Its beginning to feel a lot like Mallarky

[Mojlnir]

Wesay, I don't think Judaism is dying, in fact I think it may be a more vibrant and meaningful religion than many others. It has existed for thousands of years and survived through countless attempts to exterminate it or disperse it. And guess what? It' still here, with respectable values and a sense of community that is often lacking from Christian faiths.

And Malchik is right as well to remark that Christianity is all about marketing. And has been ever since the beginning, though much more so at the hands of the institutionalized Catholic faith. Christianity, like most other religions, suffers from a crippling superiority complex which prevents its followers from acknowledging and accepting the similarities that exist between the major forms of faith.

I have no problem with religious people, I know many and count them as dear friends. I do have a problem with insitutionalized religions and I have a serious problem with people who are convinced that they are privvy to the "true way" and that the rest of us are damned.

I do happen to think that the Bible, as well as the Torah and the Koran all have really good metaphorical lessons for us. Treating people with respect, not murdering, living clean, etc. are all things which are simply common sense and don't necessitate religiousity to believe or practice.

[hundinman]

I wish I could stay behind and kill everyone who follows satan. If you don't follow god then you follow satan and are condemned to hell for all of eternity.

 

 

Hundinman

A bit extreme isn't it. If you believe in Christianity you will note that it preaches tolerance and the words 'Justice is mine, saith the Lord' come to mind.

 

So if you are a true Christian you need not make value judgements about others accepting that it will all be done for you.

 

Please refrain from making remarks that others can find offensive. You may consider your beliefs are facts but they are not facts they are beliefs and no one else has to believe them if they choose not to.

 

Now can we gt this back on topic, please.

 

What is a fact is that many elements of Christmas derive from pagan, druidical rites that early Christians had to adopt to make the religion more appealing to the masses. It only goes to show it's been all about marketing (I think that's merchandising in the US) from the start! These days the marketing has just got out of hand. It's nice to see from several of the above posts that we may be getting fed up with it.

this reminds me of a dodgy thing i had at my school, these people were trying to brainwash us all by saying if you dont believe in any religion, you will go to hell, id just like to ask the question, if an atheist does not believe in a heaven nor hell, then how can one go to hell, how is that possible, in fact, how can such a thing be said, something that does not make any sence whatsoever.

as for the killing satanists huindiman said...

...that is too harsh, im sure people are aware of how extreme satanists take their religion, although, you may not call it a religion, i call it a revolution, im noy saying i take any interest or are a satanist, but i reckon the whole idea is a revolution to christianity, think about it, the chruch burnings, claiming the bible was fake, then theres idiots like marylin manson who support a church of satan which killed the revolution, back in 1990, i read that a man names Varg Vikerness, in normandy, participated in 35 church burnings, and he wasnt a satanist, although, his supporters were, they believed in a way to wipe out christianity, then forget about satanism, then any other religion.

 

then again, you cant call everything true.

just because an atheist doesn't believe in heaven nor hell does not mean that they don't exist.

 

That is like sayin Jews don't believe in broken arms so they can't brake their arms. Now that is just plain wrong, in my opinion.

[ctogher]

Hmm... crass comercialism to satanism in one simple step...... :blink:

 

Some very good points made but I don't like the turn of the debate back to religious differences... :wacko:

 

Back on topic, I met some old friends this weekend who have started a new tradition which quite caught my fancy... Every xmas is now spent in the "bush", camping next to a watering hole in one of the national parks, (a different one each year), where they spend their time discussing the year and its events as a family.

 

Brilliant! No running around filling the corporate pocket with hard earned cash in exchange for trivial items in an attempt to purchase love and respect from family members you probably only see once or twice a year... Perhaps the only gift that matters is family? :huh: