Praise the Lord!

[excreationist]

If you have be lobotomized so that you're like a dream character instead of your "regular self", that's awful.

If you think you know better than God and want to be your normal sinful self then I guess it's off to hell for you.... (if hell does exist I don't think many people would be going there)

We don't know better than God. We are sure that God, especially the Bible god simply doesn't exist, other than in the minds of believers.

In my post I was assuming that the Bible God existed and that his plan is for the saved to be happy forever in Heaven....

And, if there was a god, she certainly wouldn't be as mean, spiteful and egotistical as the Bible god.

Well strong Christians usually see him as being perfectly loving and moral though.

Doesn't it bother you to believe that your concept of god includes revenge for not being worshipped and adored.

I see the Bible as being a test of the reader's character - like how strong Christians who read it would usually believe that God is perfectly loving and moral though I think most of the Bible isn't historical...

God and the Bible - Life's Player

Is the Bible 100% true and moral? Does the supernatural exist?

www.lifesplayer.com

That sounds more like a Trump character than a god! I'm not judging you for your beliefs. I just don't understand how you can hold such beliefs without suffering from severe cognitive dissonance.

Sorry I was confusing.... in my post I was basing my response on the assumption that the regular Bible God talked about in this thread existed..... maybe I should have put a winking smilie...

What is a "normal sinful self" btw.

This is a basic concept in Christianity. People are apparently born sinful and can't helping sinning. When they're saved they can be born again as a new person.

I know there are some nasty people in the world, but most people seem to be pretty decent to me. Why so much emphasis on the negative aspects of humans, when so many have lived good lives, helping others and doing their best not to do harm.

The Bible says no one is righteous and we deserve to go to hell. We are only saved because of a free gift from God - not because we deserve it....
If you want to learn the basics of Christianity (the sinful self, new self, deserving to go to hell, etc) see this cartoon:

Note I don't consider myself to be a Christian (partly because I don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus)

 

[excreationist]

Yes. As I said. *YOU* don't go to heaven. Drugged up you, lobotomized you, cloned you, that's what gets to heaven . Not you.

Take for example, my mother, who, being religious goes to heaven. And whose children, being irreligious, go to hell. And the "new" mother DOES NOT CARE that her children are burning in hell.

Yes it's like taking the blue pill and "ignorance is bliss".....

Oops I was saying that she didn't know but maybe your statement that she just doesn't care is more compatible with the Bible... ?

 

[southernhybrid]

If you have be lobotomized so that you're like a dream character instead of your "regular self", that's awful.

If you think you know better than God and want to be your normal sinful self then I guess it's off to hell for you.... (if hell does exist I don't think many people would be going there)

We don't know better than God. We are sure that God, especially the Bible god simply doesn't exist, other than in the minds of believers.

In my post I was assuming that the Bible God existed and that his plan is for the saved to be happy forever in Heaven....

And, if there was a god, she certainly wouldn't be as mean, spiteful and egotistical as the Bible god.

Well strong Christians usually see him as being perfectly loving and moral though.

Doesn't it bother you to believe that your concept of god includes revenge for not being worshipped and adored.

I see the Bible as being a test of the reader's character - like how strong Christians who read it would usually believe that God is perfectly loving and moral though I think most of the Bible isn't historical...

God and the Bible - Life's Player

Is the Bible 100% true and moral? Does the supernatural exist?

www.lifesplayer.com

That sounds more like a Trump character than a god! I'm not judging you for your beliefs. I just don't understand how you can hold such beliefs without suffering from severe cognitive dissonance.

Sorry I was confusing.... in my post I was basing my response on the assumption that the regular Bible God talked about in this thread existed..... maybe I should have put a winking smilie...

What is a "normal sinful self" btw.

This is a basic concept in Christianity. People are apparently born sinful and can't helping sinning. When they're saved they can be born again as a new person.

I know there are some nasty people in the world, but most people seem to be pretty decent to me. Why so much emphasis on the negative aspects of humans, when so many have lived good lives, helping others and doing their best not to do harm.

The Bible says no one is righteous and we deserve to go to hell. We are only saved because of a free gift from God - not because we deserve it....
If you want to learn the basics of Christianity (the sinful self, new self, deserving to go to hell, etc) see this cartoon:

Note I don't consider myself to be a Christian (partly because I don't believe in the resurrection of Jesus)

Thanks for clarifying. I thought you were a Christian who believed most of the Bible in the literal sense. I was raised by evangelicals, so I'm very familiar with their beliefs regarding being "saved", being sinners, etc. I just couldn't believe those things once I reached early adulthood and it was difficult for me to fully believe those things even as a child.

