Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Common Interests Southern Baptist leader slams Islam

There is something i would add, but It's stuck on my tongue and cant figure out how to write it out. Ed C do you have a contour? or just come and post when there is something about christians you can bash? is there a reason for your christian bashing posts? I dont see to many christians posting stuff about other religons or just other people, to get a rise. I just wish I could see your face in the end. the confusion on your face when you are like " oppss I guess I was wrong" till then have fun with your posts.

Micah

I think the point is, that there are good christians and then there are bad christians. Unfortunately these bad christians use the religion to convey their hatered and bigotry.

And yes, atheist do help people.

Correction to my earlier post;
I mis-spoke about Allah. (Brain fart).
But that was all I was wrong about.

Buddhism is not a religion, it is only accepted as one.
Would atheism be considered a religion?
No its a set or moral & ideological beliefs.

And yes, this country was founded on Quaker (and to a lesser degree Puritan) beliefs.
Ever heard of the mayflower? The pilgroms were Quaker.
More than 50% of the US was Quaker before the 19th century.

I do not hate all religion, infact I don't hate any religion.
I actually believe religion is a good thing.
What I hate are the extremisst who twist and turn religion and use it for their own cause.

EdwardC seems to be making his politest efforts to get brainwashed -yes brainwashed Christians to start thinking independently of what family's religion you were born into or what part of the world you're from. Here's a nice excerpt from Stephen F. Roberts' website:

...A question I often have for theists of any variety is what would they be like if they had grown up somewhere else?

...For example, what if the christian had grown up in India? What about the Jew growing up in China? What about the Muslim growing up in a Southern Baptist family?

...The obvious thing is that the person wouldn't hold the same religion they do now. They would be just as ardent and faithfull for their new local myth as they are for their current brand.

...We are all born atheists. This is obvious when you realize that no Baptist family has ever raised a Hindu child (by default at least... the kid may have become Hindu afterwards). Children tend to follow the beliefs of their parents.

...If your particular brand of theism is so obvious and so reasonable, why are there other beliefs out there? Why would the christian be a Hindu if they had been born in India? Because all babies are born atheists and only learn about their local god through the efforts of their parents

End Quote

Another quote from Stephen F. Roberts:

...Why does god condemn more than 1/2 of the world's population to hell? All those Hindu's in India are going to burn because they don't believe in god. To the Hindus, all xtians are going to come back as cockroaches because they don't accept the truth of Shiva.

...What a silly system to set up! Those poor children are condemned from the start because they had the unfortunate luck to be born in a nation that follows Hinduism rather than xtianity. All those Chineese are condemned because they are taught to follow other beliefs.

...God created all those people and so few are going to make the right choice in him, and most of those who won't make the choice will have never had a chance.

...Loving god? Not hardly.

End Quote

One more for the road:

...If god is all knowing, he knows what he
would have to do to make me believe he
exists, and he would know that what he has
shown so far isn't good enough for me. If god
is all powerful, he would be able to do it. And
if god is all good, he would want me to believe
in him, especially if he condemns me to
eternal torture for the petty crime of not
believing without adequate evidence.
...If god wants me to believe, he will have to
give me a reason to. Since he hasn't, I
conclude he doesn't exist. And if he punishes
me because he wouldn't show himself to
me, then he is guilty for my punishment.

End Quote

This is a tough one.

In my experience, and I've a pretty broad one with regard to Christian religion, there are too many Christians that take what their religious leaders say at face value without thinking about it too much. This more than anything is what frightens me to no end. I've experienced this with southern Baptists, Church of Christ, Church of God, Methodists, Episcopals, Presbyterians, Catholics, etc., etc. Given that my grandfather was a deacon at a Baptist church I hung out with two different minister's sons throughout high school(with some of the crap we did, we definitely couldn't be considered holy rollers), I've seen a lot of the inside workings of the church and how it's leadership pushes decrees and petitions down on local ministers, whether it's really been agreed upon or not. The simplest way I can say it is there is an agenda in any organized religion, and there are far too many of the "flock" that are willing to follow it (whatever "IT" is at the time) without question or sincere reflection on the matter. Thus, reckless statements and painting an ENTIRE religion and culture with one broad brush by an esteemed leader does no good in any way, fashion or form.

The Crusades were started in a similiar fashion with Pope Urban II made his declaration of vision outside the church steps in Clermont in 1095, though there were other mitigating reasons behind this move as well (the Turks had killed and expelled a number of Christians throughout the Holy Land at the time)...

There's no denying that Christian missionaries today have worked the world over to improve living conditions, education and have helped a vast number of individuals out to the nth degree. In my mind they have done a much better job than the U.N. and the World Bank, because churches have known all along that people interfacing with the masses is actually what makes a difference, instead of multi-million dollar dole-outs and loans that most of the time line the pockets of the dictators and misguided leaders of these same countries. Not only does missionary work offer food, clothing and sometimes a place to live, but it offers something that the damn politicians never take into consideration when throwing money at a 3rd world country:

Personal interaction, emotional and spiritual ties along with a sharing of values. I don't care how many checks you send to Botswana, Chad, Peru or any other country, it can't offer the above.

Again, though, the Baptist moron that spewed for the crap about Islam being a religion that breeds "terrorism" doesn't do any of the above for these people. He simply condemns them with a wave of his hand, reckless words and an extremely limited and narrow-minded view of the world.

To those ministers think so highly of themselves, I simply like to remind them that Lucifer/Satan/the Devil himself was once considered first among Angels in the hierarchy...

...not to mention the Pharisees and their role in the condemnation of Christ...

Christ mixed with the masses, not strictly his own creed or religion. He also did a lot more for the world by trying to help heal the infirm, educate the ignorant and feed the poor.

I can't recollect him going around damning entire cultures and making too many off-the-cuff dumba$$ statements in the New Testament.

In a nutshell, this idiot merely threw more gasoline on a fire that is already burning pretty brightly.

Sometimes you make this to easy. The English ship the Mayflower carried the Separatist Puritans, later known as pilgrims, to Plymouth, Mass., in 1620. The ship was made ready at Southampton with a passenger list that included English Separatists, hired help (among them Myles Standish, a professional soldier, and John Alden, a cooper), and other colonists who were to be taken along at the insistence of the London businessmen who were helping to finance the expedition.

Try learning your history. Here is a good book to start with.

Mary Beth Norton et al., A People and a Nation: A History of the United States Volume One: To 1877, 6th ed. (Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001), 28.

Atheist: One who disbelieves or denies the existence of God or gods.

Stephen F. Roberts is showing his ignorance. Babies are a blank canvas. Yes, he is right about children tending to follow in their parents' religion. But babies do not disbelieve or deny God.

I wasn't alive then, an neither were any of the other Catholics alive today. Let it go man. What type are you? I've got plenty of information on everything. I have a major in theology/world religions (too bad it's totally useless for me other than picking fun at all denominations, including my own).