so is it religion or the people in that religion .....

Last-12-Exit

RYME wrote:

Any person clamming to be a Christian and attempts to judge anyone is a fraud Christian. This might offend some so called Christians but so be it.
There are many people out there who purposely pretend to be Christians, and then do shitty things to make us true Christians look bad. (The dude publicly burning the Koran in Florida for example WHY DID HE DO THAT SO LOUDLY?? to give real Christians a bad rap.)
If more people would focus on God's Word rather than the (traditions of men) there would be far less confusion in the world.
Know what I mean?? The true Christian God is the only God, the God of LOVE who created each person the way He wanted them to be, and for his pleasure. Many people don't realize this, therefore they don't make a big effort to try to please Him. What does He want from us?? Hosea Ch6 vs6 LOVE. God does not start off each day looking for someone to zap...,,,
True Christians know that God is the judge, and he doesn't need our help. We can desern who we want to fellowship with and who we don't but He is the judge.
Yes (Yashua Messiah Jesus the Christ) forgives anyone who repents, and ask the Father to lead guide direct, and touch their lives. Guess what He will bless you.
No, we did not hatch out from under a rock, or evolve from anything. Birds are birds, and people are people. We were all created by the same God...He created about 12billion of us believe it or not. Most people don't realize that He created the different races as well. He created different races because He wanted it that way, and He should be praised for it. Therefore no man should ever have to be sorry for their race. We should all embrace the different races. (If a particular Church judges and makes you feel unwelcome, get the hell out you don't need that)
I HOPE THIS TID BIT HELPS SOMEONE OUT THERE.

:fp: The answer is both

lukin2006

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

Exactly ...

Last-12-Exit

60 minutes reporter: "you believe the holy spirit directed you to write killing Jesus?"
Bill O'reiley: "Yes, I believe that."

Enough said.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

lukin2006 wrote:

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

Exactly ...

But here's the thing... if people choose to believe and that belief guides them in a peaceful lifestyle that infringes upon nobody else's life... then I am hardly inclined to take that away from them. In fact, I would encourage it- especially if not believing might make them unhappy or change their positive outlook on life.

As we all do... I have very good friends that have religion in their lives. We co-exist by leaving the topic of religion alone- my friends know where I am at and I know where they are at. Debating the topic can only do harm to our relationship.

And, it is at this point when I would like to say to the good people on here that have been defending their religion that my beliefs are my beliefs and yours are yours. I'm confident you are good people and regardless of our personal positions on religion, or politics, or the death penalty, or whatever... I appreciate the opportunity to speak about these matters.

I'm always open to listening and learning. My Amazon order for the book attempting to detail the fear mongering towards the Muslim faith is en route. I won't be converting, but I would like to understand how misperceptions have developed.

mca47

Religion is just an organized means for people to develop and express crazy ideas. Any individual who talks to people who aren't there, an individual who makes up history, an individual who believes in "fairy tales" would be considered a nut.
A group of people believing in all those things..."religion".

catefrances

RYME wrote:

Any person clamming to be a Christian and attempts to judge anyone is a fraud Christian. This might offend some so called Christians but so be it.
There are many people out there who purposely pretend to be Christians, and then do shitty things to make us true Christians look bad. (The dude publicly burning the Koran in Florida for example WHY DID HE DO THAT SO LOUDLY?? to give real Christians a bad rap.)
If more people would focus on God's Word rather than the (traditions of men) there would be far less confusion in the world.
Know what I mean?? The true Christian God is the only God, the God of LOVE who created each person the way He wanted them to be, and for his pleasure. Many people don't realize this, therefore they don't make a big effort to try to please Him. What does He want from us?? Hosea Ch6 vs6 LOVE. God does not start off each day looking for someone to zap...,,,
True Christians know that God is the judge, and he doesn't need our help. We can desern who we want to fellowship with and who we don't but He is the judge.
Yes (Yashua Messiah Jesus the Christ) forgives anyone who repents, and ask the Father to lead guide direct, and touch their lives. Guess what He will bless you.
No, we did not hatch out from under a rock, or evolve from anything. Birds are birds, and people are people. We were all created by the same God...He created about 12billion of us believe it or not. Most people don't realize that He created the different races as well. He created different races because He wanted it that way, and He should be praised for it. Therefore no man should ever have to be sorry for their race. We should all embrace the different races. (If a particular Church judges and makes you feel unwelcome, get the hell out you don't need that)
I HOPE THIS TID BIT HELPS SOMEONE OUT THERE.

