(June 28, 2013 at 7:56 pm)Rhythm Wrote: Am I to conclude that you managed to miss the content of the majority of my posts in this thread

Same goes for you Frodo.

oh hai!

I don't see you addressing any point relevant to the question rhythm, as is usually the case.

Show us evidence for how your bastardisation of the text is justified or shut up.

(June 29, 2013 at 1:16 am)Maelstrom Wrote:

(June 29, 2013 at 1:08 am)Consilius Wrote: This being a biblical event, death for the innocent is the passing on into a better life.

Following your logic, I wonder if you realize this statement is a veritable precedent for killing under god's name. If god asks you to kill someone, will you comply? After all, following your logic, it is not murder if it is god's will, him taking them into a better life.

You are taking what I said out of context. I was asserting that, as far as religion goes, the fear of death need not exist. Unjust killing is a crime either way.

Quote: Show us evidence for how your bastardisation of the text is justified or shut up.

Godschild can't demonstrate proof that there is a single, objectively correct way to interpret the Bible in spite of his insistence that there is and he adheres to it. Perhaps you're good for it.

(June 29, 2013 at 9:44 pm)Consilius Wrote: the fear of death need not exist.

I agree. I am perfectly fine with knowing that there is nothing after I die. That is the difference between me and you. I do not need to rely upon religion to ensure a peace of mind while I am alive in regards to what awaits after death. Those who truly fear the unknown, not knowing what awaits after death, have created for themselves an afterlife where their existence continues. Theists fear death, plain and simple. Fear is, in fact, one of the driving forces behind faith. The other is comfort, comfort in knowing that something awaits after death.

Fear and comfort are the theist's best friends in the face of rationality. Sadly.

Here is meme, lol

(June 29, 2013 at 9:53 pm)Maelstrom Wrote:

(June 29, 2013 at 9:44 pm)Consilius Wrote: the fear of death need not exist.

I agree. I am perfectly fine with knowing that there is nothing after I die. That is the difference between me and you. I do not need to rely upon religion to ensure a peace of mind while I am alive in regards to what awaits after death. Those who truly fear the unknown, not knowing what awaits after death, have created for themselves an afterlife where their existence continues. Theists fear death, plain and simple. Fear is, in fact, one of the driving forces behind faith. The other is comfort, comfort in knowing that something awaits after death.

Fear and comfort are the theist's best friends in the face of rationality. Sadly.

I don't know there is an afterlife: I believe in one.
As an actual theist, I would like to say that I am not "afraid" of anything. The only reason I would have the "fear of Hell" you are trying to describe would be if I thought I deserved an eternity without God by my own standards. Being concerned about my actions in itself is enough reason I wouldn't need to have this fear in the first place.
The love Christianity prescribes is meant to dispel fear and not manipulate it. Those aren't my own words.
"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love." 1 John 4:18

(June 29, 2013 at 9:51 pm)Ryantology Wrote: Godschild can't demonstrate proof that there is a single, objectively correct way to interpret the Bible in spite of his insistence that there is and he adheres to it. Perhaps you're good for it.

Sure. You take the original text, compare the words, phrases and sayings with the usage of the same in other texts of the period. Transpose the cultural references to the present and viola, you have it.

Now, are you good for your method of black = white translation? I mean, even every English translation contradicts directly what you're saying.
It's not like the words you're contradicting are even questionable or in doubt according to ANY translation. This is completely unique and unsupported trash.

(June 30, 2013 at 3:18 am)Consilius Wrote: I don't know there is an afterlife: I believe in one.

Why? What valid purpose is there in deceiving one's self that something exist when there is no proof of its existence?

(June 30, 2013 at 3:18 am)Consilius Wrote: As an actual theist, I would like to say that I am not "afraid" of anything.

That is a lie. As a theist, if you stopped believing in god, you would suddenly be afraid of going to hell. As you have already stated, you have no proof to back up your faith, yet you believe despite the lack of evidence in support of your delusion. Therefore, it stands to reason that you believe to spare yourself the fear of ending up in eternal damnation.

Theists constantly lie to themselves, claiming that fear is not a component when it obviously is. They ignore it, however, because it makes them uncomfortable. Anything in relation to reason and logic that shatters their proverbial bubbles will be ignored and illogically reasoned away to maintain the comfort that belief provides in a world that functions naturally without a god.

I will reiterate, what valid purpose is there in deceiving one's self into believing that something exist when there is no evidence in support of its existence?

I might be afraid of losing love. That didn't stop me last time tho

(June 30, 2013 at 11:53 am)Maelstrom Wrote:

(June 30, 2013 at 3:18 am)Consilius Wrote: I don't know there is an afterlife: I believe in one.

Why? What valid purpose is there in deceiving one's self that something exist when there is no proof of its existence?

(June 30, 2013 at 3:18 am)Consilius Wrote: As an actual theist, I would like to say that I am not "afraid" of anything.

That is a lie. As a theist, if you stopped believing in god, you would suddenly be afraid of going to hell. As you have already stated, you have no proof to back up your faith, yet you believe despite the lack of evidence in support of your delusion. Therefore, it stands to reason that you believe to spare yourself the fear of ending up in eternal damnation.

Theists constantly lie to themselves, claiming that fear is not a component when it obviously is. They ignore it, however, because it makes them uncomfortable. Anything in relation to reason and logic that shatters their proverbial bubbles will be ignored and illogically reasoned away to maintain the comfort that belief provides in a world that functions naturally without a god.

I will reiterate, what valid purpose is there in deceiving one's self into believing that something exist when there is no evidence in support of its existence?

I thought theists and atheists settled this. I thought we agreed that the moral lives of atheists were as deserving of heaven as those of theists. There was even a thread on "Why is belief in a higher power required?" that hinged on that agreement.
Judeo-Christian theism is based on the belief in an invisible, omnipresent, and omnipotent force of good in the universe, which is God. This good is 'revealed' through encounters with it; the experience of what is good about life. When this good is harder to find, people believe that it is still present.