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I choose to beleive god is what we make it. :yes:
however i don't think that my disbelief in god should effect anyone elses, in the same way as i dont like the guy that stands outside gig preaching through his megaphone, i'm not going to stand up and say i think its all crap. in my opinion people can believe in what/whoever they want, they should just leave me to not believing.
if any of that makes sense i'll be amazed)
thats who nicked the spliff i left in the ashtray!
No, it was me
i know in northern ireland u'd be likely to get a beating if you went to the other sides church (in certain areas) but i always wondered what it wud be like in a protestant church?
back to subject, the whole idea of mass is a shambles, half the people who go only want to be seen and look like they're good decent people wen really they're just sitting waiting to get out, i haven't been to mass in 3 years but i'm still a Catholic and pray to God, who says u need to go to mass n e way
What's wrong with that? Why must worship be institutionalised? I work at home alone and not in a group.
:yes:
Polytheism, though they tend to believe less in divine intervention and more in personal interaction and nature, speaking in general of paganism.
Here's a question... why is God seen as a 'he'? When it takes a male and a female to create.
Yup, that's what the Bible says. To be honest whilst I respect all religions the Bible is about as relevent to me as the Mabinogion or Homer's Odyssey. Simply a collection of myths and poetry... yet parts of it are beautiful none the less.
As a part of a sociology project I interviewed female clergy about feminism and the church and church attendance was touched upon. For example the reasons why women are more frequent church goers than men (statistically speaking). But along the same lines of social pressure and church attendance, maybe a change in society and less pressure to worship is a contributing factor to the trend in declining attendance.
Not correct. The Devil has had a hand in some creations...
What, and you think that this is an accident?
This happened because priests instilled fear into the masses - if you don't give money then you are going to hell, sort of thing. They used people's faith to fleece them.
If I choose to give money I will, but christianity isn't about giving money, it's about helping the less fortunate. If you think that money is the only way to achieve this then you really don't understand what "help" actually means at all.
What is wrong with that?
Why do I need a priest to tell me what I believe, why do I need his/her interpretation of my faith?
Why do I need a [gay] priest to tell me that homosexuality is wrong? When I don't actually believe that Christianity teaches that at all...
People go to mass to respect God and pray, I accept that you can do this in your own house as well on your own but alot of people like to be in a church with a priest praying...praying to God.
No of course not, the church need money to survive as well you know but in saying that they do have alot of money.
People like to pray in a Church, God is special so they go somewhere else other than their own home.
At anytime during the day people can freely walk into a church and pray, it dosen't cost them money.
You don't and never did.
A priest dosen't force their views onto people, it's a person own choice what to believe.
Don;t get me wrong, I wasn't havin a dig at Catholics, I know it'd be the same if the situation was reversed. I just think it's a sorry state of affairs.
Debatable. I'm an ex Christian and at a time I did enjoy mass. Churches hold a sense of community and support and in my opinion, the sound of chanting is beautiful.
However, there came a time before I dropped my faith in Christ where I would pray at home because I preferred to do so. It felt less superficial that way, at least to me. Not to mention that my beliefs had been morphing to paganism for a while and at the time I was in to slightly other methods of worship and spirituality.
I'll disagree. According to ancient texts the 'devil' was a fallen angel called Lucifer.
But then there are a lot of Christian organisations that do help people, one hell of a lot.
Again I'll disagree. Firstly, I don't think that gay preist was ordained was he? It was in the news a while back that he thought it would tear the church apart.
Actually I've spoken to quite a few female clergy who have said that the Bible's views on sexuality are dated, but that they still find Christianity extremely liberating. Look at Jesus for example, he went against a lot of the old testament, in effect (or in my opinion at least) Jesus didn't appear to hold a lot of prejudices that appear in some parts of the Bible. Jesus was cool.
Maybe people are using religion to legitimise personal fear and prejudice?
Ditto :yes:
I still keep meaning to go though, but never get round to it...*ho hum*
I do believe though, I pray every night and if I fall asleep without praying I say them in the morning to make up for it, but I seem to have trouble falling asleep if I haven't said my prayers.
:yes: :yes: :yes:
I hate these people who turn round and say "oh God did this, God did that, no God didn't do that, YOU did it".
Well moonrat if you want to sit and home and pray to God then it's your choice, i'm saying that some people like to go to mass, they feel a sense of purpose praying to God in the Chapel.
Yup, they do. It's what works for the individual really (however I'm not a Christian, but I do worship other deities)... it's just a pity some people don't accept others for what religious texts they follow, or how they pray.
