To be considered for best answer you must venture a guess on how many fundamentalist christians well quote the bible and tell me I am a blasphemer and that I am going to hell, 2. You must guess how many fundamentalist atheists can't read the word IF and will tell me how dare I empose my religion on them and how its ok for them to not believe in God and how dare I tell them they are going to hell, 3. You must guess how many people will reference watchtower, 4. You must guess how many people will send me hate email or hate instant messages for this question, 5. You must guess how many people will tell me since I believe in evolution how stupid am I because the big bang is stupid.\n\nIn short, to be considered for best answer, read the blasted question.
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In G-d there is no shame. I don't care about points, & you don't care about people. All you care about is offending.\nWhat is your answer? \n Question IF (Please read IF) you believe in God, aren't you ashamed of all your sins against God yesterday? \nTo be considered for best answer you must venture a guess on how many fundamentalist christians well quote the bible and tell me I am a blasphemer and that I am going to hell, 2. You must guess how many fundamentalist atheists can't read the word IF and will tell me how dare I empose my religion on them and how its ok for them to not believe in God and how dare I tell them they are going to hell, 3. You must guess how many people will reference watchtower, 4. You must guess how many people will send me hate email or hate instant messages for this question, 5. You must guess how many people will tell me since I believe in evolution how stupid am I because the big bang is stupid.\n\nIn short, to be considered for best answer, read the blasted question.
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You know if you click on his name and go to his profile  you can email him your question. Why do you post something like this for others to answer? Are they sitting on his shoulder? Do they know how he gets his information?  You really should just ask him directly. Jim_Darwin does a lot of research on religion. He reads a lot of books. This is one of the driving forces in his life. To get at what is real. To find the truth that works for him. To pick apart all the things that don't make sense. Are you saying that what he posted isn't in the bible? Did he make it up? Why does it bother you so much if it is true? He didn't write the bible, he is just showing what he has found and why he doesn't follow that book. Talk to him personally and I bet you get a whole new opinion on him as a real person not just some Y!A Religion/Spirituality character.\nLove & Light\nSharon\nOne Planet = One People
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Wow, this is an easy question. I think you know the answer already, but basically this is simple combination of ignorance, brainwashed mindsets, and fear.\n\nThrough these qualities they foolishly think the bible is the literal word of god, so they just blindly follow that no matter how absurd out-dated their reasoning is.\n\nhere is a great list of absurdities listed in the bible:\nhttp://skepticsannotatedbible.com/abs/long.htm
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as Jesus says, be chill my son.\n\nreligions for the most part are well intended. organized religion has a tendency to make a mockery out of it.
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I wouldn't banish any of them but I really don't understand the point of:\n\n1. Gallup-style 'What religion are you?' and 'Do you believe in God?' questions.\n2. Why are there still monkeys?\n3. Pascal's Wager questions.\n4. "Why are Christians so persecuted on this site?" (viz. my current question)\n5. People giving OT quotes to intimidate gay people.\n6. People giving Qur'an quotes to intimidate gay people.\n7. "Why do you believe in God?" or "Why don't you believe in God?"\n8. Endless cut-and-paste 'questions' from drdino.com or harunyahya.com to 'explain' creationism when the asker doesn't even understand what he's cut and pasted.\n9. Anything about creationism vs. evolution at all, actually.\n10. All trolling...\n\nBut what would be left if we banished all that? R&S would be a lonely place indeed.
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I'm a lifelong atheist with two young children, and my wife is an agnostic with spiritual leanings. \n\nI learned from being a teacher that most people are fairly ignorant about their beliefs, and very sensitive. I discuss whatever my older (6) son wants to talk about, and I'm careful not to commit to any point of view. \n\nI do tell him, when we're discussing anything supernatural, that I don't believe in it, but that many people do. So for instance, when we're near a church, he's sometimes interested in what the building is for, and I tell him enough to satisfy his curiosity. \n\nI've actually recently been considering taking my kids to religious services of a fairly wide variety in order to give them the opportunity to compare and contrast for themselves. If they want to believe differently than I do and I repress that, they will simply resent me. \n\nI would draw the line at hate groups.
