"I still say a church steeple with a lightening rod on top shows a lack of confidence." -Doug McLeod hahaha they were all good, alter, but this is my favorite one!~ i think this about sums it up.
>>GG...Yeah, I will always stay neutral about religion. I think it is a personal thing, and we all have our own personal way of dealing with whatever we believe in. Arguing about it is senseless. Never seems to accomplish anything other than ill will. Or worse, as the world has seen repeatedly for the past 6000 or so years. Or longer. Arguing [debating, exploring the issue] about something as important as this is never senseless. On the other hand burying one's head in the sand is always senseless for anything other than an ostrich only. You are not an ostrich are you rs7?
The hottest places in hell are reserved for those who, in time of great moral crisis, maintain their neutrality. Dante....... I think
I am not an ostrich. I am an Emu. Big difference! Actually, I just did not feel like getting into the "argument". I reserve the right to choose when and where to argue, debate, or discuss whatever issues (including politics and religion) only when I am in the mood. And in the setting in which I feel that LISTENING is a good real part of the discussion. I didn't feel as if it were really likely to get anyone to stop and just listen here. . Also, we have heard it all in the "superstition, luck and Voodo" thread, which deteriorated to the point it had to be shut down. And it may have had the most posts and most views of any thread on ET. Easily referenced by those interested in seeing what others think. We all know already what WE think. Peace to all, and may the markets be at your mercy (instead of the other way around). Rs7
These are great. They nicely demonstrate what passes for logical discourse among atheists. Christians are mental midgets, snicker snicker. You know what? I have to smile though. You have no idea what's coming to you. And I'm talking about in this lifetime, let alone what's on the other side. The church is currently in a state of disrepair, going through a period of weak kneed introversion and emotional based anti-intellectualism that has lasted for a century or so and is peaking right about now. This is why the only Christians you hear about these days are the ones that are easy to knock, the televangelist types and the end of the world types and that idiotic Left Behind series. Enjoy the lull while it lasts, because it won't. Things change when the baton is passed from one generation to the next. You think you hate Christians now? Just wait until the church goes on the offensive and the intellectual roots of the church come back to the forefront. When the garbage is taken out and the new leadership takes hold, you will find yourself running into 'dumb Christians' more informed than you and smarter than you on every street corner. You will find them pushing our 'nonsense' on every television station and in every newspaper. I don't go for all that pan reconciliation crap, because I know this is a war. It really and truly is. Christians vs atheists, Men vs monkeys, truth vs lies. We will give no quarter and take no quarter. You think one darkhorse is bad? Get ready to choke on an army of guys like me, backed with a sea of money and a sea of connections too. Get ready to be crushed. Maybe not ten years, maybe not even twenty or thirty, but believe me, it's going to happen. I suggest you sign up for hate control classes in advance- you are gonna need them. Bad.
stu - dante did not write the bible why does it mater how he described hell?? Isnt The Inferno just a poem or do you view it as gods word??? That is not my question though-- I have always wondered how a Christian can be a trader or be involved in finance in any way. The bible SPECIFICLY says you should not borrow or lend money from anyone at intrest. Why dosent that bother any christians anymore? Up untill the middle ages it would have been unthinkable for a christian to take out or make any kind of a loan. That is how non chirstians (mainly jews) got the underserved reputation of running the banking industry, nothing in the old testament says you cannot lend money. I just dont understand how a christian could have a career that REQUIRES him to break Jesus's comandments many times a day
This is a gross misinterpretation and a clear example of the kind of incomplete or unclear thinking that goes on all the time. Almost all of capitalism is based on a fair exchange of goods and services. Paying interest on borrowed goods is an intrinsic part of that and capitalism would not work without lending. The injunction you speak of is against USURY: An excessive or illegally high rate of interest charged on borrowed money. In otherwords, don't be a loan shark. Don't rip people off by charging too high a price. When you borrow money, in a sense you are renting it- just like you rent an apartment. The landlord can charge you a fair rate or an unfair rate. It is the charging of an unfair rate that is declared wrong, and reasonably so. What society benefits from con jobs or blatant exploitation? It is not against a reasonable interest rate which reflects fair exchange. This is also merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to a whole other set of issues as to what old testament laws apply in modern day and which ones do not. I am not going to go into anything that heavy except to say that unfounded and unbacked assumptions are almost ALWAYS bad and/or misleading.
Darkhorses...millions of Darkhorses all over the place. Big Darkhorses, little ones, male and female Darkhorses. Little baby Darkhorses with tons of money in their strollers. White and black Darkhorses. Mini Darkhorses. But NO POOR Darkhorses. Just the thought of this alone would get any right thinking atheist to find a God to pray to and petition Him to intervene and prevent the Days Of Darkness. RS7
BY DARKHORSE ("This is also merely the tip of the iceberg in regards to a whole other set of issues as to what old testament laws apply in modern day and which ones do not. I am not going to go into anything that heavy except to say that unfounded and unbacked assumptions are almost ALWAYS bad and/or misleading. ") no offence darkhorse, but you are dead wrong on this point. I know it is called usury however, the idea that usury is defined as excessive intrest is a modern one. Of course you cannot have a strong economy of any kind with out a return on investment. That is the reason christians choose to ignore this law. Up untill the 1500's (75% of the time christianity has been around) you could have been excomunicated for charging anyone any amout of intrest. Read any history of the banking system that goes back that far. and NO, it does not go into a set of issues about what old testament laws apply to today--- it was JESUS who chased the money changers out of the temple and it was JESUS who said do not borrow or lend money from your brother. This was a VERY strict law in the christian church, before they saw that jewish people were getting rich charging intrest on lending money-- now it is a law that is "on the books" as it were, but not being enforced (at least not here on earth by the church!)