Praise be to God!

[lagas]

At what point do you disregard writings because of their age? The Constitution and Declaration of Independence are 230 years old.
 

Im not saying that, if we talk about wisdom in ancient writings, Im sure we can find better ones that the bible (or the declaration of independence for that matter) in a couple of oriental little books that are least 5000 years old...
 What Im saying is that you can find your own way to fulfill your  spiritual needs (sorry for bringing the "s" word, but ultimately when we talk about faith, we are talking about spirituality), but if you find that in the bible (or the talmud, or the coran, or with Aliester Crowley), that doesnt mean that  you need to tell your neighbor or whoever  that this is the way, the only way, to get to God...someone said that human spirituality is a big ocean, and you can get there through different beaches...you dont need to spread the "word", let it by itself to find the people who are looking for it...

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just answering the question as to why some people choose to spread their beliefs to others. And I don't think that necessarily makes them an asshole.
 
 Besides, when was the last time that one of these "assholes" tried to convert you to his/her religion? I can only think of once that it's happened to me in the last 20 years.
 
 
   

Originally posted by lacroix:
   

At what point do you disregard writings because of their age? The Constitution and Declaration of Independence are 230 years old.
 

Im not saying that, if we talk about wisdom in ancient writings, Im sure we can find better ones that the bible (or the declaration of independence for that matter) in a couple of oriental little books that are least 5000 years old...
 What Im saying is that you can find your own way to fulfill your  spiritual needs (sorry for bringing the "s" word, but ultimately when we talk about faith, we are talking about spirituality), but if you find that in the bible (or the talmud, or the coran, or with Aliester Crowley), that doesnt mean that  you need to tell your neighbor or whoever  that this is the way, the only way, to get to God...someone said that human spirituality is a big ocean, and you can get there through different beaches...you dont need to spread the "word", let it by itself to find the people who are looking for it... [/b]

[lagas]

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just answering the question as to why some people choose to spread their beliefs to others. And I don't think that necessarily makes them an asshole.

True that, perhaps my comment was too strong, didnt want to hurt anybodies feelings, but I dont like people to tell me how to get to God, to their God...I think everyone can find out by themselves, and if not, then they go to a church or something...
 Now , again, I dont know this guy Falwell, and I dont know if he tried to impose his beliefs to other people for reasons beyond faith...

[sweetcell]

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  While you may have a point, that kind of behavior isn't going to win over anybody in terms of acceptance of their cause.

agreed, but let's remember that these are a few people (not thousands) so it can't be taken as indicative.  the media loves this kinda stuff, so it's actual social relevance can't be judged by this one photo spread.  while i can't blame people for that kind of reaction, one could hope that they'd take the high road.
 
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  At what point do you disregard writings because of their age? The Constitution and Declaration of Independence are 230 years old.

one advantage that the constitution and the declaration have over major religious texts: they've been re-interpreted, on an on-going basis, through the courts.  religious texts on the other hand are to be taken as dogma.  one of my biggest issues with fundies is that they want their texts to be taken literally without re-thinking them, asking themselves how the times affected the original writing, etc.

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

What about the Greenpeace activists on the Mall who are trying to spread their message? Shouldn't they just sit at home and hope that everyone finds out the message on their own?
 
 

Originally posted by lacroix:
   

I'm not disagreeing with you, I'm just answering the question as to why some people choose to spread their beliefs to others. And I don't think that necessarily makes them an asshole.

True that, perhaps my comment was too strong, didnt want to hurt anybodies feelings, but I dont like people to tell me how to get to God, to their God...I think everyone can find out by themselves, and if not, then they go to a church or something...
 Now , again, I dont know this guy Falwell, and I dont know if he tried to impose his beliefs to other people for reasons beyond faith... [/b]

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

But various religions and individuals DO interpret and reinterpret the Bible in differing ways.
 
 

Originally posted by sweetcell:
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  While you may have a point, that kind of behavior isn't going to win over anybody in terms of acceptance of their cause.

agreed, but let's remember that these are a few people (not thousands) so it can't be taken as indicative.  the media loves this kinda stuff, so it's actual social relevance can't be judged by this one photo spread.  while i can't blame people for that kind of reaction, one could hope that they'd take the high road.
 