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i think it's funny how snotty you are. why do you ask these kind of questions when it obviously just annoys the s*** out of you. for some reason i find you very intriguing \nthough. to answer your question i don't have a "religion"\ni don't go to church. i don't think you need to in order to believe in Jesus. i have been to church and find the people\nanal and pretentious. and i cant stand the holier than thou\nattitude. I'm not a "bible thumper" as you say. i have read some of the bible i have read a lot of book about people who believe in Jesus. and what they have gone through in there life's because of it. books about martyrs\nyou've never seen anyone crucified for believing in atheism have you? because it easy."beliveving in atheism" but allot of people have died because they love Jesus. and i think it goes a lot further than blind faith.i read a book one time about a prison guard who use to torture people because they wouldn't denounce there faith in Jesus. and one day he had this guy in his torture room laying naked on a table and pounding his nuts flat with a mallet. and the guy looks up at the torturer and said . i still love you anyway. and bit more i cant remember verbatim but in the end this torturer ended up \nfinding Jesus through that experience and found him self back in that prison being tortured him self..\ni know you are probity sitting there lol. but i find this shit fascinating. would you be tortured for you belief in evolution?when it comes down to it i know my faith is no where near that. but i want to believe in jesus. and thats why i do...
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Hmm...  Apparently slacking on your agnostic studies are we?  Well, ok, here is what my scouting has taught me:\n\nYou will not get one answer on this question because the many religions have conflicting messages and then the sects have conflicting messages within the religions.  Some christians think you will be damned if you don't accept Jesus in your lifetime, some will say you're damned if you don't recognize God after you die, some say you have to have secret passwords (like God's true name is ""Jehovah" or "Erasu" or "Dave"), while others say that your level of salvation will depend upon the level of your faith.  Some will even say you can be a completely vile, evil person and still get into heaven as long as you praise God!  The sheer volume of confusion on this matter seems to me what I call "the agnostic's dilemma" within "Pascal's Wager."\n\nPascal's Wager states simply that if betting on whether God exists, it is better to bet on God and be wrong than bet against a God and be wrong: There is no risk in betting on the idea that a God exists from the perspective of life after death, but being wrong and rejecting God might lead to damnation.\n\nThe bloody difficult agnostic, however, throws a wrench into the works by asking what your question begs: "How the heck do I know which God is the real God?!"  You don't, hence Pascal's wager is ALMOST meaningless.  Hedging the bet as much as possible, the agnostic keeps studying to find an answer, while avoiding signing on with one religion or another lest they later learn that they stepped on the wrong set of divine toes.\n\nSO, now the real meat of the question!  What is the sense in being good?  Now that has been something of a concern.  It seems to me from my studies that a number of things are universal among religions, with the number one thing being true nature of Good and Evil.  While there may be some disagreement in what exactly constitutes bad behavior, it apparently exists, hence there must be some basis for morality, regardless of religion.\n\nMy answer has generally been this:  If God created me, God made me this way - agnostic.  If that is unacceptable to God, then God has a self-conflict, not a conflict with me.  I exist because God made me so and to be untrue to my own form would be more of an insult to God than to try to be something I didn't believe (to live a lie - which appears to be universally wrong among religions if you think through all the consequences).\n\nI also think about what kind of God would I WANT to worship.  If God is a vile, selfish, hateful creature that tortures the good for petty reasons, I often think that I would rather be tortured right along with them than cowtow to such a hideous thing.  This has actually been very helpful in sorting out several religions right away as simply unacceptable- even if... maybe especially if that is the correct God!  It is not perfect, however, as there are still plenty of sects, branches, religions, and whatnot that are not so filled with hate, so I am still left with agnostic uncertainty.\n\nAt the very least, be reassured that, where ever you end up, I will probably be right there along with you.  Whatever that fate may be, I hope it is at least a mildly pleasant one.
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If you have honest answers and ask them respectfully, I think you'll find that you get mostly honest, respectful answers.\n\nI've looked through some of your questions and it doesn't seem like you've taken the respectful approach.\n\nSure, I can forgive you of that.  But if you continue to ask on that level, surely you're not really surprised to be responded to on that level.\n\nI officially offer you the chance to reconsider your standing of atheism and agnosticism.  I'm happy to help, but finding the answer is really your responsibility.  I can only tell you what I have found in my search, but I'm happy to share.\n\n\nIf you really have a question, what is it that you really want to know?
