Atheist world

Discussion in 'Comparative Religion' started by arauca, Nov 2, 2013.

  1. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    The guy is making money by saying things that make people happy. What a horror!!!! OMG!!!! People are getting rich by making other people happy through the gospel of Jesus Christ! OMG!!! It's evil and wrong (so say the atheists)! Honestly! I wish we had 10 more like him.
     
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  3. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    Thank you for your nice words, Mazulu, and when you're not railing against atheists, you too have a very soft side.

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    Regarding your comment about Constantine. The irony is, he was a hypocrite, too. He led more people to ''sin'', than he ever did to God. (But, he touted himself as a devout Christian) Even though I don't practice Christianity anymore, at one time, it meant a lot to me. It stood for something, in my life. I'm far from a saint, but when I practiced the faith...I always thought it was designed to breed humility, forgiveness, tolerance, and compassion. Those are the positives of Jesus' teachings, that I still think about, even though I've abandoned Christianity. But, the irony between comparing a Constantine and a Joel Osteen, is that both are equally hypocritical, albeit for different reasons. It isn't for me to judge someone's 'walk with God,' but we should discern who is truly a good example of faith. And, Joel Osteen might know the Bible inside and out, and is adept at motivating and inspiring people towards believing and following God...but, he is a charlatan.

    If you want to follow someone who truly is ''walking the walk'' for God...for Christianity...look up Francis Chan. Read his book, Crazy Love. He is nothing short of remarkable. He is a living example of faith. He wrote a book that followed Crazy Love, and he gave nearly all the proceeds from it, to charity. He made I think, close to $1 million off the sale of that book. (too lazy to look the title up now) But, look up Chan on youtube. He is the real deal. Not Osteen. Not Joyce Meyers. I'd even recommend tuning into a Catholic station, since at least the priests who preach, live VERY modestly, and depending on the order they are in, some take a vow of poverty. (no television, one tunic to wear, etc)

    I hope you choose to not dismiss what I'm telling you--I was once a follower like you. If you remain a Christian, follow the right people. Just because someone claims to be a faithful Christian, doesn't mean they are. And you might be shocked to learn of the atheists in history (and currently), who have lived lives of humble and compassionate service to their fellow man.

    And not for nothing, but the atheists of this site, have been quite gracious to you. Not many non-religious sites intended for scientific discussion, would be so open to the ongoing dialogue that you have been afforded here. You should be thankful that you have had the opportunity to speak openly about your faith here, and that others too, have been open to you about their beliefs, as well.

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  5. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    Incredibly gracious, classy and insightful post, Grumpy. (as always)

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  7. Grumpy Curmudgeon of Lucidity Valued Senior Member

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    Mazulu

    The guy is making money selling snake oil to rubes. I don't care that people fall for his spiel but it kind of irks me that he claims what he is selling is Christianity, it isn't. It certainly has nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus. And Jesus himself said it was wrong, who are you or I to disagree? So wrong he resorted to violence to run such people out of the Temple in his day, I have no doubt he would go all Rambo on Joel, Pat and all the other people making money by fleecing His flock with this false representation of his teachings. These guys better hope that I'm right about the afterlife, otherwise they should dress for warmer climes. None of them qualify for Heaven, if it exists. The more like him you have, the sooner your false theology will die and the faster Christianity is discredited as a scam. It really makes no difference to me.

    Grumpy

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  8. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you didn't believe in God?
     
  9. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    wegs,
    Honestly, all this stuff about fleecing people is endless unproductive cynicism. Atheists don't seem to be drawing large crowds with motivational speeches. All they do is rant tirelessly.
    I'm just having trouble trying to justify the accusation of charlatinism to atheists who don't believe in God anyway.

    As for Francis Chan, I'm just not feeling it.

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  10. Grumpy Curmudgeon of Lucidity Valued Senior Member

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    Mazulu

    So you have to believe in god to think hucksterism is wrong? Or to think Jesus said some wise things about how to behave? You need to understand that lack of belief in supernatural entities does not make you stupid, immoral or uncaring(as you have claimed). There are evil men who call themselves Christians and there are evil men who call themselves Atheists. They are evil DESPITE their professed position on the existence of god. That is unrelated to whether they are evil. People are not evil because of who their parents are, or what they believe, where they live, the color of their skin or who they love. They are judged to be evil by what they do. Fleecing old people of their Social Security checks for a momentary euphoric feeling seems like a pretty heinous act to me. That the victims are volunteers doesn't make it any better.

