Going to church

[Nitsuj]

The cracker does taste pretty good though.

Yeah, seriously, I mean, these people will protest mercilessly as to not let gays get married, but have no qualms whatsoever when they're told that they're eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the person they worship.

[Thor]

The cracker does taste pretty good though.

I always found it be rather tasteless.

When I was a kid my mother took me to church and I saw all the people lining up for cracker time. I wanted to partake also, but my mother wouldn't let me. I thought there must be something wonderful about what they were handing out. When I was finally of age, I got my first cracker and I was expecting some magical experience. I was very disappointed to find that the cracker was tasteless and no wonderful feeling went through my body. After that, I just did it as a ritual I was expected to perform (until I got old enough and stopped going altogether).

Ever hear about crimes against the host? Back in the Middle Ages you could be put to death for "torturing" one of these crackers! Well, what the hell did they think happened when you ATE the damned thing?!?!?

Yeah, seriously, I mean, these people will protest mercilessly as to not let gays get married, but have no qualms whatsoever when they're told that they're eating the flesh and drinking the blood of the person they worship.

Well, it makes perfect sense! Their holy book says that homosexuality is an "abomination". Just look at the morons from the Westboro Baptist Church! What really bothers me is that they have grade schoolers holding up signs that they cannot possibly understand!

[Skeptisma]

Could a coven of witches do any worse?

I'm quite certain they'd jazz it up and make it, at least, tasty!

[Nitsuj]

I still remember back in second grade, when I went to a Catholic school (and after going to a public school, I will now have to go to a Catholic school again), when we were practicing for our first communion (I refuse to capitalize anything religous. ) during class, we would use it with oyster crackers! So we have our heads bowed, hands folded, having the teacher hand us oyster crackers. It sounds so funny when I remember it...

EDIT: Woohoo! 100th post!

[Thor]

I still remember back in second grade, when I went to a Catholic school (and after going to a public school, I will now have to go to a Catholic school again), when we were practicing for our first communion (I refuse to capitalize anything religous. ) during class, we would use it with oyster crackers! So we have our heads bowed, hands folded, having the teacher hand us oyster crackers. It sounds so funny when I remember it...

EDIT: Woohoo! 100th post!

What really sticks in my mind was my first confession. I remember asking my mother what I should confess to! I didn't want to go to the priest and have nothing to confess! I ended up "confessing" to a bunch of stupid bullshit like fighting with my brother and not always obeying my parents. I think I also had to go to confession prior to confirmation. And I haven't been back since. I had a buddy who went every single week. I used to to tell him that he must sin a lot because he went every week and I hadn't been to confession in years.

If I could go back now (to my first confession) I would tell the priest that I have nothing to confess. He would no doubt prod me to confess to some silly crap, but my response would be, "I'm SEVEN years old! What could I have possibly done that I would need to confess?!?"

Idiots.

[Nitsuj]

I can't really remember mine too well. I remember that I couldn't think of anything, so the priest said something like "do you tell lies?" I answered "sometimes." (Though if I had said no, it may have created an interesting paradox.)

[RAD]

Yeah the church has big problems with boring people to death between revivals. I agree. During one of those rare events, you can't keep skeptics or backsliders from showing up.

I only know of one church in America that runs its meeting like the early church, where anybody can speak, and where at least some of the nine gifts Paul identified are common, as clearly described in 1 Corinthians. Of course during revivals like Azusa, the Chinese revival of the thirties, early Quaker meetings, etc, lots of people got to speak and it was tremndous fun. We are still stuck in the medieval "clergy-laity" system. Honestly it's stupid and unscriptural.

And one more proof of my (and Chesterton's) claim that precious few have ever tried Christianity.

Which of course proves absolutely nothing about the value of nascent Christianity, or why you skeptics shouldn't try it. Right?

---

"These people"

Good grief

[KichigaiNeko]

Yeah the church has big problems with boring people to death between revivals. I agree. During one of those rare events, you can't keep skeptics or backsliders from showing up.

I only know of one church in America that runs its meeting like the early church, where anybody can speak, and where at least some of the nine gifts Paul identified are common, as clearly described in 1 Corinthians. Of course during revivals like Azusa, the Chinese revival of the thirties, early Quaker meetings, etc, lots of people got to speak and it was tremndous fun. We are still stuck in the medieval "clergy-laity" system. Honestly it's stupid and unscriptural.

And one more proof of my (and Chesterton's) claim that precious few have ever tried Christianity.

Which of course proves absolutely nothing about the value of nascent Christianity, or why you skeptics shouldn't try it. Right?

---

"These people"

Sounds more like a "town meeting" where anyone...pagans and non-believers included can have a say at the running of the local area....oh wait...i know ...."let's get ourselves a 'parlliment / congress' "


novel idea bruce


skeptics rip xtianity apart BECAUSE they have tried it and found it wanting.....dumb bloody xtian!!

[Thor]

I can't really remember mine too well. I remember that I couldn't think of anything, so the priest said something like "do you tell lies?" I answered "sometimes." (Though if I had said no, it may have created an interesting paradox.)

Now this is interesting! I've argued with believers and cited the commandment that forbids "bearing false witness" as an example of a badly written law. For example, if you were hiding a Jewish family in your basement during the Nazi occupation and the Nazis asked if you had any Jews in your house, this commandment would demand that you tell the truth.

The believers have told me that this commandment does not cover a situation like this. They insist that this commandment only covers situations where you would make accusations against someone (such as in a court). But now you tell me that the priest wanted to know if you tell lies. So which is it? Does the commandment cover lies? If it does, then you can't lie to the Nazis. If it only covers accusations made in court, then why would the priest want you to confess to informal lies? Seems to me that these people are rather inconsistent.

[Minimalist]

The believers have told me that this commandment does not cover a situation like this.

Loophole city. They can always make excuses for their fucking god.