christianity defines the man and the man defines atheism, do you agree?

[Natasha]

christians are enslaved by their dogma. atheists on the other hand, define what atheism means. atheists have no dogma to define us. christianity defines christians.  logic tells us that you can never discover if he is an atheist.
christians are easy to discover as they follow rules predetermined by their law book.
what do you think?  opinions? rants?

[Pica Pica]

I'd say there are two kinds of atheists, those that do not believe in god, and those that hate god.
The people that don't believe in god are freer, because they are also free to enjoy the benefits of religious belief as well as decry its shortcomings. The ones that hate god are enslaved in their own dogmas, and beliefs and superstitions and such.

[Nero]

As a Christian, I follow the doctrine and teachings of the Hebrew god and His son, Christ, but I am not bound by them.
I've my own will. I make my own choices. I've my own set of morals and codes, defined by myself alone. I'm my own man.
I'd much rather have a god than not.

Just Nero's thoughts.

[tekla]

Though I think of my self as agnostic and not atheistic - in that it is beyond knowing, as far as we know.  Those terms can overlap however. 

The classic essay on this, perhaps the best I've ever read was done by Penn Jillette of the magic/comedy duo, Penn&Teller, who wrote it for the NPR series on what I believe.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5015557

[Wing Walker]

As a Christian, I follow the doctrine and teachings of the Hebrew god and His son, Christ, but I am not bound by them.
I've my own will. I make my own choices. I've my own set of morals and codes, defined by myself alone. I'm my own man.
I'd much rather have a god than not.

Just Nero's thoughts.

I agree with what Nero has written.  He is his own man, a free will agent, a creation of the Supreme Being.

I am not bound by the strict, unbending letter of the law, as it were.  Scripture may be the rule of the faith but it is a guide to our actions, not the step-by-step unfolding of each moment of our daily lives.  Moses had to deal with people who would strain at the moral gnat yet swallow the immoral camel, so to speak, and Jesus dealt with the same thing. It is for this reason that we have been given guides to our actions and a mind and free will by which to apply them.

If what I have been given by the Creator is a guide to my actions and the rule of my faith, I would prefer that to what I see myself as getting from atheism:  depending solely on myself for all of my actions and never having faith in anything.

These are my ideas and have been shared here solely to answer a question, and, as such, will not be discussed any further.

Respectfully,

Wing Walker

[bethzerosix]

(what i believe)

i think that generalizations are always bound to be a little off. the real problem is when you have people that dont read or think for themselves. i have taken a very long time and looked at many different angles regarding my faith. there are few "rules" that i havent challenged or broken. i went fishing once as a child and had to kill my fish by hitting its head on a rock... i was young and it took many tries.  from that time i understood the depth of death and killing. i didnt need the bible to tell me about it, but i was happy that god and i held the same views.   if one is a trans-sexual christian like myself, one digs deep into the word to find what the "rules" really are talking about. i have found that the bible says this for the rules.

  the whole bible, crazy stories(which i believe) and all, says........ love god with all your heart body and soul..... and love everyone else as yourself.  and why should we love god and everyone else?  because he loved us first.

disclaimer: 
ok. this is something that i really want to get off of my chest. and i hope this makes sense.i am a christian. i really believe.  my friends have always been "dark" individuals. i find that they are actually very genuine, good people. i love talking about god and love trying to explain  my faith... but i dont believe in being pushy. everyone has to figure out life for themselves.  so this post and any like them are in the spirit of friendship.

love, beth

[Ell]

As a Christian, I follow the doctrine and teachings of the Hebrew god and His son, Christ, but I am not bound by them.
I've my own will. I make my own choices. I've my own set of morals and codes, defined by myself alone. I'm my own man.
I'd much rather have a god than not.

Just Nero's thoughts.

i think one of the main missions for a person living on this rock is to learn who they are and be who they are. for some people, that may be easy. for others, like me, that requires a lot of searching and thinking. and the idea of God, to me, seems to be very limiting in that regard. the establishment of a Consensus Reality where people are actually herded into a place, sat down, and lectured for a few hours per week disturbs the hell out of me. and the people come out, spouting what they've heard, believing it's true by consensus, whether it's true or not.

i'd very much like to know why someone would do that to people.

if what they are saying is not in fact the truth, then what is the truth?
And why is it being concealed?

is there any financial benefit for them to say what they say?

