Religion Question

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

Ok (and I'm promising myself that this is my last reply, because I could go on and on and on and obviously go nowhere)...and I go nowhere because you can't argue the black box of faith. I'll just follow up with you are entitled to your religion, although I'll just say that the whole scary hell thing has always steered me away from Christianity. I've read the New Testament and I have always been fascinated by the words of the Gospel...I just think all this fire and brimstone seems to miss the point of the written words. I don't think you need that to feel the heart of the religion, it just seems to me like all this is unnecessary if you love your Lord. I'm confident in my feelings on this subject, and that is just that.

OK, JerzeeGrlinOKC = no more religion posts (watch I break down and post one tomorrow, too...)

[Keith]

Ok (and I'm promising myself that this is my last reply, because I could go on and on and on and obviously go nowhere)...and I go nowhere because you can't argue the black box of faith. I'll just follow up with you are entitled to your religion, although I'll just say that the whole scary hell thing has always steered me away from Christianity. I've read the New Testament and I have always been fascinated by the words of the Gospel...I just think all this fire and brimstone seems to miss the point of the written words. I don't think you need that to feel the heart of the religion, it just seems to me like all this is unnecessary if you love your Lord. I'm confident in my feelings on this subject, and that is just that.

OK, JerzeeGrlinOKC = no more religion posts (watch I break down and post one tomorrow, too...)

I understand where you are coming from, because they are your feelings...I respect that. Don't stop posting....you are doing a good job on expressing yourself in a respectful manner.

[Easy180]

Ok (and I'm promising myself that this is my last reply, because I could go on and on and on and obviously go nowhere)...and I go nowhere because you can't argue the black box of faith. I'll just follow up with you are entitled to your religion, although I'll just say that the whole scary hell thing has always steered me away from Christianity. I've read the New Testament and I have always been fascinated by the words of the Gospel...I just think all this fire and brimstone seems to miss the point of the written words. I don't think you need that to feel the heart of the religion, it just seems to me like all this is unnecessary if you love your Lord. I'm confident in my feelings on this subject, and that is just that.

OK, JerzeeGrlinOKC = no more religion posts (watch I break down and post one tomorrow, too...)

Exactly why I call the addition of hell the ultimate marketing tool for Christianity...Had to throw something in there to fill the seats

[Keith]

Exactly why I call the addition of hell the ultimate marketing tool for Christianity...Had to throw something in there to fill the seats

Like I said...there are a few that are childish and make fun of religion and Christianity...I rest my case.

[Easy180]

Not sure where you read anything childish in that post Keith

[bandnerd]

There was nothing "childish" about that response, Keith. Easy makes a good point, he just used an analogy to explain it.

I feel the same way he does--would Christianity (or for that matter, any religion) work without some factor of fear?

[Keith]

There was nothing "childish" about that response, Keith. Easy makes a good point, he just used an analogy to explain it.

I feel the same way he does--would Christianity (or for that matter, any religion) work without some factor of fear?

Of course he makes a good point....to you, because you agree with him. I expected a reply like that from you. When you start making fun of Christianity, and you keep on and on and on, then it just becomes a part of your everyday conversation, and you see nothing wrong with it....kind of like a bad habit.

[bandnerd]

Because you are just so respectful of our opinions, Keith?

[Keith]

Because you are just so respectful of our opinions, Keith?

Exactly. I don't make fun of others' beliefs, although I may sometimes question them.

[Patrick]

Would you obey the words of Christ's disciples so readily if you didn't feel like you had this threat of "hell" behind you?

Absolutely, because it's my faith.

And what is really wrong with being an ethical person for the sake of goodness and kind deeds alone?

Oh nothing.

It's not about winning a game of who goes to hell and who doesn't,

I was just making my point about how Christianity was beneficial no matter what.

its about sacrificing yourself to make the world, this world we live in now, a better place.

Really, as bandnerd said, you don't have to be a Christian to do that.

If I do go to this nasty hell you speak of, well, at least I didn't just try to live a good life for my personal fate alone.

If you truly have a relationship with Christ, you have nothing to worry about.

Well I'm probably not guaranteed to get a friendly response here, but I just want to give my two cents.

You're more than entitled to give your 2 cents here.

[Patrick]

Exactly why I call the addition of hell the ultimate marketing tool for Christianity...Had to throw something in there to fill the seats

Nah....you don't think Christianity might include hell because the Bible specifically addresses do you? Nah, the Bible couldn't be that harsh, could it? And God couldn't be that harsh, could he?

[Patrick]

Exactly. I don't make fun of others' beliefs, although I may sometimes question them.

