Why are you not a Christian

[Blake]

Originally posted by Asher


Then Buddha was a wise man. Did it ever occur to you to have original thought, or do you just idol-worship someone else?

Perhaps I should start a religion so I could get people like you to hang on my every word. We're off to a good start here, with you comparing me to Buddha.

To be helpful, I will also say the difference, reading the subtext.

You say, that the world sucks and we have to accept that, and because the world sucks, we should be perpetually at war with it.

The Buddha said that life (the cycle of birth and death) is suffering and unsatisfactory and we should let go of the desire for it to be otherwise (to be perfect and such), we should accept the way things are and be at peace.


To set your religion apart from Buddhism, it should thus be one based on hate, anger, conflict and intolerance. You know, really embrace that suckiness of the world, make it even more sucky for yourself and those around you. You could probably look to Islamic Fanatics for a role model, because they are doing a good job in this regard, you know, really getting angry at the unsatisfactoriness of the world, really embracing that anger.


Regarding original thoughts, I think a more profound question is; Have I ever had a thought which is just like another persons?

[Asher]

Originally posted by Blake
You say, that the world sucks and we have to accept that, and because the world sucks, we should be perpetually at war with it.

That's not what I said at all. I said the world sucks, accept it. Embrace it. Use it to your advantage. Live your life with no regrets.

You don't need religion if you've got the intelligence to think things through yourself.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Asher

Why does it matter? God, The Way, whatever bull**** you want to fill your head with, it's all the same. Life sucks and there's nothing you can do about it. Accept it.

People who don't delude themselves into thinking of supernatural bull**** gain a better grasp on the realities of the world around them.

You really think life sucks? Maybe you do need some religion.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Geronimo
You really think life sucks? Maybe you do need some religion.

I should rephrase, it's not so much that life sucks but the world sucks. Personally, I think life's too fast and fun to waste time praying into a void on Sunday and not looking into deeper world mysteries in favour of ridiculous bull****.

As for religion, I think that's actually one of the main reason the world sucks.

[Nostromo]

I remember praying when I was a kid. Not because people made me do it, but because I genuinely believed in God. But I lost my faith at about 16 and I never looked back.

Now, if you ask me why, or what were the reasons, I would have a very hard time giving you an answer. Of course, there were the usual atheist arguments. But I now realize that these arguments are far from being decisive. I believe you can refute some claims made about God (that he created man 10000 years ago, that he intervenes in the world, etc.) but saying that science refutes the existence of God is naive at best. Religious people see those arguments as a test of their faith. And those who are intelligent and cultivated enough can generally offer cogent rebuttals (I'm thinking of theologians and religious philosophers here). Of course, the religious beliefs of those theologians and philosophers tend to be a lot more sophisticated than most churchgoers So why, faced with the exact same arguments, did I lose my faith whereas other people only see those arguments as a test of their faith? My faith wasn't probably very strong to begin with.

[Geronimo]

Originally posted by Asher

I should rephrase, it's not so much that life sucks but the world sucks. Personally, I think life's too fast and fun to waste time praying into a void on Sunday and not looking into deeper world mysteries in favour of ridiculous bull****.

As for religion, I think that's actually one of the main reason the world sucks.

That clarifies things perfectly.

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by Nostromo
... And those who are intelligent and cultivated enough can generally offer cogent rebuttals (I'm thinking of theologians and religious philosophers here). ....

Unfortunatedly, such people are rare here

[Asher]

Intelligent theologians and religious philosophers are rare indeed.

[DaShi]

Originally posted by Blake
Because I'm a Buddhist!

That doesn't preclude you from being a Christian.


As for me. I'm Catholic. I don't like being call Christian because then someone might think I'm a heathen protestant.

[FrostyBoy]

Calling yourself Catholic doesn't really make it better.

Free-thinker here. What Bhudda believed was not a religion, it was a theory, but as it goes, humans who followed the theory, turned it into an idol-worshipping religion, nonsense included.

Lets not make the same mistake with Evolution; it's better to leave things as a theory.

Why can't Christianity be just a theory? Then people can accept it more easy.

[vovan]

Maybe this should go into a separate thread, but I am kinda curious what exactly constitutes a Christian.

I know people who consider themselves Chrstians, but don't go to church, don't read the bible, don't pray, don't believe in creationism, don't follow the inconvenient church traditions like fasting, and don't seem to mind being afflicted by some of the deadly sins. They do follow the more common-sense Christian postulates, like, you know, helping people out of the goodness of their heart, rather than for personal gain. Does that make them Christian?

[BlackCat]

Originally posted by vovan
.., helping people out of the goodness of their heart, rather than for personal gain. Does that make them Christian?

Nope, that only makes you human.

[Perfection]

Originally posted by Asher
Intelligent theologians and religious philosophers are rare indeed.

Ther'es this theologian dude on CFC named Plotinus and he's hella smart.

[Lorizael]

I am not a Christian because I wasn't raised to be one. I am something other than a Christian because I went through a major psychological crisis that gave birth to revelations regarding the nature of the universe.

[Perfection]

what sorta revelations?