Why aren't you a Christian?
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Hey, it wasn't to me the Messiah was promised to. 
Hosea 13:14 "I will Ransom [06299 padah] them from the power of the grave; I will Redeem [01350 ga'al] them from death. O Death, I will be your plagues! O Grave, I will be your destruction! Pity is hidden from My eyes.
1 Corinthians 7:23 with a price ye were bought/hgorasqhte <59>, become not servants of men;
Revelation 5:9 and they sing a new song, saying, `Worthy art thou to take the scroll, and to open the seals of it, because Thou wast slaughtered, and didst purchase/hgorasaV <59>Us to God in Thy blood, out of every tribe, and tongue, and people, and nation,
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The best way for someone to become a Christian is to not read the bible with a critical thinking mind.
I chose to read it with a critical and objective mind.
That's why I'm not a Christian.
If more Christians read it in that light, (the light of reason) there'd be less Christians.
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Nimrauko
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français;39320094 said:Good question! There are many reasons why... Here is a list of some of the reasons. I might speak about some of them that really in particular lead me away from Christianity..
those are just a few. I mean I could make a list of dozens! But those are some of the main reasons
- Hell - By far one of the most disturbing things, and something that has always bugged me. You know, christians say that god is loving, and merciful, and kind. So why would this god send someone to hell! and eternally! You know, just because one does not accept christ, or allah, or whatever religion, does not mean they should be in hell. it does not make on a bad person. It breaks my heart to think that such innocent people could be in hell. Even if hell was not eternal, it is still gross!
- Gay rights - You know, I am gay, and I have many gay friends. And it is not something I chose. Now I do not hurt anyone. I have a boyfriend, and we do have sexual intercourse.. But no one gets hurt. It is between me and him. Yet some religion has the audacity to tell me that I should be PUT TO DEATH for being gay. (Leviticus, and yes for some odd reason Jesus "fulfilled" those laws, but it is still there, and was still applied at a time. also in the qu'ran to "hurt them"). You know, what kind of god does that! You know, I give a ton of my money to charity, I volunteer at an animal shelter, I am a vegetarian, I care for people, I give to the poor as much as I can, there is a kid at school who I am taking my personal time to try and help him with personal issues, and I try to be as loving as possible. I am still far from perfect, but I can at least say that I am a descent person. And simply because I have sex with my boyfriend, I should be put to death, and go to hell.. How sick!
- Evolution - Yeah, yeah, I have heard it before.. "Evolution and christianity are not exclusive." Hah, according to Paul, God is not the author of confusion. yet it looks like god confused us with his adam and ever creation stories and all that crap. same applies to other religions that hold such silly myths.
- Making one worship him - Talking about SADISTIC. "I am an all perfect god, yet i am going to create this satan, i know everything to, but i am going to let him cause trouble in this world, then i am going to force people to worship me." Jerk!
- Did you forget about the Indians! - Yeah, weird name I know, but I mean think about this.. Nowhere in the bible, qu'ran, veda's, anywhere does it mention that there are millions of indians on this other piece of land(The america's.) So not only did this god not tell us this information, but he did not send his christianity or islam or judaism to them!!
- An all powerful god would not let evil happen - If god is all powerful, all compassionate, and can do anything he want, then why can't he just stop all this evil and make everything good. Why can't he stop rapists from doing their horrible things to children, or stop murders? why does he allow such!
- Why a chosen nation? - why the jews and israel chosen? why not everyone totally equal! jews, christians, muslims, explanations please!
- Why doesn't he just prove that he exists! - I mean if god created us to worship him, then why doesn't he prove to us that he exists! It is only logical!
- The view of a perfect god - Definition of perfect is as follows:[SIZE=-1]being complete of its kind and without defect or blemish[from princeton university definition] . Ok, so if god is perfect, then he has NO defects. so he can NOT do evil. yet god created satan, as god created everything, am i wrong? and satan causes evil! so god can NOT be perfect if he allows such imperfection!
[/SIZE]- [SIZE=-1]Just show some proof! - I mean would it be so impossible to just show some proof of a god? I mean what is so impossible about that! Yet no one can!!
[/SIZE]
Well I can give you Judaism's perspective on these things, and it serves two purposes. 1, to give a brief dissection of my faiths belief, and how different christianity and Judaism truly are.
Hell - A christian/muslim concept with no founding in the Torah. Judaism as a majority (There are some who believe in it, but they are the smallest of minorities) does not acknowledge this concept of hell. People refer to sheol to prove their claim, but sheol is the abode of the dead, of both the righteous and unrighteous. In Judaism there is a concept of Purgatory if you will. This period lasts up to a year, but thats only for the truly wicked. It is accepted in Judaism that only the truly evil are destroyed. So there is retribution, but not a hell.
Gay rights- I too am gay. In judaism, in all its history, has NEVER used the death penalty to kill Gays. In Judaism (The Conservative and Reform movements) accept Gays and Lesbians with open arms, and I know for a fact that the reform does Gay Marriages, even if its not state recognized. Gay rights are something that Judaism supports very much, it will just take the orthodox jews a while to become accustomed to.
