Replied to your comment, so that you would see this specifically. Cause, yeah. Figured you'd like it.

Epicurus wasn't an atheist actually, he believed there were higher powers but they took no interest in human affairs

the answer is that evil "cometh" from us. God is willing to protect us from evil but only if we try not to create it. you can't just expect God to make life easy for you, or else you would never appreciate anything

In other words, you are agnostic. If you have recently removed Christianity from your life(A wise choice, I'd say)


Why not Hellenic Polytheism?

when the fuck did i say gay people were going to hell?

Jesus certainly didn't say that. He said whoever believes in Him will go to heaven. gays included

1 Corinthians 6:9-10

Right here.

its referring to the ones who don't accept Jesus. if you're gay and still believe in Him, you're in. denying Him is the ONLY way to go to hell.

In other words, a killer that accepts jesus and prays for forgiveness for his crimes will go to hell, when a gay man who doesn't accept him will?

correct. and yes, that just adds to the case against our faith, but it's still accurate.

And that is why I am no longer christian, Jokeface. It is a religion of paradox and filled with hypocritical behavior and ideals. It annoys me to no end that Christians refer to their God as "Loving". Love is something that should be given even if it isn't accepted or returned, it isn't truly love if you hold conditions on it. And please no "He loves you, but you need to accept that love" bullshit; that really isn't love if your God is only willing to help those who accept the 'love' he feels.

well let's say there was irrefutable proof that the God described in our faith is real. would you try to declare that His love isn't real? knowing He exists and He is infinitely greater than you in every way? wouldn't it make sense that He makes the rules regarding what is love and what isn't? who are you to challenge that?

If there was proof of such a god, I would call him a Liar for saying he loves humanity. God is capable of all things, including deceit. I would say he knows what Love is but chooses not to give it to any but those who get to their knees and lick his feet. Who am I to challenge that? If I am his creation, my feelings are an extension of himself, and what he intended of me.

i don't think He has any "intentions" given that He gave us free will. but her certainly knows the future. but that's beside the point.

God loves everyone infinitely and eternally. you relieve that love from Him everyday even if you don't believe in it. look at it this way. God is Forrest Gump and you are Jenny. He loves you no matter what, and will always wait for you to love him back. its your choice whether to go to Him or go to hell (or if you're still on the Forrest Gump metaphor, replace hell with a life of drugs and sexual abuse). He's giving you that choice. how is that not love?

Gump buried Jenny in his own backyard when she died; he didn't send her back to her trailer trash dad's field and bury her where her house used to be.

I hope you get the metaphor.

assuming you mean his backyard is heaven and her dad's field is hell, then yes, i get it, and in that case we're on the same page. if you love God/Jesus you go to heaven and if you don't you go to hell.

or did you mean something else?

What I mean is, whether Jenny ever loved Forest or not, if and when she died, he'd have buried her in his own Yard.

God can't say he'd do the same thing, so who is he, someone who claims to be an all loving God but can not do something that a simple man can manage to find the care in his heart to do?

if He did that then no one would respect Him or honor Him or probably even worship Him. if He did that, he wouldn't be called a God, he would just be the Creator. and no one can fully appreciate their creator unless He shows them that he has their fate in His control.

In other words, you admit that he uses fear of punishment as his tool to gain and keep his followers? -_- If he really loved humanity and wanted to give them free choice, he would send people heaven whether they respected him or not, because once again, love does not depend on the other person at all, it depends solely on the one who does the loving.

i won't claim any knowledge of His reasoning, only what He told us. and what He said was that He loved us. there's no need to rationalize his words or try to find logic in them. God is above that. but so many people in this world think that if they can't conceive of something, that means it can't exist. well that's pretty egotistical and pompous if you ask me.

I'd agree with you, but there has to be sense in the words that he gives us, otherwise there is no point in giving us these words at all.

I'm a Hellenic Polytheist, and I worship the gods not because I am able to conceive what they do, who they are, or their message, but simply because they do not break promises, and they do not lie. They are gods, and do not claim to love or respect humans, if they favor us, it is only something that we can enjoy while it lasts.It is a true and honest faith that came before Christ or Catholicism. That, in itself, makes having a blind faith in them so much more tangible a thing.

well first of all, i have to say that hearing what your belief system is impresses me. i didn't know you guys were still around. i feel lucky to be talking to you.

secondly, it's good to hear that while you may not share my faith, you do sympathize with the idea of blind worship. that makes me feel like we're closer to being on the same page.

Yeah, of course numbers did go way down after that whole "edict of milan" thing.

Anyways, that is one thing that I have in common with you. You are extremely religious, and I am extremely religious as well. I know that my faith has been tested horribly in this passed year; hell, I became a father. The interesting thing is, it is easier to be faithful during hard times that it is during the neutral times.

indeed, and what's funny is that most atheists i've talked to blame the hard times on the absence of a deity, yet more people turn to one (or in your case several) when they're struggling.

Yup. The way I see it, the hard times are there to thicken your heart for harder times ahead. Not only that, they make you appreciate not just the good times, but the peaceful, neutral times much much more.

Damn that. What I meant was,
"A killer that accepts jesus and prays for forgiveness for his crimes WON'T go to hell, when a gay man who doesn't accept him will?"

the bible said
"If a man is to lie down with another man, as he would a woman, it is to be considered an abomination"
i might be wrong but that doesnt exactly say "IF THEY GAY, THEY GOIN DOWN"
so im with you on that one.

it does say something like that, but all that means is God says it's wrong. but thanks to Jesus, even the worst people can get into Heaven if they repent and give their heart to Him.

the problem is that far too many people misinterpret the Bible and take it to mean that all gay people are going to hell, so they choose to deny the existence of such a God. no one seems to remember that He forgives all sins...

yep
(the only thing i can think of that would be bad in the whole, no matter who you are as long as you repent its cool thing, is that people like hitler could be up there...)

at least then we could enjoy his mustache and art without feeling bad about it
(he really was a good painter)

indeed. i feel like he woulda been a cool guy if he hadn't gone apeshit.