The worst bullies are those religions that preach eternal damnation

[snagglepuss]

to those who don't believe in their brand of baloney and that terrorize their own believers with the same deranged notions.


If believers of one religion then bully believers of another religion, the blame lies squarely on the religions themselves that inculcate the notion that their respective beliefs are truer and more special than any others. No one needs to be Einstein to figure out this sort of thinking leads to arrogance and intolerance.

[cleanhippie]

1. Doesn't that criteria fit most sects of christianity?

I mean, eternal damnation for alleged sin and/or not accepting the god as god IS the punishment, no?

[snagglepuss]

5. If the shoe fits. Of course if applies to Christianity, as it applies

to Judaism and Islam. All of them subscribe the same viscous and punitive god.

[cleanhippie]

9. Couldn't agree more.

It would be interesting to see if believers here subscribe to or ignore eternal damnation.

[Romeo.lima333]

2. eternal damnation doesnt sound like something god would do

[cleanhippie]

10. Which god wouldn't do that?

The Abrahamic one most certainly did just that.

[hrmjustin]

3. I believe in heaven not hell.

I don't care for those who think they are God and condemn others.

[cleanhippie]

11. Not one thing in your post adresses the point of the OP.

[hrmjustin]

14. Your opinion.

[cleanhippie]

15. Not opinion, fact.

Reading comprehension is a life-saving skill.

[hrmjustin]

16. Are you saying i can't read?

[Warren Stupidity]

40. You've frequently used "RIF" as an insult here

so what exactly is your point?

[cleanhippie]

56. Reading comprehension

Reading comprehension is the ability to read text, process it and understand its meaning. An individual's ability to comprehend text is influenced by their traits and skills, one of which is the ability to make inferences. If word recognition is difficult, students use too much of their processing capacity to read individual words, which interferes with their ability to comprehend what is read. There are a number of approaches to improve reading comprehension, including improving one's vocabulary and reading strategies.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reading_comprehension

Considering that I was discussion Reading Comprehension and you responded with "Are you saying I can't read?", this Wiki entry seems very apt.

[hrmjustin]

57. .

[cleanhippie]

58. My sentiments exactly.

[hrmjustin]

59. .

[cleanhippie]

60. ,

[hrmjustin]

61. .

[cleanhippie]

62. '

[hrmjustin]

63. Goodnight.

[cleanhippie]

64. I doubt it.

[hrmjustin]

65. sorry to hear that.

[cleanhippie]

66. Called it.

[hrmjustin]

67. Oh i thought you meant you did not think it would be a good night.

[cleanhippie]

68. You should dtop doing that.

[hrmjustin]

69. cab't. Damn tablet keytoard!

[6chars]

18. why limit yourself?

maybe there is a heaven for good people, a giant party for great partiers, a pond for people who never traveled, an uncomfortable chair for people who were poor hosts, and a pantry stocked with endless cheezits for friendly hedonists. I want to go to the latter.

[hrmjustin]

19. Welcome to DU. I prefer a free bar in heaven.

[Humanist_Activist]

20. So you aren't a follower of Jesus? n/t

[hrmjustin]

21. Yes i am.

[Humanist_Activist]

23. Well that doesn't make sense, Jesus is thought of as a God...

claimed to be a god, in a sense, though that is debatable, but he did condemn others, by the boatload. Oh, and he introduced the concept of Hell(Tartarus) into Christian cosmology in the first place.

[hrmjustin]

24. Yes i believe in the trinity.

[Humanist_Activist]

25. So as long as its the actual God doing the condemning, its OK then? n/t

[hrmjustin]

26. I was talking about people that condemn.

God is God.

[Humanist_Activist]

27. So you believe in a god who condemns people to what then, if not hell? n/t

[hrmjustin]

28. I believe in a loving God.

[Humanist_Activist]

29. So again, not Jesus? He created Hell, seems rather inappropriate that you would claim to...

worship him as God while also believing He was fundamentally wrong about something He said existed.

[hrmjustin]

30. Inappropriate? Really?

[Humanist_Activist]

31. Do you think Jesus was wrong about Hell and its existence?

I'm trying to understand how someone can claim to worship someone else, who they think is God, while also disagreeing with them on something fundamental to that being's cosmology, theology and eschatology.

[hrmjustin]

32. Christianity is more than the scripture.

Anglicans/Episcopalians use thevthree legged stool of faith which is scripture, tradition, and reason.

[Humanist_Activist]

33. Yes, I'm familiar with it, Catholicism has something similar...

its also a house of cards that falls down when scripture and tradition are demonstrably wrong, or disagree with current ethical or moral norms according to your reasoning.

Scripture is supposed to be treated, roughly, as source material, but if that material is unreliable, why rely on it? Why call yourself Christian? How do you maintain a consistent belief system without, for lack of a better term, cherry-picking? How is what you choose to pick out of the Bible correct, and the rest incorrect? How do you come to that conclusion, and what evidence do you have that it is correct?

[hrmjustin]

34. I believe in the Incarnation, life, crucifixion, resurrection, and as ascention of Jesus Christ.

i accept the bible is a product of its time.

[Humanist_Activist]

35. But what is the reasoning behind your statements?

You reiterate orthodox Christian doctrine on the divinity of Jesus, however you claim the Bible is a "product of its time", was Jesus, or more specifically his teachings, products of His time as well? Why believe in the incarnation, life, crucifixion, resurrection and ascension if the Bible, or, more specifically, the Gospels, are not accurate?