Evolution- Judaism does not disbelieve in Evolution. All though its not mainstream.
Making one worship him- Simply not so. G-d gives all the choice to worship him or not. He is not going to smite you if you dont. Satan in Judaism is not the same as in christianity. In Christianity he is a scape goat. A physical being that all the evil is pinned on. In judaism hes not revered by no means, but g-d created him to test and temper peoples faith. His very name Ha-Satan means "The Advesary". He serves a very large role in the heavenly court.
Did you forget about the Indians- Ok, I am going to stray from talking about my faith for a moment, and tell you what I believe to be fact. The indians worshiped the great spirit. Well is it improbable that g-d reveals himself to different people in different ways? Would the indians be receptive to a White G-d ? No! So G-d reveals himself to different people, in a way that is familiar to them, or that they can accept. >_> I hope that made sense.
An all powerful god would not let evil happen- G-d doesnt let evil happen. He gave human kind free will, to chose good or evil. It is for us to decide if we want to do good in this world or evil.
Why a chosen nation?- G-d saw a great deal of bad in the world, people were worshiping other gods. G-d made a covenant with Avraham, and said " I will make you a father of multitudes". We (the jews) were and still are, to be an example for all nations. G-d gave us Israel. It is called the promise land, because it is the land he promised to us. However, to say Israel is G-ds only nation, is absurd. To say that G-d loves the jews more is also absurd. We are his people, but also the rest of the world is his people. We are just held to a higher standard. We must be an example to ALL nations.
Why doesn't he just prove that he exists!- G-d speaks to us in many ways. Some just dont listen. Thats all I can say about that.
and the last two things you spoke of are similar to "Why doesn't he just prove that he exists!". I hope that has given you some insight and helps you in some way.
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français
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שלום Nimaruko,
while I appreciate Judaism, I think you should read about the documentary hypothesis. I could not be a follower of a book that many scholars say was written by more then one man, and over a period of time.
Not only that, but you also say that you are gay, and Judaism does not treat homosexuals bad. Well, you guys may not treat us badly. BUT, your Torah is clear when it says "mankind shall not lie with mankind as he does with women."
Now I know that not all Jews agree with the punishment to be death, sense it uses the word zinah i think, which means for priests, and not citizens in general. But, t still says to all that man shall not lie with man.
Also, there are too many inconsistencies. Bereshit 1... Verse 1 says that god created light on the first day. not bad.
then on the second day, it says the sky was created. Clouds = evaporation, which happens from the sun.
Then on the third day, there was vegetation, plants, and all that.
However, it was not until the FOURTH day, that the sun was created! How is there plants without a sun!!How is there evaporation without a sun!!!
Then, Genesis 2 basically says the same, but in a more modern form of hebrew, and using the name YAHWEH ELOHIM instead of just elohim. (which, it should be EloAH, because the IM suffix makes it plural. While the words around, like in Genesis 1 are singular [like bara], for some reason the word for god stays plural. it should be eloah, which would make it singular.)
So in Genesis 2, the story is somewhat repeated, only it does not mention all the steps. The question though, is why is this creation story repeated? and yes, some say "it speaks about the garden of eden" but still.. why were there plants everywhere, except god did not plant the garden yet?!!
Then you have stupid myths, like the flood... or noah floating down the river.. all myths from kemetic/sumerian beliefs.
I will not believe in a book that is really nothing but fables. No offense of course. And while Kaballa is a very beautiful, mystical form of judaism, it is just based off of myths.
I love judaism. I love israel. My boyfriend is Jewish. He is from Israel even, but moved as a child to USA. His grandparents are from morocco on one side, france on the other. He was raised Orthodox, but is reform now since there is not Orthodox synagogue here (although there is Chabad, that is downtown.) I respect his religion and deeply love it, but it is simply not a religion from god in my opinion!
while I appreciate Judaism, I think you should read about the documentary hypothesis. I could not be a follower of a book that many scholars say was written by more then one man, and over a period of time.
Not only that, but you also say that you are gay, and Judaism does not treat homosexuals bad. Well, you guys may not treat us badly. BUT, your Torah is clear when it says "mankind shall not lie with mankind as he does with women."
Now I know that not all Jews agree with the punishment to be death, sense it uses the word zinah i think, which means for priests, and not citizens in general. But, t still says to all that man shall not lie with man.
Also, there are too many inconsistencies. Bereshit 1... Verse 1 says that god created light on the first day. not bad.
then on the second day, it says the sky was created. Clouds = evaporation, which happens from the sun.
Then on the third day, there was vegetation, plants, and all that.
However, it was not until the FOURTH day, that the sun was created! How is there plants without a sun!!How is there evaporation without a sun!!!
Then, Genesis 2 basically says the same, but in a more modern form of hebrew, and using the name YAHWEH ELOHIM instead of just elohim. (which, it should be EloAH, because the IM suffix makes it plural. While the words around, like in Genesis 1 are singular [like bara], for some reason the word for god stays plural. it should be eloah, which would make it singular.)
So in Genesis 2, the story is somewhat repeated, only it does not mention all the steps. The question though, is why is this creation story repeated? and yes, some say "it speaks about the garden of eden" but still.. why were there plants everywhere, except god did not plant the garden yet?!!
