where in the bible does it mention purgatory? it was just some confected bullshit to allow corrupt middle ages priests to sell indulgences and get paid to pray over candles and generally monetise their position of religious authority.
The process of deciding what is cannon and what isn’t is fascinating. The first council of nicaea in 325AD got the ball rolling and then there have been debates and disagreements since then. It’s a really interesting process
I will say they have done much better on church structure and doctrinal accountability
Tough to say the bead squeezers are big on any sort of accountability considering… ya know.
If you meet a true believer in Christianity be they Catholic or Protestant then you see it in their lives.
Absolutely. Fruits of the spirit.
What if there was only two tribes, your tribe which was large and vastly more powerful, and one other tribe that was much weaker but had a ton of resources that would be useful to your tribe. You could conquer and wipe them out completely, reap all the benefits and have zero repercussions... would you concede that it would still be morally wrong to do so?
Wiping out another tribe and jacking their shit does more harm to yours than cooperation, trade, and intermingling the gene pool would.
It's a faith. There's not much to push back on that they haven't heard a million times over. They believe what they believe, and they are no more right or wrong than anyone else on this subject, as we're all pretty much in the dark and don't know shit from shit on this subject.
My problem with the "scientific" explanation of this, is that it's treated with some sort of validity, even though it's no more or less ridiculous than any religious take on the matter. I find it funny that people will favor any group's "expertise" on the subject of the creation of the friggin' universe.
“God is all powerful and all knowing, so of course he can make donkeys talk, put a baby in that woman and give the kid magic powers” is honestly a totally acceptable answer in my book. It’s weird when people want to explain away and try to add logic to the mysticism of a religion. Say it with your chest- “magic is real because God supplies it when he so chooses”. Is an honest answer and I’d never give someone shit for saying so.
if your position is that there is no purpose or meaning, I see no reason for you to follow any set of morals that help anyone other than yourself and your inner circle
What if I purpose that we determine our own meaning?
What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
James must be rolling in his grave with all of the “thoughts and prayers” he sees people giving out after mass shootings
Where in the Bible is mentioned that the Bible is to be the only thing guiding Christianity?
2 Timothy 3:16-
2 Peter 1:20-21:
Revelation 22:18-19:
Deuteronomy 4:21
its even worse once you know the Bible has been translated so many times over the years.
I believe it is 98% the same now as it was in the very first texts we have copies of. The 2% that has changed is more structural than anything- did they go over the hill? Around it? Across it? Either way they got from A to B.
Joe Rogan, the nation s most prominent podcaster and a frequent commentator on life s biggest questions, is attending church, Christian apologist Wesley Huff has revealed
www.christianpost.com
I’d guess it’s because Texas.
And also spending time in prayer, community and meditation is great. I don’t think there’s a god but once in a while I’ll drop into a random church for some bad coffee, friendly old ladies and lessons on morality. It’s nice.
So in other words you also think humans are different from the other animals on this planet and we have a higher purpose that goes beyond the material needs and just reproducing, consuming food, and fighting for dominance?
That was basically my point, in a universe that has no meaning or purpose, the only thing that matters is physical survival, but it would appear that we have some higher form of consciousness and dare I say a soul.
Souls are another fun topic to chew on. Anyways, that first paragraph made me curious- have you read C.S. Lewis’ “mere Christianity?” You’d really like it. You’re touching on a lot of his points.
I don’t think physical survival is only end game. If you’ve established the preference that life is better than death across your social structure you can continue establishing more preferences that limit the suffering or threats to life.
Well said.
I think you're living by Judeo Christian values whether you're aware of it or not because it's deeply ingrained in our civilization, and that's good enough, if you wanna call yourself secular, or atheist or whatever, it really doesn't change much.
There are plenty of civs that don’t have a judeo Christian background and they are still following the same rules as westerners (generally speaking).
I think it solves a lot actually.
I believe that living my life with some higher purpose makes my life better as well as that of those around me.
I would challenge you to meet with
More people serving their communities without a theistic motive and chat with them. They’re full of higher purpose.
Apparently it’s not just me, countless studies show that religious communities are more content and tend to do better than seculars by most metrics.
Sure, I’d believe that. Spending time in prayer and meditation, reading texts and cultivating compassion will
Absolutely make your life better. The best part is you don’t have to believe in a God to do these things and reap these benefits
question, if there was no consequences whatsoever, would you still consider it wrong or not?
I’m not sure I can think of a single choice that has no consequences when life and death are involved.
