October 21, 2011: Rapture Redux

[BJJ-Blue]

Beyond that, what we have is the belief that fear somehow brings people to a God that asks that they come only out of love.

If people choose to follow these "prophets of doom" they are NOT following ANY christian tradition left be Christ or his apostles.

Christ warned us of a coming judgment that NO MAN except God knows when it will come.

David, I believe what is written above. So I hope that answers the question(s) you asked of me.

[David Jamieson]

I think Christianity is once again at the critical point of schism.

The organized religious aspect of it has been grossly mishandled and now we see the "pick and choose" type of Christianity or the not fully informed Christianity. or...some of the weird varieties that we see that are pretty much exclusive to the USA only. IE: Mormons and televangelists and that ilk.

It has been seriously compromised and jacked with. At least that's by my observation. You have some people that have great attitudes and then you have many others who don't see the issues of declaring themselves as Christian and then they retain these crazy prejudices and so on.

Looking at the chaos of it, I am not surprised at the rise in Atheism in the western world. However, I am concerned that atheism, in an uneducated, uncultivated mind will simply sprout into nihilism.

I find that academic atheists are able to find purpose in their life through their efforts. But people who are atheists that don't have the intellectual capacity or drive to create their own purpose will drift ever downward I think.

Kind of like blind faithers and their same irrational type of thinking and presentation of their ideas regarding their belief, which are almost entirely uninformed and irrational for the most part.

Christianity in expressed practice has in fact become hateful and intolerant. Particularly the North American and even more so the USA sects of this or that.

[sanjuro_ronin]

I think Christianity is once again at the critical point of schism.

The organized religious aspect of it has been grossly mishandled and now we see the "pick and choose" type of Christianity or the not fully informed Christianity. or...some of the weird varieties that we see that are pretty much exclusive to the USA only. IE: Mormons and televangelists and that ilk.

It has been seriously compromised and jacked with. At least that's by my observation. You have some people that have great attitudes and then you have many others who don't see the issues of declaring themselves as Christian and then they retain these crazy prejudices and so on.

Looking at the chaos of it, I am not surprised at the rise in Atheism in the western world. However, I am concerned that atheism, in an uneducated, uncultivated mind will simply sprout into nihilism.

I find that academic atheists are able to find purpose in their life through their efforts. But people who are atheists that don't have the intellectual capacity or drive to create their own purpose will drift ever downward I think.

Kind of like blind faithers and their same irrational type of thinking and presentation of their ideas regarding their belief, which are almost entirely uninformed and irrational for the most part.

Christianity in expressed practice has in fact become hateful and intolerant. Particularly the North American and even more so the USA sects of this or that.

Unfortunatley you are quite right David.
Christianity and what has been made of it, is indeed at the core of these issues.
Faith is supposed to be base don reason and rational AND the understanding that we do NOT know everything.
Blind faith is opposite of what Christ asked of Us, Our Faith MUST be base don SOMETHING and that something is reason and rational in regards to what we CAN know ( the universe around us) and Hope and trust in what we DON'T know but has been "promised" to Us.
To be a Christian one is admiting that they NEED Christ and they can't do it alone and that they will emulate Christ and follow Christ's teachings to the best of their ability.
As the old saying goes, the church ( comprised of ALL believers) is a hospital for sick people and not a museum of saints.

The things that are throughly "unchristian' are the things that Christ preached against:
Hate, intolerance, being judgmental, "holier than thou" attitudes, and false prophesing.

[bawang]

what bothers me is not the violent aspects of christianity in america but the passive aggresive way that they express it.

also, false prophets fulfill christian prophecy.

[David Jamieson]

*snip*

The things that are throughly "unchristian' are the things that Christ preached against:
Hate, intolerance, being judgmental, "holier than thou" attitudes, and false prophesing.

The cool part is that apparently Jesus tells everyone this will happen. lol

[David Jamieson]

what bothers me is not the violent aspects of christianity in america but the passive aggresive way that they express it.

also, false prophets fulfill christian prophecy.

Anybody who binds themselves to an oath and yet experiences the natural emotions of anger and resentment will naturally turn to hypocrisy. It's a thing that humans do when they put their convictions before the truth.

Once they stop doing that, there is change and it is good.

[sanjuro_ronin]

The cool part is that apparently Jesus tells everyone this will happen. lol

His divinity aside, he also had a lot of common sense, LOL !
People suck and given them power and influence and they will suck even more.
They will be vile and arrogant and horrific.
Jesus was very much against the "governing body" of his day, the Sanhedrin, for those very reasons ( and others).
There should be no heiarchy in religion and in Christianity it is quite clear:
One God, One Lord and everyone else brothers and sisters, all EQUAL before God and Christ.
Of course, you knwo human, they need leaders and people to tell them what to do and what to believe, why?
Quite easy- SOMEONE TO BLAME.

Notice that people are blaming the false prophets but no one is taking the blame for believing them when the very book they are suppose to read and learn from tell them NOT to believe anyone claiming to know the "end of days".

[BJJ-Blue]

Notice that people are blaming the false prophets but no one is taking the blame for believing them when the very book they are suppose to read and learn from tell them NOT to believe anyone claiming to know the "end of days".

Exactly.

And on top of that, this Camping guy has now been wrong TWICE and yet people still follow him. I honestly just cannot fathom that level of stupidity.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Exactly.

And on top of that, this Camping guy has now been wrong TWICE and yet people still follow him. I honestly just cannot fathom that level of stupidity.

Some people have a deep desire for a better world, just not a deep desire to DO ANYTHING about it.
The notion of paradise on Earth given freely by God is a very attractive one, obviously, the problem is that people tend to be very lazy when it comes to their salvation and I don't mean lazy about doing per say, I mean lazy in regards to putting it in the hands of others.
Reading and understanding the bible is not easy, not even close, BUT IF you are going to follow it, the least you can do is learn it yourself.

[MightyB]

...who is offering a post-Rapture martial arts survival course? I'd do an ezine article on that.

Come on now all you school owners. Time has come. Cash in.

Why settle for an ezine article when you can devote a whole magazine to it?

[MightyB]

Some people have a deep desire for a better world, just not a deep desire to DO ANYTHING about it.
The notion of paradise on Earth given freely by God is a very attractive one, obviously, the problem is that people tend to be very lazy when it comes to their salvation and I don't mean lazy about doing per say, I mean lazy in regards to putting it in the hands of others.
Reading and understanding the bible is not easy, not even close, BUT IF you are going to follow it, the least you can do is learn it yourself.

Optimism can be far more dangerous than pessimism. An optimist believes that things are good or believe they can wait because they think things will get better rather than doing something about the problems at hand.

[sanjuro_ronin]

Optimism can be far more dangerous than pessimism. An optimist believes that things are good or believe they can wait because they think things will get better rather than doing something about the problems at hand.

Indeed.
Two many times people believe that the only options are "the glass is half full or half empty" and don't realize the plethora of other options such as:
Just the right amount.
Enough for now but how do I get more when I need it?
Water? **** that, where's my beer ?!?!

[BJJ-Blue]

Reading and understanding the bible is not easy, not even close, BUT IF you are going to follow it, the least you can do is learn it yourself.

I agree, but the part where it says no man shall know when the Rapture will happen is quite clear. You don't have to be a Biblical scholar to figure that one out.

[Taixuquan99]

Where does eating shellfish fall in all this reasonable discussion?

[David Jamieson]

Where does eating shellfish fall in all this reasonable discussion?

Death by stoning.

also, this appears to be an early remedy for everything.

I think cultural context is required. Should probably have a sh1tload of foot notes at this point....