Questions About Christianity
- Thread starter Paladin-X
- Start date
Good luck with that. I've tried e-flirting here and it didn't go well for me.If you crushed on me or [MENTION=6214]Ada[/MENTION] I wouldn't blame you. We are both fabulous ladies. True story. You are pretty fabulous too and if I went that way I'd be all over that (ya know).
I don't know who is or isn't taken either, not that I even care. Flirting is fun. It's a forum. IT'S JUST A FORUM!
LOL
It is my understanding that God wanted to be more accessible to His children, so He came here to suffer every imaginable torment a human would suffer thereby becoming more relatable. God no longer wanted animal sacrifices or priest mediation to be necessary, but for us to speak and come to Him by way of His Son. Jesus had to rise from the dead to prove His divinity, since He resisted coming down from the cross and whooping some ass. He revealed Himself to his disciples to renew their faith and zeal and told them to tell the world what they had seen. (My interpretation.)
I think your video is a distraction from the important issues raised in this thread
I'm not trying to challenge anyone's interpretation or faith, if it works for you, great-- but these are my questions about this-- why did god need animal sacrifices (and all the other messed up stuff he requires of people in the OT) to begin with? Then he comes to earth to suffer and become relatable etc., etc., but he's god the whole time-- yet he's at the mercy of these rules he created which he has to break. Why not just do it right the first time? It just seems too complicated and messy for a perfect being. And I've heard that he did it so that people can have free will and choose to love and worship him...but he also knows the fate of each of us before we are even born-- he knew us, so how is he not supposedly creating people he knows will just end up in eternal torture for rejecting him? And can it really be considered free will when you are basically given the blindfold if faith, denied actual knowledge to make an informed decision, and then hell if you don't pick the option god likes?
Drinking wine as if the blood and eating bread as if the flesh of Christ seems awfully cannibalistic. Why does Catholicism promote these symbolically cannibalistic rituals?
It's because Jesus set a precident, stating that the bread /symbolized/ his body, and the wine his blood. He also comanded the desciples of the Last Supper to 'do this in rememberance of me'. Granted, this is from a Pentacostal's point of view.
Why do people worship Jesus and thank him for everything? Won't God get pissed off that his son gets all the credit?
God (the Father), Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Spirit are all one and the same, yet different parts/aspects of God. Yes, confusing. Yes, hard to explain. Yes, I can't really elaborate more on this. Just think of a three-leaf clover, and you'll be fine
Also, even if they were not seperate-yet-confusingly-not-seperate beings, it should be noted that the Bible states that God is Love, as well as stating that love does not hate or boast.
For that matter, why were these feats viewed as miracles of God and not witchcraft of the Devil?
Uhhmmmmm... They were. Many of the time viewed Jesus as an agent of the Devil, and many religious leaders even called him out on this. Ready Matthew chapter 9 for some context.
Why isn't there more Jewish traditions in Christianity if Christ was Jewish? Won't God get pissed off that Christ changed all the rules?
No. Firstly, Jesus is God's son 'with whom [He is] well pleased'. Secondly, Jesus died to absolve our sins, if only we were to accept his gift of salvation. This includes the old covenant, where a strict code of literal laws was put in place for God's people to live by. Now, Christians live their lives with a relationship with Christ - much different than having God as someone telling you what to do and what not to do.
Was it part of God's plan to kill his son? Dick-move, don't you think? Honour thy father, but fuck your kids?
Yes, as a matter of fact, it was part of his plan. God and His son knew of it, as well as the sacrifices that would be required to have the plan go forth. Seriously - do you think it's not a sacrifice on God's part to give up His one and only son, and turn away from him as Jesus dies?
Why was it acceptable that we trust someone that claims to be the son of God 2000 years ago, but nowadays we call them Schizophrenic?
I wouldn't call them Schizophrenic if God came down and said 'Hey. This is my kid. He's doin pretty good, eh?' And yes. God speaks Canadian :3
Anyways. There /is/ going to be a second coming - but not from someone else. As in, he will not return by being born again. This time, he'll be comin' with an army of angels. If the Bible said that there could possibly be another born messiah, maybe there wouldn't be too much of a stigma against it.
Why is God wrathful and Jesus forgiving? Don't do wrong or God will smite you, but it's ok, because Jesus forgives you. That sounds like being part of a dysfunctional family where God, as the father, beats you for doing something he doesn't like; but then Jesus, as the caring 'mother', tells you that everything is ok, it's not your fault, father is just having a bad day, and you're forgiven. No wonder the crusades happened. Like a bunch of angry teenagers looking to start some shit because of the shitty childhood they had.
Think of it this way: God is God. He isn't human. He hasn't lived and felt as we have, and thus it ticks him off something awful when we do something he said for us not to do. But he sent Jesus to live the perfect life for us, as God would have it. As such, Jesus knows what it's like that we're going through, whereas God is the creator and father that just wants us to do what He told us to do.
NOTE: To be clear of my intentions -- my ultimate goal is not to question the existence of God or Jesus or your faith. That is irrelevant to me. I am questioning the 'logic' or rationale behind the beliefs. Even if I can somehow disprove this rationale, it does not therefore negate anyone's belief or prove/disprove whether or not God or Jesus exists; it just negates the reasons. Even if I can't prove anything, it'll make for a fun or ridiculous argument that amuses at least me.