I am so glad my embracing of ALL humans regardless of race meets with the approval of your god. though I hate to tell you it has absolutely zero to with any god and my reverence of such... or as it turns out lack thereof. oh and yes we did evolve from something else... and were not the only creatures that did so. and youre right... we didn't hatch from under a rock.. but we did come from an egg... not wholly but like everything else that procreates through fertilisation of an ovum. as for repenting and being forgiven for it... I have nothing to repent for. I have committed no sins as sin is a religious term and religion plays no part in my life.. and I am so very ok with that.

THE LOOK

People...we are our own worst enemy.

Thirty Bills Unpaid

THE LOOK wrote:

People...we are our own worst enemy.

But we cannot help ourselves- it's our nature.

josevolution

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'm kind of worked up. I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

I went to my Grandmother's funeral a few years back. She re-married later in life. The guy she married was a Roman Catholic. She died and we made funeral arrangements- RC style to ease the stress on her 4th husband.

Disgusting. This 'event' seemed to me a reason for all these people to put their fine clothes on, show how practiced they were repeating words when prompted, and impressing each other with how 'enlightened' they were. My grandmother seemed to be an afterthought of this goofy ritual, but to make matters horrid: at one point the priest explained how great Roman Catholic people were and how inferior non-RC people were. He had the RC people stand and basically be recognized, while the shitty people had to sit there. The shitty people in this particular event were my grandmother's blood relatives. We sat there while the faithful all approvingly looked at each other and cast disdainful looks in our direction. Not that we wanted it, but nobody came by to express anything to any of us.

I was entertaining punching out a few of the Catholics for their blatant and ignorant treatment of my mother and aunts and uncles and cousins as we tried to pretend this was a nice ceremony for Grandma.

Fucking idiots. I guess when they are sitting in the clouds with Jesus and all the billions of other people living happily in eternity, they can really look at all the non-believers toiling away in Hell and say, "We tried to tell them!"

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm too heavy to sit on a cloud.

Cremation that's where it's at fuck the funerals ...Sorry to hear about the dick heads at your grandma's funeral ..

Thirty Bills Unpaid

josevolution wrote:

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'm kind of worked up. I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

I went to my Grandmother's funeral a few years back. She re-married later in life. The guy she married was a Roman Catholic. She died and we made funeral arrangements- RC style to ease the stress on her 4th husband.

Disgusting. This 'event' seemed to me a reason for all these people to put their fine clothes on, show how practiced they were repeating words when prompted, and impressing each other with how 'enlightened' they were. My grandmother seemed to be an afterthought of this goofy ritual, but to make matters horrid: at one point the priest explained how great Roman Catholic people were and how inferior non-RC people were. He had the RC people stand and basically be recognized, while the shitty people had to sit there. The shitty people in this particular event were my grandmother's blood relatives. We sat there while the faithful all approvingly looked at each other and cast disdainful looks in our direction. Not that we wanted it, but nobody came by to express anything to any of us.

I was entertaining punching out a few of the Catholics for their blatant and ignorant treatment of my mother and aunts and uncles and cousins as we tried to pretend this was a nice ceremony for Grandma.

Fucking idiots. I guess when they are sitting in the clouds with Jesus and all the billions of other people living happily in eternity, they can really look at all the non-believers toiling away in Hell and say, "We tried to tell them!"

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm too heavy to sit on a cloud.

Cremation that's where it's at fuck the funerals ...Sorry to hear about the dick heads at your grandma's funeral ..

Thanks for the sentiments, Jose.

I'm pretty sure that after the ceremony they scrubbed the hell out of the pews we sat in. I told my mother what I had posted when my parents were over for dinner the other night. She asked if I had included where a close friend of the family was planning on singing a song as a tribute to Grandma (she has talent- it would have been good). I forgot to mention that part: the Catholics wouldn't have any of that- not to mention the piano player refused to play the accompanying music.