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I have found some answers to be shockingly intolerant -- particularly when it comes to the Muslim faith, you seem to get a lot of so-called believers spouting off hate-filled nonsense.\n\nBut if you're just talking about people expressing a belief that they sincerely have ... it starts to walk a finer line then, doesn't it? One of the things I find I differ the most with mainstream Christians on is that I don't believe that the Bible is a literal history book. I believe much of it is metaphorical, meant to be read in a way to discern the essence of and ways of God. It is not meant to be read as literally the history of the Earth. I suppose that makes my belief "intolerant" of those who believe in the literal Bible because I refuse to give up what I believe and turn to what they believe. But I am respectful of others' views; I don't tell them they're ignorant. I respectfully present my argument and move on. \n\nSo I think the problem is more a lack of respect than a lack of "tolerance." Tolerance by its very nature really implies giving up your personal views to conform to a whole, which is the antithesis of many people's faith. I also find many folks on here to be quite sanctimonious, which is quite funny to me. I'm no angel, and I can admit it, but I try to live the good life. I wouldn't dream of coming on here and preaching to others in cyberspace how much better I am than them, and I would never presume to know who will and won't be going to a warmer clime when they shuffle off this mortal coil. That's really not for me to decide or even speculate on, yet I see so many Christians "playing God" round here for lack of a better term.  sheesh.
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Normally I would just post a link to the previous answer, but I want to be sure that you read this, so I'm going to cut and paste my answer from a previous post that I made:\n\nhttp://answers.yahoo.com/question/;_ylt=Ah9yXNiCcb0dEXnmauCUf58jzKIX?qid=1006021512780\n\nThe question was: Why do so many athiests, agnostics, pagans, and other assorted scoffers show up on the religion thread?\n\nHere is the answer I gave:I know that I have written several responses to this question. However, I now have too many answers to sort through and find the ones I'm thinking of. (New features needed!)\n\nSo, I'll start from scratch.\n\nFirst of all, I resent being lumped in with "assorted scoffers." I believe that I have been nothing but curteous to the people of faith here. I openly deny their belief-system. They openly deny mine. That's fine. We have, however, engaged in some very respectful debate, much to the benefit (I hope) of both sides. I know that my beliefs have not changed, but my preconceptions about young-Earth Christians have been shattered by some of the people I have found here. I think that they are wrong, but I am thrilled to have the opportunity to debate with them without resorting to name-calling or rudeness.\n\nGranted, this requires an openness on both our parts. I think that their faith is "wrong." They think that my lack of faith is "wrong." This is where most people get hung up and debate can go no further. If someone disagreeing with you is "offensive," you're stuck. Once you accept this disagreement, you are quite free to exchange ideas. This is what I have found here (for the most part.)\n\nAs for why I spend so much time in the religion and spirituality forum, I see faith as playing a huge role in the lives of everyone in the world, be they moderate Muslims, fundamentalist Christians, Pagans, or Atheists like myself.\n\nIn my supposedly free country I see gays discriminated against due to faith. People who would never think of using the N-word openly hate and criticize homosexuals for what they are, not who they are. \n\nI see medical advances that could help millions of people stymied by arguments that have their basis in faith. Stem cell research could potentially ease the suffering of billions around the globe, but people of faith stand in the way.\n\nWe are currently involved in what may or may not be a holy war. This is an issue of faith.\n\nOur current government supports "faith-based initiatives" in what may be a breach of The Constitution itself.\n\nI know that faith helps people sleep at night. This doesn't undo the tremendous amount of suffering it has inflicted at every turn of history. \n\nI see faith as a problem, and would like to encourage people to put aside their myths and embrace reason. However, I realize that this is futile. As Jonathan Swift said, "It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into."\n\nThat said, I think that Yahoo Answers provides a wonderful opportunity to try to see where other people are coming from. I disagree with the Christians (and Muslims and Pagans...), but I think it is very important for me to try to understand them. I would hope that they will try to understand me. Once we find some common ground and some mutual respect, we can truly start to talk about things.\n\nI hate the name-calling. The largest problem I have with religion is that it is divisive. I feel that this is the most important aspect of faith that needs to be removed from the equation. Name-calling is also divisive and does not fit into my attempts to act reasonably.\n\nI feel that I deny, but do not scoff. I embrace and enjoy open debate. I think that the things discussed here are important. I'd like to think that some of the things I have to say are pertinent. \n\nIf you want a place for only Christians (for example) to exchange ideas, there are plenty of places on the web for th
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You are interested in opinions, and you will get as many as there are people; all different, proving nothing, determining nothing, getting closer to nothing. \n\nYou answered one of my questions "Is there truth outside of God's truth?" Since you didn't leave your email open, I could not respond to you, except to answer you here. Why are you so concerned about the religion of others? I don't see the point of your question.\n\nI probably wouldn't have bothered hunting you down, until you left that last one-liner: "Search for your own truth, not one provided to you by others." Cheap shot, without reason or knowledge. You are very young and presumptuous and quick to apply labels from your limited learning and experience. You have no idea how many decades I have researched truth, have only started keeping a list of references in the last nine years, and already have over 700 books on that list, so unless you have read a thousand books, we may not even be able to have a decent discussion, especially when you think truth is something broad, general, changing, and temporal, like an opinion, or some rationalized belief, or based on perception. Base your premise on something solid before you pontificate.\n\nIf you are still interested in truth, read my Essay on my web site at :  www.members.cox.net/b2fnow\n\nthe Essay defines truth; you will find it in the Articles\nthen read the article "Finding Truth"\n\nthese will clear up a lot of your confusion\n\nOh yes, it doesn't matter which religion or no religion; ultimately it is about truth. Christianity is about a relationship with God, and is non-denominational.