[hrmjustin]

36. I take it on faith.

[Humanist_Activist]

37. So the three legged stool is not an accurate model for how you construct your beliefs? n/t

[hrmjustin]

38. Yes it is.

I am sorry but this is hard to put into words but it is easier to say i take it on faith because i do.

[Humanist_Activist]

39. Please understand that this sounds completely arbitrary to me...

as an outsider to your religion, it sounds to me like you disregard the inconvenient teachings of Jesus because they conflict with your morality and ethics. However, you also have no justification for that, so you have faith and/or hope that the Bible is incorrect.

[hrmjustin]

41. It is on faith and what makes sense to me.

You believe in what makes sense to you.

[Humanist_Activist]

42. Just trying to understand, I was at that point once as well...

I was a liberal Christian, and frankly it didn't last long, I realized that the God I wanted to exist wasn't found in the Bible, too many differences between that being and a good god. No just god would kill the firstborn of Egypt for the actions and decisions of the Pharaoh, for example.

You could say I lacked faith, with the amount of questions that kept piling up, unable to be answered.

[hrmjustin]

47. I have been a liberal Christian my whole life.

It works for me.

[cleanhippie]

43. "You believe in what makes sense to you." And ignore everything else?

Yes, that makes perfect sense now.

[hrmjustin]

44. Good i am glad you get it.

[cleanhippie]

45. But the real question is....

Do you get it?

[hrmjustin]

46. Indeed i do sir.

[cleanhippie]

48. I know you believe that.

[hrmjustin]

49. Enjoy your day.

[cleanhippie]

50. Don't need your permission for that.

[hrmjustin]

51. Nor did i say you did. My point was i hope you enjoy it.

[cleanhippie]

52. You had a point?

[hrmjustin]

53. Yes, take care.

[cleanhippie]

54. Don't tell me what to do.

[rurallib]

4. talk like that will get you a ticket to hell

[snagglepuss]

6. Actually I dont want to be in a place with a god who thought

up a place like hell.

[cleanhippie]

12. I'll take two.

From what I understand, Hell is where all the cool people are.

[rurallib]

13. See you there

[Yorktown]

7. The Hell blackmail still nags people who became atheists

In one of their programs, the Atheist Community of Austin TX had ex-believers discuss if anything bothered them after having become atheists.

I think all said it was the nagging worry about an eventual Hell.

Hell is a very graphic image and it's mentioned to young children. Potent conditioning.

[immoderate]

8. It's a control thing.

--imm

[safeinOhio]

17. A rich history that goes back 500 years is

the concept of Universalism. No hell.

I love to tell those that come to my door and talk about hell, that I don't have to worry as I'm a Universalist and we don't buy the hell concept.

I don't buy the heaven thing either or the God thing. But, I'm polite and only tell them about hell. They love to ask what I think happens to me when I die. I tell them I know exactly what death is like, you'll be just like you were before you were born.

[AtheistCrusader]

22. Some, not all, but most seem pretty disappointed I won't buy into their fear.

And it is about fear. Can't tell you how many times I've had 'fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom' thrown in my face.

[Phlem]

55. And of course god needs prayers in Church more than

actually doing good by each other. He likes his fan club, especially the one on earth out of the whole universe.

Because he's that into himself, every one must fall to their knees in his presence.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

70. Christianity destroys people and their hopes and dreams.

By telling them they are sinners worthy of eternal damnation. Destroys self esteem. Some people can't handle the verbal and emotional abuse and kill themselves if they can't get up the strength to leave Christianity.

Christians will tell me how wonderful and positive their religion is, but I don't believe them. Christianity is based on a great big lie: That we are all damned to hell because a fairy tale with a couple of fruit-munching idiots said that the woman condemned humanity to hell, when the snake "beguiled" her. Just a stupid fairy tale, and yet millions have haunted consciences because they unfortunately believe that big lie. And the imaginary problem has an unnecessary solution---substitutionary atonement. Accept Jesus and you won't go to hell. All this is completely made up and twisted and illogical.

Read John Bradshaw's "Healing the Shame that Binds You". He talks about how people feel so unworthy due to religion and the pervasive belief that we are never good enough for our parents or our authority figures, so many people follow addictive behaviors to relieve the pain of existence. Work, sex, spending money, saving money, gambling, eating too much, drinking alcohol, doing drugs, gossiping, whatever.

[snagglepuss]

71. Why stop at Christianity? Islam does the same thing if not worse.

Christianity and Islam and Judaism are all based on the same lies.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

72. Islam is probably worse.

I was talking about Christianity because I am more familiar with it than the other two Abrahamic religions.

Judaism talks some about being sinners, but they don't have original sin, and they do not have a detailed description of heaven or hell in the afterlife. The afterlife is a place of darkness called Sheol, and both the righteous and the unrighteous live there. Others say that it is a place of darkness for the unrighteous.

From what I know about Judaism, it is far more palatable, as far as the fate of sinners, than Christianity, I have been to quite a few Reform Judaism, and a few Conservative Judaism services and I did not feel like I was being personally and viciously attacked from the pulpit for being a flawed person, unlike Christianity.

I know very little about Islam so I did not discuss it.