Christians. Good, Bad, and Charity

[PhinPhan1227]

First of all yes. If everyone were an atheist the world would be a better place. Please don't go off on me about values, because I have more of those than a religious person every will. Set aside the fact that God is an impossibility, religion teaches nothing but to look down upon women, and books like the bible are completely full of hate.

It is the job of a doctor to supply these things to patients. It was an item she needed, there is no law that says she can't be given that item. That item should be given to her. It's about womens rights.

If he feels that strongly about it then be a preacher, it is not his job to regulate who can and can't have children, especially when raped.

There's a church near me. After Katrina almost the entire congregation went to NEw Orleans to help with the recovery. Some of those folks were there for more than a week. One guy left his $12k bass boat there with authorities unasked for when he had to go back to work because they were short on boats. Didn't get it back for almost two months. And no, we aren't talking about wealthy people here. Lower middle class for the most part, economically speaking.

Call me crazy, but those folks seem to have some decent values to me. Oh, and for the record, churches housed many, if not most of the refugees, in some cases for months. Darned evil folks those church goers.

And hey, any time you want to discuss the mathematical possibility of God, give me a shout. Atheism is as much a faith as any other religion.

[Pagan]

There's a church near me. After Katrina almost the entire congregation went to NEw Orleans to help with the recovery. Some of those folks were there for more than a week. One guy left his $12k bass boat there with authorities unasked for when he had to go back to work because they were short on boats. Didn't get it back for almost two months. And no, we aren't talking about wealthy people here. Lower middle class for the most part, economically speaking.

Call me crazy, but those folks seem to have some decent values to me. Oh, and for the record, churches housed many, if not most of the refugees, in some cases for months. Darned evil folks those church goers.

I don't know what prompted this, but it can easily be countered with that church that goes around protesting at soldier's funerals.

Like you've said to me in the past, that's just one example bro. For every good one you bring up, a bad one can be volleyed back at you. I think what he was trying to say is that without religion, none of the religious bull**** would be around. :wink:

[finswin56]

I don't know what prompted this, but it can easily be countered with that church that goes around protesting at soldier's funerals.

Like you've said to me in the past, that's just one example bro. For every good one you bring up, a bad one can be volleyed back at you. I think what he was trying to say is that without religion, none of the religious bull**** would be around. :wink:

I think that part could only be considered true because it's the bad ones that make the news. There are thousands upon thousands of churches that just go on doing their thing w/o any public recognition. They contribute to their communities and stay under the radar.

I understand the disdain for the "bad" ones, but in no way do they represent an equal share of organized religion.

[DrAstroZoom]

I think that part could only be considered true because it's the bad ones that make the news. There are thousands upon thousands of churches that just go on doing their thing w/o any public recognition. They contribute to their communities and stay under the radar.

I understand the disdain for the "bad" ones, but in no way do they represent an equal share of organized religion.

Exactly ... churches acting as they should is not newsworthy and are thus niever discussed. Christians acting in an un-Christian manner, on the other hand, are sure to make the news and/or the water cooler.

[Pagan]

I think that part could only be considered true because it's the bad ones that make the news. There are thousands upon thousands of churches that just go on doing their thing w/o any public recognition. They contribute to their communities and stay under the radar.

I understand the disdain for the "bad" ones, but in no way do they represent an equal share of organized religion.

You are correct, but there are also thousands upon thousands of people who don't belong to any organized religions who contribute to their communities and stay under the radar also.

However, there aren't too many non-religious doctors who turn away patients based on their beliefs, are there?

Phin highlighted Alex saying that he has more values than religious people do, and turned it into "look what this church did". All I'm trying to do is point out that you don't need to belong to any church to do good also, and that not ALL church goers are warm & fuzzy.

Too many times, their beliefs breed intolerance...and that's just fact. Ask any gay man. :wink:

[finswin56]

You are correct, but there are also thousands upon thousands of people who don't belong to any organized religions who contribute to their communities and stay under the radar also.

However, there aren't too many non-religious doctors who turn away patients based on their beliefs, are there?

Phin highlighted Alex saying that he has more values than religious people do, and turned it into "look what this church did". All I'm trying to do is point out that you don't need to belong to any church to do good also, and that not ALL church goers are warm & fuzzy.

Too many times, their beliefs breed intolerance...and that's just fact. Ask any gay man. :wink:

You're definitely right about most of this, and I will leave it at that. I don't want take this thread any further off course.

[Stitches]

There's a church near me. After Katrina almost the entire congregation went to NEw Orleans to help with the recovery. Some of those folks were there for more than a week. One guy left his $12k bass boat there with authorities unasked for when he had to go back to work because they were short on boats. Didn't get it back for almost two months. And no, we aren't talking about wealthy people here. Lower middle class for the most part, economically speaking.

Call me crazy, but those folks seem to have some decent values to me. Oh, and for the record, churches housed many, if not most of the refugees, in some cases for months. Darned evil folks those church goers.

And hey, any time you want to discuss the mathematical possibility of God, give me a shout. Atheism is as much a faith as any other religion.

Crazy!
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[PhinPhan1227]

I don't know what prompted this, but it can easily be countered with that church that goes around protesting at soldier's funerals.

Like you've said to me in the past, that's just one example bro. For every good one you bring up, a bad one can be volleyed back at you. I think what he was trying to say is that without religion, none of the religious bull**** would be around. :wink:

Riiight. 30 nutjobs are comparable to the millions who do the bulk of charitable good works in America. Come on Pagan. You had litterally hundreds, if not thousands of churches throughout the Gulf and other areas who provided shelter, food, money, and other things to the refugees of Katrina. Are you going to compare that to the TENS of people who are protesting at sodliers funerals? Really?

[Stitches]

Riiight. 30 nutjobs are comparable to the millions who do the bulk of charitable good works in America. Come on Pagan. You had litterally hundreds, if not thousands of churches throughout the Gulf and other areas who provided shelter, food, money, and other things to the refugees of Katrina. Are you going to compare that to the TENS of people who are protesting at sodliers funerals? Really?

Are you saying Christians are responsible for the bulk of charitable good works in America?

[PhinPhan1227]

Atheism is the lack of religion;
a- is a prefix for lack of or without.
theis-root for religion.
Combine them to create "without religion or religion-less." So, how is a faithless person without a religion religious? Isn't that like discussing Richard Simmon's or Tom Brady's heterosexuality?

Lol...by your definition I would be considered an atheist by many Christians since I don't hold with much of their religious dogma.

Problem is, you're the only one who defines it that way. Just about everyone else, including the folks who make the dictionaries, define it THIS way...

"a·the·ist /ˈeɪθiɪst/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ey-thee-ist] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation
–noun a person who denies or disbelieves the existence of a supreme being or beings.

Atheism is a belief system because it states a belief that no god exists. There's no way to prove that assertion. Furthermore, it's not even a scientific assertion since in an infinite universe, simple evolotionary theory would posit that eventually you WOULD get a being who had evolved to what most people would consider a "god-like" state. So not only is it impossible to prove there's no god, it isn't even possible to prove there probably isn't a god.

Now, AGNOSTICISM is rock solid. They don't know whether there is or isn't a god. No way to effectively argue against that stance. But that isn't atheism.