-ell

[Nero]

is there any financial benefit for them to say what they say?

-ell

Yes. A lot of ministers are in it for the money and power.

i think one of the main missions for a person living on this rock is to learn who they are and be who they are. for some people, that may be easy. for others, like me, that requires a lot of searching and thinking. and the idea of God, to me, seems to be very limiting in that regard. the establishment of a Consensus Reality where people are actually herded into a place, sat down, and lectured for a few hours per week disturbs the hell out of me. and the people come out, spouting what they've heard, believing it's true by consensus, whether it's true or not.

It's only limiting if you allow it to be. I grew up in a strict religious household. And it's a very long story - but at age 11, my church and I had issues. I had to make a choice. Take everything out of this pastor's mouth as truth or listen to my soul. That's when I realized that He was MY god. A Christian must seek his god on his own.
There's also a big difference between believing out of fear and believing out of choice.

I've my own truth.

[lisagurl]

is there any financial benefit for them to say what they say?

-ell

Yes. A lot of ministers are in it for the money and power.

i think one of the main missions for a person living on this rock is to learn who they are and be who they are. for some people, that may be easy. for others, like me, that requires a lot of searching and thinking. and the idea of God, to me, seems to be very limiting in that regard. the establishment of a Consensus Reality where people are actually herded into a place, sat down, and lectured for a few hours per week disturbs the hell out of me. and the people come out, spouting what they've heard, believing it's true by consensus, whether it's true or not.

It's only limiting if you allow it to be. I grew up in a strict religious household. And it's a very long story - but at age 11, my church and I had issues. I had to make a choice. Take everything out of this pastor's mouth as truth or listen to my soul. That's when I realized that He was MY god. A Christian must seek his god on his own.
There's also a big difference between believing out of fear and believing out of choice.

I've my own truth.

Similar talk at 12 years old . He told me to memorize the Catechism or not be a member of the church. Me not ever have experiencing any spiritualism in my entire life told him adiós.

[Ell]

*ell rests her arm on lisagurl's shoulder, and smiles*

[Pica Pica]

Yes. A lot of ministers are in it for the money and power.

Not here there not. It would be almost impossible for a minister to have either money or power from it in england.

[lisagurl]

Yes. A lot of ministers are in it for the money and power.

Not here there not. It would be almost impossible for a minister to have either money or power from it in england.

Church of England. Does that ring a bell.

[Pica Pica]

yes, i spent four years living in a church of england training college, and another seven living with a vicar. They are given a subsistance wage (my mum works, I worked my way through university) given almost no pension and only a little help when they retire and as for power, as the bishop of norwich said...'Here we don't lead, we find out where there going and try to stay a step ahead'. As for Bishops, they have riches and finery in office, they live in small terrace houses when they retire (if lucky).

[Ell]

yes, i spent four years living in a church of england training college, and another seven living with a vicar.

so, then, are you...ordained?

[Pica Pica]

no me dad is, i'm an atheist

[Ell]

no me dad is, i'm an atheist

*eyebrows raised, lips in the shape of an o*

[Nero]

It's only limiting if you allow it to be. I grew up in a strict religious household. And it's a very long story - but at age 11, my church and I had issues. I had to make a choice. Take everything out of this pastor's mouth as truth or listen to my soul. That's when I realized that He was MY god. A Christian must seek his god on his own.
There's also a big difference between believing out of fear and believing out of choice.

I've my own truth.

i'm still a bit mixed up. it was extremely painful for me to abandon religion. and i don't recommend doing it if you're in a fragile state of mind. but i felt it was something necessary for me to do for my sanity.

Oh, I couldn't abandon it. All other options are an affront to my sensibilities. If I can find no beauty in a theory, I cannot embrace it.

[Ell]

love god
love others
love yourself

ashley

ehm...then what were all the other 100,000 words for? decoration?

[Pica Pica]

just to ram the point home

[Emerald]

"My mind is my own church." ~ Thomas Paine