doesn't seem to jive with somebody who "questions everything."

Which is fine, makes no difference to me.

My opinion remains the same.

The bible (and other religious texts) CAN EASILY and HAS EASILY been used to make ruling others easier.

Scripture is very much a tool, not something that is self evidently true.

So quote the bible all you like, but don't expect people to share your interpretations.

The same passage can easily be used as a source of self driven inspiration AND a tool of oppression.

And when you talk about the SOURCE, they are passed down as oral tradition for generations before being written down.

And since all oral traditions were passed down by TRIBAL LEADERS, I would suggest that at the very least, the stories that were most likely to be passed down had, at the very least, some element in them that allowed those same tribal leaders to maintain their ruling power.

If you START with the assumption that scripture is GOD given, then this will upset you.

But that assumption has problems all on its own.

Like, how, specifically, did the ideas get from God's mind to the storyteller's mind? Did the storyteller go into a trance, and momentarily lose his free will?

Was it due to magic, beyond the comprehension of humans?

Were the laws of science temporarily suspended while it happened?

What is your opinion on this?

How, specifically, did the passage you quote come into being?

Once upon a time, that particular idea DID NOT EXIST ,and then a time later, it did.

What, specifically, happened in that intermediary time period?

 

[Spaz]

I have been tempted before to blame my shortcomings with women on my Independent Baptist upbringing. However, my friend of the same upbringing does well with women. I have been tempted to blame my 5'7" height. Well, he is the same height as me. You know what the difference is? When he sees a woman he likes he approaches like it's second nature. Me? In the past I overthink it and never approach. Who's fault is that? My parents? No. The church I grew up at? No. Women? No. It is my own.

See, you cannot change your past. Why even concern concern yourself with blaming it? Change your PRESENT. Not tomorrow. Not even today. Change right now! Now!

I missed this post earlier.

Imagine a youngster who has the right kind of mindset as compared to many men who are more senior then him.

I'm proud of you.

 

[Spaz]

As for the rest of you men who's dissing Christianity or even the Bible.

Just think of it as an "anchor" in the life story or world that you live in, through ur own creation, the anchor that pulls you back in once you stray too far from it.

 

[RickTheToad]

As for the rest of you men who's dissing Christianity or even the Bible.

Just think of it as an "anchor" in the life story or world that you live in, through ur own creation, the anchor that pulls you back in once you stray too far from it.

More of an agnostic myself. Myself is my own anchor. It's called self-control. It may be a rarity these days, but all people can possess this trait... If they can find it in themselves to set their own limits and stick to them.

 

[corrector]

Jesus blessed the Wedding at Cana (his first show of miracle turning water to wine). Would He have blessed this couple IF they had been Jew groom marrying a Gentile bride? I think not!

LIke I said before, you talking about Jesus like a historical Jesus in a critical way tells me that you don't have an experience with Jesus as a personal revelation but just have a got a religious history and therefore a dead-weight to you unless you do something with that. The book of James says faith without works is dead. Dead-faith is a dead-weight in someone's life because it just adds restrictions in your life without the benefit of those restrictions and leads to resentment. Otherwise you should be expected to have more spiritual discernment (i.e. understand what message that passage is trying to say knowing that water and blood came out of Jesus when the Roman soldier pierced his side, which this miracle would foreshadow that moment because wine symbolizes blood and water symbolizes the the lymph) rather than just having such a carnal interpretation to this.

 

[Spaz]

More of an agnostic myself. Myself is my own anchor. It's called self-control. It may be a rarity these days, but all people can possess this trait... If they can find it in themselves to set their own limits and stick to them.

Rick I'm not here to spread Christianity nor is it the appropriate platform.

I'm just pointing out to the fellas here that each and every man has an inborn duty to take responsibility for their own actions in life, hence the "anchor".

It's good that you hv yours, and so do many others who either uses their brains to think or prefers to use other spiritual means such as the Bible.

It is after all a guide.

It's like Einstein giving the world E=Mc2 but ended up being blamed for the creation of the atomic bomb whilst ignoring the fact that the uses of that formula has many other good applications.

 

[Speculator E]

If you START with the assumption that scripture is GOD given, then this will upset you.
But that assumption has problems all on its own.
Like, how, specifically, did the ideas get from God's mind to the storyteller's mind? Did the storyteller go into a trance, and momentarily lose his free will?

Was it due to magic, beyond the comprehension of humans?
Were the laws of science temporarily suspended while it happened?
What is your opinion on this?
How, specifically, did the passage you quote come into being?
Once upon a time, that particular idea DID NOT EXIST ,and then a time later, it did.
What, specifically, happened in that intermediary time period?

Good Questions?
What do you know about DMT and God?
It has been suggested that taking DMT is the gateway drug to speaking with God.

What It’s Like to Die: Meeting God Through My Experiences With DMT

When my article on Jim Carrey & DMT got so much positive feedback, I realized how many people were interested in the conversations around…

medium.com

The Bible's Moses Was On DMT Says Hebrew Professor

It's not only possible, but plausible that Moses' legendary encounter with the ever burning bush, his conversation with Yahweh, and the bestowing of the Torah

www.anewunderstanding.org

 

[Alvafe]

As for the rest of you men who's dissing Christianity or even the Bible.

