The Faith & Religion mega Thread

If everyone goes to hell, then you will meet all your friends there.

Rest assured, hell is not a party.

Actually, the worst aspect of a soul going to hell is not the physical torment. After about a billion years of utter loneliness, I would guess that the flames pale in comparision to the realization of eternity ahead without any contact or human comfort from any human soul, or from God. This notion primarily drives me to go on speaking as I do.

Originally Posted by dugan Start thinking about how much suffering this absolutely ridiculous attitude has caused. most modern societies consider the phrase "between consenting adults" to be relevant.

Is prostitution and polygamy then acceptable?

Originally Posted by dugan Also here's something I've always wondered about: why does the Bible go out of its way to ban beastiality? Usually when something is banned, it's a sign that it has become a widespread problem...

I think rather it's the gravity of the act itself, not the prevelance.

Originally Posted by bluegospel Rest assured, hell is not a party.

If you haven't been there, you don't know.

Originally Posted by bluegospel Actually, the worst aspect of a soul going to hell is not the physical torment. After about a billion years of utter loneliness, I would guess that the flames pale in comparision to the realization of eternity ahead without any contact or human comfort from any human soul, or from God. This notion primarily drives me to go on speaking as I do.

I'm pretty sure that you invented this description yourself and it is not from Bible.

Originally Posted by bluegospel Is prostitution and polygamy then acceptable?

What part of "between consenting adults" you don't understand? If bible forbids same-sex relationships, then it would be reasonable to go a tiny bit further and ban any kind of sexual relationship completely. It is all "sin", after all.

Originally Posted by SigTerm Self-sacrifice is generally a careless waste of human resources.

Keyword: "generally." The exception being when the one laying down his life is raised again unto glorification.

You should elaborate, but I don't see the problem anyway

See number 4 of "No Holds Barred."

Character traits that are marked as vices are quite useful, and traits marked as "virtues" can destroy you.

This is only true when you assume the absence of a judgment as described in Scripture.

Originally Posted by bluegospel Is prostitution and polygamy then acceptable?

So you're retreating from your assertion that homosexuality and beastiality are equivalent?

Originally Posted by bluegospel Rest assured, hell is not a party. Actually, the worst aspect of a soul going to hell is not the physical torment. After about a billion years of utter loneliness, I would guess that the flames pale in comparision to the realization of eternity ahead without any contact or human comfort from any human soul, or from God. This notion primarily drives me to go on speaking as I do.

http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php...&id=2289#comic

Originally Posted by bluegospel Keyword: "generally." The exception being when the one laying down his life is raised again unto glorification.

Okay. Self-sacrifice is ALWAYS a dumb idea because self-sacrificing person decides that after his/her death remaining problems will magically fix themselves. It is no different from suicide - you decide to go away and hope that everything will work out without you. Idea of "sacrificing yourself for greater good" is incredibly harmful, and it is unfortunate that such idea is central element of certain religions.

Originally Posted by bluegospel Is prostitution and polygamy then acceptable?

Legal in many countries, which means many people don't have a problem with it.

Originally Posted by easuter http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php...&id=2289#comic

Yeah, I also thought about this one.

Originally Posted by dugan So you're retreating from your assertion that homosexuality and beastiality are equivalent?

Actually, I didn't say they are equivalent. I said that bestiality, homosexuality, and the tendency of our eyes to wander, are unacceptable; they are sins, not on the basis of injury, but on the basis of impurity.

The relevant question is not ever the degree of sin. The relevant question is, whether by nature, or against nature, we are sinful, will we turn from that sinful nature, with God's help?

Originally Posted by bluegospel The relevant question is, whether by nature, or against nature, we are sinful, will we turn from that sinful nature, with God's help?

And the answer is that "sin" is an artificial concept invented by religion.

Originally Posted by SigTerm Okay. Self-sacrifice is ALWAYS a dumb idea

You wouldn't stick your neck out for your children, assuming you had children?

Legal in many countries, which means many people don't have a problem with it.

This is precisely what the speaker described as the antagonist's mindset--We should accept the law because the generality concurs.

You wouldn't stick your neck out for your children, assuming you had children?

Well I dunno that depends, whether they are crappy kids or not...

I just couldn't resist .

Originally Posted by bluegospel You wouldn't stick your neck out for your children, assuming you had children?

This is exactly the problem with "self-sacrifice": people get blinded by "great" or "honorable" idea and fail to see long-term consequences.

If I had children, sacrificing myself in order to save them would be a crime towards them - without me they will suffer and have quite a lot of troubles growing up, in such situation the only reasonable choice would be to save children AND remain alive at all costs. It is parent's duty to remain operational till children grow up. If you think it is reasonable to sacrifice yourself and leave your kids with single mother, then, IMO, you should really rethink your ideals.

Originally Posted by bluegospel This is precisely what the speaker described as the antagonist's mindset--We should accept the law because the generality concurs.

And what's the problem with that?

Originally Posted by bluegospel Actually, I didn't say they are equivalent. I said that bestiality, homosexuality, and the tendency of our eyes to wander, are unacceptable; they are sins, not on the basis of injury, but on the basis of impurity.

Sigh... By your logic everybody will go to hell, including you (unless you're a blind paralyzed man that never had a real-life contact with anybody).

IMO, (since you claim to be a devout christian) you should get yourself a copy of "Satanic Bible" by LaVey ASAP and read it up to the point where he goes nuts and starts talking about magic. Although this book has a lot of garbage, it also contains a few core ideas (that were probably stolen from elsewhere) that make much more sense than biblical "other cheek" morality. Wikipedia article on LaVeyan satanism outlines them.

Originally Posted by bluegospel You wouldn't stick your neck out for your children, assuming you had children?

In this case self-sacrifice would make sense because it has a real and important goal in mind: the safety/protection of one's offspring. For example, running into a burning building to rescue your child and sustaining fatal injury in the process is justifiable self-sacrifice.

The case you are defending, where a man sacrifices himself "gracefully" by being stoned to death for absolutely no good reason, is in NO WAY comparable to this.

Your argument just isn't defensible.

Originally Posted by easuter Please watch this carefully, from beginning to end: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hSS-88ShJfo

Probably unlikely, but does anyone know how I can get a transcript of this?

Originally Posted by SigTerm Sigh... By your logic everybody will go to hell

To the contrary, it does not follow that because we all sin, we all go to hell. That would be the case had Christ not overcome death and hell for us, through his sinless life, his death and resurrection. When we hate our sin, and love and turn to God, we belong to him, and he purifies us. We may continue to stumble and sin, but we do not continue in our devotion to sin.