Quote:I have questions for YOU?
For me? You shouldn't have!
Quote:Are you capable of being a moral and ethical person - without believing in a religion?Presuming we are talking about me personally, I don't know. I do know I did some pretty fucked up things before I started taking religion seriously. But I suspect that now I could be a moral person without religion yes.
Quote:Do you NEED the threat of punishment or the promise of a reward to be good?No. I never believed in The carrot and stick approach to religion. To butcher a saying, I don't believe we are punished for our sin, I believe we are punished BY our sin.
Quote:What happens when you pray for something on a large scale - like the end of cancer - or the end of childhood hunger - does it happen around the world? Hasn't that been prayed for - for generations. Why has that NOT happened - it certainly must be something a loving god would want - even if ONLY for his followers - but never happens on a large scale.
Personally I've never prayed for anything like that because I don't think that's how it works. God is not some metaphysical genie one can summon to fulfil our wishes.
Quote:Wouldn't a god consider giving money to a church to be an attempt to BRIBE the god? (Most religious donation do NOT go to charities - they go to support the religion) Didn't the christ supposedly say (I do not recognize the christ as real) - give to Caesar what is Caesar's and give to god what is god's - when talking about money?
Hard to answer because I would not presume to know how or even if "God thinks". But I certainly think that the concept of donating money to church is often cynical and disingenuous.
Quote:Easy. I don't. I rarely go to church at the moment, but when I do its not for someone to tell me how to live a good life, it's to destress and feel better about myself. Church is an entirely selfish activity.
Why do you need someone screaming in your face in a church to tell you how to live a good life - something you probably were already taught?
And as an aside if you're thinking of pastors screaming at people, you've not endured an Anglican church service. I remember once the vicar, who was leading the service, actually fell asleep! True story. Screaming would be most unlikely.
I should stress that the answers above are only my personal views and not meant to represent Christianity as a whole.
"Peace is a lie, there is only passion.
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken."
Sith code
Through passion, I gain strength.
Through strength, I gain power.
Through power, I gain victory.
Through victory, my chains are broken."
Sith code
