I too am a Christian, and know without a doubt that the Lord Jesus Christ died and rose again for my sins.  I also believe that he will come back to Earth, save his people and cast Satan into the lake of fire. And lastly I believe that He loves each and every one of you, whether you believe in Him or not...

God does not believe in atheists, therefore atheists do not exist. 

Posted by doitagain on 6/27/2012 2:59:00 PM (view original):
God does not believe in atheists, therefore atheists do not exist. 

God is Dead -- Nietzsche
Nietzsche is Dead -- God

Posted by jas_illini on 6/27/2012 8:25:00 AM (view original):
Arfy should have his typing privileges revoked for these pot-stirring threads. 

More like a pot smoking-induced thread.

I believe in a higher power but don't follow any religion due to their bloodlust in their formative years and their corporate monetary leanings today but to each their own.

The Catholics say theirs is the right way.  The Methodists think they are doing it right.  The Presbyterians, well I don't know what they believe but you can bet they are passionate about it.  It doesn't matter.  The Baptists say you're all going to hell if you aren't doing it their way.  It goes on and on.  With so many fractures within a single religion, can they all be right?  And what about all the other religions?  Is your omnipotent deity really so cold and callous that he's only going to consider your specific minority (of the world's population) and ignore the rest?  And if he is, does he really deserve praise and adoration?

It doesn't matter whether you worship God, Allah, Jehovah, a Spaghetti Monster, or no one at all, religious tolerance is the way of things now.  Live your life right, treat other people right, and try to make a positive difference in the world around you.  Nothing else matters.  The rest is just details.

   I guess you can put me down as believing in the basics of Judeo/Christian beliefs.

   Don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, don't kill and be nice.

     I have some issues with the way organized religion has acted in promoting only their own narrow interests which moves me a little towards deism. God created the world handed it over and basicly said "Don't screw it up too badly."
 
    I do not think science and religion are polar opposites and you can't belive in both. I think god is reflected in the natural world and that the bible is a very good book of parables and stories that can teach us a lot about humanity and how to, and how not to, treat each other. Is it literaly Gods word? Perhaps but even if it is he was just telling us stories to try and teach us how to behave and not setting down an absolute history that he meant us to interpret literaly after all anyone who wishes to be honest sees that not all passages in the bible agree on just one set of rules.

   Atheists think I'm religious born agains think I'm a bit of a heathen I tell them I'm a typical Episcopalian. Catholic Lite all the sin and none of the guilt able to get divorced and remairied at the drop of a hat and when I do something wrong it's just between me and God and I can go thru the express line to ask him to forgive me without involving a priest the Virgin Mary or throwing around any last moment bombs into the endzone.

When I was young I had a scholarship to Seminary. But then I figured out what celibacy meant. I knew I wanted to have a family, and today I have three great sons. Now I find out if I had become a priest I could have had all the boys I wanted.

Posted by badaxe on 6/27/2012 10:26:00 PM (view original):
When I was young I had a scholarship to Seminary. But then I figured out what celibacy meant. I knew I wanted to have a family, and today I have three great sons. Now I find out if I had become a priest I could have had all the boys I wanted.

LOL

Best answer yet

"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 10 things he does not want you to do. And if you do any of these 10 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." -- George Carlin

Just want to set something straight. I said earlier that I am a Christian. I am, and am very proud of it. That does not mean I'm religious. I do not consider myself a religious person. In fact, no where in the Bible does it speak favorably about religious people. People, there is a God, He loves every one of us (including the atheist) so much that He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. This is what is important, NOT RELIGION.

Posted by crickett13 on 6/27/2012 9:09:00 PM (view original):
   I guess you can put me down as believing in the basics of Judeo/Christian beliefs.

   Don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, don't kill and be nice.

     I have some issues with the way organized religion has acted in promoting only their own narrow interests which moves me a little towards deism. God created the world handed it over and basicly said "Don't screw it up too badly."
 
    I do not think science and religion are polar opposites and you can't belive in both. I think god is reflected in the natural world and that the bible is a very good book of parables and stories that can teach us a lot about humanity and how to, and how not to, treat each other. Is it literaly Gods word? Perhaps but even if it is he was just telling us stories to try and teach us how to behave and not setting down an absolute history that he meant us to interpret literaly after all anyone who wishes to be honest sees that not all passages in the bible agree on just one set of rules.

   Atheists think I'm religious born agains think I'm a bit of a heathen I tell them I'm a typical Episcopalian. Catholic Lite all the sin and none of the guilt able to get divorced and remairied at the drop of a hat and when I do something wrong it's just between me and God and I can go thru the express line to ask him to forgive me without involving a priest the Virgin Mary or throwing around any last moment bombs into the endzone.

   Don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat, don't kill and be nice.
 

I believe this part has more to do with morals than with religion.  As I totally agree with these as a non religous person.

Posted by coach_deen on 6/28/2012 1:22:00 AM (view original):
Just want to set something straight. I said earlier that I am a Christian. I am, and am very proud of it. That does not mean I'm religious. I do not consider myself a religious person. In fact, no where in the Bible does it speak favorably about religious people. People, there is a God, He loves every one of us (including the atheist) so much that He sent His son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. This is what is important, NOT RELIGION.

" In fact, no where in the Bible does it speak favorably about religious people" --- this

I wouldn't say I'm overly religious but I did lose a little respect for a certain group.  They said my wife and I were going to Hell for using a specialist to help us have a baby.