Religion=keeping humans infantile.

Originally posted by sonhouse
What really changes is the nature of the stories all made up by men. There is no god in the bible. Assigning human characteristics to a god is a losing game.

No god would be caught dead using human attributes. I think that is a safe statement.

Like "I am a jealous god', I have said that one before but all I got was a debate over the original text whi ...[text shortened]... orried that humans might worship a tree or leopard instead of it.

Only SLIGHTLY preposterous.

Why do you bother talking about this stuff?
For you its all made up, so it couldn't matter one way or another how
anyone responds to you.
Kelly

Originally posted by Grampy Bobby
Correct: [Christianity is not a religion] it's a relationship.

Anyone from pretty much any religion could make the same claim as you on behalf of their own religion, but it would not make what they - and you - are claiming true. And it doesn't make it true. You can't just change the definition and meaning of words like that. Christianity is most certainly a religion.

Originally posted by Nick Bourbaki
Anyone from pretty much any religion could make the same claim as you on behalf of their own religion, but it would not make what they - and you - are claiming true. And it doesn't make it true. You can't just change the definition and meaning of words like that. Christianity is most certainly a religion.

I would disagree with you, it is without a doubt a relationship. I am not
saying it isn't a religion, but the religion aspect of it is meaningless without
the relationship.
Kelly

Originally posted by KellyJay
I would disagree with you, it is without a doubt a relationship. I am not
saying it isn't a religion, but the religion aspect of it is meaningless without
the relationship.
Kelly

It's good that you are not claiming it's not a religion.

What are you disagreeing with?

Every theistic religion purports to offer a "relationship" with God.

The claim that 'Christianity is not a religion' is nonsense.

Originally posted by Nick Bourbaki
It's good that you are not claiming it's not a religion.

What are you disagreeing with?

Every theistic religion purports to offer a "relationship" with God.

The claim that 'Christianity is not a religion' is nonsense.

Every theistic religion purports to offer a "relationship" with God.

The next three Moslems you meet, ask them if they know God.

If they tell you how to fast or in what posture to assume in prayer ask them about knowing God. Do they ?

Come back and tell me what they said when you pressed them specifically - "Do you know ...God ? "

Originally posted by sonship

Every theistic religion purports to offer a "relationship" with God.

The next three Moslems you meet, ask them if they know God.

If they tell you how to fast or in what posture to assume in prayer ask them about knowing God. Do they ?

Come back and tell me what they said when you pressed them specifically - "Do you know ...God ? "

They say that their relationship is a direct one with God. I've met one or two that have claimed that Islam is not a religion but it's a relationship with God instead. It's the same illegitimate re-definition of words that the "Christianity is not a religion" poster used: a partisan rhetorical trick.

Originally posted by Nick Bourbaki
They say that their relationship is a direct one with God. I've met one or two that have claimed that Islam is not a religion but it's a relationship with God instead. It's the same illegitimate re-definition of words that the "Christianity is not a religion" poster used: a partisan rhetorical trick.

I am worse than that. I don't even use the word Christianity.
I'm worse. I care for Christ. I care nothing for the "anity."

I put it this way. If there is a God that God is the God of reality. He is not the God of religion, but the God of reality.

Similarly, if gravity is a reality it is a reality everywhere, not just in the Physics laboratory. That is the gravity of reality and not just the gravity of the science class.

But for communication's sake, I tolerate and understand you in saying "Oh you just have a religion." You understand it in that way.

I would say, I have a living Person. He is an unusual living Person. But He is a Person. He's not just real in halls with stain glass windows under steeples. He is real in the bathroom, on the highway, in the office, in the parking lot, in the bedroom, on the hill side, on the battlefield, behind jail bars. He is a Person real to those who know Him everywhere and not just in "religious" places.

Like AIR is not religious. Air surrounds us and engulfs us.
Christ is as available as AIR to those who receive Him.

The world, thinking in its socialogical terms, scatches its head and says. "Oh yea. We call all that religion."

Originally posted by sonship
I am worse than that. I don't even use the word Christianity.
I'm worse. I care for Christ. I care nothing for the "anity."

I put it this way. If there is a God that God is the God of reality. He is not the God of religion, but the God of reality.

Similarly, if gravity is a reality it is a reality everywhere, not just in the Physics laboratory. T ...[text shortened]... its socialogical terms, scatches its head and says. "Oh yea. We call all that [b]religion."[/b]

The claim that 'Christianity is not a religion' is nonsense.

Whatever the case, the need of God in the bible is not man-made or destructive.

Just because human beings who are sinners take over religions doesn't mean that God is unnecessary. Filling in "religions" with our desires can come up with greed , lust, and other things to fill our times on this earth.

It isn't Christ who said to hate your neighbor, or fight wars over greed or power, or traffic humans for sex and slavery. He did say to give to God what is God's and give to Caesar what is Caesar's.

P.S.
But loving God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength leaves out a lot human desires that go against our neighbor.

We can give terms to all kinds of things. We can say racism, sexist, biggot, masaganist(Spelling Unknown), right on down to "religion."

One problem is that these terms can be used when somebody acts with a "knee-jerk" response or unfounded feeling.

However, why is "religion" supposed to be a bad term? Is it because we want to quickly criticize whenever we can? Is it because man turns religion into things against our fellow man? What makes the term, "religion" bad?

It certainly isn't God that makes it bad.

Originally posted by KingOnPoint
We can give terms to all kinds of things. We can say racism, sexist, biggot, masaganist(Spelling Unknown), right on down to "religion."

One problem is that these terms can be used when somebody acts with a "knee-jerk" response or unfounded feeling.

However, why is "religion" supposed to be a bad term? Is it because we want to quickly criticize wh ...[text shortened]... r fellow man? What makes the term, "religion" bad?

It certainly isn't God that makes it bad.

The belief in a god certainly is religion. If god is bad, so is this religion.

And god is bad. He is a jealous god, he is a blood thirsty god, he is a revengeful god. If this is bad for a mere mortal, then it is of course bad for a god.

Therefore a religion based on this god must be bad.

Fabian,
How can judge God if we don't know all about God?

And also, sin has separated us from God. Who knows how much sin has done damage to our relationship with God

God gave Adam a choice. He did not force Adam to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Adam only had 1 command and he was warned ahead of time. Adam did not believer God, and it cost him dearly.

Originally posted by KingOnPoint
God gave Adam a choice. He did not force Adam to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

God gave Adam a choice. As a parent, as a father. Like Adam was a child.

But the human, as a specie, as a civilization, is no longer children. We are adult, and freed ourself from any supernatural father.

Christians want to be children, to be tought, to be inspired, to be punished, as children do.

I am not a child. I'm a grown up.

Originally posted by FabianFnas
God gave Adam a choice. As a parent, as a father. Like Adam was a child.

But the human, as a specie, as a civilization, is no longer children. We are adult, and freed ourself from any supernatural father.

Christians want to be children, to be tought, to be inspired, to be punished, as children do.

I am not a child. I'm a grown up.

yes because lets face it moral independence has brought us to the brink of destruction, we have reaped the rich rewards of self indulgence, greed on an unprecedented scale, depletion of the earths natural resources by the unprincipled and unscrupulous use of science and continuous warfare, thanks moral independence we couldn't have achieved it without you.