517 Comments
User's avatar
⭠ Return to thread
Clyde's avatar

Some interesting questions indeed. When Jesus's disciples called for "fire from heaven" (Luke 9:52-56), Jesus replied " For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." (v56). Our own intrinsic knowledge calls us to desire peace, but the divisiveness of our common enemy Satan, will continue to divide men into warring factions as long as men choose to deceive their own hearts (consciousness), leavening the whole lump in the compromises of the mundane as opposed to a more excellent knowledge.(Luke 1:1-4).

Expand full comment
Dennis Merwood's avatar

My old book says that Jesus said "For the Son of man is not come to destroy, blah, blah, blah........"

Who wrote this nonsense? Your old book was written centuries after this guy Jeebus was supposed of existed. By unknown authors.

My favorite parts of the Bible are where Jesus is talking to God, himself, and no one else is around ~ and his conversation is quoted in the Bible.

"At what point does all of this stuff just break down and become just a lot of stupid shit that someone made up! They fucking made it up folks! It's make-believe!” – George Carlin

"Beyond the grave where time no longer exist is where the final arbitration of liars and truth-tellers will be settled."

Christins believe that when they get to heaven, they will know why and agree with God about all the people sent to hell. Thus, they will be either happy or indifferent about all their friends and family that get sent to hell. Just another dehumanizing aspect of religion.

When I realized Hell wasn’t true it was the biggest relief of my life. I couldn’t get my head around having friends and family burning in hell while I enjoyed paradise. Also, I now don’t worry that people are in danger of burning in hell if they don’t believe in the Bible. I’ve slept much better since.

Expand full comment
Clyde's avatar

Although dissenting opinions are a matter of freedom to chose for oneself, as a matter of principle, those who take issue with "Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbors, Thou shalt not bear false witness, can undoubtedly advance any given argument. To assert that hell, jail, or clouds do not exist hasn't convinced me that your belief's are not founded in centuries of Human experience, but selective bigotry against those who do not share in your delusions It's OK. I can still love my enemies, because I do not look to my own understanding but a little higher. Yes, they can kill my body, they've done it before, but they cannot shake my faith.

Expand full comment
Dennis Merwood's avatar

One does not have to be religious to hold the values thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbors, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Clyde. Those are human values that existed long before your old book was written.

Atheists don't assert that hell, jail, or clouds do not exist.

Atheist assert one and only one thing.....there is no evidence a supernatural God exists. Period. Full stop. What's delusional about that? Nothing. I can also still love my enemies. Don't need an old book to tell me that.

Trust and obey God - The wish to be a slave - a celestial North Korea!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPD1YGghtDk

"Faith" is the deliberate refusal to think critically and the glorification of willful ignorance that follows. Religion is the permission slip to set aside truthful thought. "Faith" is the excuse people give when they don't have a good reason to believe something. If they had a good reason, they would offer that as justification for their belief, not "faith".

If religion was kept in their churches and their heads, and that they didn't think they are superior to others, I'd be generally OK with that. If you want to bask in self-imposed victimhood over something happening between your ears, no one can stop you.

Expand full comment
Clyde's avatar

"One does not have to be religious to hold the values thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not covet what is thy neighbors, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Clyde. Those are human values that existed long before your old book was written" That is a pretty bold assertion, but where is your evidence to make such a claim? The Video did appeal to my sense of humor though, as it implies just the opposite opinions found in John Milton's "Paradise Lost". To be a slave to appetite is not freedom, but as the old maxim goes "To each his own" certainly applies to those warmongering factions whose appetites are insatiable. How does one reconcile the differences between words and actions if there is no such thing as good faith and bad?

"

But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities" (2nd Peter 2:10) Where is the dignity found in calling any form of war civil?

Expand full comment
Dennis Merwood's avatar

10 Minutes that Proves Morality Doesn’t Come From Religion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vm0HC8InIhM&t=28s

Christopher Hitchens destroys the myth that morality comes from religion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG-JLmc4Krw&t=104s

True morality is doing what is right without the threat of divine retribution nor the possibility of divine reward.

(2nd Peter 2:10) Well, if you referenced Biblical scriptures – it must be true. LMAFO. It still amazes me that Christians think the Bible is evidence. The Bible is the CLAIM, with no evidence. Why is it so hard for people to understand that "My book is true because my book says it is true" is not a valid form of reasoning?

Scriptures are just the scribbling of ancient ignorant, superstitious, religious cultists. It's always ironic to hear the hundredth different interpretation of the gospels ~ with the complete certainty to say that everyone else got it wrong. And these are the people that consider themselves humble.

No-one would believe these fantastical stories in scripture if they hadn't been born into a world full of people who already believed the same thing. If a Jew, Christian or Muslim woke up tomorrow and found himself in a world where there were no other believers, how soon would it be before they became too embarrassed to admit to believing in such things as flying horses and talking snakes? They'd rightly be thought insane.

The stories in the Bible made the Church rich. While the truth lay outside of that Bible. To be fooled is not an insult, to stay in the foolery is an insult to ones self.

You give me the impression Clyde that you have never read a counter argument to any of your positions. You need folks to just accept that your assumptions are true without evidence. If they won't, then they are not open-minded.

Expand full comment
Clyde's avatar

I think I can understand your avoiding my questions Dennis, In the first video you offer is "Situational Ethics and Moral Relativism" In the amorphous shifting sands of "Reason"? If the morals and dogma's of Christopher Hitchen's is your "Proof" than it will not do me any good to try to convince you otherwise. The second video was truly tragic when he described what happened to that girl in Yemen. Although cults have the same characteristics of "occulting" knowledge away from the masses, (I tend to think of Mormonism for instance) eventually those closely guarded "belief's" do get challenged. Atheism as you've previously mentioned is in and of itself a religion if you wanted to be candid about it.

Expand full comment