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TexasSP · 11:14 PM

PBO and this goes for others as well, I hold no anger or malice toward any of you. I respect people searching for answers much more than "Christians" who claim to have it all figured out. I sure as heck don't have it anywhere near all figured out and never will. I am not a religious person, in fact like zeropoint said I believe religion to be very dangerous. But Christianity as described by Jesus has nothing to do with religion ad in fact Jesus blasts religion time and time again. In reality Jesus was much more critical of the "religious" than of anyone else. Christianity is also not about going to church while in fact the church is not in reality a place or event. The church according to Jesus is us the people who follow him and have a relationship with him. By his own terms the church is the bride of Christ. Obviously this is a metaphoric description but it really describes what it is all about.

I will not take away from you that many people claiming the label of Christianity do very little to separate themselves from anything else but that is man's fallacy not God's. Man has done a very poor job of doing what Christ asked of him. Many treat church like some sort of exclusive country club and the whole way they present it is very wrong.

I want to take a minute to let you know that I completely respect how you (or anyone) feel as an atheist. I also completely respect anyone seeking answers and asking questions. I in fact respect it much more than people who claim the banner as "Christian" yet really don't live it.

I also would suggest for anyone wanting to understand some of my feelings toward religion to look up the lyrics to Brian Head Welch's song "die religion die". He is the former lead guitarist for Korn who has become a Christian. He also has an excellent biography about beating addiction.

I want to note that I am always very suspect of anyone who claims to have "found" God. I find this interesting because it really makes it seem like God is hiding somewhere waiting to be found when in fact he is everywhere. Yes former drug addicts can claim religious experiences and I have no doubt many do but this may or may not have anything to do with them actually talking with God.

One other thing I do not do is put God into a bottle of how things came to be and so on. He gives us a description in Genesis but does not rule out many of the scientific ideas that are out there including different types of evolution. Many people try to paint God and science as mutually exclusive but I do not see this. If in fact as a Christian I believe God created everything then in fact science is of God. Now that does not eliminate the fact that man can misinterpret science as we have many times in the past.

Many things I cannot articulate fully without directing you toward the Bible. While there are many theological discussions that can be had about the different translations and so on I believe that most of the answers can be had from any of the translations. I don't think the theological debates into differences in versions/translations are relevant to this discussion.

Also from the atheist standpoint I suggest the book "The Case For Christ" written by Lee Strobel. Lee Strobel is a journalist who was an atheist who originally set out to disprove the existence of God and who now has a relationship with God. His journey is very interesting and well chronicled.

I will leave you with one last verse in reference to "Christians" where Jesus is describing people who hold the banner up but don't really walk the path. Again another example of Christ coming down on the "religious". I think many people suspect of "Christians" would really appreciate this.

Revelation 3:14-16
¹⁴"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

I also suggest reading Matthew 23 as linked here. It's a whole chapter of Christ rebuking the "religious".

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...23&version=NIV

	(#23)
TexasSP Something, anything, nothing Offline Posts: 2,747 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Houston, TX	09.16.2009, 11:03 PM PBO and this goes for others as well, I hold no anger or malice toward any of you. I respect people searching for answers much more than "Christians" who claim to have it all figured out. I sure as heck don't have it anywhere near all figured out and never will. I am not a religious person, in fact like zeropoint said I believe religion to be very dangerous. But Christianity as described by Jesus has nothing to do with religion ad in fact Jesus blasts religion time and time again. In reality Jesus was much more critical of the "religious" than of anyone else. Christianity is also not about going to church while in fact the church is not in reality a place or event. The church according to Jesus is us the people who follow him and have a relationship with him. By his own terms the church is the bride of Christ. Obviously this is a metaphoric description but it really describes what it is all about. I will not take away from you that many people claiming the label of Christianity do very little to separate themselves from anything else but that is man's fallacy not God's. Man has done a very poor job of doing what Christ asked of him. Many treat church like some sort of exclusive country club and the whole way they present it is very wrong. I want to take a minute to let you know that I completely respect how you (or anyone) feel as an atheist. I also completely respect anyone seeking answers and asking questions. I in fact respect it much more than people who claim the banner as "Christian" yet really don't live it. I also would suggest for anyone wanting to understand some of my feelings toward religion to look up the lyrics to Brian Head Welch's song "die religion die". He is the former lead guitarist for Korn who has become a Christian. He also has an excellent biography about beating addiction. I want to note that I am always very suspect of anyone who claims to have "found" God. I find this interesting because it really makes it seem like God is hiding somewhere waiting to be found when in fact he is everywhere. Yes former drug addicts can claim religious experiences and I have no doubt many do but this may or may not have anything to do with them actually talking with God. One other thing I do not do is put God into a bottle of how things came to be and so on. He gives us a description in Genesis but does not rule out many of the scientific ideas that are out there including different types of evolution. Many people try to paint God and science as mutually exclusive but I do not see this. If in fact as a Christian I believe God created everything then in fact science is of God. Now that does not eliminate the fact that man can misinterpret science as we have many times in the past. Many things I cannot articulate fully without directing you toward the Bible. While there are many theological discussions that can be had about the different translations and so on I believe that most of the answers can be had from any of the translations. I don't think the theological debates into differences in versions/translations are relevant to this discussion. Also from the atheist standpoint I suggest the book "The Case For Christ" written by Lee Strobel. Lee Strobel is a journalist who was an atheist who originally set out to disprove the existence of God and who now has a relationship with God. His journey is very interesting and well chronicled. I will leave you with one last verse in reference to "Christians" where Jesus is describing people who hold the banner up but don't really walk the path. Again another example of Christ coming down on the "religious". I think many people suspect of "Christians" would really appreciate this. Revelation 3:14-16 ¹⁴"To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God's creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. I also suggest reading Matthew 23 as linked here. It's a whole chapter of Christ rebuking the "religious". http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/...23&version=NIV www.cubicle101.com A friends comic strip website. Last edited by TexasSP; 09.16.2009 at 11:14 PM.