Nah mate they'd have never been able to get past this verse- "Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, watching over them, not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not pursuing dishonest gain, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (1 Peter 5:2-3) True Christians give cash away not rake it in, heck I personally know some Christians who always carry extra cash in their pockets to hand out to beggars they might meet, and others who always step up to the plate first if they hear of any charitable causes that need cash, or favourite websites that need funding etc.. PS- Hey, here's a funny true story- a few years ago an atheist mentioned in a forum that his young daughters were llama-mad, so some Christians at the site offered to send him cash so he could 'Adopt a llama' on behalf of his daughters, but he refused pointblank because he didn't like Christians. Duh.. Dublin Christians in action on the soup run on a cold rainy night looking for the homeless and hungry-
Well mate it's just that the similarities between Jesus and Elvis are uncanny, for example "Jesus went through all the towns and villages" (Matt 9:35), and Elv too was caught on google street view rocking in Torquay (England) just a few years ago-
Guess you should explain what is meant by " those entrusted to you". That whole Shepard and flock thing sounds a bit creepy in the modern world. Is this some kind of weird hierarchy thing or is it just instruction to take good care of your slaves and servants.
I was stopped in the street by a smiling Scientology guy a few years ago who said "Hi, would you like to come to our HQ in Ebrington St to find out about Scientology?", so I went along just for the hell of it but it did nothing for me and they could tell by my body language I was bored out of my skull. Eventually they pushed a book in my hand and said "Take this, we're sure it'll interest you". I said thanks and made my way to the door but they called out "Er...the book's not free, it'll cost you £5 [about 7 US dollars]" So I said with a polite smile "In that case I won't bother, bye", and gave it back to them and left..
As it says in Sirach 36:31 (CEB) = "Who will trust a well-equipped robber who travels from city to city? Likewise, who will trust a man who does not have a nest and who lodges wherever night falls?" Jesus said in Matthew 8:20 (KJV) = "And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head." Are you sure you want to trust a man who does not have a nest and no where to lay his head?
Sirach was writing in Old T times to warn people there were plenty of badasses around, but Jesus meant something entirely different! There's a hint of self-effacing good humour in it as if he's saying "Sheesh, I'm the Son of God and I've got nowhere to kip for the night!" I was in the same boat for a while in 2002 when I was released from jail (3-month vigilante rap), homeless, jobless, girlfriendless and near-penniless, living rough in a tent in a remote wood near Cheltenham shivering with illness. "Oh great" I thought, "I've ended up as Bigfoot!"..
I see it like this: There are 2 distinct possibilities in the universe. 1. Everything exists and functions from purely naturalistic processes. 2. There is another unseen, supernatural explanation. Those are the logical possibilities of objective reality. People believe in a wide range of variables , but they fit under those 2 possibilities. The 3 main belief systems go like this: 1. There is a God, or supernatural explanation for the universe. 2. There is no God or supernatural explanation for the universe. 3. I don't know. These are theism, atheism, & agnosticism, respectively. Most of the attempts to distort these simple, obvious definitions are just mental masturbations, trying to elevate one belief system over another. The hard reality is that there is no empirical evidence to compel a conclusion, based on our current data set. All are beliefs about reality, nothing more. Dogmatists will assert THEIR view as Absolute truth, but it is, in reality, just their opinion.
There's only 24 hours difference between Old Testament and New Testament times. And Jesus was still living in Old Testament times.
As a - ahem- computer wargame champion in charge of my 'Iron Men' squad, it's great fun training my "flock" how to kill, then unleashing them and watching them race up the internet wargame league ladders, making me think with a tear in my eye- "Attaboys, you're soldiers now! (sniffle)" I write dozens of sensational tactical articles, guides and tutorials in forums all over internetland and all for free, and people can freely choose to listen or not, i don't twist their arms.. Likewise if people want to hang with christian groups, nobody's forcing them..
As soon as JC opened his mouth, he blew the harshness of the Old T out of the water and people quickly cottoned on..- "Jesus saved you from the empty way of life handed you by your forefathers" (1 Pet 1:18 ) "Through Jesus we are saved,and not through Moses" (Acts 13:39) "The covenant of which Jesus is mediator is superior to the old one" (Heb 8:6)
This makes no sense to me, for even from an agnostic or atheist point of view, the atheist sees no hard evidence for God. Yet if indeed God exists (I only say that for agnostics & atheists), than the hard evidence would be everything, life, creation, sun, moon, stars, water, food, animals, love, I mean everything. Now is there anything that could be considered more "hard evidence"?
Replace the word "God" with "invisible teacup orbiting Neptune." Now you know why your thinking is wrong.