Agree, but not because they are part of “The Church”, more because they are Christians. There are plenty of people who attend the church who don’t help others in such a way…
Point I am trying to make is that giving money to a church is not “helping” people. Its giving more money to an immensely rich organisation.
One only has to look at the evangelists in the US to see how faith is used to fleece people…
Different strands, you are talking about the Bishop whilst I am talking about priest in general. There are gay priests, there is a movement to suggest that homosexuality goes against the Bible and the priests will be sending that message, some of them hypocritically.
That said, the Bishops stance is a prime example of why the Church holds little for me. Why should it tear the Church apart?
Which again supports my stance. The Bible isn’t the be all and end all, man has evolved since it way written and the Church should reflect that, unless we are to believe that we should follow only what is written. In which case I am going straight to hell because there are many teaching (notably about the Sabbath) which I don’t follow…
Agreed, Christian fundamentalism is just as offensive as Islamic/Jewish fundamentalism.
Faith is a personal thing IMHO and should remain so. Personally I don’t see the need for a Church because they can never represent my faith as I see it, only their interpretation of the good book. All they can do is give their slant and I’m afraid to say that it is often at odds with mine.
Depends on what day of the week it is.
Well say it's Monday blagsta or how about Friday?
Sometimes I don't believe in anything at all, sometimes I think that maybe, just maybe there is something beyond the physical, something like the sum total of all our consiousnesses or something. Vaguely Buddhist and vaguely Pagan I suppose.
But its a personal thing and is subject to change. One thing I won't do is live my life by a book that was written 2000 years ago. That strikes me as daft.
where did i say i believed in missions? you just assumed i do. as it happens, yes i do, although i have never taken part in one, its something that my church are actively involved in, because it says in the Word that God wants the Gospel preached to all the nations. as i said in my post, its my belief and my opinion and im not trying to impose my beliefs on anyone. mission trips do not impose beliefs on anyone.
and why should your sisters tithing annoy you? if thats what she believes in doing then thats her business. power to her that she cant afford to live and yet still tithes. tithing is an act of obedience and the fact that she still does it despite not being able to afford it shows that she is commited to her beliefs and is willing to obey God even when it seems hard, and God will honour that and bless her, although it may not seem like it at the time, she will be blessed by having faith. God does not want us to suffer and be broke, but prosper in many ways, not just money. God desires to bless us but its up to us to put ourselves in a position to be blessed.
i cant afford to tithe, im overdrawn and i had very little coming in, but i started tithing anyway and since doing that consistently i got a better job that offered more hours to fit in with my uni timetable, free accomodation organised for next year at uni, a tax rebate of like £400 that i didnt know i was owed, amongst other blessings.
besides i didnt originally post to annoy anyone or start any arguments i was just contributing to the post. those are my beliefs and if you dont agree thats your problem. i know where im spending eternity.
Hmmm... Churches dont really make money do they? They tend to donate most of it to the needy and other such worthwile causes.
If it sickens you then you are weird.
I know it wasn't, i only wanted you to see your view on this.
Ok it may strike you as daft but not for millions of other people, it's a personal thing as you said.
So most of the time your thoughts are that there is nothing in the afterlife, just death and that is the end.
Bullshit. Its the whole point of them.
Give us your money or you're going to hell. Nice church you go to. Very Christian. :rolleyes:
Mostly, yes.
Actually the Church of England has consderable wealth, some of it invested in arms manufacturers iirc. There was a bit of a scandal over this 3 or 4 years ago.
how rude. when did i say that my church preaches "give us your money or your going to hell?"
it actually is quite a nice church i go to. really quite lively and spirit filled and really good fun. you are welcome to come anytime
i simply added that bit at the end because i do know where im spending eternity, not because i tithe, but because i have accepted Jesus as my personal Lord and Saviour. everything else that comes with that is because i desire to be more like Jesus and i desire to please God. i dont appreciate your one-lined comments, flaming my beliefs and opinions without any real arguement. you said "bulls*&t.its the whole point of them" well have you ever been on an outreach team or mission trip? the whole point of one is to reach out to countries who do not know God and do not know the love of Jesus Christ and may want to know. its up them whether or not to believe it. God wants the gospel preached to all the nations, before the return of Jesus (Which is going to be soon) and this is why people go overseas and this is why people tithe because missions cost money!! but like i said, its my belief and my opinion and if you dont agree thats your problem and you are perfectly entitled you your opinion, but i personally am offended by your replies.