    Grumpy

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  11. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    People are evil because of the harm that they do; evil because of the misery and suffering that they cause. if Joel Osteen makes people and happy and people want to give him money in their gratitude, then the cynics spring alive and declare that a great evil is being perpetrated upon the ignorant. It is as if cynics are hard wired to believe that any kind of happiness in the world is somehow unethical.
     
  12. wegs Matter and Pixie Dust Valued Senior Member

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    A giggle for the night. But, think he was also being serious.

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    George Carlin
    On Religion


    When it comes to bullshit, big-time, major league bullshit, you have to stand in awe of the all-time champion of false promises and exaggerated claims, religion. No contest. No contest. Religion. Religion easily has the greatest bullshit story ever told. Think about it. Religion has actually convinced people that there's an invisible man living in the sky who watches everything you do, every minute of every day. And the invisible man has a special list of ten things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these ten things, he has a special place, full of fire and smoke and burning and torture and anguish, where he will send you to live and suffer and burn and choke and scream and cry forever and ever 'til the end of time!

    But He loves you. He loves you, and He needs money! He always needs money! He's all-powerful, all-perfect, all-knowing, and all-wise, somehow just can't handle money! Religion takes in billions of dollars, they pay no taxes, and they always need a little more. Now, you talk about a good bullshit story. Holy Shit! But I want you to know something, this is sincere, I want you to know, when it comes to believing in God, I really tried. I really, really tried. I tried to believe that there is a God, who created each of us in His own image and likeness, loves us very much, and keeps a close eye on things. I really tried to believe that, but I gotta tell you, the longer you live, the more you look around, the more you realize, something is fucked up. Something is wrong here. War, disease, death, destruction, hunger, filth, poverty, torture, crime, corruption, and the Ice Capades. Something is definitely wrong. This is not good work. If this is the best God can do, I am not impressed. Results like these do not belong on the résumé of a Supreme Being. This is the kind of shit you'd expect from an office temp with a bad attitude. And just between you and me, in any decently-run universe, this guy would've been out on his all-powerful ass a long time ago. And by the way, I say "this guy", because I firmly believe, looking at these results, that if there is a God, it has to be a man. No woman could or would ever fuck things up like this. So, if there is a God, I think most reasonable people might agree that he's at least incompetent, and maybe, just maybe, doesn't give a shit. Doesn't give a shit, which I admire in a person, and which would explain a lot of these bad results.

    So rather than be just another mindless religious robot, mindlessly and aimlessly and blindly believing that all of this is in the hands of some spooky incompetent father figure who doesn't give a shit, I decided to look around for something else to worship. Something I could really count on. And immediately, I thought of the sun. Happened like that. Overnight I became a sun-worshipper. Well, not overnight, you can't see the sun at night. But first thing the next morning, I became a sun-worshipper. Several reasons. First of all, I can see the sun, okay? Unlike some other gods I could mention, I can actually see the sun. I'm big on that. If I can see something, I don't know, it kind of helps the credibility along, you know? So everyday I can see the sun, as it gives me everything I need; heat, light, food, flowers in the park, reflections on the lake, an occasional skin cancer, but hey. At least there are no crucifixions, and we're not setting people on fire simply because they don't agree with us. Sun worship is fairly simple. There's no mystery, no miracles, no pageantry, no one asks for money, there are no songs to learn, and we don't have a special building where we all gather once a week to compare clothing. And the best thing about the sun, it never tells me I'm unworthy. Doesn't tell me I'm a bad person who needs to be saved. Hasn't said an unkind word. Treats me fine. So, I worship the sun. But, I don't pray to the sun. Know why? I wouldn't presume on our friendship. It's not polite. I've often thought people treat God rather rudely, don't you? Asking trillions and trillions of prayers every day. Asking and pleading and begging for favors. Do this, gimme that, I need a new car, I want a better job. And most of this praying takes place on Sunday His day off. It's not nice. And it's no way to treat a friend.

