BuddhistCommunist Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 1. Eastern religions still exist because people like the way of life and self betterment. 2. Pagan religions still exist because they feel this and science goes hand in hand and for the same reason in number 1. 3. Christianity still exists because its forcefed down peoples throats with gifts if you except, damnation if you don't. Christianity still exists in its radical fundamental form because of one simple reason, Money. Money drives all the churches of today and is used as a base for mass attention. The money is used to fund Tbn, Missionaries, youth programs were the church uses slang and "cool" terms to brainwash kids when they are young. Secondly, When you are a kid and you go against christianity, your parents usually "deal" with you in a way they see fit. Also peers can be hurtful if you believe something that goes against christianity. over 80% of americas population either doesn't know what a pentagram is, or thinks people that where it are Satan Worshippers. Through well orchestrated plans and successful continueous brainwashing from an early age keeps this country christian dispite influence of outside belief and the new rising of Scientifically backed athiesm. Outside beliefs are taught as Satans work and Atheism is taught as misguided fools who don't understand that God is Science.... If it weren't for brainwashing tactics that have been around for millenia, then america could have been a place were not only cultures mixed, but spiritual ideas as well. So I just want to say Thanks Christians, for fucking it up for the rest of us! peace, BC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkepticOfBible Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Christianity still exists in its radical fundamental form because of one simple reason, Money. Money drives all the churches of today and is used as a base for mass attention. The money is used to fund Tbn, Missionaries, youth programs were the church uses slang and "cool" terms to brainwash kids when they are young. 98910[/snapback] For those people who tithe or used to tithe. I have bad news, you are/were conned Give Money Unto God, But Send It To My Address Mal 2:1-2,9And now, O ye priests, this commandment is for you. If ye will not hear, and if ye will not lay it to heart, to give glory unto my name, saith the LORD of hosts, I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings: yea, I have cursed them already, because ye do not lay it to heart. Therefore have I also made you contemptible and base before all the people, according as ye have not kept my ways, but have been partial in the law. Now we get to the part which is so often used out of context by Christian preachers(Mal 3:8): Mal 3:8-10 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. As seen in the earlier verses, the robbers are corrupt priests, not the people of the congregation. The priests were ignoring many of the commands of God and were thus robbing God of the fellowship he was to have with the people who gave offerings and tithes. Christian preachers who attempt to extract money from believers under the guise of Old Testament tithing ignore the following: 1) They cannot claim believers are no longer under the Old Testament law and at the same time claim believers need to tithe because the law stipulates it. 2) They cannot claim to be proper collection agents of tithes if they cannot provide proof they are descended from Aaron of the tribe of Levi, and if they are not performing all the required functions of a priest according to the Law of God in the Old Testament. Pretending to be an authorized priest is a sin. 3) They cannot demand money from believers when tithes are defined as assets which are produced from the land and not from commerce. 4) They cannot claim that a certain percentage of income must be given to God prior to receive a blessing or to be saved in the eyes of God. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnosis of Disbelief Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Well, it's lots of money, plus lots of willful self-retardation. I find that most American christians are horribly ignorant of their own religion and its history, they only believe what their clergy tells them to believe, they have no interest in thinking for themselves, and they have no curiosity. They want to be led around by the nose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BuddhistCommunist Posted October 28, 2005 Author Share Posted October 28, 2005 Very true Gnosis, but at the same time, of course they want to be led around by the nose, they don't know how else to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnosis of Disbelief Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Very true Gnosis, but at the same time, of course they want to be led around by the nose, they don't know how else to be. 98916[/snapback] Yes, but they do not want to know how else to be. It's not like they couldn't find out what followers of other faiths believe, especially not these days, with the Internet being what it is. You have to at least have the curiosity to investigate what others believe, and most christians - particularly the foam-at-the-mouth, garden variety, fundamentalist types - have no curiosity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 christianity still exists because they scare the hell outta their children with hell and satan. beleave it or not hell and satan keeps christianity around. everytime i ask someone why they go too church they say something about hell or satan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnosis of Disbelief Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 christianity still exists because they scare the hell outta their children with hell and satan. beleave it or not hell and satan keeps christianity around. everytime i ask someone why they go too church they say something about hell or satan. 