Originally Posted by kingsarewild

Sure, THAT'S not holding society back. Preaching against things like science and tolerance are.

Exactly my point.

Not sure where the other half of your statement came from, though.

I hate worship music. I hated it when I believed in god.. and still hate it when I dont. I thought If anybody could do worship music right and take the bluntness of it and make it something special and new and different then it could be Aaron.... But no, worship music will always in my heart, be horrid music.

Originally Posted by ParkwayTom

Churches organize food drives constantly, Mosques hold prayer meetings for ANYONE that comes in and has had a death in the family... Sure these things could be done without religion, but these organizations make it a point to do these good things all the time. You can pick out shitty things that have happened throughout history because of religion, but every day all over the world good things are happening because of it. My whole argument consists of people like you needing to leave people that make their own choice to believe in religion alone. The world doesn't need more fucking elitism.

Oh, and bigotry is defined as "stubborn and complete intolerance of any creed, belief, or opinion that differs from one's own." So according to your own words, you are a bigot.

Good things happen in spite of religion. Being religious has no baring on whether you do good deeds. And if the only reason one does good deeds is because they are afraid some zombie...errr Jesus...threatens them with eternal damnation that is one scarey proposition and does not bode well for humanity.

However people do bad things every damn minute simply because of their religion. By supporting a religion in any form, you are supporting bigotry. So if I'm a bigot, you are as well. I'd argue that my brand of bigotry is much better for the development of society.

Originally Posted by sosayweall

I agree. Have you seen this?

you, sir, are a champ.

Originally Posted by Meeze

Good things happen in spite of religion. Being religious has no baring on whether you do good deeds. And if the only reason one does good deeds is because they are afraid some zombie...errr Jesus...threatens them with eternal damnation that is one scarey proposition and does not bode well for humanity.

However people do bad things every damn minute simply because of their religion. By supporting a religion in any form, you are supporting bigotry. So if I'm a bigot, you are as well. I'd argue that my brand of bigotry is much better for the development of society.

Alright dude. Whatever.

Originally Posted by enter return

i get it that hes very into hes beliefs, but if a band were to release an album with tracks like:

1. I was made for my girlfriend
2. I love my girlfriend
3. I will worship my girlfriend
4. My girlfriend is everything
5. You are my girlfriend

Regardless of how good the songs were, the band would be torn apart and made fun of. Believe in what you want, but it's just a bummer when such a talented musician alienates his listeners.

Yeah man, I understand your point. But you have to understand too that the point of worship (from a Christian's POV) isn't to please an audience. It's supposed to be god centered. Worship with a secular appeal wouldn't really be worship.

because of being subscribed to this thread, my absolutepunk.net front page advertisements have been about "Get Your Bible Degree Today!!!!!"

lmao

Originally Posted by honestykills

Exactly my point.

Not sure where the other half of your statement came from, though.

You don't understand that telling a congregation full of people who follow your teachings that homosexuals are liable to spend eternity in hell if they don't 'change their ways' is wrong? Or that if other people don't believe in God and follow your rules after you tell them about him, that they're headed for the same fate? Or that life begins at conception based on...what? Or about stem cells? Birth control? Etc...

Originally Posted by honestykills

Are you implying you're not still a giant fucktard for that thread? Because that hasn't changed.

In reference to the atrocities carried out by "people of faith":

"...while the long history of religious oppression and hypocrisy is profoundly sobering, the earnest seeker must look beyond the behavior of flawed humans in order to find the truth. Would you condemn an oak tree because its timbers had been used to build battering rams? Would you blame the air for allowing lies to be transmitted through it? Would you judge Mozart's The Magic Flute on the basis of a poorly rehearsed performance by fifth-graders? If you had never seen a real sunset over the Pacific, would you (accept) a tourist brochure as a substitute? Would you evaluate the power of romantic love solely in the light of an abusive marriage next door? No. A real evaluation of the truth of faith depends upon looking at the pure water, not the rusty containers (that hold it)."

Originally Posted by lotusmilano

In reference to the atrocities carried out by "people of faith":

"...while the long history of religious oppression and hypocrisy is profoundly sobering, the earnest seeker must look beyond the behavior of flawed humans in order to find the truth. Would you condemn an oak tree because its timbers had been used to build battering rams? Would you blame the air for allowing lies to be transmitted through it? Would you judge Mozart's The Magic Flute on the basis of a poorly rehearsed performance by fifth-graders? If you had never seen a real sunset over the Pacific, would you (accept) a tourist brochure as a substitute? Would you evaluate the power of romantic love solely in the light of an abusive marriage next door? No. A real evaluation of the truth of faith depends upon looking at the pure water, not the rusty containers (that hold it)."

Well sure, it's not God's (or whatever is out there) fault for any of that, but I can't think of a major religion that isn't prejudiced against at least one type of person or doesn't have a rule or teaching that conflicts with the advancement of society.

Originally Posted by kingsarewild

You don't understand that telling a congregation full of people who follow your teachings that homosexuals are liable to spend eternity in hell if they don't 'change their ways' is wrong? Or that if other people don't believe in God and follow your rules after you tell them about him, that they're headed for the same fate? Or that life begins at conception based on...what? Or about stem cells? Birth control? Etc...

Chill out. I never professed Christianity, nor did I claim to agree with every single one of its ideals. I merely provided an example as a rebuttal to a statement that incorrectly identified practicers of religion as harmful to society, and I'm all of a sudden responsible for defending the theology as a whole? I'm not looking to create a fucking political platform for every single debatable issue. I was only responding to one baseless statement for its absurdity.

Originally Posted by mms13

Originally Posted by honestykills

Chill out. I never professed Christianity, nor did I claim to agree with every single one of its ideals. I merely provided an example as a rebuttal to a statement that incorrectly identified practicers of religion as harmful to society, and I'm all of a sudden responsible for defending the theology as a whole? I'm not looking to create a fucking political platform for every single debatable issue. I was only responding to one baseless statement for its absurdity.

No one said practitioners of religion were harmful to society as a whole. The argument is that the system of religion is.

people are gonna complain, but at the end of the the day, he has devoted his life to Christ and is carrying out what he is called to do. You don't have to understand it or believe in religion but give the guy some respect.