Kanicbird, if christians are in such danger in this country, how come they aren’t already being rounded up in Europe? After all, Europe is already mostly post-Christian. So why haven’t they made Christianity illegal over there? Why aren’t they forcing kids to have gay sex and abortions and practice witchcraft? Have you been reading your Jack Chick again?
This is the exact same persecution complex Der Trihs has. You both get off on imagining yourself to be a persecuted minority just barely holding on against the forces of darkness.
Ha, you guys are all a bunch of fanatics, on both sides.
Love has no opposite, it needn’t be set aside to be angry.
What I see happening is globalization and a rise in the belief that the dichotomies you people on both sides of this argument cling to, as being obsolete and false. I see holodecks and space cruisers in the future. I don’t think in a world where we are overpopulated that homosexuality is a sin at all. Homosexuality is a sin when it is imperative for members of the tribe to reproduce heirs to carry on their legacy lest the tribe die off. Some history has happened bro, get with it. Christianity ain’t gonna be outlawed, it’s gonna be obsolete. Christianity ain’t even the religion of Christ anymore, it’s a bastardized interpretation of some shit that was said thousands of years ago taken out of context. You aren’t an Israelite living in 1st century Judea, it’s possible that not everything Christ said applies directly to your life.
When I go into churches I very rarely find the holy spirit in there, I see a lot of people singing boring old hymns off key, without much passion.
Both the atheist and christians fanatics need to step off and recognize their irrelevancy. There ain’t gonna be concentration camps for atheists, and there ain’t gonna be an outlawing of christianity. The whole communism vs capitalism debate has nothing to do with Christianity whatsoever as they are both modern economic theories and don’t apply to the tribal lifestyle that people lived back in the day. The self-serving definition of Christ, where Christ is set in opposition to whatever it is you are politically opposed to is utter bullshit. Christ is about love and understanding, not economic systems. If there is love and understanding in your society then christ is present, regardless of what your economic system is.
Welcome to Anarcho-Syndicalism bitches, get used to it, it’s gonna be here for a while. Your medieval power struggle is old and boring. People are put into concentration camps all the time IN THE PRESENT for believing that taking drugs is ok. The two camps in this imaginary persecution are ridiculous. Who gives a flying fuck whether it says “Happy Holidays” rather than “Merry Christmas” on city hall anyway? Christmas is a holiday dedicated to gorging yourself on ham, and pistol whipping other parents to make sure your little monster that you raised to be a selfish gluttonous bastard, gets their X-Box in December rather than January. I don’t see people actually carign about Christ anywhere in most of that shit.
If there are Christian concentration camps set down to persecute non-Christians, I guarantee you Christ will be against it. You Christians can live out your St. John revelations fantasy where you get put into concentration camps for being pious in a sinful world if you want, but fuck, if I have done too much drugs then St. John has me beat by orders of magnitude on that score.
It’s sure easy to tweak that victimization thread in people, isn’t it? Der Trihs’s is quite a ridiculous overreaction, but the fact that Christians can feel the way kanicbird does is nothing short of astonishing, in a country where Christians are the majority and IIRC growing, and the vast majority of political leaders are also Christian.
Making people think they are victims is an INCREDIBLY powerful tactic, wiping away even the most basic common sense.
Well I sort of agree and disagree with your statement, Christianity is a personally relationship with Christ, it resides in the person’s faith. Religion OTOH is of man’s creation and subject to the flaws of man.
Again religion vs faith comes into play. The money changers in the temple seemed to displease God as well.
One of the pillars of communism is the elimination of religion and replacing the state with that role, so yes it has a great deal to do with it.
Um no, did I mention the money changers? Communism is more then a economic system is it a forced belief system.
Can you tell me where this simple belief alone has resulted in incarceration?
You just point out another example on the war on Christians, to co-opt their holy days and turn them into cute and fuzzy holidays.
Oh, for the love of… At least Der Trihs has the fact that atheists are a teeny-tiny minority in this country to back up his persecution complex. How you can be a member of the largest and most influential religion on the entire planet, to say nothing of the overwhelmingly Christian nature of the United States, and still think you’re some sort of opressed minority beggars the imagination. Every single thing you listed as being “anti-Christian” about the US: gay rights, abortion rights, seperation of Church and State: you know who the vast majority of the supporters for these issues are? Christians! The vast majority of people on either side of almost any political issue in this country are Christians, because the vast majority of the people in this country are Christians. Quick: how many non-Christian presidents have we had in the US? How many non-Christians are currently serving on the Supreme Court? How many non-Christians serve in Congress? How many non-Christians serve as governers? And that’s giving you the easy questions, because there are a few Jews on the Supreme Court, and quite a few people of various other religions in all the other positions I named. (Except president, of course.) If I wanted to really make you work, I’d ask how many atheists have ever served in any of those roles. I sure as hell can’t think of any. Maybe you can help me out, and show me where this wave of anti-Christian fascism is going to emenate from.
Well, they displeased Jesus, I like to be careful about what I attribute to being the “will of God” because it’s really easy to claim that it was the “will of God”. I personally don’t think anything happens that is not the “will of God”.
Well you first off started talking about socialism, which doesn’t have any such edicts, but also, that’s not a necessary part of communism. Kibbutz in Israel, are communes, there are lots of hippy communes, they practice communism there, they are not forced to be communists, and there is no edict against the practice of religion.
I disagree
Can you show me any time in history where the simple belief, rather than the practice of that belief has resulted in incarceration?
