HOW THE BIBLE CAN CHANGED PEOPLE LIFE ?

[goodlife]

Some people soon realized that if I was to please God, I would need to make some changes in my lifestyle. For example, I learned from the Bible in says at 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10: “Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom.”

[LazyGun]

@Olly - No, I don't. I do not post from a position of an assumed greater morality. I do not make evangelical posts exhorting the faithful to renounce their religion. I do not proselytise with cut and paste posts wittering on about the advantages of atheism. In short, I do not say i am better than you because I have faith in something and I feel that good about it that I am impelled to share it with the rest of the world.

I will originate posts where I see some egregiously stupid or heinous act carried out in the name of religion though, in this section.

[jomifl]

Maggie, you said;
/but the majority of comments are from people who are neither religious or spiritual in any way, shape or form. /
Agreed that Atheists are by their nature non-religious however you cannot dismiss them as being non-spiritual without knowing them. Spirituality has nothing to do with religion rather it is about those intangible qualities of the mind that are presumed to set humans apart from the 'beasts of the field'. If you wish only to discuss religious matters with the religious minded, well isn't that what churches are for?

[0lly]

@jackthehat - It would be very boring without a mix of views and I live in hope that one day we will all come together with one mind, but that is being ultra optimistic I'm afraid so my only hope now is that people stop being prejudiced and discuss the in's-and-out's with an open mind. :-)

.

[0lly]

@LG - That isn't what I said but not to worry.

About your latest post, if something needs criticising then all well and good and I am right behind you on the basis we need to rip out the bad and replace it with the good. I just feel you may be pointing the gun in the wrong direction, that's all. :-)

[0lly]

@jomifl - It is nice to hear someone speak of spirituality because that is what is at the heart of Christianity which is our faith. :-)

[LazyGun]

@Olly - When i see the vast majority of right thinking christians - Into which cohort i assume you place yourself - criticizing some of the more egregiously stupid statements or actions taken by the zealots, rather than automatically jumping to their defence, then is when I might consider that I am pointing the gun in the wrong direction. Not until then.

After all, it was you, the voice of all things good and holy about christianity, the true christian voice, that derided all atheists and non christians as being more likely to be murderers than christians, wasn't it?

[LazyGun]

@ Olly - Just another observation while I think about it - must be the red wine ;) - Interesting is it not that the christian here, ie you, is the one to use an aphorism relating to material wealth ( rolls royces / fiestas) and another relating to warfare and violence (pointing guns etc)?

[jomifl]

Olly, it took me some while to get some understanding of what is meant by spirituality and I still have some way to go. I don't think it is at the heart of christianity, that is all to do with the concept of a god. Spirituality exists without needing the concept of god to justify it. It is what is behind our appreciation of beautiful things, art music, nature etc. Religion may have tried to claim spirituality for itself but it is independant of religion.

[0lly]

@LG - Regarding crime, seeing as there are more atheists than Christians then on the balance of probability there may be more atheists than Christians going through the courts although what it needs is for people to be truthful about their religious status and not play the religious card when they come to court, it does Christianity no good at all. The good news is that thanks to the efforts of the atheist community the census form may in the future more accurately reflect peoples faith or lack of, and then hopefully we may see some fairly accurate statistics coming through?

Neither do I consider a law breaker to be following the teaching of Christ and as we are known by our works I wonder what I says about our Christianity. You know about the true Scotsman, well the same applies to a true Christian they would never do such a thing.

Neither am I happy with some of the things so-called Christians do and I agree with you on that score, they are wrong to do some of the things they do and Jesus would have condemned them in the same way he condemned the righteous Pharisees.

[LazyGun]

@Olly - It seems to me that you are dissembling just a tad. When you made your comment re atheists and non-christians being more likely to commit murder, I find it very difficult to believe that it was a dispassionate consideration of the statistical odds, based upon the population demographic, that informed your opinion and comment.

Whether or not you consider a lawbreaker to be unchristian is immaterial really, since it is their perception and their peers perception that informs what they are. Interesting point though - if a christian were to commit murder, in your view they are unchristian. So does that unchristianity last forever? Or is there a statute of limitations on their unchristianity?

[0lly]

A Christian is no different from anyone else, other than they believe in God, but then as the Bible says, and I am sorry to quote the Bible, but you ask a religious question so I will answer it like this,

"You say you have faith, for you believe that there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this, and they tremble in terror." (James 2:19)

[jomifl]

Thats a relief Olly, I am comforted to know that I am not a demon, whatever one of those is.

[0lly]

@jomifl "Thats a relief Olly, I am comforted to know that I am not a demon, whatever one of those is."

Good, I am pleased.

[LazyGun]

@Olly- The exact meaning of your last post eludes me, I am sorry to say. I have no objection to you resorting to scripture in your answer - so long as you provide an answer, not just a quotation.

I am nor sure how your last post offer any answers to the questions I posed.

It is interesting though - in your post you claim that a christian is defined by a belief in god - so if a christian commits murder, they are still a christian, assuming they still believe in god, no?

The act of murder might be described as unchristian by a believer ( or more properly an illegal and/or inhuman act), but you decide that the perpetrator unchristian, unless they renounce their faith in the christian god - most especially if they commit that act in the name of their god.

[LazyGun]

this sentence
"but you decide that the perpetrator unchristian," should read "but you cannot decide that the perpetrator unchristian"

[0lly]

@LG. Satan trembles because he is evil and fears the consequences. I suggest a murderer is also evil and whether they believe in God or not makes no difference, the act they have committed is an evil act and they need to tremble imo. This is why we are given those commandments.

[naomi24]

Maggie, //I am all for free speech, welcome it in fact. However, I just thought that a site called Religion and Spirituality might attract people who might want to debate this - not people who seem to want to tear it down at every opportunity.//

When have you ever attempted to ‘debate’ religion? In my experience all you’ve ever done here is attempt to silence the opposition – and you’re still doing it. If people want to tear religion down at every opportunity then that is an example of the ‘free speech’ you claim to welcome, so what’s the problem? If you want to support religion, then do it. Express your views and have the courage to debate them with people who may have an alternative opinion.