Just think of it as an "anchor" in the life story or world that you live in, through ur own creation, the anchor that pulls you back in once you stray too far from it.

the problem is when this archor start to pull you down and start to drown all diferent ideas you can, or even as holding you back to be better

my take is beliving in god or not is not the problem, most of the time the problem is beliving in religion, becasue all religion love to fight telling they are the one gods made, but when we come to terms and think when they started, it was all mens who made then

 

[Speculator E]

the problem is when this archor start to pull you down and start to drown all diferent ideas you can, or even as holding you back to be better

my take is beliving in god or not is not the problem, most of the time the problem is beliving in religion, becasue all religion love to fight telling they are the one gods made, but when we come to terms and think when they started, it was all mens who made then

Yes but the difference was the Hebrew God showed his power through Israel against all the other tribes of the world.
Israel was the only tribe that believed in one god while the other tribes believed in many.
Through Israel, God showed that he was the one true God.
You have to read the old testament and look at what Israel did.
Starting with Moses and the Red Sea.
They were basically a small tribe and no way could they had survive against the many other tribes in the world unless they were being protected by God.

 

[Alvafe]

Yes but the difference was the Hebrew God showed his power through Israel against all the other tribes of the world.
Israel was the only tribe that believed in one god while the other tribes believed in many.
Through Israel, God showed that he was the one true God.
You have to read the old testament and look at what Israel did.
Starting with Moses and the Red Sea.
They were basically a small tribe and no way could they had survive against the many other tribes in the world unless they were being protected by God.

not quite, since it was show most spiritual leader had a pretty keen knowledge of survival in that area, they recreated some of this saying the moses did, with in turn weaken the whole protection on god, and became more as survival expert, plus remember most storys are changed over time, with exagerations in the tale

 

[Poonani Maker]

Yes but the difference was the Hebrew God showed his power through Israel against all the other tribes of the world.
Israel was the only tribe that believed in one god while the other tribes believed in many.
Through Israel, God showed that he was the one true God.
You have to read the old testament and look at what Israel did.
Starting with Moses and the Red Sea.
They were basically a small tribe and no way could they had survive against the many other tribes in the world unless they were being protected by God.

Nope. Israel or "the Jews" began as polytheistic. It was only until Zoroastrianism (#1 Persian religion then, and dare I say #1 Religion of the WORLD then - it's who the 3 Magi who came to see Jesus came from...Zoroastrianism) came along that Judaism adopted "Monotheism" to itself. Not ONE American preach/priest/pastor will speak of Zoroastrianism (with Mani, Ahura Madza ("God") and Ahriman ("The Devil"). NO ONE talks about how influential Zoroastrianism of the day Most Definitely would have had an effect on Saint Paul and his ideas to mimic that huge religion next door or looking over his shoulder as he wrote/set up "the church." This Anti-Sex (Anti-Reproduction) stuff came from Zoroastrianism then and now look at where Zoroastrianism is...just a couple hundred thousand in number if that, over in Iran or India. Iran comes from Aryan, as does the female name "Erin" (Celtic generally).

Here's a flyby vid for Thanksgiving I'll share now:

 

[zekko]

But since you potentially "have no words" for something you essentially assumed about my intentions, this suggests a kind of emotional reaction to my OPINION.

I made no such assumption, I specifically said IF you were dismissing the entire Bible as mind control, then I had no words. And yes, I meant what I said. That kind of assertion would carry even less weight with me than those fake moon landing posts IMO (Sorry, Poonani Maker).

But you did say this:
"If you are a skeptic of authority, you'll see all sacred texts as means to the end of easier population control."

and this:
"It's hard to argue that religious/mythical texts don't have a certain element if population control built into them."

I'm on the cynical side, but I definitely think that someone can create spiritual writings for reasons other than controlling the populace.

I simply shared a Biblical text that I thought was interesting, and I get all this blowback about religion being the opiate of the masses. I said in two separate posts, and now I mention a third time, that yes, some people use religion to manipulate others. But that doesn't mean every spiritual idea is worthless.

 

[Speculator E]

Nope. Israel or "the Jews" began as polytheistic. It was only until Zoroastrianism (#1 Persian religion then, and dare I say #1 Religion of the WORLD then - it's who the 3 Magi who came to see Jesus came from...Zoroastrianism) came along that Judaism adopted "Monotheism" to itself. Not ONE American preach/priest/pastor will speak of Zoroastrianism (with Mani, Ahura Madza ("God") and Ahriman ("The Devil"). NO ONE talks about how influential Zoroastrianism of the day Most Definitely would have had an effect on Saint Paul and his ideas to mimic that huge religion next door or looking over his shoulder as he wrote/set up "the church." This Anti-Sex (Anti-Reproduction) stuff came from Zoroastrianism then and now look at where Zoroastrianism is...just a couple hundred thousand in number if that, over in Iran or India. Iran comes from Aryan, as does the female name "Erin" (Celtic generally).

Here's a flyby vid for Thanksgiving I'll share now:

Ah Okay. If you say so. And today we have Star Wars to reteach us the the meaning of Zoroastrianism and the concept of God as the Force and eternal battle between Good and Evil.

 

[candyman105]

Dummy blames God for his lack of success in life. What an idiot lol.

 

[Poonani Maker]

Dummy blames God for his lack of success in life. What an idiot lol.

you're poor aren't you? soooooo poor...you need to use your time to make some money dude

 

[rando5495]

actually that is a way to keep people in control, obey god and follow the path, don't be too wise or too good to supass the church, don't ignore law if no you will make our control dificult, the moment you start to see any religion as a mass control tool, you start to pick some interesting things

like why the parents are so keen to "teach" children as soon as possible about they religion?, the younger they are easier is to brainwash people, and easier they will fall in place

I somewhat agree, but think some sort of 'mass control tool' is actually required unfortunately.

When I was a little kid in the 90's and 00's Christianity was still the main ideology. We actually sang Christian songs in school assembly and got taught those values. That kind of culture has been very purposefully eroded, leaving a sort of power vacuum which feminism has taken up.

I think the majority of people are sheep that don't want to think too hard, and really do need to be led around by the nose. So perhaps better the devil you know in that regard.