If you are a Christian that thinks I am a deluded secular lost sheep, that is destined to Hell and eternal torment, what does it say about how you feel about me that you "tolerate" me? Would not Tolerance ultimately prevent us from EVER discerning the truth about the universe?
I find the fire and brimstone God distasteful, and also improbable, but I must ask, what good is my denial if He infact is wrathful? What if we are living in his cosmic PC and he's about to shut us down for commiting illegal operations? What if all that talk about our submission to him is TOTALLY, FUNDAMENTALLY literal? What if God doesn't care if we burn or glory?
I dare say that it's time for a calling out of the lies of this world. Be secularism, Religion, Buddha or what have you the truth, we should expose the lies.
If I find out I am laboring under delusions while Jehova prepares a spit to roast my wee-wee on and feed it to me via my nasal passages everyday for eternity, or where Allah will drop me in a vat of molten pustules, I must say that is foolish of me indeed.
I am tired of the vagueness of it all, it's time for a stand. Do I wallow in naked oiled lesbians? Or do I humble myself before my creator? The question is actually fairly simple isn't it?
Well put. Every time I hear a christian say god created us in his own image, I think to myslef why? Why would he bother to "create" an entire race and leave them to their own devices? It's like one big game of SimCity or SimEarth. Whenever I saw why doesn't he show use he exists so we believe in him, they just saw he wants us to choose. Good cover. Personally I think the alot of shit was left out of the bible in the few centuries it took before it was writin down. That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. Any thoughts?
Much to the chagrin of my college work and my life in general I have actually been keenly interested in this. With the hellfire at my feet, fearing the awesome possability of a living God, I plunge into the study of my lifetime: I intend to have no doubt about Jesus Christ. I will either be the servent of Jesus Christ or I will finally put an aging myth out to pasture. I intend to deliver truth if I can. I care not which foul or fair realm the truth takes me, I will ferret it out.
Jesus Christ did exist. I don't have doubts on that, but him wanting this religon I strongly doubt. People killing each other just because of difference in opinion. He pretty much wanted peace and well being, not assimilation and hate. I like Jesus, just not the religon.
There is no solid historical evidence of Jesus ever existing. In his book, "The Jesus Puzzle", Earl Doherty clearly demonstrates this. I'd reccomend that you check out Earl Doherty's website, and read Richard Carrier's review of his work. You can find it all on the Secular Web's library.
Re:Is tolerance silliness?
« Reply #6 on: 2003-05-12 18:20:55 »
Or better yet, read "James the Brother of Jesus" by one of the leading scholars in the field, Robert Eisenman. Be forewarned, it runs over 1000 badly written pages. Yet the carefully indexed conclusion it forces is nothing short of devastating to "an historical Jesus." His central thesis is that James was in fact "the righteous teacher" (of the community of the poor, whom he identifies not as Essenes, but as seditious and revolutionary Zealots), and that Paul was "the man of the lie."
Not yet addressed (but explored in the sequel - which is probably waiting on a posthumous publication given the storm it will raise), is the further conclusion that the "Jewish Jesus" prototype was a relatively unimportant character, with all the significant stories cobbled together from many previous (largely gnostic) sources, overlayed by a confusion with James.
While a difficult read that would greatly benefit from a simplified "cast of characters" and a timeline, this was the book which likely triggered John Paul to say (in Latin) "An historical Jesus is not a prerequisite for Christianity" (1999). If you are at all interested in an historical, as opposed to a mythical perspective, it is a must read.
In great haste, maybe more after the Virian Celebration,
With or without religion, you would have good people doing good things and evil people doing evil things. But for good people to do evil things, that takes religion. - Steven Weinberg, 1999