Questions about Christianity

[PuuMastaFunk]

Since the "Religion as a bad thing", or whatever, thread was really old, I figured I might as well attempt to answer a couple questions, since I've been gone a while.

Who? Me?

I can reword it if you want. Honest to God I just want to fucking know. I must've asked 10 different Christians and none of them can answer me and it pisses me off. Doesn't anyone know?

Reworded:
If Jesus died for everyone's sins, why do the rules set in the Bible matter? Couldn't I go around fornicating and butsexing everyone I see and then repent and then go to Heaven regardless?

Well, technically, yes. But once you accept Jesus into your life, you wouldn't want to. I mean, I got back from Church Camp a few days ago, and I decided to quit any addictions I have (masterbation, porn, etc...). So far, I've accomplished it, but it's hard. I could easily do it at this moment. But, the thing is...I don't want to. That separates me from God. Sure, I could just ask for forgiveness, but it's kinda hypocritical to sin and repent, just to sin on purpose again. Most Christians I know refer to this as "backsliding".

But, answering your question, yes.

It depends on if you ask Catholics or Protestants
Isn't that just catholics? At least in a different sense than that of Protestants

Jesus died for our sins, no matter which branch of Christianity, Catholic or Protistant. It's more down to personal opinion. To me, the Bible does matter. It's not just a big book or rules; it has a lot of very wise proverbs (hense the book, Proverbs...) that everybody could learn to make their life more bearable. It also gives hope, like my favorite verse, Philippians 1:21. (You can look that one up yourself. Too lazy to type it.) It's much more than a set code of morals and stories. Plus, it has answers to pretty much any question about your daily life or afflictions, like depression, cheating, how to control your anger, and much more.

As for the Holy Trinity, that's also an entire religion thing. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the Holy Trinity.

at this point i dont care which sect i get the answer from i just want to know if anyone knows how to solve this dilemma i have in understanding why jesus would die for everyone's sins.

Well, the reason why God sacrificed Jesus was because he loved us. (Or, for JMV's sake, because he's a murderous bastard that hated his son. [spoiler](I felt my humanity slip a little after that...)[/spoiler]) I mean, if you gave your only child's life so I could live, you'd really have to love me, wouldn't you? Imagine that, but times the entire population of the world from that moment until now. Jesus died to keep us from having to live in an eternal damnation. The only catch; you have to believe he did that.

That help any? Or do you need more?

[spoiler]Cue JMV.[/spoiler]

[Travis]

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who has endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use." - Galileo Galilei

[Zach]

If Jesus died for everyone's sins, why do the rules set in the Bible matter? Couldn't I go around fornicating and butsexing everyone I see and then repent and then go to Heaven regardless?

Because once you truly repent, you're a changed person. You begin to abandon your desire to do those things because they are of the flesh instead of the spirit. Your standing with the Lord is shown through the fruit of the spirit; those who bear bad fruit are not spiritually healthy, while those who do are.

[Daddy]

ohhhhhhhh boyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

Well, technically, yes. But once you accept Jesus into your life, you wouldn't want to.

Of course you would. There're plenty of Christians doing that right now.

I mean, I got back from Church Camp a few days ago, and I decided to quit any addictions I have (masterbation, porn, etc...). So far, I've accomplished it, but it's hard.

wut. well i guess that's good if you don't want to look at porn yay

I could easily do it at this moment. But, the thing is...I don't want to. That separates me from God. Sure, I could just ask for forgiveness, but it's kinda hypocritical to sin and repent, just to sin on purpose again. Most Christians I know refer to this as "backsliding".

According to the bible eating pork and shellfish separate you from God, do you reject those too? Do you ask for forgiveness after eating a bacon cheeseburger?

But, answering your question, yes.

so what you are saying God is egotistical enough that if someone worships him they will go to heaven even if they lead a life like that, yet someone who doesn't accept him will go to hell regardless?

Gandhi goes to hell while priests who rape children get a ticket to heaven?

Jesus died for our sins, no matter which branch of Christianity, Catholic or Protistant. It's more down to personal opinion.

No, it's down to doctrine. Some branches teach that accepting Christ alone isn't enough.

It seems your church believes that accepting Christ guarantees that spot in heaven. I've heard the opposite from many catholics: leading a good life is what gets you in heaven. It's not the accepting of christ alone.

