Talking to Christians

[Loading Please Wait]

I had a long talk with my catholic grandparents yesterday. They told me they don't believe in hell and neither do most catholic priests. I started thinking about it and realized that in my 19 years of mass attendance, I rarely heard the word hell. I started digging deep into my memories and the first time I heard of hell as a place and not as a "cuss word" was in 1990 when I watched the movie Ghost, with Patrick Swayze. I asked my mom where those creepy shadow people were taking the bad guys, and she gave me sort of a run down. I was 7 years old. I had heard of heaven and purgatory, and was always told that the worst people paid for their sins for spending eternity in the absence of god.

Luckily, there was no doctrine of fiery lakes in my childhood... then I might've been even more fucked up.

I grew up Catholic, and we never really talked about it, but we did acknowledge the existence of hell. The church I came from did believe that those who committed mortal sin without repenting were going to hell.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Well, I don't think he's that much of a hardcore catholic, since I've seen catholics that could come up with much better answers.

He them goes on to tell me "No it was written by man over the course of years through inspiration by God."

When I see this answer, I can't help myself but to think that this person was probably sleeping during the sermons.
The only "inspirational" part of the new testament are through Paul's deeds, letters and of course, the Revelations, and since Jesus is, in one way, God, according to the catholic doctrine of the holy trinity, the four Gospels are literally, the word of God.
And these did not come from inspiration, these were written by people who witnessed these events, or at least wrote it down from those who did. The Nicean council saw it fit to include only the bibles that were consistent with eachother, however, and these are now canon.

"So, man wrote the bible? How could the bible be perfect? It can't be the 'Word of God' if man wrote the bible. If man was flawed, then the bible is flawed too. It's the Word of Man; created by man."

If they were written down by Jesus himself, at the very moment a revelation had come over him, would you accept it as the word of God?

He tells me you just gotta have faith

That's the point of christianity, and many other religions.

"So who goes to hell? Do the Muslims go to hell? Do the non believers go to hell?"

You probably know the answer to that.

"It is not my place to tell you who goes to heaven or hell, that's God's decision."

Indeed. But he forgot to add that sins can only be forgiven by Jesus's blood. He's kind of the humanist type of catholic, I think.

So later he talks about his grandparents are Baptists, and that just because they aren't Catholic like him, they are going to heaven because they believe in the Christian God.

I think that he should know something about this aswell. It is necessary to be in God's church, the one church to be saved. Yet if they were ignorant of this necessity, and still believed in Jesus, they would probably go to heaven.

If a man does not know his doctrine well, he can't really defend his beliefs.

[Kayenneh]

If a man does not know his doctrine well, he can't really defend his beliefs.

Does it really matter if a woman or man is well versed in doctrine, when it's based on bullshit? Playing king of the hill on a pile of manure is only smelly..

[kılıç_mehmet]

If a man does not know his doctrine well, he can't really defend his beliefs.

Does it really matter if a woman or man is well versed in doctrine, when it's based on bullshit? Playing king of the hill on a pile of manure is only smelly..

Well, if that is your opinion, why would you bother debating them? A simple sentence, such as "I think that your belief is bullshit, okay" would suffice.

[thesummerqueen]

Because sometimes they don't stop.

[Kayenneh]

Well, if that is your opinion, why would you bother debating them? A simple sentence, such as "I think that your belief is bullshit, okay" would suffice.

I didn't debate anyone

And to say that would just be rude!

[Erinome]

I like debating theists who don't know their shit just as much as when they do know their shit. Either way it's shit, like Kay said.

[KichigaiNeko]

Mehmet, I've seen three posts by you now, and they've all irritated me. Why don't you hop over to the Introductions forum and make a wee thread and tell us a bit about yourself so we can understand a little more about where you're coming from?

Loading, good stuff. Sounds like you defended your position robustly, and you know if the shoe was on the other foot and you'd started talking about how great it is being an atheist, he would've been coming back at you. I wouldn't want to spend a long journey having to listen to God nonsense either. Who's your college team, by the way?

I don't understand why you were irritated by me. I hate to do introductions, but I assure you that you'll get to know me in time.

Go and do a small intro about yourself mehmet.
Or are your going to let the Turks we do know down by being rude??

[frankiej]

I like debating theists who don't know their shit just as much as when they do know their shit. Either way it's shit, like Kay said.

It is usually ridiculously frustrating though, they never give in, even when they probably realise that you know so much more about their religion than they do.

[kılıç_mehmet]

Mehmet, I've seen three posts by you now, and they've all irritated me. Why don't you hop over to the Introductions forum and make a wee thread and tell us a bit about yourself so we can understand a little more about where you're coming from?

Loading, good stuff. Sounds like you defended your position robustly, and you know if the shoe was on the other foot and you'd started talking about how great it is being an atheist, he would've been coming back at you. I wouldn't want to spend a long journey having to listen to God nonsense either. Who's your college team, by the way?

I don't understand why you were irritated by me. I hate to do introductions, but I assure you that you'll get to know me in time.

Go and do a small intro about yourself mehmet.
Or are your going to let the Turks we do know down by being rude??

I'll think about that.