Originally posted by 667joeThat may be religion in a nutshell, but in reality no one who is forgiven by God gets to remain the same kind of person forever.
I wanted a bike. I prayed to god for a bike. I did not get a bike. I stole a bike. I prayed to god to be forgiven. I was forgiven.
So you would do well to make a choice:
1.) Do I want to be unforgiven and remain the thief that I am forever?
2.) Do I want to be forgiven and be changed into the image of Jesus?
Originally posted by 667joeThat's not what I read in the good book. At the end we have this warning:
Nobody stays the same person forever.
"Let him who does unrighteousness do unrighrteousness still; and let him who is filthy be filthy still ..." (Rev. 22:11)
It seems that before the eternal age there is this warning that you can get locked into being filthy and unrighteous perpetually.
You don't want that do you ?
Originally posted by 667joeLet's try this one:
I wanted a bike. I prayed to god for a bike. I did not get a bike. I stole a bike. I prayed to god to be forgiven. I was forgiven.
I wanted a bike. I prayed to God for a bike. I did not get a bike. I realized I wanted the bike, but really didn't need the bike. I gave thanks that God gave legs to walk. My therapist affirmed my insight.
Originally posted by 667joeSo does music.
I was trying to say religion provides a mechanism to do bad things(and I am suggesting that religion is really a joke).
So do you blame the mechanism or the people who abuse it?
By the way "religion" also provides a mechanism to put food on empty tables, cloth naked backs with cloths, provide medical help for sick, provide shelter for homeless, and parents for orphans, etc.
Traditionally religion has provided a mechanism for many things like this too.
Should I expect you to be objective about history or terribly biased in one way only ?
Originally posted by 667joeDo you think that I only wish that Jesus is a historical figure?
Music is real. Religion is wishful thinking.
I know a lot about music. I teach music. I also compose music.
Some of the greatest music I have ever heard was created by people who died crying.
Music as well as reading can both be mechanisms to do bad things. You don't burn all your books because of that.
And the people who did good things may have been influenced by religion. It is bogus for you to say if it is good, its just people under no enfluence. But if it is bad it is people under the influence of religion.
That is very biased. Drunk people think that way. It is not a sober or objective way to reason about the effect of religion on culture.