98920[/snapback] That's even sadder than believing in it because you want someone else to do your thinking for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 It's pretty hard to break away on your own sometimes. The level of brainwashing that is given can be quite intense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I think you guys have nailed the two real reasons that christianity has been perpetuated all these years. Money and fear of eternal damnation. I'm convinced if christianity did not include the threat of eternal hell, we would have never heard of it today. And if the religion did not include provisions to coerce money from the flock, it would also be a historical sidenote. Funny thing is, if you ask a christian this question, they would give you neither answer. They'd say "fullfillment", "a sense of purpose", "it survives because it's true", or "it survives by the guiding hand of God" They are unable to see the forest for the trees. Reading the link that Pritishd provided sure brought back memories. Shitty memories. Of preachers threatening curses and laying claim to a piece of my earnings every week. Like it belonged to them and not me. Being in religion is worse than gettin hocked up to credit cards. "Robbing God." What a freakin crock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amethyst Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 I think you guys have nailed the two real reasons that christianity has been perpetuated all these years. Money and fear of eternal damnation. That, and fear of being the black sheep in your family. So many families ostracize those who don't believe in it anymore. Funny, that's a cult warning sign, yet the Christians fail to see it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted October 28, 2005 Share Posted October 28, 2005 Funny, that's a cult warning sign, yet the Christians fail to see it. 98936[/snapback] Because it's hard to see clearly when in a cult.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Because it's hard to see clearly when in a cult.... 98938[/snapback] I know. I'd say "What the hell is the matter with those people?" if I hadn't fallen for it myself for so long. Christians talk about mormons, and seventh day adventists, and jehovas witnesses, and christian science, and roman catholicism, and tons of others. They call them cults, they talk about how they are founded on shaky ground. How they manipulate and abuse and brainwash their members. Without ever realizing that what they are doing is no different, and that their "foundations" are just as unreliable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antlerman Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 christianity still exists because they scare the hell outta their children with hell and satan. beleave it or not hell and satan keeps christianity around. everytime i ask someone why they go too church they say something about hell or satan. 98920[/snapback] Well... hell. So Satan is in fact responsible for Christianity! I love irony! Proof that all is absurdity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnosis of Disbelief Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 That, and fear of being the black sheep in your family. So many families ostracize those who don't believe in it anymore. Funny, that's a cult warning sign, yet the Christians fail to see it. 98936[/snapback] Fortunately for me, my parents weren't fundies (just the nominally religious but not-too-interested-about-it types). My excursion into fundyism was a self-inflicted malady that I eventually got over, but not before it took about a decade out of my life. I do appreciate what you're saying, though. It's been a long time since I lived in an area where fundyism runs amok, and everyone expects you to believe what they believe, so I sometimes forget how bad it can be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Well... hell. So Satan is in fact responsible for Christianity! I love irony! Proof that all is absurdity. 98947[/snapback] quote"satan is the best freind the church has ever had as he kept it in buisness all these years" anton laveys satanic bible what would churches talk about with satan and all his temptations and followers lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 quote"satan is the best freind the church has ever had as he kept it in buisness all these years" anton laveys satanic bible what would churches talk about with satan and all his temptations and followers lol 98965[/snapback] without his temptations and followers i meant. i wonder how many people would be exchristians if their wasnt a hell too be afraid of or a satan too fear. also this is classic cultish behavoir making people thing the whole worlds evil and itll be bad if you leave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amanda Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Hello Willy Billy! quote"satan is the best freind the church has ever had as he kept it in buisness all these years" anton laveys satanic bible 98965[/snapback] I've read The Satanic Bible awhile back and found it to be a big proponent of self empowerment, enjoying life, AND maintaining integrity. I was quite surprised at how much of it with which I could agree.... that is till it asserted a lifestyle of orgies. I was happy to read they didn't sacrifice animals or anything like that. Is that how you interpreted it too? what would churches talk about with satan and all his temptations and followers lol 98965[/snapback] I understand Satan in a different light, yet I was surprised when I recently related that I don't think hell is forever, nor Satan is the bad guy... how some fundamentalists responded... 