donnaplease wrote:Wow! This is truly a disturbing thread. Those anti-christians claim that christians shouldn't judge other people ("you're going to hell if you don't believe as I do") yet they choose to berate, ridicule and all-out insult those who choose to believe in Christ and the teachings of their faith. Christians shouldn't judge other people, we are taught that by none other than Christ himself. It's up to the Father to judge all at the time of the second coming of Christ (if you believe in the book of Revelation). Christians can spread the love of God and Christ without being so critical and rude. However, you need to realize that christians are taught that loving their brother/sister in Christ means telling people about Him and "the way, the truth and the life". In other words, I love you as a fellow human being, so I want you to reap the benefits of paradise at the end of time. It can be threatening to those who are either scared of it or those that don't choose to believe in it. I don't like when Jehovah's Witnesses come to my door preaching their 'stuff', so I know how some of you feel about being "preached at".
Interesting point. So what you are saying is that you know that the stuff Jehovah's believe in is nonsense, , all that stuff about only 144,000 going to heaven, you absolutely understand is garbage. Of course all Jehovah's will be equally adamant that they are right and you are wrong. The same can of course be applied to all religions. So, from my viewpoint, I have 3 choices. I can believe all religions are equally valid, or 1 religion is true and the rest are wrong, or they are all garbage.
donnaplease wrote:Jesus said "I make all things new" (paraphrasing) and I take that to mean that the more destructive tenets of the Old Testament have been blotted out by his life, testimony and death (and resurrection). The people who use the horrors of the Old Testament to detract from modern-day christianity really need to take that into consideration, IMO. I find comfort in believing that there is a world beyond this life where I will be reunited with loved ones that have gone before me. If that makes me crazy to some people, then I'm fine with that.
Well, this is where we come back to the big book of mulitple choice that is the bible and how you can find something to substantiate almost any position. Here is a passge that can be read to mean that all the old testament stuff stands:
For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of these commandments and teached men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. For i tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heavendonnaplease wrote:There have absolutely been many atrocities committed by people in the name of christianity, but there have been SO many more loving, caring, wonderful things done as well. Missionaries are a great example of that - going to desolate places in christian love not only to spread the word of Christ but to build churches, schools, hospitals... and to man them. How many athiests/non-believers have gone into war- and poverty-ravaged lands to spread their message? Can't imagine too many.
That is pretty ignorant. Never heard of Oxfam or Doctors Without Borders to give two examples? These people provide help for purely humanitarian reasons.
donnaplease wrote:The bottom line is this: I could be wrong, but what if I'm right??? (thanks again Madplash)

Sounds like pascal's wager to me. The bottom line is this. Do you care whether your beliefs are true?