   

Originally posted by Charlie Nakatestes,Japanese Golfer:
  At what point do you disregard writings because of their age? The Constitution and Declaration of Independence are 230 years old.

one advantage that the constitution and the declaration have over major religious texts: they've been re-interpreted, on an on-going basis, through the courts.  religious texts on the other hand are to be taken as dogma.  one of my biggest issues with fundies is that they want their texts to be taken literally without re-thinking them, asking themselves how the times affected the original writing, etc. [/b]

Originally posted by cale:
  I think it is plainly obvious that the Bible was written by plain old humans, and not even divinely *inspired*

Did you just figure that one out all on your own?

[lagas]

What about the Greenpeace activists on the Mall who are trying to spread their message? Shouldn't they just sit at home and hope that everyone finds out the message on their own?

I believe, and I can be wrong, that those Greenpeace guys are talking about deforestation, endanger species and other kinds of problems...now thats a reality as far as I know, but people who start saying that you should follow them because of what a book says â??and if  not you are going to burn in hell, or worse, that you have to give them money so they can take the "word" fartherâ??... well, you can choose. Maybe they are right, who knows, but I really doubt it.
 Now, I see the point of your question, but in all truth I dont see a lot of similarity in the message between a Greenpeace guy and a evangelical, even when the way how they reach people could be similar...

[Charlie Nakatestes, Japanese Golfer]

Of course I wasn't comparing their messages, only that they certainly both have the right to actively spread it.
 
 
 

Originally posted by lacroix:
   

What about the Greenpeace activists on the Mall who are trying to spread their message? Shouldn't they just sit at home and hope that everyone finds out the message on their own?

I believe, and I can be wrong, that those Greenpeace guys are talking about deforestation, endanger species and other kinds of problems...now thats a reality as far as I know, but people who start saying that you should follow them because of what a book says â??and if  not you are going to burn in hell, or worse, that you have to give them money so they can take the "word" fartherâ??... well, you can choose. Maybe they are right, who knows, but I really doubt it.
 Now, I see the point of your question, but in all truth I dont see a lot of similarity in the message between a Greenpeace guy and a evangelical, even when the way how they reach people could be similar... [/b]

[lagas]

Of course I wasn't comparing their messages, only that they certainly both have the right to actively spread it.

Oh, they have the right to spread their word, but what happens when they take the "word" to your lawmaker, and they eventually complain about  abortion, that its evil, and its evil because God say so.
 Then they are messing with your liberties, with your rights...and we dont want that, do we?

[Venerable Bede]

Originally posted by lacroix:
   

Of course I wasn't comparing their messages, only that they certainly both have the right to actively spread it.

Oh, they have the right to spread their word, but what happens when they take the "word" to your lawmaker, and they eventually complain about  abortion, that its evil, and its evil because God say so.
 Then they are messing with your liberties, with your rights...and we dont want that, do we? [/b]

but that's your perception.  from a evangelical viewpoint, they are protecting the life of an unborn person, and abortion is murdering that person.  if murder is illegal, why should abortion (murder) be legal?  NOTE- i am not saying i believe this, i am simply providing commentary and a possible response from an evangelical. . .my point is, this is all about perspective. just because i may disagree with you, does not mean i'm wrong or evil or ignorant, it just means we disagree, and i would hope that any discussion is not based on a "you're a republican (or a christian or you watch fox news or whatever) and your automatically wrong" position.
 
 greenpeace would be more than happy to take away just as many liberties, but since they are dealing with reality (a claim i would find questionable), does that mean their concerns are ok? i have the right to purchase any car i damn well please (provided i have the money and so forth), but greenpeace would be more than happy to take away my ability(right??) to choose which car i want to drive.  we may be more than willing to let greenpeace have their way on these issues, because of the issues, but it still is something being taken away from us.

[calecp01]

Originally posted by Psychoda alternata:
   

Originally posted by cale:
  I think it is plainly obvious that the Bible was written by plain old humans, and not even divinely *inspired*

Did you just figure that one out all on your own? [/b]

Um, if you put that in context of the conversation you took it from you would have seen that I was stating the obvious to clarify something I assumed was already understood, so your attempt at ridicule is actually supporting my point.  Thanx!

Are you for real.  Responding to any of your poasts seems to be some sort of Turing test.  I'm becomming more & more convinced that you aren't real at all.  Your poasts seem to be generated by a not too clever program.

[HoyaSaxa03]

Christopher Hitchens absolutely owning Hannity
 
 he's a douche, but this was fun to watch

[sweetcell]

wow, from Fox News... again, i'm shocked (that they actually aired this   ).