Just as an aside/ an old fart tale. In another lifetime I worked as an airline mechanic. One nightshift my partner and I had finished our assignment and sat for a while in the first class cabin. About a month previously he'd told me he was going to quit and move. So I asked him when was the day. He thought for a moment and started talking. For a long time. Telling me that his family, wife, 2 kids and his in-law parents had moved to another country and he was planning to join them. They were moving to found a new town in Guyana a place to give them religious freedom. Yes, the only survivor was his father in law. And the "pastor" was James Jones. Ain't religion grand. Almost make me wish I could. Well I won't say that.
if you can't tell a cult from a legitimate church, that's what happens. if it were not for "organized religion" we wouldn't have had many hospitals and universities in the 18th century.
I know it's difficult to see when the religtards grab all the headlines with your AR-15s aimed at disbelievers, gay people, and children, but there is no doubt whatsoever that we are living in the most peaceful era of our species existence. You're welcome, ingrates.
I suppose I have to reply. Can't tell the difference between a Cult or a legitimate Church? You know in my eyes there is no difference. Church of christianity and it's offshoots. Church?! of islam and it's offshoots. Then all the rest of the "one true religions , offshoots and cults" bringing misery and death around the world Collectives of people trying to convince each other that they are the only ones who worship the right mythical entity. You're either with us or against us.... Or was that the Bush Cheney cult...
Membership numbers? Jahova witness were a cult, Mormons were a cult. All religions started off as a cult.
Are you intentionally ignoring that universities, hospitals, orphanages, soup kitchens and so forth that have been built and operated by churches over the past couple of hundred years. Are you intentionally ignoring the fact that many of the abolitionists early on were Christians? You were doing fine until the last three words. You understand, of course, that yours is a naked assertion. There is no more substance to the claim that the gods to which you refer are mythical than the claim that they are real.
The burden of proof lies with the people making the extraordinary truth claim, not the ones dismissing it. Atheism is not belief that no gods exist, it's the absence of belief that any do. I wonder, do the Christians that get upset about their mythologies being describes as such take issue by references to Norse or Ancient Egyptian mythologies too?
Are you intentionally ignoring that universities like Liberty U etc, hospitals, to treat those maimed by the chosen ones, orphanages, to house those survivors whose parents are gone, soup kitchens to feed all those left standing and so forth that have been built and operated by churches over the past couple of hundred years. Are you intentionally ignoring the fact that many of the abolitionists early on were Christians unlike the slavers who were, I dunno, something else ?
Yes! Way too far off topic for this thread. Although many slave owners considered themselves devout Christians. End of.
again, yes. As I stated above. All those fine southern gentlemen, including Nathan Forest, who owned slaves went to the same churches as you probably do now and believed in the same mythical entity. And my wife wants us to go and find bigfoot. Although there is a cult that calls them Yeti. While many unbelievers refuse to believe that they really exist.
so what? people are flawed. they give in to the culture that they live in. do you actually think that Christians do more harm than good? look, i don't think for one moment that atheists are my moral inferiors. i don't think that Buddhists or Hindus or Muslims or Jews or the bulk of members of existing spiritual paths are morally bankrupt or even morally inferior to me. the Christians i know don't think we are morally superior to you or anyone else. what we do believe, however, is that there is more reason to think that the Biblical god (God) is the Creator of the Universe and that Jesus was God in flesh. there's more, obviously, but there's no need to expand. it's common knowledge. you think God is a mythical creature. where does that come from?
Most of Christian beliefs were borrowed...even the Virgin Mary story. Once you see all the plagiarism it is hard to take it seriously as "truth". At least Norse mythology was creative and original with Thor.
Was Odin first though, or was Wotan? Pretty sure Woden from the Saxon pantheon would have come from Germany's Wotan, but I'm not sure if the Germans got Wotan from Odin or the Scandinavians got Odin from Wotan. I do know that the days of the week in English come from the same sort of pantheon. Wednesday means Woden's day, Thursday means Thor's day, Friday means Freya's day etc.
He. G.W. Bush again. ?? So when did he tell you this? C'mon!!!! But then all the "other" religions think he is full of poop! And they believe that is the truth.
The fact that he ONLY speaks to the likes of Michelle Bachmann and Ted Cruz should really make you wonder.
Especially as he didn't speak to the mother of his child/himself, and sent Gabriel instead. Why would he speak to politicians and not Mary?