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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 4:05 pm
(January 29, 2012 at 11:40 pm)Godschild Wrote: I can agree to a point about the prosperity movement in Christianity, these churches do play on peoples wants, wants they think they either deserve or need. I want pretend to know a great deal about this movement but, I've watched these people on TV and get a sense of none biblical preach, God doesn't call us to get rich but, to give of ourselves.
As for mega churches, there are three Baptist churches in my area and I know them and their beliefs and they do not believe in this prosperity movement. These three churches are Southern Baptist through and through.
Are you saying they are not true christians.....should I take a shot or not? 
You can fix ignorance, you can't fix stupid.
Tinkety Tonk and down with the Nazis.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 5:36 pm
(January 30, 2012 at 4:05 pm)downbeatplumb Wrote: (January 29, 2012 at 11:40 pm)Godschild Wrote: I can agree to a point about the prosperity movement in Christianity, these churches do play on peoples wants, wants they think they either deserve or need. I want pretend to know a great deal about this movement but, I've watched these people on TV and get a sense of none biblical preach, God doesn't call us to get rich but, to give of ourselves.
As for mega churches, there are three Baptist churches in my area and I know them and their beliefs and they do not believe in this prosperity movement. These three churches are Southern Baptist through and through.
Are you saying they are not true christians.....should I take a shot or not?
How can I know, I've never engaged in a conversation with them, I can say this though, if money is all they are after then they will be like the rich man Jesus asked to give up his wealth.
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 6:39 pm
(This post was last modified: January 30, 2012 at 6:40 pm by Doubting Thomas.)
(January 28, 2012 at 2:42 pm)Chuck Wrote: It's no coincidence that the fastest growing segment of Christianity - christmatic christianity - is also by far the most unapologetically superstitious, anti-intellectual and moronic even amongst Christians.
The same thing often happens in cults, though I'm not sure if there's a name for it or not. The more level-headed members leave (after, say, a scandal involving the leader or an end-of-the-world prediction doesn't come to pass), and the crazier, diehard members stay. So the crazy tends to become more concentrated.
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 6:42 pm
GC, i'm curious, are you of a particular denomination?
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 9:34 pm
(January 27, 2012 at 6:31 pm)Voltair Wrote: I think it will continue to evolve/change until it pretty much looks nothing like what it does now. There are already Christian groups that don't believe in Hell. Just think of where Christianity was fifty years ago compared to today.
The thing is if theists evolve their beliefs to different things, then they are just making it up as they go along and have no firm basis for their belief other than "I just like that new bit"
You are currently experiencing a lucky and very brief window of awareness, sandwiched in between two periods of timeless and utter nothingness. So why not make the most of it, and stop wasting your life away trying to convince other people that there is something else? The reality is obvious.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 11:12 pm
(January 30, 2012 at 6:42 pm)5thHorseman Wrote: GC, i'm curious, are you of a particular denomination?
Southern Baptist, though I do not have all the same beliefs as most do.
God loves those who believe and those who do not and the same goes for me, you have no choice in this matter. That puts the matter of total free will to rest.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 30, 2012 at 11:24 pm
Quote:then they will be like the rich man Jesus asked to give up his wealth.
Psst...G-C. Don't tell the republicans.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 31, 2012 at 5:18 pm
That part of the bible was just allegorical.
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 31, 2012 at 5:46 pm
Maybe in the bigger picture it is declining, but from the standpoint that I am in it seems like a different story. I live in a very religious city it seems like there is a church of some sort on every street corner. I have met very few like minded in my city. I recently have had to stay at a rescue mission, and maybe it's the fact that I had to be there everynight listening to preachers condeming me to hell, and uneeded intolerance that comes from being an open atheist in a heavy god fearing place such as that. So all I ever hear is that you are going to hell if you are not saved and that anyone who is without god cannot be moral and just. These people laugh in my face and scoff at the idea of evolution being true sayin there is no way they came from a monkey. I remember in Christopher Hitchens book "God is not great" that he was talking about if a group of religious people came walking towards him if he would be scared. and he said yes. As a humanistic atheist i agree, i may not have feared for my life but I did fear about being completley homeless with my son. As much as I wanted to question these religious brainwashers that came to preach. I had to for the sake of a place to live at the time keep my mouth shut. But I was not going to deny the evidence against god and if asked I will stand up for it.
Bill Maher: If you believe that the world is going to come to an end - and perhaps any day now - does it not drain one's motivation to improve life on earth while we're here?
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RE: Is religion Dying?
January 31, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I would love to see our country in 20 years become more like secular like Europe. Or at least to the point where you can declare your atheism openly without having people think you worship Satan. I think that's probably a pipe dream, it will probably take about 50-100 years for this to happen, though the signs are encouraging. The younger American generation is more atheist than any which has come before it.
Christian apologetics is the art of rolling a dog turd in sugar and selling it as a donut.
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