 

[TLK Valentine]

I was brought up as a Catholic and rejected Catholicism entirely around the age of 15. I already had serious doubts when I was about 11 and remember asking a teacher of mine (Sister Agnes of the Sisters of Mercy) one question that really preoccupied me. Here is an accurate transcription of our conversation.

Me: So what will we do when we Catholics die and go to heaven?

SA: We will be in the presence of our Lord.

Me: Yes, but what will we spend our time doing for the rest of eternity?

SA: We will praise, worship and glorify God.

At the time, I remember thinking this was not exactly an appealing prospect or proposition. I could just about manage a half hour of this stuff, split into 10 minutes respectively of praising, worshipping and glorifying but no more than that. Seriously. We would still have the rest of eternity to deal with after that first half hour…

I also thought about the concept of “praising” in more detail. It’s not exactly something you associate with mature and responsible adults, is it. I can imagine praising my 18-month old grandson for sitting on a pot and pissing into it. Well done, Johnny, what a good little boy you are! We’re so proud of you, etc. But I think praising an adult for virtually anything is cheesy and embarrassing. Isn’t it? I’m quite happy to receive personally expressed acknowledgment for something I have achieved but I don’t want to be “praised” or “glorified” by anyone at all. Why does the Christian god seem to be such an inadequate individual that he requires this constant excessively enthusiastic adulation?

I always found it odd to spend a lifetime praising God in exchange for an eternity to continue to praise God.

 

[skepticalbip]

I don't see it as a god that needs the praising but that some people have a need to be inferior and submissive. But then I have never understood the mindset of masochists.

 

[TLK Valentine]

I don't see it as a god that needs the praising but that some people have a need to be inferior and submissive. But then I have never understood the mindset of masochists.

It's about freedom -- freedom from responsibility, that is. Being told what to do 24/7 saves you from having to make your own decisions... or live with the consequences.

You're not responsible because -- stop me if you heard this one -- you were just following orders.

 

[excreationist]

I don't see it as a god that needs the praising but that some people have a need to be inferior and submissive. But then I have never understood the mindset of masochists.

There are a lot of verses in the Bible telling people to worship God.... many times God is apparently saying it....

8 Great Bible Verses About Worship

Worship is an essential part of the Christian faith. When we worship in our prayers, songs, service, and giving—we are expressing our thankfulness and awe to the Lord. Worship involves a spiritual intimacy that sets all believers apart from those who worship other gods. When we worship God in...

www.godtube.com

Also there's:
Deuteronomy 6:4-5
Israel, listen to me. The Lord is our God. The Lord is the one and only God. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Love him with all your strength.

Exodus 34:14
Do not worship any other god. The Lord is a jealous God. In fact, his name is Jealous.

The kind of people you're talking about would find this rewarding

 

[excreationist]

I always found it odd to spend a lifetime praising God in exchange for an eternity to continue to praise God.

I don't know of any believers or Bible verses that say that the saved would be praise God 100% of the time.... e.g. they'd be doing other things like this:

 

[TLK Valentine]

I always found it odd to spend a lifetime praising God in exchange for an eternity to continue to praise God.

I don't know of any believers or Bible verses that say that the saved would be praise God 100% of the time.... e.g. they'd be doing other things like this:

So... Heaven is a big ol' petting zoo.

 

[excreationist]

So... Heaven is a big ol' petting zoo.

Actually I think that's the new earth but it is still a paradise.... there's also this:

 

[southernhybrid]

Being the animal lover that I am, I would probably enjoy a heaven that was a petting zoo, but even that might get boring after 1000 years.

On the other hand, who is going to feed all those animals and clean up their shit, or do animals in heaven not need food? I know people who do believe in the "rainbow bridge", the place where their pets cross to enter heaven. Naturally, I believe that a heaven without dogs would be hell. I love dogs more an I love most humans. I guess that's why the "Rainbow Bridge" was imagined. What do dogs do in heaven and who cleans up their poop after they cross the Rainbow Bridge?

