Defending the Truth

i am not catholic so a priest wouldn't marry me there bud. Second And no i do not think that just because they had sex before marriage they are doomed to go to hell. If you would like more about how to be saved and get into heaven im me on aim... ANd yes i do believe there is a heaven and hell..


what is his point?

i reread the post a few more times and i think i got your point. My stance on sex before marriage is not really based on religion. Of course that is a slight part, but it also deals with love. WHy would you do something that should only be for someone you actualy love? And if you love that person why would you not marry them? Sex is suppose to be something special between two people. Unlike in the freakin scandianvan (sp?) countries where they applaud casual sex... And my view on homosexuality, again I only bring religion into it if someone says that the Bible says nothing against it. I believe what i said, people were made so that way they could reproduce you can't reproduve (normally) without a male and a female, doesnt matter what religion you believe or who created us... So sorry if you think religion has made me so hardcore about those two topics and yes it played a slight part, but if that wasent there i would still feel the same because of the things i just stated.

/rant

Good points!

I myself, believe in heaven and hell, but I do not praise the bible 100%.

My views on sex: It's hard for me to understand that an individual can only have one special man/lady in his/her lifetime. Look, I'm still young, but my philosophy on love is that it comes in waves--this is to say, sure you can spend your life with one person, but you can also be free to fall in love more than once in your lifetime. Sex can also be a spiritual experience; it truly is good for the soul. It stimulates most of a person's energy centers. It also developes a special bond between the participants (unless it's completely lustful, i.e. rapists, etc.) There is something very special about sex, and not solely the fact that it provides varied offspring for the human race! That's like saying you work only because you have to make money. No, you can work for MANY reasons. You can hold MANY careers.

My views on homosexuality: I think this is something that all people should accept and maybe even learn to embrace. The simple argument that it isn't natural is like saying a man is no longer of any use to this universe because he had his penis or testicles cut off. But a gay man can't save your life? A gay man can't offer you friendship? A gay man can't tell you where to find the nearest bus or train station? If it were up to me, Western culture itself isn't natural. Take my example of symbiotic/parasitic relationships. Look at how we've abused this planet; built cities and roads while destroying other animals' natural habitats, use animal life for our own benefit in the vivisection labs and in factory farms. If anything is unnatural, it's our USE of the other species of this planet. We breed pigs, cattle, and poultry like they should be vegetables! We keep them in cages throughout their lives; most pigs can't even walk 50 yards if let out of their cage. We've nullified their existence, they no longer have a natural environment.

It is not pointless to be a homosexual on this planet; they have dignity, they have a soul, they SHOULD have your respect as a functioning human being. Yet fetuses are protected and animals are systematically slaughtered.

Don't tell me you have no sins or short-comings. A homosexual can live out a totally clean life and yet he would still be condemned by many simply for his sexual preferance.

There's more to life than reproduction. It's the actual process of living that is important, not what you can or can't do for the human race.

If course i have sins and short-comings but i try to stop doing them and change my ways if i am going toward being an even worse sinner. Yes there is more than reproducing, but uhh i think that is a pretty important part if you ask me...

True. We have to keep a large population intact so we can survive until the rapture hits.

Or keep a population period...

Religion divides? wow... that's a first. Now I'll give you that Catholicism divides.. that religion in itself is a joke... they pick and choose what they want to believe and rationalize things to fit in with their lifestyle. I believe their motto should be "if it doesnt hurt me or anyone else, it's ok." Forget true morality and doing what's right... they can rationalize anything they want and it's ok.

However, I don't believe that Christianity in itself divides people. I believe it brings them together. I can't count the number of times I worked at the soup kitchen, or visited the elderly at nursing homes, or how many times my parents took meals to less fortuante families, or handed out refreshments to people on hot days, or the many times I gathered money with friends and bought groceries and presents for families... this divides people? It seems to me that I was helping... and I did through youth groups and churches... I did it because I cared and my morality is based in my religion. Never have I experienced religion seperating people except when Libs like you can't accept that I believe in God, and Jesus, and the Bible.

I can't make you believe.. that's all on you... but don't criticize me for KNOWING who my God is. I'm not lying to myself. I'm being truthful when I say there is one true God... when I say he sent Jesus to free us from sin and save us... when I say I believe he will come back at the end of time to collect those who have accepted him and followed him and given their lives to him... I'm not lying to myself when I say God has no beginning and no end... how is that a lie and infinity in terms of numbers isn't? Can you name the last number at each end of the number spectrum? No... just because I don't know every specific detail doesn't mean he doesn't exist in my life... The Bible has given me enough details to know who my God is and to know how to live my life every day.

Like I said.. you don't have to believe but don't you dare accuse me of lying to myself because of my beliefs...

Now... back to the topic at hand... the new Pope doesn't really affect me... the old Pope didn't either... John Paul II was a good man who lived his life for God and brought many religions to respect each other. He didn't try to form one national religion, but respected that other people belive other things. I think this new guy has a hard act to follow, and I hope he does a great job leading.

Go ahead... flame on. I don't care... I don't expect to change your views, so don't expect to change mine.

-Ali

First let me say I go by the phrase "to each his [or her] own". I have no problem with people finding their faith, but I do indeed have some problems with Christianity.

As a general rule, there are people out there who still believe in the philosophy of 'the White Man's Burden'. I believe this applies mostly to Christians. The White Man's Burden states that it's the white man's duty to civilize the non-Western world. This means teach them Western (Christian) ethics and convince them that the 'old ways' are... Bad, to say the least.

We've seen the White Man's Burden put into practice many times in the history of Western civilization. We've seen the destruction of many tribal cultures either through murder or Christianization. Murder in the case of the American Indian, or Christianization in the case of any mission.

I think we know that the world can in fact, live without Christianity. I don't see it as bad nor good; one can't deny that Christians have organized some wonderful things, but at the same time Christians tend to indoctrinate those they help. It can be as poisonous as it can wonderful. Some terrible things have been done in the name of God.

In short, people are saved but minds are diseased.

Personally, I think many things in the Bible are interpretted too literally. Do I believe Christ was the true son of God? No, I think he was simply an influencial, charismatic story-teller. He is an archetypal figure, we've seen many throughout history, yet some are given more recognition than others. Heaven and Hell are metaphors for states of mind. Hell is not where you go to learn guilt (not literally), it IS the guilt and individual feels when s/he knows s/he's done something wrong. Heaven IS the bliss of all those wonderful moments we all experience in life.

The soul is on a constant journey, it doesn't begin or end anywhere. Collectively and individually, we are all God.

That's just me though.

The 3-5% of Americans who are gay are no threat to our population. Get over yourself man. There are people out there that aren't exactly like you! Get over it.