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Oh my goodness!!! I'm sitting here lmao at some of these responses you've gotten CJ!! rayna, that's right, I totally agree with you. God didn't write the book, man did! So that should totally explain CJ's question right??? Well maybe God didn't write it because he's not in existence to write it?? And also, you said yourself that man wrote it, showing the atheist's theory that religion is a made up bunch of crap.\nOkay, and OnlyMe. OMG! You're going on and on blah blah blah about how perfect the bible is because it never once contradicts itself...wasn't that CJ's entire question about how it DOES contradict itself!!!?? Learn to read child! And I agree with CJ that is DOES have A LOT of contradicitons in it.\nOkay duc602, you say CJ is a troubled person? Actually I think he's the free one to do as he wishes. You're the one who's gullible and brainwashed...don't blame others and criticize them because they're not brainwashed into "seeing the light".\n\nAnd finally, to answer your question CJ. He's (God's) perfect only in the eyes of the oh brainwashed ones. He doesn't exist. Man made up religion to control the masses long ago. Hence why there are so many contradictions. What person do you know that knows how to keep his story straight ALL THE TIME? That's right: zip, nada, zilch.\n\nP.S. Quit abusing CJ just because you don't like his question. If you don't like what he has to say, then don't answer it. If you don't like what I have to say, then tough s h *t.
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Lots of time people aren't looking for a very complex answer.  Sometimes they just want other people's opinion, or to find out how other people have experienced things.\n\nIf there's a question, and you know the answer, I encourage you to answer.  I especially encourage you to share any experiences that you've had with God.  Also, it's really good to share how applying the Bible's teaching to your life has changed you.  Also, listen to other people's responses and develop your own opinion about them.  Always think critically; don't accept things blindly.\n\nI encourage you to always share in a loving and concerned way.  There are some people, even Christians, who just want to blast the others away.  I don't think that's a very good idea.  I think that pushes people away from Jesus Christ, rather than bringing them closer to him.  Listen to others, learn from others, and always share God's love.
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I guess all of the Muslims, Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and Native Americans will be in hell then. Sounds like that's where the party will be. Count me in.\n\nIt's all a load of crap. I wouldn't put too much stock in it. Those things were made up to keep people in line. An all loving God isn't going to send you to hell for any reason. I don't even believe in hell personally. Follow what your heart tells you, that's most important. I think you should explore some other "alternative" religions cuz this line of thinking can really screw you up.\n\n"Turn or burn", how contrite and proves my point exactly.\n\nJust look at these answers coming from the "christians". That's enough to scare anybody to run in the opposite direction. "Believe in our way or die and spend eternity suffering for it". Come on, an all loving God is going to do that? Oh and read the Bible, a book that's been distorted for over 2000 years with major parts of it left out because they didn't fit with what so and so at the time wanted you to believe. What a joke. I can't wait for the aliens to arrive.
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YOU'RE GOING TO HELL!!! YOU EVIL GOD HATER*!!!\n\nOK... sorry, not Christian, but I thought I would try to help you out anyway. \n\n*my personal favorite fundie nickname for an atheist (or any other non-Christian).
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Dear Rose, I am sure you mean well, but here, no amount of preaching or "screaming" will change anything. This site has fallen into the realm of IM, but more clumsy. The religious bunch preach here all day to whom??? The gay bunch (myself included) puts up with one silly basher who passes itself off as many, and we all put up with the sermons from the religious bunch who tell us daily that we are going to hell. Where they get that idea, I don't have a clue. \ngood luck.