When I left evangelical Christianity, some of my Church friends told me that I think too much and that I shouldn't think so much about what the Bible says. I think that's often the problem. People are told to believe some fantastical things without evidence, but if they think too much about those things, what they've been told doesn't make sense. It's like Noah and the Ark. There are still some believers who take that stuff literally without ever thinking about all the food and cleaning up it would take to have all those animals on a boat, or how hard it would be to gather all those animals. Plus, they never think their god is immoral for wiping out most of his own human creation. WTF! I'm sure you agree it's a silly myth, but some people really believe that, just like some people really believe the fantasies about heaven. The golden streets, the mansions, the lamb and the lion hanging out together, no suffering of any kind, and singing the praises of god etc. But, yeah. According to the Bible, most of us are headed for hell, just because we haven't been able to believe a lot of silly fantasies.

Why do you think people are able to believe such nonsense, especially people with normal intelligence or those who are highly educated?

 

[skepticalbip]

Why do you think people are able to believe such nonsense, especially people with normal intelligence or those who are highly educated?

Religion isn't about rationally and logic. Religion appeals to the emotion and the deeper animal instincts such as fear, comfort and security of being the member of a herd or tribe, etc.. So education isn't really much of a factor.

 

[southernhybrid]

Why do you think people are able to believe such nonsense, especially people with normal intelligence or those who are highly educated?

Religion isn't about rationally and logic. Religion appeals to the emotion and the deeper animal instincts such as fear, comfort and security of being the member of a herd or tribe, etc.. So education isn't really much of a factor.

I guess that make sense. It's just hard for me to understand the appeal. I'm certainly not the smartest person in the Bible Belt, yet I'm surrounded by people who believe these things. I once read that the majority of American physicians consider themselves to be Christians, and many immigrant MDs are Muslims or Hindus. I guess that culture, the need for an in-group, tradition, etc. have a lot to do with it. You just can't think too much about it.

 

[Gospel]

The only thing I can think of that would make living for eternity not turn into hell after a trillion eons is if the purpose of living forever is to spend it trying to learn what God is. To finally know all that there is to know. Heck, maybe that's God's plan. It's possible this multiverse of ours isn't God's only creation and he's trying his damn best to create something that can figure him out so he can quit and hand the position over.

 

[lostone]

The Christian God was described as an Oriental despot circa the era of the Persian Empire 750-500 BC. All that ass kissing and groveling was how one behaved in the presence of the king, or one soon was missing body parts.

 

[Rhea]

I always found it odd to spend a lifetime praising God in exchange for an eternity to continue to praise God.

I don't know of any believers or Bible verses that say that the saved would be praise God 100% of the time.... e.g. they'd be doing other things like this:

You really gotta feel for all those kids who go to heaven as juveniles and never get to grow up, yanno?

 

[excreationist]

You really gotta feel for all those kids who go to heaven as juveniles and never get to grow up, yanno?

Well in Christianity there is no marriage in heaven implying there is no sex in heaven so it seems the kids aren't really missing out on anything.....

 

[bilby]

You really gotta feel for all those kids who go to heaven as juveniles and never get to grow up, yanno?

Well in Christianity there is no marriage in heaven implying there is no sex in heaven so it seems the kids aren't really missing out on anything.....

I am pretty sure that there's more to adulthood than marriage or sex.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Actually, just noticed something.
So, there's like 9 choirs of Angels.
Seraphim, Cherubim, Thrones,
Dominions, Virtues, Powers,
Pricipalities, Archangels, and Angels.
Seraphim rank the highest. They literally attend God on his throne and sing His praises. "Holy, Holy, Holy is thge Lord of Hosts."

Angels are the lowestl rank. Furthest from God, they're the ones that talk to the lowly lowly humans.

Maybe we won't be singing God's praises in the afterlife. We're too junior for that honor. And, looks like it's a union job.

The Brick Testament

Revelation 4:5-6, 8
Day and night they never stop singing, 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God the Almighty, who was, who is, and is to come.' In front of the throne was a sea of glass like crystal, and seven lamps were blazing in front of the throne.

They: the four living creatures....

Holy, holy holy, forever and ever. Worst rap song ever.

 

[excreationist]

I am pretty sure that there's more to adulthood than marriage or sex.

Body and facial hair (and other puberty changes)? Getting taller? Changing voice? Being able to vote or drink or drive? Anything else I missed?