'then why should we follow God then?' Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 i thought the satanic bible would be all demons and sacrifices and stuff but its not. i like too read all the so called evil books and forbidden things church told me not too read. funny how its never like they say it is. i think alot of it makes sense i havent read all of it i got a copy online. id like to know more about satan who is he? why hed rebel anyway? the bible never gives his side of the story. too me nothings all good or all bad. god is not all good. satan probally isnt all bad either he probally done some good but the bible dont say nothing good about him. Hello Willy Billy! I've read The Satanic Bible awhile back and found it to be a big proponent of self empowerment, enjoying life, AND maintaining integrity. I was quite surprised at how much of it with which I could agree.... that is till it asserted a lifestyle of orgies. I was happy to read they didn't sacrifice animals or anything like that. Is that how you interpreted it too? I understand Satan in a different light, yet I was surprised when I recently related that I don't think hell is forever, nor Satan is the bad guy... how some fundamentalists responded... 'then why should we follow God then?' 99002[/snapback] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkepticOfBible Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 i thought the satanic bible would be all demons and sacrifices and stuff but its not. i like too read all the so called evil books and forbidden things church told me not too read. funny how its never like they say it is. i think alot of it makes sense i havent read all of it i got a copy online. id like to know more about satan who is he? why hed rebel anyway? the bible never gives his side of the story. too me nothings all good or all bad. god is not all good. satan probally isnt all bad either he probally done some good but the bible dont say nothing good about him. 99008[/snapback] That's because the Devil is a NT invention. The OT Satan is completely different Two interesting links Let's Take A Look At Satan Was Satan Really A Rebel And Fallen Angel? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mythra Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Here is a good little article about how the concept of Satan developed within christianity, and where the idea of the Satan/God duality originated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daniel_1012 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Well, it's lots of money, plus lots of willful self-retardation. I find thatmost American christians are horribly ignorant of their own religion and its history, they only believe what their clergy tells them to believe, they have no interest in thinking for themselves, and they have no curiosity. They want to be led around by the nose. 98914[/snapback] You say that most of Christianity is willfull self-retardation... but at the same time, you tell us we are raised that way so we just believe the things we were brought up in. So which is it... are we retarded by choice, or is it our upbringing which subjects us to no other viewpoint, that we accept blindly (of course ignoring the countless conversions of those who did not grow up Christian). Which, btw... I am interested in someone defining what blindly following really is. Everyone followed something to end up where they are. All of us have grown up in a culture, and all of us have been influenced by written works of some kind, view points of others (who themselves have been influenced), and until finally we arrive at where we are now... wherever that is. One moment it's, "ah, you're just forcefed jibber-jabber since the day you are born," and the next minute it is because of willful self-retardation. Are these one in the same? Or, which one is it? Can then the Bible be so far off when it says you are walking, in self-retardation, into hell? Or is this view exclusive from the latter mentioned, because it doesn't fit your viewpoint? Do you also just simply believe what you want to believe? We, we? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fweethawt Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 We, we? It's called a 'penis', Dan. We're big people around here. You can call it by its name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vixentrox Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 I think he was trying to be French. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 Here is a good little article about how the concept of Satan developed within christianity, and where the idea of the Satan/God duality originated. 99013[/snapback] seems like jesus and his followers adopted ideas from other religions and made a new religion. its amazing how intolerant christians are of other religions when their religion is a mix of diffrent faiths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willybilly30 Posted October 29, 2005 Share Posted October 29, 2005 That's because the Devil is a NT invention. The OT Satan is completely different Two interesting links Let's Take A Look At Satan Was Satan Really A Rebel And Fallen Angel? 99011[/snapback] the old testament and new testament are completely diffrent on alot of things. i think jesus just wanted his own religion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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