The irony is so rich here though. If the facial expressions revealed anything, they likely all spoke about how lost and simple we were. Yet they believe in a man that sits in the clouds, is omnipresent and offers dead people eternal life in a really cool place.

Dirtie_Frank

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'm kind of worked up. I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

I went to my Grandmother's funeral a few years back. She re-married later in life. The guy she married was a Roman Catholic. She died and we made funeral arrangements- RC style to ease the stress on her 4th husband.

Disgusting. This 'event' seemed to me a reason for all these people to put their fine clothes on, show how practiced they were repeating words when prompted, and impressing each other with how 'enlightened' they were. My grandmother seemed to be an afterthought of this goofy ritual, but to make matters horrid: at one point the priest explained how great Roman Catholic people were and how inferior non-RC people were. He had the RC people stand and basically be recognized, while the shitty people had to sit there. The shitty people in this particular event were my grandmother's blood relatives. We sat there while the faithful all approvingly looked at each other and cast disdainful looks in our direction. Not that we wanted it, but nobody came by to express anything to any of us.

I was entertaining punching out a few of the Catholics for their blatant and ignorant treatment of my mother and aunts and uncles and cousins as we tried to pretend this was a nice ceremony for Grandma.

Fucking idiots. I guess when they are sitting in the clouds with Jesus and all the billions of other people living happily in eternity, they can really look at all the non-believers toiling away in Hell and say, "We tried to tell them!"

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm too heavy to sit on a cloud.

This is weird, I have been to many RC funeral services and never seen anything like this. I believe you, but maybe there some things that you thought were taking a "shot" at non-RC that are just the tradition. The whole mas for my fater, brother, grandmother... have always been about them and the family.

LL624

Religion is a man-made concept....has very little to do with God, goodness and morality. But hey whatever floats your boat, just love and do good...and you'll be okay man! Although religion scares the begeezies out of me! :shock:
I subscribe to no religion, subscriptions are for magazines....

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'm kind of worked up. I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

I went to my Grandmother's funeral a few years back. She re-married later in life. The guy she married was a Roman Catholic. She died and we made funeral arrangements- RC style to ease the stress on her 4th husband.

Disgusting. This 'event' seemed to me a reason for all these people to put their fine clothes on, show how practiced they were repeating words when prompted, and impressing each other with how 'enlightened' they were. My grandmother seemed to be an afterthought of this goofy ritual, but to make matters horrid: at one point the priest explained how great Roman Catholic people were and how inferior non-RC people were. He had the RC people stand and basically be recognized, while the shitty people had to sit there. The shitty people in this particular event were my grandmother's blood relatives. We sat there while the faithful all approvingly looked at each other and cast disdainful looks in our direction. Not that we wanted it, but nobody came by to express anything to any of us.

I was entertaining punching out a few of the Catholics for their blatant and ignorant treatment of my mother and aunts and uncles and cousins as we tried to pretend this was a nice ceremony for Grandma.

Fucking idiots. I guess when they are sitting in the clouds with Jesus and all the billions of other people living happily in eternity, they can really look at all the non-believers toiling away in Hell and say, "We tried to tell them!"

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm too heavy to sit on a cloud.

This is weird, I have been to many RC funeral services and never seen anything like this. I believe you, but maybe there some things that you thought were taking a "shot" at non-RC that are just the tradition. The whole mas for my fater, brother, grandmother... have always been about them and the family.

There were a couple specific components of the funeral that were 'exclusive' to the RC people. We the stinky people- which were Grandma's blood relatives- all had to sit there until these morons did their stuff. It might not have been an intended 'shot' at us (referring to your term)... but it amounted to one. Especially with the superior 'looks' cast down in our direction from God's favourite people.

Dirtie_Frank

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

I'm kind of worked up. I'll call a spade a spade: religion is the ultimate con job.

I went to my Grandmother's funeral a few years back. She re-married later in life. The guy she married was a Roman Catholic. She died and we made funeral arrangements- RC style to ease the stress on her 4th husband.