Then you have stupid myths, like the flood... or noah floating down the river.. all myths from kemetic/sumerian beliefs.
I will not believe in a book that is really nothing but fables. No offense of course. And while Kaballa is a very beautiful, mystical form of judaism, it is just based off of myths.
I love judaism. I love israel. My boyfriend is Jewish. He is from Israel even, but moved as a child to USA. His grandparents are from morocco on one side, france on the other. He was raised Orthodox, but is reform now since there is not Orthodox synagogue here (although there is Chabad, that is downtown.) I respect his religion and deeply love it, but it is simply not a religion from god in my opinion!
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I was Christian, even speak in tongues (still), but my understanding couldn't fit inside the confines of Christianity.
From a basic creed, I couldn't understand why a God, who had a relationship with David, Moses, etc., supposedly had severed his relationship with man. I questioned why it was important to kill a perfect sacrifice - how that would appease God in any way. I wouldn't be appeased if you killed your dog to show me how sorry you were. Why would God? I wouldn't demand that. Why wouldn't God?
The best that was offered was, "God's logic isn't our logic." That's man's logic - it makes no sense, i was given a mind to rationalize, but to believe in God, I must not think, argue, or come to my own conclusions.
In the 80s, while I was struggling to come out, and was kind of suicidal, the most vocal christians were talking about how evil gays were. They would even say that AIDS was God's Judgement, and one sin, in their opinion, was too much to join the church - homosexuality. You could get drunk, you could have premarital sex, you could take the name of the lord in vain, but you simply couldn't be gay.
By the 90s, people started showing compassion when "the gays" became a friend who died, and suddenly, there was some treatment of gay people as their neighbor and some understanding. However, one would think Christians would be leaders, not the followers.
Robertson, Bucchanon, and Falwell continue to see gays not as their neighbor, but as an enemy, the league of Satan to fight against, or to use for scapegoating and rally for money.
In Buddhism, there is far more logical sense. You purify the mind, which then purifies words and deeds, rather than work your way backward from your actions.
You also detach from desire, and don't worry about having things, status, etc.
I found that it is actually very much in the keeping of what Christ taught, and believe that the Heart of Christ come through any religion, and this is shown in Buddhism for me.
From a basic creed, I couldn't understand why a God, who had a relationship with David, Moses, etc., supposedly had severed his relationship with man. I questioned why it was important to kill a perfect sacrifice - how that would appease God in any way. I wouldn't be appeased if you killed your dog to show me how sorry you were. Why would God? I wouldn't demand that. Why wouldn't God?
The best that was offered was, "God's logic isn't our logic." That's man's logic - it makes no sense, i was given a mind to rationalize, but to believe in God, I must not think, argue, or come to my own conclusions.
In the 80s, while I was struggling to come out, and was kind of suicidal, the most vocal christians were talking about how evil gays were. They would even say that AIDS was God's Judgement, and one sin, in their opinion, was too much to join the church - homosexuality. You could get drunk, you could have premarital sex, you could take the name of the lord in vain, but you simply couldn't be gay.
By the 90s, people started showing compassion when "the gays" became a friend who died, and suddenly, there was some treatment of gay people as their neighbor and some understanding. However, one would think Christians would be leaders, not the followers.
Robertson, Bucchanon, and Falwell continue to see gays not as their neighbor, but as an enemy, the league of Satan to fight against, or to use for scapegoating and rally for money.
In Buddhism, there is far more logical sense. You purify the mind, which then purifies words and deeds, rather than work your way backward from your actions.
You also detach from desire, and don't worry about having things, status, etc.
I found that it is actually very much in the keeping of what Christ taught, and believe that the Heart of Christ come through any religion, and this is shown in Buddhism for me.
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français;39506035 said:
Yes there are many similarities between Buddhism and what Christ taight.
But all religions simply borrowed from The Bible and Christ.
What I found lacking in Buddhism is true Ecstatic Joy.
This is becaiue of the teaching of balance and the middle ground with emotions.
I feel Buddhism is robbing humanity of the best part of being human.
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Yes the oldest religious writings on earth are the Hebrew texts of the Old testament.
hristianinty and the New Testament are younger than some other false religions but Jesus himself taught form the OT the oldest .
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EvC Forum: What is the oldest religious text?
I am of the opinion that the Hebrew writings are the oldest and best documented manuscripts ..... Though I'm not sure that it qualifies as a religious text, ...
www.evcforum.net/cgi-bin/dm.cgi?action=msg&f=1&t... - 75k - Similar pages
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R3quiem
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That first link there from EvC Forum doesn't support what you are saying. They mentioned the Egyptians, ancient cave drawings, etc.
I'm not really sure where an "opinion" can come into play here. I'm not a researcher of ancient religions, but there are many people that are. The Egyptian depictions of the afterlife that are still on walls are certainly older than the Hebrew writings.
As for Hinduism, it is accepted as the oldest currently practiced religion by people who study these things. Maybe I can look around and dig up some sources. Various pagan religions are pretty old too, but they aren't widely practiced.
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