What is your point? Here is what was said: There is NO unambiguous evidence that gods exist...or that no gods exist. NONE. So...theists who claim they do...are just blindly guessing that they do. Atheists who claim there are none...are just blindly guessing that there are none.
Would this not mean that the theist is also blindly guessing? I guess that simply leaves us with a bunch of people lying about one thing and a bunch denying the lies are truth.
What is wrong with people Agnosticism only covers Knowledge and Atheism only covers Belief Claims for four positions one can hold - Gnostic Theism, Agnostic Theism, Gnostic Atheism and Agnostic Atheism so pick your poison. See we label ourselves not other people its like homosexuals using the term Gay they call themselves that so that is what we call them which is fine. Now the knowledge side its simple for theists do they accept modern science or not, so Gnostic accept it and Agnostic they don't then add Theism after it. For the other side it comes down to do you feel we have sufficient knowledge to be very sure there isn't a deity or not I tend to thing Gnostic Atheist we can't practically claim yet but maybe in a million years. This makes ones stance far more dynamic also since one doesn't need the claim Christians have one must have certainty as an Agnostic-Atheist I just need to claim currently there is insufficient knowledge of the supernatural and deities more specifically in this case to bother with since its been tested and found wanting but leaves an opening to add evidence that of a rational and demonstrated nature through science for example. So the Atheist - Agnostic - Theist distinctions on their own is not proper the center is a knowledge not a belief claim. And this matters the arguments here prove that if we cannot say as Atheists there isn't a deity then the Theist says well do you have certain knowledge then we say no then they go then your an Agnostic which is BS.
Any theist who asserts he/she KNOWS there is a god and is not blindly guessing...is either lying,deluded, or has been selected, for some reason for personal revelation. Anyone claiming "personal revelation" has to be asked, "How do you know you are not deluding yourself." That is what I do. After that (because the response is usually a variation of, "I just know")...I leave them be. So, yes, it is my opinion that any theist asserting "there is a god" is just blindly guessing. Any atheist asserting "there are no gods" IS just blindly guessing. Not so. For one...there also are people who simply say, "I do not know if gods exist or not...and since there is not enough unambiguous evidence upon which to base a meaningful guess...I do not."
I disagree, T. It appears that none of us knows for sure if gods exist or not. (There is always the possibility that a god exists; that the god is personal; and that the god has revealed itself to some and not to others. I will discount this for now.) But it does appear that NONE OF US KNOWS for sure if gods exist or not. Anyone using the designation "agnostic"...is simply acknowledging that lack of knowledge. People using the designation "atheist"...seem almost certainly to be doing so because of a "belief" either that gods do not exist or that it is more likely that gods do not exit than that at least one does. Those who modify it, as you do, with "agnostic atheist"...are being redundant. EVERY atheist...is an agnostic atheist. NO ATHEIST knows for certain that gods do not exist...all they can do is to BLINDLY GUESS that no gods exist. As for the "but atheist means lacking a 'belief' in a god"...that is NONSENSE. It is used that way, gratuitously, by some atheists. It certainly is not necessary...and it appears to me everyone who uses the designation "atheist" is motivated by more than simply lacking a belief in a god. They are motivated by a guess that no gods exist...or by a guess that it is more likely that no gods exist than that at least one does.
That's me. "seem almost certainly"?? How much research have you done on this? How many studies have you read and evaluated to arrive at that ridiculous conclusion? It is not a blind faith belief. Gods, and subsequently religions, are the creations of man. Way back when ancient man first asked "Where did we come from", someone who had no rel answer said: God. Throughout history all civilizations and societies asked the same questions. Throughout history all civilizations and societies created gods in their own image. That's why gods look like the people who created them. There is no more evidence for gods than there is for Santa, the Easter Bunny, ghosts, goblins, walking dead, etc. I you have any, bring it on.
That is you, alright. Plenty. But it can be surmised by listening to what most of the atheists who post on the Internet have to say. I said, "People using the designation "atheist"...seem almost certainly to be doing so because of a "belief" either that gods do not exist or that it is more likely that gods do not exit than that at least one does. ' I stand by what I said. It certainly seems that way to me. I suspect that may be so, but you are asserting it as a certainty. Okay...prove it. Interesting...but way off point. Even if every god humans have ever worshiped were proven to be human creations...that would not impact on the question of whether or not gods exist. Not at all. There is no evidence for life on any planet circling the nearest 15 stars to Sol...and all that means is that there is no evidence for it. It most assuredly does not mean there is no life on any of those planets...nor does it mean that it is more likely that there is none than that there is. We are back to square one. - - - Updated - - - Yup. That's the way I see it, Slack!
