In my opinion Jesus was not the son of God. He didn't come to save our souls. I believe he was a regular human man like you or I who had some radical beliefs for his time. He probably had long hair, did some drugs and wasn't liked by elders in the churches of his time. The problem I have is that he has been horribly distorted by the church so they (the church) can have their way.

quote:Originally posted by kurdt318:

In my opinion Jesus was not the son of God. He didn't come to save our souls. I believe he was a regular human man like you or I who had some radical beliefs for his time. He probably had long hair, did some drugs and wasn't liked by elders in the churches of his time. The problem I have is that he has been horribly distorted by the church so they (the church) can have their way.

I can agree with you to a certain extent. I think it is much more likely that he was just a great man rather then a God. I don nescessarly think he did all those miracles either. The bible has been translated and beat up and changed so many times that who knows what was orginally written.

I don't think Jesus existed at all. I consider him completely mythical, like Hercules or Dionysus. He was made up.

quote:Originally posted by Elephantitis Man:

I don't think Jesus existed at all. I consider him completely mythical, like Hercules or Dionysus. He was made up.

That is also possible.

Honestly can't say, wasn't there.

Well, thank you for your informative, enlightening, and original post. I'll alert the Vatican.

Cheers,

Lost

jesus was a hero myth

dont tell christians that you gotta ease them into athiesm, but if you jsut want them to stop talkingto you about it remind them that the one unforgiveable sin and that is to deny the holy spirit(I forget the exact scriptures but they are there)

then look at them with a compleatly straight face as say that you deny the holy spirit

then tell them that because of what you jsut did they are wasting there time trying to save your soul because now their god wants you to be burnt in hell forever

quote:Originally posted by gomp:

jesus was a hero myth

dont tell christians that you gotta ease them into athiesm, but if you jsut want them to stop talkingto you about it remind them that the one unforgiveable sin and that is to deny the holy spirit(I forget the exact scriptures but they are there)

then look at them with a compleatly straight face as say that you deny the holy spirit

then tell them that because of what you jsut did they are wasting there time trying to save your soul because now their god wants you to be burnt in hell forever

Haha, that would probably work pretty well. You say you want to ease them into atheism, I honestly don't feel there is a need to do that. Unless, they are directly hurting you, why not let them live their live?

Too often atheist and agnostics ( including myself ) have tried to convert people to believing the same way in which we do. However, that makes us no better then those who try to convert us to their faith.

quote:Originally posted by AnAsTaSiO:

Haha, that would probably work pretty well. You say you want to ease them into atheism, I honestly don't feel there is a need to do that. Unless, they are directly hurting you, why not let them live their live?

I'll give you a short example: In recent polls 22% of the American public said they were absolutely certain that Jesus was returning in the next 50 years. Another 22% said they were almost certain he would return in 50 years. So we have 44% of our electorate believing that the world as they know it is going to come to an end in the next 50 years. And these people are electing our state and national leaders. You don't see how this can lead to geopolitical consequences?

Another example is stem cell research, one of the most promising lines of research in medical science today. Yet you have people rabidly opposed to embryonic stem cells, because they believe that the soul enters the zygote at the moment of conception, and that a 150 cell blastocyst is as valuable as a little girl dying from lukemia or a middle-aged man with parkinsons. This is practically the equivilant to the Catholic church opposing the dissection of cadavers because they were the "lord's temple" for over a thousand years. And we are supposed to tolerate this kind of superstition today? While millions of people suffer and die?

It is because what they believe does hurt me, and the rest of society. I don't tolerate it; I refuse to. I don't care if people want to worship God, and have their own ceremonies and rituals, and congregate together in fellowship and all that jazz. But when those beliefs start to challenge the advancement of medical science, cause geopolitical tension we do not need, and teach children pseudo-science in the classroom, it becomes my and every other secular humanist's business. http://www.totse.com/bbs/mad.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/mad.gif)

[This message has been edited by Elephantitis Man (edited 11-02-2006).]

thats your opinion and this is a democracy

quote:Originally posted by Zman:

thats your opinion and this is a democracy

This isn't a democracy; it's a republic, nitwit. Learn the difference.

... They are not mutually exclusive in current mainstream definitions. The U.S. holds a form of democracy, a representative democracy to be exact, since it elects representatives to office; among them the "Head of State" (i.e the President). It's a Republic, and a Democracy.

quote:Originally posted by Rust:

... They are not mutually exclusive in current mainstream definitions. The U.S. holds a form of democracy, a representative democracy to be exact, since it elects representatives to office; among them the "Head of State" (i.e the President). It's a Republic, and a Democracy.

I prefer the term "democratic republic". http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif (http://www.totse.com/bbs/tongue.gif)

Also, you understand what I meant by bringing up the difference. We aren't a "true democracy". Things aren't simply a matter of majority rules. It is the rights of the individual that count. Also, the government is bound to being secular, meaning it shouldn't be influenced by or be forced to pay heed to unempirical ideas like souls and gods, no matter how many people believe in them. Whether a democracy or republic or something in between, this isn't a theocracy.

[This message has been edited by Elephantitis Man (edited 11-02-2006).]