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Originally Posted by
ultimate_user_name
1. Many "Faith Healers" have been shown to be complete lunatics.
True.
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2.Many cults have used religion as a way to control their members, and many horrible things have been done in the name of God.
Also true.
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3.Whose job is it to say what God really wants? The Bible was written by many different men over a long period, and then men decided what books would go in, not God! There are many books that didn't make it in for some very questionably reasons.
You seem to propose a false dichotomy here. From the fact that humans were, and still are, involved in the Bible's composition and transmission it does not follow that God isn't also involved in a crucial way. Whose job is it to say what God wants? His Church.
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The Bible can only be regarded as a nice book to read, a result of the spiritual journeys of people that lived in a different time and culture.
Again, from the fact that it CAN be regarded this way it doesn't follow that it can ONLY be regarded this way. Evidence for this is the fact that I don't regard it the way you describe here. Feel free to bring forward some agrument that I am mistaken not to do so.
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4.Some people take it literally, but you surely can't take it all literally, there's parts about stoning women, slaughtering animals as sacrifice, etc, etc. If you get to pick and chose what parts of the Bible apply to you, then you're not taking it all literally, so you shouldn't take any of it literally.
Biblical literalists bug me too. The Bible doesn't even read itself literally.
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5.The foundation of Christianity was set a long, long, long time ago by a man named Zoroaster. When he came around people were still worshiping many gods, they had a god for everything back then.
Zoroaster narrowed it down to two Gods, a good one and an evil one, the good one standing for truth and creation, "Ahura Mazda". He paved the way for monotheism everywhere. But we don't follow this religion, we've twisted and molded our own.
Ah, this old canard. Monotheism was alive and well long before Zoroaster came along. Judaism ante-dates Zoroastrianism by many centuries. What role do you take Zoroaster to have had in Christianity?
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6.Even within monotheism, there are so many different kinds! And so many contradictions!
Sure, people disagree about things. What does this show other than that people disagree about things? This fact doesn't tell against Christianity any more than the fact that lots of people reject evolutionary theory tells against its truth.
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Christianity (and all it's off branches)- they disagree about whether to baptize babies, whether it's OK to do anything on Sunday. Do you really think this nit-picking will cause you to go to hell?
See previous.
People have lots of opinions about all sorts of things. It's our job to sort through them and figure out which opionions are *merely* opinions. That's why people argue; it's a way of disqualifying bad ideas. We do the same thing in the sciences--and, well, pretty much everywhere.
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Here you are at the pearly gates, you did everything right, uh-oh, but there's an error in your paperwork, seems you weren't baptized as a baby, and you ate a lot of pork, guess you're going to have to burn for eternity :(
Hinduism-
Islam
Buddhism
Chinese traditional religions
Sikhism
Shinto
Juche
Zoroastrianism (ya, remember him?)
These are all major CURRENT religions, having millions and millions of followers. Think about that for a second, if you (Christianity) are right, then 70% of the worlds population (at least, that's not counting Christians that screw up) is going to hell.
Oh yes, the comparative religions angle. Majorities can be honestly mistaken about religion just as they can be about science. Truth and popularity are two very different things.
[QUOTE 7. My problem with hell. This is one thing I can't let slide, I absolutely do NOT believe in a hell, [/QUOTE]
I believe you. Whatever floats your boat.
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Picture hell, the smell of sulfur chokes you, fills your nostrils and lungs with acrid smoke. The flames are all around you now, because of the smoke and fire, you feel as though you are drowning and burning at the same time. You can't breathe, your in pain. You try rolling on the ground, but nothing can stop this fire. Only eternity left to go.
Can you think of ANYONE? That deserves this punishment for eternity? And from a "loving, merciful, and forgiving" God.
Yeah, that's a silly way to think about hell. Hell is just the utter absence of God, not a Hieronymous Bosch painting. And it's something one chooses for oneself. Hell is for those who reject God, so they're choosing it for themselves.
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And what about the people raised into the wrong religion? Do you really send them to hell? They can't help where they were raised...
If they are invincibly ignorant then no, I don't think they'll go to hell.
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8. MY SUMMARY: I don't see why Christianity is so special, anyone that does their best in the situation that they were raised gets to go to heaven in my book. I think that if God does have a "message" for you, that you will have to find it on your own, and that following the misconstrued ideas of man will only serve to confuse and bore you.
And which book is "your" book? Just your opinion? I'm sure you know what they say about opinions.
Not sure what "find it on your own" means. I agree that following misguided or mistaken ideas is a bad thing. That's why many of us work hard to discern which are the bad ones and which aren't.
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May you all find your own peace...
And you as well.