Wtf is up with churches in the US?

[Harry Hughes]

The ten commandments are less than 500 years old. Oh, and god doesn't exist ffs!

The thread should probably just end here.
This mean speaks the truth.

 

[amarshism]

I've also heard that they get these entire congregations to vote for Christian participants in American Idol, etc.

You think this is scary, they will control the most powerful country in the world in 50years. And before some religious douche chimes in saying how the world would be a much better place, take a look at how religious extremism has served the middle east as it's main source of political direction and control.

 

[Morgan C]

You think this is scary, they will control the most powerful country in the world in 50years. And before some religious douche chimes in saying how the world would be a much better place, take a look at how religious extremism has served the middle east as it's main source of political direction and control.

I don't think Christianity is on the rise (although I have no figures outside of Australia to back this up), and I doubt the US will be the most powerful country in the world in 50 years time, if things continue going as they are.

 

[ThatGuitarGuy]

Guitar Guy, lets not turn this into a He Said / She Said. Plain and simple the reason why MOST Christians hate Osteen is he has a HUGE congregation and he makes SHITLOADS of money. They are all just jealous little bitches.

For me personally I say FUCK ORGANIZED RELIGION! Its all about money and "oh look how big my dick is" syndrome. Quality is rarely the thing they strive for its all about quantity and getting as many people as they can to follow in their path. The unfortunate part is the "following the path" = GIVE ME MONEY!

Personally I follow a path full of western and pagan religions. I take the pieces that fit MY life and put them into one big melting pot. Some Christianity, some Catholicism, some Paganism, some Taoism, Confusionism, Buddhism and roll it all up into tone thing I call my BELIEFS.

Now lets get back on topic and stop debating religion / he said / she said.

Organized religion is just another BIG BUSINESS thats all about making money.

Please don't put words into my mouth. While there are a lot of people that aren't "getting it" and think that this whole megachurch thing is an example of success and what to strive for, there are many others that are very much against this idea. When I hear of someone bragging about how big their church is I can say that it's cool, but man, that sure is hard to take care of all the people in that church...Unfortunately, it's the largest churches that stand out more than most churches that are small.

Like most things, there are people that go into a certain occupation that they really shouldn't be in. Unfortunately there are many of those in ministry. They really shouldn't be there...

Additionally, many churches follow the business model and a church isn't a business, it's a ministry that is there to show people the truth, to serve and help those in and outside of their community locally and abroad.

It's not all about money. For me, who is going to be a pastor, I don't expect to make much money at all. In fact, I'm prepared for the many times where I'm barely making enough to have food. The thing is, I believe in what I believe so much and I have seen such an incredible positive impact not only in my life, but others and I want to serve others so that they can experience this great joy as well...even if I have to sacrifice a lot of my luxuries.

The fact is, most pastors get paid about as much as someone working full time at a restaurant ($30,000-$40,000....or less) and their hours are well over 40 hours.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Just a point of interest.

If the practical application and interpretation of the bible is the meter by which the 'trueness' of a person, or sub-sect's Christianity is, then how does that relate to the numerous revisions and interpretations of the bible throughout time? Can one only consider themselves a true believer if they adhere strictly to the Hebrew version of the Old Testament? Through extension is a person only a 'true' Christian if they openly request the death penalty for same-sex sexual encounters, believe in killing adulterers, those who aren't virgin on their wedding night, those who strike their parents etc.? I believe the application of the death penalty is quite liberal in a number of cases in the 'truest' of all bibles, and at the very least overlaps with a number of laws that would result in one being tried for murder in most western countries.

I see where you have gone wrong there Ermz
You seem to have tried to apply reasonable logic in your interpretation of a religion which in youknowwho's words tell you that "there is an invisible man in the sky!"

 

[Kazrog]

Ermz + Bible =

 

[guitarguru777]

You don't have to follow the Judaism aspect of being a Jew, but the Jewish people are also an ethnicity and nationality.
That, my friend, is an aspect you cannot ever run from and escape no matter how much you may want too.

