Orion Syndicate
He's not the messiah, he's a very naughty boy!
Member # 25
posted
I was walking around a shop this weekend just reading any magazine that came to hand, when I saw this catchy title of an article.
'If Jesus came back today, most people would probably tell him to f**k off for causing a traffic jam'
My first reaction was to be horrified, but I have been thinking about it and wondering to what extent has religion taken a back seat to the rest of our luxuries. I'm posting this because I want to hear peoples views on this topic. Does it have to be Jesus? What if the prophet Mohammed came back, or Buddha or some other religious icon. Would they have the same impact as they once did?
I want this to be a discussion, not something for one forumite to slag off other peoples beliefs. We've had plenty of that in other threads so just confine this to being a discussion about the title of the article.
------------------ Whenever people agree with me, I always feel I must be wrong.
posted
Well, Jesus himself gave a list of things that would identify the world condition near the end of this system of things. One of those identifying marks would be that people would have "A form of Godly devotion" but then prove false to even its power.
So, to answer your question, how many people really put religion first in their lives? How many people make the other decisions in their lives based on how it will effect their spiritual lives?
In essence people already reject Jesus' teachings (or Muhammed or whoever the Teacher figure is in your religion) because they have decided that they would prefer to live their lives by their own rules. I believe that anyone who comes around telling people that there are rules they should follow and that there are changes they need to make would be rejected. ESPECIALLY today.
------------------ "A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx
posted
Let's put it this way. I'd make "Doubting Thomas" look like a crazed zealot.
"Okay, you're the son o'God. Heal my finger. Lemme see the open spear wound. Who won the World Series in 1971? What's my secret Cat name? What SHOULD I have done on January 22nd, 1989? What were you doing when The Titanic went down? What planet is Jesse Helms from?"
THEN, maybe we could talk philosophy and theology.
Actually, I'm waiting for Mark Twain to come back and tell us he was right all along.
------------------ Calvin: "No efficiency, no accountability... I tell you, Hobbes, it's a lousy way to run a Universe." -- Bill Watterson
[This message has been edited by First of Two (edited January 26, 2000).]
The Bible states all will know who He is when He comes and we will all bow down . Religion is not dead, at least not here, it is very much a living part of AC, ATS, and Wilmore. Most people say today spirituality, with or without religion, is making a come back anyways.
------------------ Peace on Earth - If anyone here feels so attached to me that they would like to name something in my honor please contact Asbury College and donate money for furniture in the new Kinlaw Library. :)
posted
And that's a good thing? The "spirituality" that's coming back is the kind that Oprah pushes and that can be bought for $19.95 in your local bookseller's "Silly New Age" section.
------------------ "20th Century, go to sleep." -- R.E.M.
posted
I reckon no deity or messiah is going to turn u p for the rest of human history. Even if one did exist in the past, or still exists "elsewhere", ther would be simply no way to PROVE to ample satisfaction their credentials. Of course, many would blindingly accept anyone with the p-zazz and flare we would expect... ("You don't ask the Almighty for his ID!" )
Many more, especially atheists who have watched "Devil's Due", wouldn't believe anything short of a guided tour of heaven and an answer to the meaning of life.
No matter what's true, we'l find out soon enough when we die. If there is "something beyond", we'll know it. If there isn't, it's best we DON'T know it now, otherwise there'd be little point in anything.
And woe on he who tries to convert free minds to the bindings of organised religion. For he is only seeking power over you, and disrespects your God-given right to find your own "spiritual side" by THINKING.
------------------ Gene: "I AM Star Trek" Yvonne: "You can't sum yourself up in so small a package." Gene: "SMALL?!!"
posted
Montgomery: "And woe on he who tries to convert free minds to the bindings of organised religion. For he is only seeking power over you, and disrespects your God-given right to find your own "spiritual side" by THINKING."
One of the things I've always thought was great about Jehovah (the God I worship) is that he WANTS people to think. The Bible even tells us to keep examining the things we are being taught to make sure that they are true. Blindly following along without thinking is not worship or service, it's slavery! While I disagree with you that all organized religion is bad, I think some of them do ask you to stop thinking about what you're doing.
------------------ "A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx
posted
Faith is based on knowledge though. You can't truly put faith in something until you have a decent knowledge of it. The same thing applies to God and religion. You can't truly put faith in God or in the Bible or anything else your religion advocates unless you have knowledge of what the are about and what they have done on the past.
To me, taking in knowledge requires thinking and reasoning. Like I said though, not all religious leaders advocate that approach. To some, I'm sure it is exactly as you have said First.
------------------ "A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx
posted
Monty: Without looking for sure, Revelations states ALL will know who He is when He comes back. Though some of us will be happier than others.
------------------ Peace on Earth - If anyone here feels so attached to me that they would like to name something in my honor please contact Asbury College and donate money for furniture in the new Kinlaw Library. :)
posted
Well that's very simple.. their beliefs are 'true' and all others are 'lies.'
Or at least, that's what they've been told all their lives.
Of course, if they'd been so unfortunate as to have been born somewhere else, they'd say the exact opposite. The choice of a religion is a matter of upbringing and good advertisement, not any inherent superiority. Everyone's born a solipsist.
------------------ Calvin: "No efficiency, no accountability... I tell you, Hobbes, it's a lousy way to run a Universe." -- Bill Watterson
posted
Ultra: Because theirs is the "Truth." Plain and simple.
To all the literalists: If you take Revelations word for word, do you mean to say that only tens of thousands (can't remember the exact number) of people would be "saved" if Jesus returns?
And I leave you with this: "In this century, the typical Christian life has devolved to simply having the right beliefs." I left the source at school, but this came from an religion-class handout.
------------------ --Then, said Cranly, do you not intend to become a protestant? --I said that I had lost the faith, Stephen answered, but not that I had lost self-respect. What kind of liberation would that be to forsake an absurdity which is logical and coherent and to embrace one which is illogical and incoherent?
James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
posted
Tora Ziyal: I think the number you're thinking of that Revelation mentions is 144,000. That number is mentioned as being the number that will rule alongside Christ in Heaven. That is not the limit, though of those that will be "saved" or benefit from the Kingdom.
And yes, for various reasons, that is one of the few things in Revelation that can be taken literally.
------------------ "A gathering of Angels appeared above my head. They sang to me this song of hope, and this is what they said..." -Styx
posted
I just recently heard someone say about the Book of Revelations "Who knows what kind of mushrooms they were feeding St. John on Patmos?" And this was a Xian clergyperson.
Can anyone here truthfully and assuredly say that, if they had been raised in some other religion, they would have converted to the one they're in now (assuming they were raised in the one they're in now)? If anyone thinks they would have, I'm afraid you are almost certainly sadly mistaken.
To comment on what some people were saying... If Jesus came back today and proved that he really was a demigod and all the Xian stuff is true, I'd probably walk up to him, smack him over the head, and say "What the hell were you thinking?!" Same goes for any other god who claims to have the option of controlling the universe.
------------------ Col. Maybourne: "Teal'c... It's good to see you well." Teal'c: "In my culture, I would be well within my rights to dismember you." -Stargate SG-1: "Touchstone"
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