[Easy180]

Sorry you feel I was making fun of your religion Keith..I was just pointing out something I do believe to be true...W/o the eternal damnation thing I don't believe there would be half as many folks in the pews on Sundays

Death is by far the most feared aspect in our lives and adding that lovely nugget has certainly helped recruit millions of Christians over the years

[bandnerd]

Keith, I think you are taking what Easy said a little too personally. You felt hurt, and then lashed out and called him, and then me, childish. Frankly, that was uncalled for. No one was saying, "Hey, Keith! I think your religion's a bunch of bunk!" or anything like that. He was simply pointing out his opinion.

Not everyone is going to agree with you, or Patrick, or the other "Christians" on the board. There are several posters here who aren't religious. I think you're just going to have to learn to deal with that.

[NE Oasis]

Exactly why I call the addition of hell the ultimate marketing tool for Christianity...Had to throw something in there to fill the seats

First things first, I am a proud Southern Baptist, beliving that the Bible is the inerrant word of God.
A good friend, who happens to be the Associate Pastor for Education at my church, asked one of his peers in another denomination (in Edmond) how he managed to fill the parking lot on Wednesday and Sunday nights. His peer said they told all church members they would go to Hell if they weren't there. IMHO this is a wrong teaching as God will judge man, but will not be checking attendance records as a qualifier for admission to Heaven. This teaching does validate Easy's statement and makes evangelism more difficult for all Christians.

[Keith]

Keith, I think you are taking what Easy said a little too personally. You felt hurt, and then lashed out and called him, and then me, childish. Frankly, that was uncalled for. No one was saying, "Hey, Keith! I think your religion's a bunch of bunk!" or anything like that. He was simply pointing out his opinion.

Not everyone is going to agree with you, or Patrick, or the other "Christians" on the board. There are several posters here who aren't religious. I think you're just going to have to learn to deal with that.

Bandnerd, anytime someone doesn’t agree with you, you always say they take something “personal.” Get over yourself. This is a message board, and there are so many members on this forum that hide behind the internet. It actually seems that it is you that takes things personal, especially when somebody disagrees with you.

What I posted was not uncalled for, it was fact. Christianity is bashed on this forum on an almost daily basis. I know that there are many beliefs on this forum, and I know many don’t agree with mine. That’s fine….but you are probably the worst on this board when it comes to bashing Christianity. You feel we do not have the right to speak our mind, so you always get your feelings hurt, and you have to post something negative about Christianity, or people that believe differently from you.

Now, you have a few friends who are right by your side doing the same thing you are doing. Again, this is a message board, so my advice to you is to not take my remarks so personal. You never agree with me on anything and you never will. That’s what makes this a great world…..until you take posts on a message board personally.

[bandnerd]

First things first, I am a proud Southern Baptist, beliving that the Bible is the inerrant word of God.
A good friend, who happens to be the Associate Pastor for Education at my church, asked one of his peers in another denomination (in Edmond) how he managed to fill the parking lot on Wednesday and Sunday nights. His peer said they told all church members they would go to Hell if they weren't there. IMHO this is a wrong teaching as God will judge man, but will not be checking attendance records as a qualifier for admission to Heaven. This teaching does validate Easy's statement and makes evangelism more difficult for all Christians.

This was my experience at the Baptist church back home...if you believed in evolution, you were going to hell...if you didn't tithe, you were going to hell...and so on, and so on. It was tiring to hear how terrible I was. Maybe they were right

[bandnerd]

Keith--

I never took you seriously or personally. The vast majority of posts you have on here are about you, what you do at your church, your faith, and so forth. How many times have I actually started a thread about my non-religious activities, labeling them as such? Hardly ever, if at all.

Bash bash bash. You can tell me that I'm so terrible and that I bash religion all you want. I don't really give a rat's patootie.

I respect those who are real in their faith, and who are good people, and who take their religion seriously, I really do. But those people, I find, are those who are very quiet about their faith--they do what they do, and it's their thing, and they don't feel the need to advertise it or push it on others. I do not feel you are that way, and that is my main problem with all of your posts.

To me, beliefs are just that--thoughts you hold in your head and your heart to be true and real. They require no advertisement, no money, no acceptance from anyone else. The beliefs I have are just as real to me as I feel yours are to you...but anytime I say anything about Christianity, I'm told I am somehow taking something too personally and I am bashing religion. But you can call me childish, and others who hold similar beliefs to me childish, and yet somehow, you aren't bashing us? Uh huh, yeah, that's fair.

Let me put this on the record--I have no problem with RELIGION or the fact that it exists--what I have a problem with is pushy, arrogant, holier-than-thou folks who think that somehow because they "have religion" they are better than others but can't possibly accept the fact, let alone respect the fact, that someone has other beliefs that differ from their own. My husband is a devout Catholic, almost every friend I have in this world is religious or faithful, the vast majority of my co-workers attend church on a regular basis and participate in music or other parts of the ceremonies, but not a single one of them, NOT ONE, has ever told me that I have bashed them when discussing religion. And they wouldn't let that go, trust me...they aren't those kind of people that would just let it go. You all remember Midtowner and how he is--he doesn't let me get away with anything.