I too have a Catholic mother who's half Spanish/half Filipino (although Anglo-Australian father)
I don't embrace the religion (always been an atheist) and like you seem to not embrace things to do with Jewish culture, I don't embrace anything to do with Spanish and Filipino culture.
I was born here, and as far as I'm concerned culturally speaking, I'm an Australian, but I do of course accept the Spanish/Filipino ancestry.

You can get away from your CULTURE. But your CULTURE does not necessarily have to be your Religion. Just cause I grew up in a Roman Chatolic / Italian & Jewish / Jewish / Italian household does not mean I have to be Roman Catholic or Jewish from a religious standpoint.

Our discussion so far was completely about "religious" belief. Everyone has a choice when it comes to Religion. No one has a choice when it comes to nationality / ancestry.

Thats why I disagreed with your previous statement that people don't have a choice when it comes to Religion.

 

[guitarguru777]

It's not all about money. For me, who is going to be a pastor, I don't expect to make much money at all. In fact, I'm prepared for the many times where I'm barely making enough to have food. The thing is, I believe in what I believe so much and I have seen such an incredible positive impact not only in my life, but others and I want to serve others so that they can experience this great joy as well...even if I have to sacrifice a lot of my luxuries.

I am not speaking about your local church on the corner when I made my statement. I was specifically speaking about the "mega church" mentality and that side of organized religion.

have you ever been to a Jewish synagog? A Mormon Temple? a BIG non-denominations Christian church?

They cost MILLIONS of dollars and where does that money come from? Certainly not the diety they are praising. It comes from the lay man being told they need to give money in order to be saved.

I applaud you for not falling into the trap that can be some areas of non-denominational Chrisitianity. You are also the type of Christian I would guess accepts other people religion and doesn't push your beliefs on others. YOU my friend are not the type of person or follower we are talking about.

We are talking about the hardcore morons that give their specific religion a bad name. The protesters who show up at Slayer concerts, the morons that try and get things like condoms banned cause it promotes "sexual interaction". The type of person that tries to say that an abortion should be grounds for the death penalty.

You clearly do not fit into that mentality.

We are not knocking all Christians / Jews / Muslims / Catholics / Baptists / Lutherans / (insert flavor of the week here) we are just commenting on the hardcore ones who make the rest of you look bad.

 

[SocialNumb]

@ Shanes post^

Well this thread grew some.

35000+ versions of the same religion. It's like a global loony bin.

I don't understand how someone can have a "personal relationship" with a person that might not have existed or died thousands of years ago. It's crazy! I mean you actively have to fool yourself everyday to believe this. That isn't a relationship! Relationships take communication on both sides and you will find this "relationship" one sided. (unless you really loose it, full on schizo style)

Am I wrong here?

Why does "God" need money?

Aren't the original texts nonexistent? If so, aren't you following just another version from a translation of a translation with no way to verify what the "true" Christian is supposed to be like? Don't tell me magic is responsible because I have news for you, it's not real.

How long do you think it will take till "heaven" becomes "hell"? I imagine eternity of anything would be hell. Can you opt out when you've had enough? Maybe go to hell for a while for a change of scenery?

What if you don't like the company? Are you just stuck with them forever?

If you go to "heaven" and the people you love are in "hell", how would you enjoy "heaven" knowing the people you love are burning in "hell"? Will "God" erase some part of you so you don't suffer?

How will you remember who you are without a brian?

Aren't we but our memories?

Does "God" really need an eternity of worship?

What do you get when you cross a Jew with a nail?

A religion!

 

[Loren Littlejohn]

Doug fucking Stanhope

Dude fuck that prick, he is so beyond NOT funny he borderlines Jerry Seinfeld horribleness.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Dude fuck that prick, he is so beyond NOT funny he borderlines Jerry Seinfeld horribleness.

+1 He's got a couple of funny jokes, but I've seen the dvd that that youtube clip came from, and its fucking dull uke:

 

[HeadCrusher]

Jesus Christ, Venues everybody!

