i have met many a atheists, and for them to say that there \"is no god\" contradicts what many of them believe....many believe that they are their own god. :conf: how can there be no god when they are their own god :conf:

anyways, pikachu, im not just trying different religions to find truth. im talking to the leaders of the churches/groups of which i have seen to be mainly in it for the money. they want \"donations\" for the church, or for the church to grow, or to help save them....in my opinion, its just sad. but only 3 churches have i found after moving so many times, have not been in it for the money. the leaders dont have nice cars, houses, but are jsut regular people who has a side job to help pay for the renovations and the bills....or they just made a school to keep it going...

but the churches were christian, and all had CALVARY CHAPEL in the name. oh my goodnes! is what some of you may be thinking... fakes who just try and act as good people is another thing folks say. but they dont put down any other religions, they dont try and \"shove\" it down your throats, they dont kick you outta the church if you have a different opinion on the teachings of the bible.

im convinced that im getting closer to the truth. 3 calvary chapels, and another church branched from it (without messing up the \"versions\" of teaching) is a church called HARVEST

go ahead and love the devil :devil: all you want, go ahead and hate the bible, go ahead and persecute people for what they believe, go ahead and call them maniacs or mentals or freaks...they have enough guts to stand up for what they believe. even in the face of death have other religions not denied their God. i saw the footage of columbine, and my friend went to the school. the girl that was shot (forgot her name) i had a chance to meet years before she died. she had a passion that noone can surpass. i watched the movie \"the passion of the christ\" and He died for people who hated him. the ones that the bible says He created. im moved by the christian faith. though Pikachu may be against christianity, he could be way wrong.

im guessing that youve gone to the wrong church, or talked to the wrong people, or just thought the wrong thing about God.

Atheists believe there is no God.

True Satanists are their own God. (and not pathetic people killing cats as sacrifice to \"Satan\")

Please don\'t mix up the two.

I\'m not trying to argue, Hollow, but why does a Satanist think they are a god? I mean, then, why do they call them Satanists?:conf:

Alot of people are misinformed by Satanism..and also, use the term too broadly..

But anyways..

This religion recognizes Satan, generally as a life principle. Followers are usually serious adults, although a few are mature teenagers. It is important to realize that the Satan that they recognize has few if any points of similarity with the historical Muslim or Christian concept of Satan. The Satanists\' concept of Satan is pre-Christian, and derived from the Pagan image of power, virility, sexuality and sensuality. To almost religious Satanists, Satan is a force of nature, not a living quasi-deity. Their Satan has nothing to do with Hell, demons, pitchforks, sadistic torture, buying people\'s souls, demonic possession, performing miracles, human sacrifices, cannibalism, and profoundly evil deeds.

That is for true Satanists. Here\'s the little..ummm..fakers, I guess you can call them?

They occasionally engage in minor criminal activities such as vandalizing cemeteries and painting Satanic graffiti on walls. In very rare instances, a few have been known to sacrifice small animals. Some look upon Satanism as a method of rebelling against their parents\' beliefs. It is usually a passing fad that they quickly outgrow. Satanic Dabblers have no connection with Religious Satanists. There is of course no connection between teen dabblers and other beliefs and practices which have been called \"Satanism,\" because the latter do not exist (or are extremely rare). Every few years, the media report a ritual murder of a human by \"Satanists.\" Further examination has so far revealed that the perpetrators have been primarily motivated by a severe mental illness, rather than by any religious beliefs that they might have. When the media report a particularly horrendous criminal act, they often initially suggest that some Satanic ritual was involved. This happened in early 2004 with a case in Fresno, CA. Eleven deaths are reported including nine children allegedly fathered by the same man. At various times, news reports announced that the victims were mutilated, that ritual killings were suspected. These reports were later found to be unfounded.

So yeah..true Satanists think of themselves as their own gods, don\'t worship anything, believe in evolution, yadda yadda.. I used to be a Satanist but my memory is so bad... I had to copy stuff from a website too, because I\'m terrible at explaining.

Anyways, Satanists get a bum rap.. One of the nicest people I\'ve ever run into was a Satanist. They\'re thought to sacrifice animals and all that bullshit, but if they follow the true meaning..they\'re genuinely nice folks.

Ok, I got it now. Thanks as always for clearing my pitiful, misinformed lile of its many mysteries.

Bah, honestly, it\'s probably soccer moms and me who gave it that rep.:P

...Now I feel guilty....

I\'m of the opinion that religion is man-made. That well, when you don\'t have something good to explain the event/thing/object and reasons, so... make up a story!

...what?

Personally, I have no idea where I stand! ...but I like walking fishes.

Just for the record I love reading everything that Windy~ rights. I\'ve become accustomed to having him rip my skull open and pouring knowledge in...

[quote]Originally Posted by Pikachu![i]
However you cannot prove the existence of God. [/quote]
That is one of the main reasons that the Catholics get along so well if I remember correctly. If you can\'t prove God, then you must rely entirely on faith to fallow him. I think that\'s the idea at least...still, it\'s a fruitless argument.

