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Christian no more.
I come from a very religious family and go to a christian school.
We talked about God all the time in classes and mostly good things.
God is all about love, forgiving, a way of life.
The thing is, that we were only being tought just chosen quotes and not the hole thing.
I bumped across this site that has all those particular stuff chosen from The Bible, The Old and New Testament and I found out crazy evil stuff inside there.Horrible stuff. Of course I am not gonna argue with my parents, let them think whatever OR my friends.
This has really been a life changing experience for me, something really mind opening and a new way of life free out of human stupidity.
Stupidity that tells you "Dont be evil cause you ll burn in hell", when it should actually be more like "Dont be evil cause you shouldn t be".
Or sayings against premarital sex or "Smoking sends you to hell" and that drinking is evil.
I get drunk like twice a year, and dont feel the need to drink more and more. And by drunk I mean a little bit tipsy.
Or why is oral sex evil and immoral? What harm does it do?Its been a while since I found joy in both giving and receiving it lol...
In case you were wondering, this is the site
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location).
It talks about, slavery, in breeds (Lot) and put things in a way new perspective.
I have validated the facts from the bible.All it takes is make a little extra reading from what they tell you to read in school.And you are free to find out for yourself.
Of course I am not going to turn Muslim, the Allah religion is way more obscene and violent.
But I do believe in soul and one true god.
I also do believe in Jesus as an historical figure and share the same philosophy. All the good things he said.
But priests, school, religious people and books written by people, rules build by people (for instance oral sex.drinking,smoking) are violating Jesus work and the real Gods work.
No I dont expect Jesus to be smoking, but he was a human and a God. And there is no need for some being to expect from us to not be doing those stuff if that greater being gave us the present of life in the first place.
Do you suppose there is another sub christian party that works according to my beliefs? Of course I dont mean a church where people get drunk or something, but a church that celebrates life just as God intented instead of looking forward to death.
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i'm not at all in any way trying to be racist but one of the things you wrote hurt me a bit.
it was the comment on muslims. im not trying to start an argument but i just want to to know that you have been mislead.
in genaral all religions have some people that do the wrong thing and are not good people. for example, hold your right hand up. you will obviously notice that all your fingers are different sizes. now that is how a religon is. someone is better while others are not. some have theories and others dont follow that. some are extremist others dont give a darn.
so anyways, the true religion of islam is about peace and discourages violence. muslims frown upon violence as it is not the right way to go upon buisness.
i want you to just go on these links before you let it convince you
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
please look at them and then decide on what you think about islam! get your facts straight before you are convinced of what this beutiful religon represents
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Okay. That website is written as a parody of Biblical literalists and conservative attitudes. In no way should it be treated seriously.
Also, much of the early books of the Bible are to be taken as metaphor. Genesis is not an accurate history of the world; rather it is a series of stories told by people in an effort to define themselves and their place in the universe. (To refer back to the story of Lot and his daughters, the whole point of the seduction story is to explain the origins of the Ammonite and Moabite nations. The sins of Sodom and Gomorrah are clearly defined in Ezekiel 16:49, but that's another rant.)
You might want to look into the Episcopal Church; there are some conservative, literalist elements, but mostly they value intellectual rigor and good works over obedience. If you find them too dogmatic, there's the Unitarian Universalists. Definitely do some reading. Fr. Robert Farrar Capon is a good writer and theologian (check out 'The Feast of the Lamb' especially), as is Fr. Matthew Fox ('Original Blessing'). For a real eye-opener, check out "The Unexpected Jew" by Amy-Jill Levine. It's an examination of Jesus as a first-century Jew, and how his teachings fit into the greater context of rabbinical thought. It's slow going, but well worth it.
Finally, keep one thing in mind. Jesus said, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Light. No one comes to the Father except through me." This means that Jesus decides who gets into Heaven. Not the teachers, not the ministers, not the scholars or lawmakers, not anybody but Jesus. In Matthew 25 he states who he's looking for: not the ones who cry "Lord, Lord," but the ones who visit the sick , feed the hungry, and clothe the naked. What you do with your life is much more important than whether or not you smoke occasionally.
Congratulations: you've just taken your first steps into a larger world.
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There are a zillion ways to view any subjective topic...religioun is no exception. In fact, it is rare to find even two people that completely agree on such volatile issues as religion offers. The thing is to use your head, not lose your head over this. You had some information and then you got some more information. So, continue to play detective and seek the truth. There are opinions and then there are facts...but a lot of facts turn out to be opinons as well...confused? Good, that is a great start...it means you are using your brain and life is confusing if you are engaged in participating with all your mental capacity. Of course, if you just follow the flow of whatever mode of thinking or beliefs are popular at the moment you will be worst than confused...you'll be lost. So, keep seeking and asking and never give up. Life is a journey and truth is something worth exploring for yourself...be critical of all who claim to know everything...whether religious or not!
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Good decision. If the Christian God is as depicted in the bible, then he is evil. Read this for more info:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
and this for criticism of the bible and its teachings:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
You can believe whatever you want without worrying about what others think. Here is a complete list of Christian denominations:
[Link](Mouse over link to see full location)
If you believe in Christ, then you're looking for a CHRISTian church. If you believe in God, but not Christ, then you're looking for an Abrahamic one. If you can't find a church that fits you, you might like to join a Unitarian Universalist church. They welcome people of all religions. You might also be interested in the Bahá'í Faith. They believe that Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha, etc. existed and offered valuable guidance.
Good luck.
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I'm pretty sure that the person on that website was not entirely factual and or sane. Some of the stuff that I read there was very non Christian, for example, laughing over atheists burning in hell and calling them homosexuals and communists. I'm fairly sure that not all atheists are both of those things.