 

[crillemannen]

Why cant they make a controller that looks like that, Throw in a meterbridge and it is a winner.

 

[HeadCrusher]

Icon?

 

[AudioPhile777]

People go "OH SHIT YOUR A COHEN!" To me its nothing special...

Same here.

 

[guitarguru777]

Well hello my brother

 

[timislegend]

Affirmative action is definitely racist - that doesn't make it wrong or unconstitutional, though.

A sociopath is a person with a personality disorder manifesting itself in extreme antisocial attitudes and behavior and a lack of conscience - this definitely covers the grounds of "unrightfully taking credit for other peoples achievements."


As far as justifiable anti-Semitism, as soon as you start telling everyone else that you're the 'chosen' people and that you're 'the one and only true god's disciples,' you're going to have some justifiable shit thrown at you.

wouldn't we agree that affirmative action has increased the level of diversty (substantially) within the last 50 years?

i suppose sociopathy mascardes as many different things... i just don't know how relevant it is at this conversation.

practically every bible observes the 12 tribes of israel to be the chosen people that will inherit god's kingdom. so to assume the jewish faith is presumptuous is to also assume that most faiths are as well.

to say that antisemitism has been warranted in any way (in the past, present or future) is a bit foolish. agreed... there are two sides to every story however prejudice is empirically one-sided.


i am not saying that you are wrong in your opinion... but i will say that it seems a bit one sided.

 

[El_Gato]

practically every bible observes the 12 tribes of israel to be the chosen people that will inherit god's kingdom. so to assume the jewish faith is presumptuous is to also assume that most faiths are as well.

There were other religions before Jewish and the fact they are older doesn't make them truer or less presumptuous than yours, I'm with you on that note.

About expensive gear/buildings/sports centres/... You're simply justifying that this money is invested in the community, but this should be the role of the local government, not the aim of a supposed spiritual organization.

You just don't know where all that money goes, even NGO's have to give accounts receipts to the governments to justify every p has been invested correctly, that's not the case of "churches".

The top notch consoles just don't match with any religious thought of way of life, it's more defined as sin by themselves. They could just have picked up an Acme one. The faithful is not going to believe more or less because of the expensiveness of the gear.

 

[JeffTD]

Your first point is actually highly debatable, especially in cases of affirmative action programs in schools, but it doesn't make the process any less racist. Benign discrimination is still discrimination, regardless of legal standing or moral justifiability.

Practically every Bible's first half is the Old Testament - of course it's going to observe the 12 Tribes of Israel as such. And of course I'm going to assume that most faiths are presumptuous - that's what every single religion EVER is based on. Considering that the Bible wasn't compiled until the 4th century CE, though there's a lot of time before that when non-Christians wreaked havoc on Jewish people for acting, quite literally, holier than thou.

I'm not saying that hating Jews for being Jewish is ever warranted, but there were certainly times in history where Jewish people deserved to have the shit kicked out of them by an opposing force, just like there were many times Christians, Mormons, Muslims, Pagans, and the French deserved (and still do, in French cases) the same.

Kind of funny to call my opinion one-sided, though - you're the one arguing that anti-Semitism is rarely if ever warranted. I'm just saying that while it's not the greatest thing in the world and certainly led to a lot of horrific stuff, to say that they never deserved to be beat on at all is a bit naïve.

wouldn't we agree that affirmative action has increased the level of diversty (substantially) within the last 50 years?

i suppose sociopathy mascardes as many different things... i just don't know how relevant it is at this conversation.

practically every bible observes the 12 tribes of israel to be the chosen people that will inherit god's kingdom. so to assume the jewish faith is presumptuous is to also assume that most faiths are as well.

to say that antisemitism has been warranted in any way (in the past, present or future) is a bit foolish. agreed... there are two sides to every story however prejudice is empirically one-sided.


i am not saying that you are wrong in your opinion... but i will say that it seems a bit one sided.

 

[Chris_P_Critter]

didn't read the thread, but I believe ST said it perfect.