It's fine, I honestly like these conversations, so long as it doesn't dip into insulting.
It's because Jesus set a precident, stating that the bread /symbolized/ his body, and the wine his blood. He also comanded the desciples of the Last Supper to 'do this in rememberance of me'. Granted, this is from a Pentacostal's point of view.
Why do people worship Jesus and thank him for everything? Won't God get pissed off that his son gets all the credit?
God (the Father), Jesus (the Son), and the Holy Spirit are all one and the same, yet different parts/aspects of God. Yes, confusing. Yes, hard to explain. Yes, I can't really elaborate more on this. Just think of a three-leaf clover, and you'll be fine
Also, even if they were not seperate-yet-confusingly-not-seperate beings, it should be noted that the Bible states that God is Love, as well as stating that love does not hate or boast.
For that matter, why were these feats viewed as miracles of God and not witchcraft of the Devil?
Uhhmmmmm... They were. Many of the time viewed Jesus as an agent of the Devil, and many religious leaders even called him out on this. Ready Matthew chapter 9 for some context.
Why isn't there more Jewish traditions in Christianity if Christ was Jewish? Won't God get pissed off that Christ changed all the rules?
No. Firstly, Jesus is God's son 'with whom [He is] well pleased'. Secondly, Jesus died to absolve our sins, if only we were to accept his gift of salvation. This includes the old covenant, where a strict code of literal laws was put in place for God's people to live by. Now, Christians live their lives with a relationship with Christ - much different than having God as someone telling you what to do and what not to do.
Was it part of God's plan to kill his son? Dick-move, don't you think? Honour thy father, but fuck your kids?
Yes, as a matter of fact, it was part of his plan. God and His son knew of it, as well as the sacrifices that would be required to have the plan go forth. Seriously - do you think it's not a sacrifice on God's part to give up His one and only son, and turn away from him as Jesus dies?
Why was it acceptable that we trust someone that claims to be the son of God 2000 years ago, but nowadays we call them Schizophrenic?
I wouldn't call them Schizophrenic if God came down and said 'Hey. This is my kid. He's doin pretty good, eh?' And yes. God speaks Canadian :3
Anyways. There /is/ going to be a second coming - but not from someone else. As in, he will not return by being born again. This time, he'll be comin' with an army of angels. If the Bible said that there could possibly be another born messiah, maybe there wouldn't be too much of a stigma against it.
Why is God wrathful and Jesus forgiving? Don't do wrong or God will smite you, but it's ok, because Jesus forgives you. That sounds like being part of a dysfunctional family where God, as the father, beats you for doing something he doesn't like; but then Jesus, as the caring 'mother', tells you that everything is ok, it's not your fault, father is just having a bad day, and you're forgiven. No wonder the crusades happened. Like a bunch of angry teenagers looking to start some shit because of the shitty childhood they had.
Think of it this way: God is God. He isn't human. He hasn't lived and felt as we have, and thus it ticks him off something awful when we do something he said for us not to do. But he sent Jesus to live the perfect life for us, as God would have it. As such, Jesus knows what it's like that we're going through, whereas God is the creator and father that just wants us to do what He told us to do.
NOTE: To be clear of my intentions -- my ultimate goal is not to question the existence of God or Jesus or your faith. That is irrelevant to me. I am questioning the 'logic' or rationale behind the beliefs. Even if I can somehow disprove this rationale, it does not therefore negate anyone's belief or prove/disprove whether or not God or Jesus exists; it just negates the reasons. Even if I can't prove anything, it'll make for a fun or ridiculous argument that amuses at least me.
It's fine, I honestly like these conversations, so long as it doesn't dip into insulting.
@acd
I'm going to assume the sacrifices were about reverence, but Barnabas would better answer that one. They talk a lot about fearing God and maybe that was the necessary language and physical tradition of the time. God knows the limitations of His people better than I do. I know He likes it when we question Him, but he wants us to love without needing all the answers.
He could have made robots who worship Him, but gives us the choice instead. It's about unconditional love. Now, honestly, I never get hung up on anxious thoughts of making predestined decisions. He knows all the paths I could take, but He has hope that I will choose love. He has hope... and faith... in us. He has not given up, or we would not exist. He hopes that we will choose better than the circumstances we are given.
Because He can see my future, I feel that He places people in my path to help support me during these times and I am so grateful that He does. I trust Him. I don't understand why some things have to happen, but I trust that we are not alone and Earth doesn't get the final say. This is all preliminary.
Just my take, but I prefer to uncomplicate things.
I'm going to assume the sacrifices were about reverence, but Barnabas would better answer that one. They talk a lot about fearing God and maybe that was the necessary language and physical tradition of the time. God knows the limitations of His people better than I do. I know He likes it when we question Him, but he wants us to love without needing all the answers.
He could have made robots who worship Him, but gives us the choice instead. It's about unconditional love. Now, honestly, I never get hung up on anxious thoughts of making predestined decisions. He knows all the paths I could take, but He has hope that I will choose love. He has hope... and faith... in us. He has not given up, or we would not exist. He hopes that we will choose better than the circumstances we are given.
Because He can see my future, I feel that He places people in my path to help support me during these times and I am so grateful that He does. I trust Him. I don't understand why some things have to happen, but I trust that we are not alone and Earth doesn't get the final say. This is all preliminary.
Just my take, but I prefer to uncomplicate things.