Disgusting. This 'event' seemed to me a reason for all these people to put their fine clothes on, show how practiced they were repeating words when prompted, and impressing each other with how 'enlightened' they were. My grandmother seemed to be an afterthought of this goofy ritual, but to make matters horrid: at one point the priest explained how great Roman Catholic people were and how inferior non-RC people were. He had the RC people stand and basically be recognized, while the shitty people had to sit there. The shitty people in this particular event were my grandmother's blood relatives. We sat there while the faithful all approvingly looked at each other and cast disdainful looks in our direction. Not that we wanted it, but nobody came by to express anything to any of us.

I was entertaining punching out a few of the Catholics for their blatant and ignorant treatment of my mother and aunts and uncles and cousins as we tried to pretend this was a nice ceremony for Grandma.

Fucking idiots. I guess when they are sitting in the clouds with Jesus and all the billions of other people living happily in eternity, they can really look at all the non-believers toiling away in Hell and say, "We tried to tell them!"

Thanks, but no thanks. I'm too heavy to sit on a cloud.

This is weird, I have been to many RC funeral services and never seen anything like this. I believe you, but maybe there some things that you thought were taking a "shot" at non-RC that are just the tradition. The whole mas for my fater, brother, grandmother... have always been about them and the family.

There were a couple specific components of the funeral that were 'exclusive' to the RC people. We the stinky people- which were Grandma's blood relatives- all had to sit there until these morons did their stuff. It might not have been an intended 'shot' at us (referring to your term)... but it amounted to one. Especially with the superior 'looks' cast down in our direction from God's favourite people.

Sorry man, I was raised Catholic and that would not have happened. I have looked negatively at people at a relitvies funeral. That was only because they tried to honor my uncle by wearing an Honor Guard Uniform from the VFW, he was a Vietnam Vet, but it was way to tight and looked like shit, plus the guy was drunk off his ass. Out of respect for my aunt and cousins I bit my lip. It looked more disrespectful. Again sorry for your experience.

PJ_Soul

Belief is great. It's all the shit that comes with organized religion that is the problem. And the people who allow themselves to be sucked in by that. So the answer is "both".

Thirty Bills Unpaid

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

Thirty Bills Unpaid wrote:

Dirtie_Frank wrote:

This is weird, I have been to many RC funeral services and never seen anything like this. I believe you, but maybe there some things that you thought were taking a "shot" at non-RC that are just the tradition. The whole mas for my fater, brother, grandmother... have always been about them and the family.

There were a couple specific components of the funeral that were 'exclusive' to the RC people. We the stinky people- which were Grandma's blood relatives- all had to sit there until these morons did their stuff. It might not have been an intended 'shot' at us (referring to your term)... but it amounted to one. Especially with the superior 'looks' cast down in our direction from God's favourite people.

Sorry man, I was raised Catholic and that would not have happened. I have looked negatively at people at a relitvies funeral. That was only because they tried to honor my uncle by wearing an Honor Guard Uniform from the VFW, he was a Vietnam Vet, but it was way to tight and looked like shit, plus the guy was drunk off his ass. Out of respect for my aunt and cousins I bit my lip. It looked more disrespectful. Again sorry for your experience.

I think you had intended to say "Sorry man, I was raised Catholic and that would not have happened in my church." It came out initially as if you were disputing the experience I have spoken of.

Probably my oldest (and certainly one of my best) friends is a devout RC. He's actually a 10C member but never comes on here. In all other aspects of life we get along great. I guess I have been very critical of religion, but outside of the assholes at my grandmother's funeral... I'm not down on individuals within religion. I'm pretty confident that at another church with a different 'culture'... we might have been viewed and treated differently.

I think Hugh might have alluded to this in one of his responses earlier in this same thread.

fuck

I don't understand people who essentially say things along the lines of: I think religion is inherently bad. before adding it with I know good religious people, and I respect them--I even love a few.

I think if there are good people who believe they are following their religion correctly, it is incorrect to say religion is inherently bad. It's just a logical misstep in my view.

It's clearly people who corrupt it, as they are prone to corrupt everything in this world. Just take a look at what is going on in Myanmar. The religion perhaps thought to be the most peaceful in many parts of the world, Buddhism, has people who claim to be followers of it killing Muslims. Am I to be convinced by some of you that Buddhism is what drives them to do that?