First of all, remember that everyone who is religious looks at religion a little differently. For example, the man who created that website may believe things that you do not believe. That is okay, even within a religion. Sure, the Pope is a world leader for Catholics, but that doesn't mean that everyone who is Catholic agrees with everything that he says, or even that the majority of Catholics do. No matter what religion you are part of, you will probably agree and disagree with certain things. This doesn't mean that you need to give up religion altogether, as it's perfectly alright to have your own individual interpretations. The man who created that website had viewpoints that very very many Christians would disagree with. The fact that there are people like him out there does not mean that Christianity is like that or bad, it just means that he has a certain way of believing in God, and that you have your own.
Second of all, "the Allah religion", Islam, isn't inherently obscene or violent. There are a few extremists that make it that way and that don't represent what Islam stands for, just as that website does not represent what Christianity stands for.
So back to the bible. Yes, there are many things in there that are not taught in schools and as part of the Christian religion. The reason for this is that Jesus, several times in the Bible criticized the Pharisees, religious leaders at the time, for paying so much attention to specific rules in the Old Testament that they forgot the main messages, which were to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind, and to love your neighbour as you love yourself. In fact, Jesus actually went against teachings in the Old Testament, for example, as a lady who had committed adultery was about to be stoned according to a law made by Moses, he stopped the stoning famously by asking whoever had not ever sinned to cast the first stone (though I'm sure you've already heard of that story). It is generally thought that, yes, the rules in the Old Testament were important thousands of years ago, but today they are less important and it is more important to look at the philosophy that was Jesus' teachings.
Generally, the books of the Bible are extremely contradictory. In genesis, it mentions there being several gods, whereas in other parts of the bible is says that the Lord is a jealous God (implying that there might be other gods), and yet there are also multiple instances where it is written that God is the only god. A good way to look at the Bible is that different things were written at different times and in different societies. Genesis, for example, can be looked at as a very metaphorical book. Some do believe that the world was created in seven days, however, another way to look at it might be that it had to be explained that way, using days instead of however many years, because the concept of days is easier for a simple shepherd living thousands of years ago to understand.
I'm not entirely sure which sect of Christianity, or which religion in general is right for you. A good idea, to discover this, would to be shop around by sitting in various congregations to see what you like best. It's also important to find a community that you will feel a part of. Find friends with different religions (people not from your school that you know? People from school that celebrate a slightly different version of Christianity? and ask if you can worship with them, or think about what you personally believe in on your own.
For the record, I'm fairly sure that most Christian religions do celebrate life. In the New Testament, at least, there are multiple accounts where it is written/ said by Jesus that God is the Lord of light, not death. If you really feel a connection with the basic Christian philosophy, you shouldn't be so quick to dismiss the good you have gotten from being religious because someone may interpret what is in the Bible differently. At the same time, looking around to see what else is out there is not a bad thing, either.
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i think it's great that you are being exposed to new things and are finding out more about your religion. i love it when people want to learn more about religion because there's a lot of stuff that most people don't know. i don't know of a major church that goes with your exacting beliefs, but there's a difference between spirituality and organized religion- your beliefs are your spirituality, but your religion is just what church you go to... so with that in mind, you don't have to conform to whatever church. this answer is not making as much sense as i hoped it would. anyway, you would have to research the different denominations of christian churches. i agree with you on the "don't be evil because you shouldn't be"... a lot of people think that the only reason they have to be nice is so that they get to go to heaven, but i believe that you should be a good person just because it's the right thing to do, not because there's a reward or whatever. anyway, i hope this made a little bit of sense.
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I know exactly what you mean. If you are going to be an honest, decent person, then it does not matter what path you choose to get there (as long as there is no harm involved). Every single religion (at least the three major religions of the book) has various groups who have their own interpretation of the same facts. So let's say Jesus tells you to be decent just for the sake of being a good human being. Another group may distort this, saying that you will burn in hell if you do something (fill in the blank) wrong. That is THEIR interpretation, and I do not believe it follows the actual message of the bible, or any other holy book for that matter.
And please let me clear things up for you. Islam is not an inherently violent religion AT ALL. It preaches the same basic values as Judaism and Christianity. Unfortunately, some fanatics have distorted the facts, and let me tell you, their vision IS NOT AT ALL in line with real, muslim values. I will tell you that much. A real vision of Islam, groups that agree with the true, peaceful essence of the religion, are not on Fox news, or CNN, or whatever...the general public does not know anything about the religion, they are fed a bunch of crap. No religion out there, NONE, is inherently violent or obscene. It is not the religion, but the group. And there are Christian fundamentalists in the US too, but that does not at all mean that all Christians are like that.
So anyway...I am sure that there are groups that are flexible, and who tell you to be good for the sake of being a human being, rather than for fear of being punished. You might even want to start a student group about it, where you could have activities and retreats. I am not entirely sure of the groups that may or may not be out there..but anyway, I'd say for starters, practice religion on your own time. You don't have to go to church every Sunday. Do what you think is right.
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I don't know if there is a church that shares the same exact beliefs as you or not. I'm sure there are some out there who share similar beliefs, but they may have beliefs that are opposite of yours.
Personally, I don't attend church. I see nothing wrong with church, but like you, I can't sit and listen to this group's interpretation of the Bible, or that group's, because usually there are things that don't follow MY personal beliefs.
I know that God knows what I believe. I don't have to sit in a pew every Sunday to prove my faith. I don't have to conform my beliefs with a group of people.
I'm happier that way.
ygs-29/f
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