To me, the Bible does matter. It's not just a big book or rules; it has a lot of very wise proverbs (hense the book, Proverbs...) that everybody could learn to make their life more bearable. It also gives hope, like my favorite verse, Philippians 1:21. (You can look that one up yourself. Too lazy to type it.) It's much more than a set code of morals and stories.

The hope that you too can be cast into a lake of fire and suffer for all eternity?

Plus, it has answers to pretty much any question about your daily life or afflictions, like depression, cheating, how to control your anger, and much more.

No it doesn't.

As for the Holy Trinity, that's also an entire religion thing. God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit are the Holy Trinity.

Like I said, that depends. Some believe they're the same entity while others don't.

Well, the reason why God sacrificed Jesus was because he loved us. (Or, for JMV's sake, because he's a murderous bastard that hated his son. [spoiler](I felt my humanity slip a little after that...)[/spoiler])

If you're going to go for "JMV's sake" it would make more sense to go "He didn't because he's not real.

I mean, if you gave your only child's life so I could live

I thought we were all God's children?

you'd really have to love me, wouldn't you?

Is it love if his motivation is to force gratitude and worship under the threat of punishment?

Imagine that, but times the entire population of the world from that moment until now.

what

Jesus died to keep us from having to live in an eternal damnation.

So let me get this straight:
God damned all of humanity because he left the first man and women ignorant of right and wrong and they did wrong. He then destroyed all of humanity except 8 people because they did wrong. He then killed millions more over the next four thousand years.

He then sends himself/his son to die for our sins so we don't have to go to Hell even though he was the one who decided to curse us all?

And omniscient God clearly would have known the serpent would tempt Eve. He knew that Adam and Eve had no knowledge of good and evil. Their lack of knowledge and his indifference to preventing such is the reason he had to sacrifice his own son.

The only catch; you have to believe he did that.

Drats

That help any? Or do you need more?

I need the part that makes sense

[spoiler]Cue JMV.[/spoiler]

[Zach]

Of course you would. There're plenty of Christians doing that right now.

People who claim to be saved yet purposely ignore God's commandments aren't Christians.

Gandhi goes to hell while priests who rape children get a ticket to heaven?

uh no they go to hell too

According to the bible eating pork and shellfish separate you from God, do you reject those too? Do you ask for forgiveness after eating a bacon cheeseburger?

Those were rules for the Jews, and Jesus declared that null, anyway.

It seems your church believes that accepting Christ guarantees that spot in heaven. I've heard the opposite from many catholics: leading a good life is what gets you in heaven. It's not the accepting of christ alone.

Accepting Christ and following him leads to a "good" life (though that's really a subjective term, anyway).

[Samus Aran]

Gandhi goes to hell while priests who rape children get a ticket to heaven?

Unless we're talking about one of the branches you mentioned that don't see accepting Christ and asking him to forgive our sins as enough, anyone who sins without repentance goes to Hell, no matter who they are. All sins are equal, and they are all equally forgiven. You may see it as weird that a murderer is equal to an adulterer in God's eyes, but that's just the way it is.

Everyone has an equal shot for Heaven or Hell.

[Daddy]

People who claim to be saved yet purposely ignore God's commandments aren't Christians.

And more logical fallacies...
No true Scotsman

uh no they go to hell too

Not according to your friend: "But, answering your question, yes."

Those were rules for the Jews, and Jesus declared that null, anyway.

Where did he nullify those rules? So how do you know which rules stick and which ones don't?
Or how about Jesus saying stuff about material possessions being bad. is that only selective

Accepting Christ and following him leads to a "good" life (though that's really a subjective term, anyway).

are you telling me that a secular charity and those donating time to it aren't leading a good life because they don't accept some random arab?

Unless we're talking about one of the branches you mentioned that don't see accepting Christ and asking him to forgive our sins as enough, anyone who sins without repentance goes to Hell, no matter who they are. All sins are equal, and they are all equally forgiven. You may see it as weird that a murderer is equal to an adulterer in God's eyes, but that's just the way it is.

Everyone has an equal shot for Heaven or Hell.

The point was that Gandhi goes to Hell because he was Hindu while a priest can go to heaven if he repents.

[Zach]

And more logical fallacies...

