jackbauer Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 This is another line that I used to believe fully, that I now see as complete bullshit. Whenever the ugly parts of Christianity are brought up, someone has to chirp "it's not about that!!" or "that's not the message of Jesus". Even my own mother has said this (who I love dearly and is very accepting of me not going to church). Okay, maybe some people don't buy into all the guilt and sin crap (even though it's preached in almost every church), but even the Liberal churches have their own mind games. I recall a time when a deacon gave a sermon guilting people for wanting to rush home to watch the superbowl. Now, I don't care about the superbowl myself, but why should people feel guilty for being into it? You see, it's more subtle than the turn or burn stuff, but they're still making you feel guilty for having a life outside of church, and that does not fly with me. Heck, the guy even said "Christ is our standard". Do these people not realize the gravity of that statement? He's basically saying that to avoid eternal misery, you have to completely devote your life to serving others. Now the message of "love your neighbor" isn't a bad one, but it's taken to unhealthy martyrdom levels in Christianity. It's preached all the time in church Just because some Christians take that part with a grain of salt does not change the fact that's it's still preached! And that's when I get called a bigot and an asshole for misrepressenting Christianity. It's simple, if Christianity is not about avoiding hell, feeling guilty for being human, or living up to an impossible standard, than what it is about? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carolorado Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Deep down, I believe many people keep the god myth alive because they are afraid of death OR they are carrying a guilt so deep they cannot forgive themselves so they need another to forgive them. So, they worry about an afterlife and forget this one. This second, right now, is all you have. Cherish it. I don't know very many xians that can do that. You will know you are over biblegod when you ignore all the guilt and free yourself from your mistakes. Forgive yourself. Then go forward and live a good, kind, caring life. It is really as simple as that. Mark Twain said: You cannot reason someone out of something they did not reason themselves into. Remember that when you talk to those who make no sense to a critical thinker like yourself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaiser01 Posted July 27, 2012 Share Posted July 27, 2012 Deep down, I believe many people keep the god myth alive because they are afraid of death OR they are carrying a guilt so deep they cannot forgive themselves so they need another to forgive them. So, they worry about an afterlife and forget this one. This second, right now, is all you have. Cherish it. I don't know very many xians that can do that. You will know you are over biblegod when you ignore all the guilt and free yourself from your mistakes. Forgive yourself. Then go forward and live a good, kind, caring life. It is really as simple as that. Mark Twain said: You cannot reason someone out of something they did not reason themselves into. Remember that when you talk to those who make no sense to a critical thinker like yourself. They are indoctrinated to be afraid of death, i think its interesting that when you tell a christian that you are an atheist they always seem so sorry for you because you don't believe in an after life. But none of them have really sat down and thought about what eternity means, once again their indoctrinated to assume death is something to be feared. I however greatly favor eternal sleep over an eternity in hell or heaven, their both the same ultimately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midniterider Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 This is another line that I used to believe fully, that I now see as complete bullshit. Whenever the ugly parts of Christianity are brought up, someone has to chirp "it's not about that!!" or "that's not the message of Jesus". Even my own mother has said this (who I love dearly and is very accepting of me not going to church). Okay, maybe some people don't buy into all the guilt and sin crap (even though it's preached in almost every church), but even the Liberal churches have their own mind games. I recall a time when a deacon gave a sermon guilting people for wanting to rush home to watch the superbowl. Now, I don't care about the superbowl myself, but why should people feel guilty for being into it? You see, it's more subtle than the turn or burn stuff, but they're still making you feel guilty for having a life outside of church, and that does not fly with me. Heck, the guy even said "Christ is our standard". Do these people not realize the gravity of that statement? He's basically saying that to avoid eternal misery, you have to completely devote your life to serving others. Now the message of "love your neighbor" isn't a bad one, but it's taken to unhealthy martyrdom levels in Christianity. It's preached all the time in church Just because some Christians take that part with a grain of salt does not change the fact that's it's still preached! And that's when I get called a bigot and an asshole for misrepressenting Christianity. It's simple, if Christianity is not about avoiding hell, feeling guilty for being human, or living up to an impossible standard, than what it is about? Add fear and shame to that along with income generation for a church. My ex flat out told me that Christianity was a religion based on guilt and she is still a Christian to this day. Knowing that your own belief system is toxic yet remaining in its grip is failure to grow cojones and discard it. Christianity is a culture that needs to die off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
London Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 That totally sounds like catholic guilt. Staying in an abusive relationship (with jesus). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen652 Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 The 'It's Not About That' argument is the one i get the most from my family, and it's pretty hard to argue against really. Not that it makes sense, just that you can see that they've settled into their comfy zone and there ain't no shifting them. my BIL will usually say that he could take or leave church, but he gets the most out of the small groups and the fellowship they find there and teh fact that they hardly do any bible study, mainly just hanging out and having a good time together. Which is fine, of course, but why attach the church's name to it then? ANd why bother with the bible at all, if it's just there in the background? they obviously have no idea what's actually in it, let alone the origins of their religion. To them, doctrine and theology etc are 'not what it's about', it's about relationships and reaching out to the community etc. Well, you can get that just as well in secular contexts, so why bother? Just join the local Rotary Club or something, for fuck's sake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Positivist Posted July 28, 2012 Share Posted July 28, 2012 "It's not about that" and "that's not the message of Jesus" are convenient ways of shifting the goalposts while you're looking the other way. Yup, Christianity is whatever the Christian says it is in that moment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator florduh Posted July 28, 2012 Super Moderator Share Posted July 28, 2012 Okay, Christian nagger. You can ignore THAT if you like, but then I'll ignore THIS. Deciding which Bible verses to ignore is what spawned more than 30,000 sects of the Christian religion. Wait, perhaps I'll just ignore it ALL. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lilith666 Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 It's like this: Xianity is about glorifying God. It's not about escaping Hell, or going to church, or even proselytizing to help save others from Hell. Xianity is about praising God for his sacrifice of killing his son for us. Remember when people tell you how much Geezuz loves you, he'd suffer anything if it meant people would worship him for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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