(December 1, 2014 at 8:02 pm)Nope Wrote: If you were or are religious what were you taught, if anything, about the end of the world?
As a very little child, I had been taught that Jesus was a wonderful, kind person who loved everyone and helped the lame to walk. He held children on his lap and everything was flowers and birds singing.
When I was around eight, my family attended a fire and brimstone Baptist church. The pastor enthusiastically informed us all that when Christ came back there would be such a terrible war that the blood of the nonbelievers would come up to the horse's bridle. After the service, my mother waved away my alarm by assuring me that only bad people would die, thus justifing the type of us versus them mentality that I would find repeated over and over again in religion.
When I got older, I was told that there would be an antiChrist who would bring peace to the world but want to be worshiped. Anyone that accepted his mark-which would be used to buy food- would go to hell. Anyone who didn't accept his mark would go to heaven but would be starved and tortured, maybe their children would be starved and tortured.
Some Christians have different beliefs about the end times but I always found their glee over the end of the world troubling. Remember most of these people believed that a large portion of the world would in up in hell because they trusted someone who appeared good and got a mark that was required to feed their children.
So what were you all taught about the end of the world? If you grew up in a nonChristian house, have you heard religious people talk about Jesus' return?
Do you mean the destruction of the planet or the end of human life on it?
Just because we will be extinct one day does not mean the world will end for other species, if anything they will be a lot better off.
MM
"The greatest deception men suffer is from their own opinions" - Leonardo da Vinci
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
"I think I use the term “radical” rather loosely, just for emphasis. If you describe yourself as “atheist,” some people will say, “Don’t you mean ‘agnostic’?” I have to reply that I really do mean atheist, I really do not believe that there is a god; in fact, I am convinced that there is not a god (a subtle difference). I see not a shred of evidence to suggest that there is one ... etc., etc. It’s easier to say that I am a radical atheist, just to signal that I really mean it, have thought about it a great deal, and that it’s an opinion I hold seriously." - Douglas Adams (and I echo the sentiment)