I think it’s mostly christians doing the perpetration on that one.
There was one atheist president, but for the life of me I can’t remember who it was, and the limited research I did online kept coming up with the president of the American atheists.
I understand your POV on this. I tend to think that ‘free will’ that man has gives man the ability to act on his own. The ability of man to be able to act on his own is part of the ‘will of God’ IMHO, but man’s actions can go against the ‘will of God’ or at least act in a way that God has not willed.
Yes I did, but in a context as a gradual loss of rights of the people and greater influence of the gov’t in our daily lives (where we are today), The jump to anti-Christian communist type gov’t is another step.
True, but the large the ‘country’ that is ruled under communism the greater chance for atrocities, propaganda and mind control IMHO.
I’m not sure I understand what you are getting at, though one possibility you do make a point, not one that can’t be countered, but I would like understand what you are trying to say here before assuming.
Yes I agree with this, it is part of the problem, the ‘enemy’ within so to speak.
Why does it matter? Does that make them not Christian?
And these people would, I suppose, not be Christian enough for you? That whole “judge not” thing really went right over your head, didn’t it?
All that’s really beside the point, though. What I really want to know is, are these the people who are going to “outlaw Christianity?” Why would they do that? Where would they get the popular support for doing so? Are they all going to quit the Church in unison, or are the first ones out going to turn around and lock up all the other chatty-church goers who did bail in time? I’m serious, here: I’d really like an answer: who, precisely, is going to outlaw Christianity? What’s their political base? What positions do they hold in the government? How are they going to enact policies that the overwhelming number of Americans (including my own gay atheist pro-choice ass) would take up arms to prevent? Show me one scintila, one barest iota, of evidence that your persecution fantasy has the slightest basis in real life. So far, your strongest argument has been the commercialization of Christmas, which has been going on for longer than anyone on this board has been alive. Do you have anything - anything at all - to add to that?
One can claim to be Christian in order to pander to a popular Christian base. There is a certain point where an identifier has to mean something to have significance, if all it takes to be a good christian is to SAY one is a good Christian, then it doesn’t mean a whole lot to be a good Christian.
I think it went over your head actually. The passage is not telling you not to judge, it is saying not to judge unless you are prepared to be judged yourself by the same criteria.
It is all well and good to be accepting of all people and all things, but when the President lies in order to justify the murder of many, and the appropriation of their lands for private corporate interests, I think it is pretty important for people to point out that he’s not exactly practicing what he says he is. I feel fairly confident in my ability to stand and be judged on that criteria, as I doubt i will be starting any land wars in Asia, and justifying them on the grounds that I am a good Christian.
But then again I don’t take the bible as being of a higher authority than other books. I do think that particular passage is some good advice though.
Do Christains have to accept that all Moslems are Christians, or for that matter cats are dogs, or ice cubes are tennis balls? If something does not fit the definition then is it not that thing.
Ok then lets stop beating around the Bush, dive right in.
Who are ‘these’ people are you referring to, the people who call themselves Christians but don’t have a personal relationship with Christ, people who will turn their back on Christ like Judas did if threatened by civil authority? This would not be Christians as I understand it.
So yes non-Christians will be the ones who will outlaw Christianity.
Well one reason stated in the OP is fear of Christians. Another stated in the thread would be Christianity is ‘obsolete’. Another view is that Christians hate homosexuals and abortion dr’s and those who chose to have them. The real reason IMHO will be that Christianity’s moral compass will directly interfere with the ruling classes ability to gain power.
Gov’t control of the people is a very strong motivator, and the gov’t has the power to manulipate the information the people receive.
Well yes I think so, because churches will be outlawed, some who claimed to be Christian will walk away and never look back, others, the ones who have accepted Christ will continue to do so, in private.
Do you want a name here, perhaps a time and date would be helpful as well.
Well have you noticed the erosion of your right to bear arms, what are you going to do, throw a shoe at them? Again besides the point I’m sure. The gradual erosion of rights and growth of the gov’t will make any defense of ‘allowing’ Christians ineffective and you will be outlawed as well (the statement you are either for us or against us’ comes to mind - and yes I know who said that).
I suspect that the ‘political base’, so to speak, will be one touting itself as ‘for the people’. I know it’s vague, but I’m not Nostrodamist.
The Easter Bunny (and where did I blame anyone on this board for corrupting Christmas?) Where did I say that the war on Christianity only started when the SDMB began?
Sure, but what is that base going to do when these Trojan Christians reveal themselves as atheists with an agenda of genocide against the people who put them in office? Maybe the vast majority of politicians who claim to be Christian are nothing of the sort, but the people who put them in power are, else they wouldn’t need to pretend to be Christian.
I’m pretty sure that nuance would be lost on kanicbird if anyone accused her of not being a “real” Christian.
Um, no. Just because congress has thus far refused to allow Christian groups free rein in government issues does not mean they are “afraid of Christians.” It means they’re upholding the Constitution. In exchange for the church being kept out of the sphere of influence in politics, they get to worship their religion in whatever manner they see fit, wherever they want, whenever they want and not get taxed for it. The Constitution goes to great lengths to protect religion from being interfered with by the government, as well as vice versa. Particularly principles 4, 5 & 6 of the Freedom of Religion clause:
Despite these, many people are punished for professing religious “disbelief”; character assassination is perhaps the most destructive weapon the politically active fundamentalist Christians have at their disposal.
Are you high? Whatever you’re smoking, I want some. There is no way, no WAY any branch of our government will ever vote or move to strike down any part of the first amendment.