First off, I am an atheist. Since I am a believer in science and truth, I base a lot of my thinking on science, critical thinking, while keeping an open mind about everything, even god. I am fairly familiar with the Christian belief system, and vaguely familiar with other world religions, but this topic will deal mainly with christian beliefs.

I was thinking about revelations a while back and the 144,000 that will raptured. I'm not sure on the exact number of christians in the world, but it's somewhere around a billion +/-. I found it strikingly odd that such a small percentage of Christians will be saved by God. Then I started thinking, what if the Bible isn't the devine word of God, but a test put forth by God, or even a higher intelligent race in the universe. So I started thinking about different groups in the world and found a group that fits that 144,000 almost perfectly, moral atheists. Who is more richeous then the men and women that live moral, just, and caring lives without cause. These people have no rules put forth by anyone, however, they create no friction or conflict on this planet. This group of people is the smallest minority on the planet, numbering no higher than 200,000. Even in revelations it says that the anti-christ will come as christ. This is the recipricol of christ will appear as the anti-christ and will be shunned by the christian populous, and most likely won't even out himself to them at all. How can Christ be more shunned than to be an atheist.

Being a Atheist, I've concluded that there is no evidence of there being a god, absolutely none. This doesn't mean that there couldn't be one, just that there is no evidence. However, if there is a god, he created us with free will and other higher thinking abilities like logical deduction. Looking at the world from a creation standpoint, god himself was a very logical being, as the universe before us is a perfect functioning system based around some pretty heavy mathematics and logic. This makes me wonder why he'd give us a book that contradicts the functioning system, even giving us rules that will disrupt his perfect system when it comes to society. It only makes sense that he didn't want followers, he wanted a free thinking race that chooses to live a peaceful way out of logic and free will, and not through the fear of an oppressing god as mindless followers have always been the strong arm of evil men in history. Almost all policy that is causing problems around the world and destroying societies where instituted by religious majorities blinded by faith ignoring the truth about human nature. Relgions are litterally spawning a world that is rapidly resembling hell while moral atheists are pushing for more responsible, logical, and better suited policies that will bring peace. Christians and all other religions that are doing this have failed the test, and you're fucking yourselves, blinded by faith as to your mistakes and flawed thinking.

Exploring other ideas, it might not be a god at all, but rather a higher intelligent race, and we are their colony. The tribulation is the elimination of the mindless followers that are the power of evil men standing in the way of peaceful function that will signal their time for contact with us. Just keeping my mind open.

I've had the same thought

Meh, kinda close.

Everyone goes to "heaven" (returning to "God"), but there are 144000 "masters", or souls that were able to come to God before the end of it all, and then come back to Earth to help people. People like Jesus, Buddha, etc.

this painstaking mathematical analysis dicredits the existence of a 'supreme being'. http://i3.tinypic.com/4hrs5g0.jpg

Sorry, we're not JW, we're Christians. The 144,000 is a different thing, not how many are allowed in Heaven.

I'm aware that only 144,000 will be raptured and more will be saved later. What I'm saying is that what if christianity is actually opposite of what god wants, and no christians will be raptured at all.

the 144,000 is out of the tribes of israel. and it is likely that this is a symbolic number anyways. read the Bible before you make assumptions about it.

1After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. 2Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: 3"Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." 4Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel.

5From the tribe of Judah 12,000 were sealed,

from the tribe of Reuben 12,000,

from the tribe of Gad 12,000,

6from the tribe of Asher 12,000,

from the tribe of Naphtali 12,000,

from the tribe of Manasseh 12,000,

7from the tribe of Simeon 12,000,

from the tribe of Levi 12,000,

from the tribe of Issachar 12,000,

8from the tribe of Zebulun 12,000,

from the tribe of Joseph 12,000,

from the tribe of Benjamin 12,000.

9After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb.

[This message has been edited by systemshock (edited 01-23-2007).]

quote:Originally posted by easeoflife22:

I'm aware that only 144,000 will be raptured and more will be saved later. What I'm saying is that what if christianity is actually opposite of what god wants, and no christians will be raptured at all.

rapture is bullshit

show me any text that supports it

quote:Originally posted by systemshock:

rapture is bullshit

show me any text that supports it

Well, even if it were true, the Bible never uses the word rapture.

quote:Originally posted by systemshock:

rapture is bullshit

show me any text that supports it

http://www.hti.umich.edu/cgi/k/kjv/kjv-idx?type=DIV1&byte=5379618

Here you go, moron.