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If it has such a positive affect on your life I don't think the realness matters at all anyway, just keep enjoying it yourself and don't worry what others think as it is one of those topics that no one will ever change their mind over.
I think if religion had that same effect on everyone no one would be as bothered by it, it's more the negative aspects of religion that have become more obvious that make people so against it.
If by the negative aspects I wonder if you mean that accepting Christianity may cause you to have to make some changes in your personal life/behaviour, which of course is anathema in modern society, then yes I'm afraid it does! I happen to believe that Christianity is a powerful force for good in the world. Unfortunately Christians are still human and therefore by definition are somewhat less than perfect people, but of course we also are very aware that we aren't! The snag is, as G.K. Chesterton wrote: Christianity has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found to be too difficult and left untried.” !Originally Posted by Croesy Blue
I understand that, however what gofer blue and myself have isn't a dry, boring, negative, dated and irrelevant religion; it's vibrant, relevant and as up to date as ever relationship with a God who has never let us down (and I am saying that knowing what all genuine Christians would say, not having consulted Gofer Blue, he can either confirm this or otherwise).
So in short, we have no negative aspects, because our faith isn't IN religion.
It's also used to control vulnerable people and take advantage of them and used to judge other people's lifestyles. That's what people don't like about it.
Then why do you insist in talking at cross purposes?
This conversation is as logical as -
A: "hey would you like a couple of free tickets to Saturday's game?"
B: "why would I want to mix with a bunch of thugs? Isn't it true that some people have been injured or killed by following football?"
The short answers are:
1. Christianity has nothing to do with "control" of the masses, vulnerable or otherwise. I would be more worried about Google in that regard than Christians! I think you will find Truthpaste and I both agree that we do not regard Christianity as a "religion" in that sense of the word. Religion to me is the strict observance of a set of rules like boxes to be ticked and lots of mandatory good works to be carried out before I snuff it. Not for me thanks.
2. Christians do not judge. We may have opinions but only God judges.
Your "god" has never let you down? I find that very, very hard to believe. Why did she not intervene with Covid-19? Or Hitler? Or ISIS? Or Mick McCarthy? Or that fake Chelsea equalizer?
From my viewpoint your god's a complete blow-hard wastrel.
I think I'll give up on these religious 'debates'. A great many people who are indoctrinated as children will believe the most ridiculous tosh for which there is absolutely zero evidence. The following are just a miniscule proportion of the ludicrous stories that people swallow whole. The list could go on and on and rational debate is impossible with people who believe it all.
A talking snake
Virgin birth
Noah being 500 years old when he built the Ark
David presenting the foreskins of 200 victims in order to marry the king's daughter
God making a donkey have the power of speech
Creatures with wings and four faces
Moses banishing people with damaged testicles offering food at the temple
Lot offering his daughters to be raped to save two angels being raped
Lot's daughter getting their father drunk to have sex with him
Human-God hybrids
God punishing Nebuchadnezzar by making him live in the fields as a cow for 7 seasons
Jonah being rescued by living in a fish for 3 days
God sparing Moses from death after the latter's wife cuts their child's foreskin and applies the blood to Moses' feet
Oh yeah, God created a miracle by raising the ground under the feet of St David so that the crowd could see him but chose not to intervene during the holocaust. It's an insult to one's intelligence, it really is.
Regarding indoctrinated children. Children tend to grow into adults don't they and make their own minds up? I rejected Christianity in my teens because of the hypocrisy I witnessed among some “Christians” plus I thought science had all the answers.
You are right, the early Jews certainly had some strange notions/customs/events it seems and I cannot explain them all. Thankfully Jesus speaks about the new covenant and it is he that I choose to follow. Without Jesus I would find it difficult to believe in God as the one sometimes portrayed in the Old Testament. I would say that Jesus is far more concerned with matters of the human condition, how a person thinks and lives, and having a personal relationship with him, not whether they believe in every detail in the Old Testament. I am content with the knowledge that the books therein point to the coming of a Messiah and the prophesies about Jesus, all of which have been fulfilled so far, bar the second coming.
Let's suppose you and others are right, I am completely deluded, and the whole thing is indeed a load of baloney. All I can say is I was glad I chose to follow the Jesus way, tried to be a good witness for him, and hopefully played some (minuscule) part in leaving the world in a slightly better shape for having been here. It's a shame that more people do not accept Jesus, even if just for his teachings alone, the world would be a much better place IMO.
This may now be a good time for me to bow out gracefully from this thread. You and others on here know where I stand, there is no more to be said. Feel free to ridicule me in my absence!
Let this verse have the last say: "Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires". 2 Peter 3:3.
Yes, you'd need to be almighty to do ALL of those things!
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