So say I'm taking it personally--that's fine, you can believe that. Maybe I am...but it's mostly because you friggin' target a few of us "non-believers" because we occasionally poke fun at something that, OH MY GOD, is criticized on a regular basis and oftentimes joked about in other venues of life.

[JerzeeGrlinOKC]

If you truly have a relationship with Christ, you have nothing to worry about.

Patrick, I'm not worried at all. Fear about the afterlife is not a component of my faith.

[Easy180]

First things first, I am a proud Southern Baptist, beliving that the Bible is the inerrant word of God.
A good friend, who happens to be the Associate Pastor for Education at my church, asked one of his peers in another denomination (in Edmond) how he managed to fill the parking lot on Wednesday and Sunday nights. His peer said they told all church members they would go to Hell if they weren't there. IMHO this is a wrong teaching as God will judge man, but will not be checking attendance records as a qualifier for admission to Heaven. This teaching does validate Easy's statement and makes evangelism more difficult for all Christians.

Guess I wasn't being so childish...Appreciate you sharing that in this discussion...You would just have to be simply naive to think it isn't the reason a decent portion of Christians are tithing and attending church on a weekly basis

Not saying it's the majority just a decent percentage

Did I do good bandnerd?

Man I can sound so cool hiding behind the internet

[bandnerd]

Tee hee...don't we all?

[Keith]

Did I do good bandnerd?

Man I can sound so cool hiding behind the internet

Yep, you definitely do hide behind the internet. Just like somebody else I know. Yes, I know you and bandnerd are buds....ain't that precious?

Tee hee, don't we all? Ahhhh, how cute of a response.

Well, you all have fun bashing Christianity and then feel sorry for yourselves when someone disagrees with you. I'm really not sure why you and bandnerd even come to this forum, when you don't believe in anything. Oh, that's right....you are here to bash those who believe in Christianity...and then laugh about it.

Hmm, could Easy180 actually be Midtowner? They sure sound alike, and they both get along great with bandnerd.

What a waste.

[bandnerd]

No, I can definitely assure you that Midtowner no longer visits this forum. Funny how when someone and I get along, it MUST be my husband because no one else could agree or like me? Geez...funny how NO ONE is coming here to agree with you! You'd be amazed how many people get along just fine with me, Keith.

If you look at one of the first responses to the original post in this thread (which we have all drifted far away from) you'll see that I posted directly to the topic at hand. It asked if I would want religion taught in schools, and I said no, and I gave my reasons. Other people took this way off topic. I just joined in on the fun in the last page.

Tee hee indeed. Am I supposed to come up with a well-thought-out, witty response every time I post? Because yours are SO brilliant, Keith.

I don't feel sorry for myself in the least bit. Just because we don't "believe in anything" doesn't mean we can't discuss religion. How dare you try and tell people where they can and cannot post! I find religion very interesting, the history of it, at least...not the bigoted, self-righteous behavior of some who are "believers"...and the only person who is making me feel unwelcome in this forum is YOU, Keith...a moderator. By the way--telling non-believers that they can't post in an OPEN forum would be a form of discrimination now, wouldn't it? Can I not talk about vegetarianism although I love meat? Can I not talk about men's health issues because I don't have a *****?

To echo you, Keith---What a WASTE.

[NE Oasis]

[/FONT]

Keith, calm down please! I am not Midtowner, I am a Christian, and in checking Bandnerds posting history I don't see your basis for calling her "the worst" when it comes to "bashing Christianity". Your responses do seem a bit personal to me and seem to have strayed far from topic. I'm not Banderds "friend" or "bud" since I can't honestly base friendship solely on interaction in this forum but I do admire her in many ways including her work ethic, support of her husband, and other personal traits. Although I'm old enough to be her father I would welcome a chance to become her friend.

[Easy180]

Keith give me a break dude....I was posting daily when Midtowner was still active and I think he actually used complete sentences instead of my lazy... technique

Not sure what your problem is with some of us discussing religion...Feel free to put Bandnerd and I on ignore if you dislike what we post

90% of what you post on here are threads promoting Christian activities and I am not offended and don't post on those...It seems that is more of a waste since it appears you have little else to add other than listing events...This thread discusses religion and I have some views I would like to share

Majority on here are Christians it seems so you should be ok with a few that disagree and say so...Haven't seen anything since CC left that should get anyone riled up on this board

So please join the other Christians on here that are able to discuss their religion w/o namecalling...Appreciate it