No. Claiming that you're saved doesn't make you a Christian.

Not according to your friend: "But, answering your question, yes."

Priests who rape children do not go to heaven unless they turn away from their sin and turn to God for forgiveness. I'm willing to bet that any priest who rapes a children isn't truly saved, anyway.

Where did he nullify those rules? So how do you know which rules stick and which ones don't?
Or how about Jesus saying stuff about material possessions being bad. is that only selective

I thought we were talking about the food laws in particular, and I upon further research I may have misunderstood the context of what I was referring to, so I'll get back to you on that. But know this: We are not subject to the rules God issued the Israelites on Mount Sinai (like unclean meats, etc.) - that was part of God's old covenant with the Jews.

are you telling me that a secular charity and those donating time to it aren't leading a good life because they don't accept some random arab?

Depends on what you mean by "good life." Secular charity can be a good thing, but it doesn't make anyone better spiritually. Works without faith are dead in the spiritual sense.

[Zach]

The point was that Gandhi goes to Hell because he was Hindu while a priest can go to heaven if he repents.

Gandhi could have gone to Heaven, too, if he had repented.

[Daddy]

No. Claiming that you're saved doesn't make you a Christian.

Believing you're saved does.

Priests who rape children do not go to heaven unless they turn away from their sin and turn to God for forgiveness. I'm willing to bet that any priest who rapes a children isn't truly saved, anyway.

Maybe they are saved after asking god to forgive them after the 10th child.

I thought we were talking about the food laws in particular, and I upon further research I may have misunderstood the context of what I was referring to, so I'll get back to you on that.

But know this: We are not subject to the rules God issued the Israelites on Mount Sinai (like unclean meats, etc.) - that was part of God's old covenant with the Jews.

What about the commandments 

Depends on what you mean by "good life." Secular charity can be a good thing, but it doesn't make anyone better spiritually. Works without faith are dead in the spiritual sense.

Works that are done without expecting a reward are better IMO.

[Samus Aran]

Believing you're saved does.

If you go on a tangent in your thinking, then yes, but technically a Christian is simply someone who has accepted Christ. I don't think most people think of it as "I'm saved, so that makes me a Christian." It's "I've accepted Christ and I'm following his teachings, so that makes me a Christian."

[Daddy]

If you go on a tangent in your thinking, then yes, but technically a Christian is simply someone who has accepted Christ. I don't think most people think of it as "I'm saved, so that makes me a Christian." It's "I've accepted Christ and I'm following his teachings, so that makes me a Christian."

If Christian's followed Jesus' teachings then there would be no economic conservatives and none of the current churches would exist in the same manner they do now.

[Samus Aran]

If Christian's followed Jesus' teachings then there would be no economic conservatives and none of the current churches would exist in the same manner they do now.

Don't lump all Christians together into the ones doing it incorrectly. That's just as ignorant and annoying as lumping all atheists together.

Most of the Christians I know (my town, Baudette, is mostly Christian, and so is my girlfriend) don't fit your negative image at all. Believe it or not there are churches following his teachings as they should, treating their fellow men as Christ would (or at least trying to), etc. That's the way things should be, but religion is simply an abused system.

[Daddy]

Don't lump all Christians together into the ones doing it incorrectly. That's just as ignorant and annoying as lumping all atheists together.

Most of the Christians I know (my town, Baudette, is mostly Christian, and so is my girlfriend) don't fit your negative image at all. Believe it or not there are churches following his teachings as they should, treating their fellow men as Christ would (or at least trying to), etc. That's the way things should be, but religion is simply an abused system.

Where did I lump all Christians together?

I said
1.)They would not be economic conservatives.  That is only concerning the ones who are economic conservatives.  Must I go over Christ's supposed teachings regarding the poor, the rich, and material possessions?
2.)I specifically mentioned churches in the second half of the sentence, not Christians.  Those too go against those same teachings and others.

[Samus Aran]

Where did I lump all Christians together?

I said
1.)They would not be economic conservatives.  That is only concerning the ones who are economic conservatives.  Must I go over Christ's supposed teachings regarding the poor, the rich, and material possessions?
2.)I specifically mentioned churches in the second half of the sentence, not Christians.  Those too go against those same teachings and others.

Well you just said "Christians" so I assumed you meant all of them. My apologies sir.