    But people do pray, and they pray for a lot of different things, you know, your sister needs an operation on her crotch, your brother was arrested for defecating in a mall. But most of all, you'd really like to fuck that hot little redhead down at the convenience store. You know, the one with the eyepatch and the clubfoot? Can you pray for that? I think you'd have to. And I say, fine. Pray for anything you want. Pray for anything, but what about the Divine Plan? Remember that? The Divine Plan. Long time ago, God made a Divine Plan. Gave it a lot of thought, decided it was a good plan, put it into practice. And for billions and billions of years, the Divine Plan has been doing just fine. Now, you come along, and pray for something. Well suppose the thing you want isn't in God's Divine Plan? What do you want Him to do? Change His plan? Just for you? Doesn't it seem a little arrogant? It's a Divine Plan. What's the use of being God if every run-down shmuck with a two-dollar prayerbook can come along and fuck up Your Plan? And here's something else, another problem you might have: Suppose your prayers aren't answered. What do you say? "Well, it's God's will." "Thy Will Be Done." Fine, but if it's God's will, and He's going to do what He wants to anyway, why the fuck bother praying in the first place? Seems like a big waste of time to me! Couldn't you just skip the praying part and go right to His Will? It's all very confusing. So to get around a lot of this, I decided to worship the sun. But, as I said, I don't pray to the sun. You know who I pray to? Joe Pesci. Two reasons: First of all, I think he's a good actor, okay? To me, that counts. Second, he looks like a guy who can get things done. Joe Pesci doesn't fuck around. In fact, Joe Pesci came through on a couple of things that God was having trouble with.

    For years I asked God to do something about my noisy neighbor with the barking dog, Joe Pesci straightened that cocksucker out with one visit. It's amazing what you can accomplish with a simple baseball bat. So I've been praying to Joe for about a year now. And I noticed something. I noticed that all the prayers I used to offer to God, and all the prayers I now offer to Joe Pesci, are being answered at about the same 50% rate. Half the time I get what I want, half the time I don't. Same as God, 50-50. Same as the four-leaf clover and the horseshoe, the wishing well and the rabbit's foot, same as the Mojo Man, same as the Voodoo Lady who tells you your fortune by squeezing the goat's testicles, it's all the same: 50-50. So just pick your superstition, sit back, make a wish, and enjoy yourself. And for those of you who look to The Bible for moral lessons and literary qualities, I might suggest a couple of other stories for you. You might want to look at the Three Little Pigs, that's a good one. Has a nice happy ending, I'm sure you'll like that. Then there's Little Red Riding Hood, although it does have that X-rated part where the Big Bad Wolf actually eats the grandmother. Which I didn't care for, by the way. And finally, I've always drawn a great deal of moral comfort from Humpty Dumpty. The part I like the best? "All the king's horses and all the king's men couldn't put Humpty Dumpty back together again." That's because there is no Humpty Dumpty, and there is no God. None, not one, no God, never was. In fact, I'm gonna put it this way. If there is a God, may he strike this audience dead! See? Nothing happened. Nothing happened? Everybody's okay? All right, tell you what, I'll raise the stakes a little bit. If there is a God, may he strike me dead. See? Nothing happened, oh, wait, I've got a little cramp in my leg. And my balls hurt. Plus, I'm blind. I'm blind, oh, now I'm okay again, must have been Joe Pesci, huh? God Bless Joe Pesci. Thank you all very much. Joe Bless You! (Copyright 1999 by George Carlin. Printed without permission.)
     
  13. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    Joel Olsten say, "Be a better you!"
    Atheists say, "Meh! He's wealthy, so therefore he's a crook!"
     
  14. Balerion Banned Banned

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    He is a crook. He's selling false hope. He's charging people for divinity. Jesus--the literary character--would consider him a charlatan.
     
  15. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    False hope is better than no hope. Atheists specialize in no hope, also known as hopelessness.
     
  16. Balerion Banned Banned

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    False dichotomy. One can have hope without being bilked by the likes of Joel Ostein.

    Bigot.
     
  17. gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    You are a broken record. Get over it.
     
  18. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    Atheism is spiritual darkness. Atheism is destabilizing to the peace.

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  19. Balerion Banned Banned

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    Ironically, that smoking ruin is thanks to Al-Qaeda, an Islamic terrorist organization.
     
  20. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    An atheist world.

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    Is destabilizing to the peace.

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  21. Balerion Banned Banned

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    The fire was caused by a lightning strike. Which, last I checked, is also not an atheist phenomenon.
     
  22. Mazulu Banned Banned

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    Atheists reject this as being stupid, moronic and idiotic.

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    Instead they want this,

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  23. gmilam Valued Senior Member

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    Troll or idiot? Which are you?
     

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