I recommend that you read everything by Douglas Adams. His books are really good for a laugh, and bring up subjects like this.

[quote] [i]Originally posted by Windrider~
2. Fear.

Humans created religion out of fear. If you look at the human race... how they act, and the things they look to for false hope and such... you will see that most of them genuinely fear death. Most humans cannot comprehend the \"lights out\" theory on death, where when you die, every memory and idea you ever had is instantly lost, save for what is recorded. They feel that they have to live forever. So out of false dreams, and poisonous fear, they created gods and heavens and the like. A place where they could live forever. [/quote]

You must remember that one of human’s greatest fear is death, and that their greatest desire as a whole is to be immortal. This is not only delusional, but self evident in all of mans works.

I like how in the scenario with the \"burning bush\" we are forced to wonder what kind of bush was burning. That and he was dehydrated, and thus not in the right state of mind...makes one wonder.


But yes, I don\'t know if there is a God, but if there is I like to think that he\'ll understand that I lived a damn good life of generosity and kindness, and if he still doesn’t like me than I\'ll have fun looking at the clouds for eternity. That\'s assuming that we go on living. If not than my atoms will be dispersed into the Earth and after time the universe. Huzzah!

[quote]Originally posted by BlueSilver
Just for the record I love reading everything that Windy~ rights. I\'ve become accustomed to having him rip my skull open and pouring knowledge in...

[quote]Originally Posted by Pikachu![i]
However you cannot prove the existence of God. [/quote]
That is one of the main reasons that the Catholics get along so well if I remember correctly. If you can\'t prove God, then you must rely entirely on faith to fallow him. I think that\'s the idea at least...still, it\'s a fruitless argument.

I recommend that you read everything by Douglas Adams. His books are really good for a laugh, and bring up subjects like this.

[quote] [i]Originally posted by Windrider~
2. Fear.

Humans created religion out of fear. If you look at the human race... how they act, and the things they look to for false hope and such... you will see that most of them genuinely fear death. Most humans cannot comprehend the \"lights out\" theory on death, where when you die, every memory and idea you ever had is instantly lost, save for what is recorded. They feel that they have to live forever. So out of false dreams, and poisonous fear, they created gods and heavens and the like. A place where they could live forever. [/quote]

You must remember that one of human’s greatest fear is death, and that their greatest desire as a whole is to be immortal. This is not only delusional, but self evident in all of mans works.

I like how in the scenario with the \"burning bush\" we are forced to wonder what kind of bush was burning. That and he was dehydrated, and thus not in the right state of mind...makes one wonder.


But yes, I don\'t know if there is a God, but if there is I like to think that he\'ll understand that I lived a damn good life of generosity and kindness, and if he still doesn’t like me than I\'ll have fun looking at the clouds for eternity. That\'s assuming that we go on living. If not than my atoms will be dispersed into the Earth and after time the universe. Huzzah!
[/quote]
Er... I don\'t know about some of these points...
For one thing, I was taking Geography a while back and the burning bush thing could have, by the conditions in the area, actually happened. I can\'t remember all the stuff behind it, but apparently how dry and the elevation and all. Does this disprove how it could have been a sign? No, God can send signs in nature (if that\'s what you believe). But it does prove the base of using this as an argument against the factuality of the Bible as faulty.
Also, most Christian religions (or at least Methodist) say that having a good life isn\'t the way to heaven and only through faith, that you can\'t get to heaven through your own works... ah well, that\'s just religious ranting. But if you\'re worried that there\'s a chance God\'s real, you could always consider, right?
I don\'t really know how to argue the whole \"fear of death\" point.
On another note, I read Douglas Adams too. The thing about the coffee maker in The Restaurant at the End of the Universe is hilarious.

Douglas Adams...If I remember correctly--a rare occurance believe you me--wasn\'t he tha man who wrote Hitchiker\'s guide to the Galaxy? Either way, I have yet to read his work.

Yeah, that\'s Douglas Adams.:P

But… it was a tea maker!;) Funny that it took the whole processing power of the -Heart of Gold- to make a decent cup...with milk...from a cow.

But the point I was trying to make about the burning bush was that he was heavily dehydrated after walking in the desert for so many days. He seeing things should be expected.

I also think that if you believe in god \"just in case\" then you aren\'t a true member of any religion, because you exercise no faith. It\'s just in case, and therefore a precaution. You fear only uncertainty, not a God.

Some Christians consider ALL other religions \"Satanists\". So yeah, like I said..the true Satanists are classified with all these other terms and it turns into a big mess.. It\'s not your fault.

I always thought Satanists were the ones who worshipped...well...Satan. By that I don\'t mean If they don\'t worship God, then they worship Satan!. I mean the ones who specifically worship Satan.

key word is \"some\" but most dont believe that...wait, since most are fake, and only a few of those hundreds of thousands are actual christians, im thinking that the real christians dont believe that.

real christians have a heart to reach out, and dont subject other religions to be damned to hell. they just want a \"seed\" to be planted and le God work the rest...ive lived in this my whole life, so if any of you think to dissagree with most of these facts, just PM me and ill share my experiences and some actual statistics