Religion & Spirituality - 16 December 2007

I've heard many atheists, agnostics, etc tell me this is why they celebrate Christmas-- because it was originally a pagan holiday that Christians stole.
So my question is, are the Easter traditions strictly Christian or are they borrowed from other religions/pagans too?
If they aren't, why do some atheists still celebrate Easter?

2007-12-16 13:21:28 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous

Jesus said he came for the lost sheep of Israel, the Jews, and not for the gentiles. Paul later decided to include the gentiles, even though he had no authority to do so, and never met Jesus to get permission. If Christianity is right, then Paul must have more authority than Jesus. How does that work?

2007-12-16 13:20:54 · 16 answers · asked by Enigma®Ragnarökin' 7

2007-12-16 13:19:30 · 29 answers · asked by Sapphrodite® 5

Your religion.... or NON religion (*if you are atheist* or anything else falling under this category.

I want to learn more about the different religions of the world. I would like to do a paper tell about them if you don't mind....



Thank you in advance!

2007-12-16 13:18:20 · 13 answers · asked by Me Myself & I 4

im looking for some short definitons for the following words I know im asking for a lot but can someone help me out by doing them or providing a link where i can find them. thanks

1 muhammad
2 medina
3 phoenicians
4 allah
5 ka'bah
6 quran
7 jihad
8 hegira
9 scribes
10 hyksos
11 cuneiform
12 monotheistic
13 polytheistic
14 hatshepsut
15 monsoons
16 patricians
17 pharaoh
18 caliph
19 plebeians
20 nomadic
21feudalism
22 fief
23 first triumvirate
24 second triumvirate
25 dynasty
26 consuls
27 dictator
28 nile river
29 irrigation
30 prilgrimage
31 king hammurabi
32 mummification
33 octavian
34 democracy
35 brutus
36 cleopatra
37 jesus of nazareth
38 augustus
39 senate
40 republic
41 pyramid
42 cataract
43 pax romana
44 delta
45 ten commandments
46 B.C.E.
47 covenant
48 religion writing ,system ,cities
49 tigris and euphrates
50 papyrus

2007-12-16 13:17:30 · 12 answers · asked by Anonymous

Exactly the same as burning in Hell?

2007-12-16 13:16:30 · 40 answers · asked by Anonymous

"All you may know of heaven or hell
is within your own self."

"From what may anyone be saved?
Only from themselves!
That is, their individual hell.
They dig it with their own desires."

Cayce's breakdown of Revelation:
http://near-death.com/experiences/cayce10.html

Cayce was Christian, BTW.

Cayce said that hell is a place we go after death to face our demons...our own evil desires, guilt, etc, that keep us from the Light (Christ-consciousness). We are reincarnated until we obtain the perfect Christ-consciousness. This fits in nicely with this scripture, if you consider that hell is facing ourselves, and that until we do so, we are reincarnated again and again:

John 3:19:
19This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.

Entire Cayce library on near-death.com:
http://near-death.com/cayce.htm

2007-12-16 13:15:14 · 11 answers · asked by frenzy-CIB- Jim's with Jesus 4

Iraqi christians are suffering in iraq (im one of them) i do not know why the media put blind eye on the suffering. Before the war there was 3 million iraqi christians in iraq... after the war there is only 700,000 iraqi christians...some of them ran away to other countries (like me) and others died because they are christians....muslims are focring us to convert to islam, getkilled, or pay (al jzya) which is islamic law that forces non-muslims to pay tax, ...so i decided to leave iraq because there is no way that im converting to islam im CHRSITian and proud...it is sad to leave iraq because christain iraqi including chaldeans and assyrians are native iraqis...its our home


this is video showing how muslims are treating iraqi christians in iraq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uWH1XtjR_Uo

2007-12-16 13:15:03 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous

...because of the Inquisition time


peace

2007-12-16 13:12:11 · 21 answers · asked by Jilan A 5

Seriously, just to ruffle feathers? or somewhere deep inside do you doubt you own non-belief.

2007-12-16 13:12:03 · 32 answers · asked by awaiting_his_return 2

If I quote this:

"If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell." Matthew 5:30

And everyone says that shouldn't be taken literally, and it's just a metaphor - how do they know that it was intended to be a metaphor?

If we can pick and chose which parts are metaphorical, can't everyone just interpret it how they want?

Can't Jesus, the son of God - just mean Jesus, the nice person?

And can't genesis just be a metaphor for evolution?

Where does the interpretation stop?

If that wanted you to take some parts metaphorically, don't you think they would tell you instead of just stating it literally?

The Bible is far from poetry.

2007-12-16 13:11:24 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous

and what led you to change?

2007-12-16 13:10:08 · 11 answers · asked by Holy Holly 5

Christians - do you believe that Prophets and Apostles are functioning within the Church today?

2007-12-16 13:09:01 · 28 answers · asked by A Voice 5

i was a practicing Endowed Elder in the LDS church for almost 20 years. i faithful to the core. i was sleep deprived continuously for 13 years, in and out of the church. The worst poison i ever had to breath was in the baptist church. but the lds church was just as bad. When Bro G judged me to not be a Mormon, i wouldve emailed him right away. i admit that his words hurt me to the wounding of my testimony. i guess he never read any parts of my questions and understood my testimony. So can anyone else who is a mormon hurt me to the wounding of my sould any more than he has?

2007-12-16 13:08:42 · 13 answers · asked by Priestcalling 3

Just to clear up any doubt that they aren’t

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Athiest

http://www.apuritansmind.com/ChristianWalk/NonChristians.htm

2007-12-16 13:08:42 · 25 answers · asked by phule_poet 5

2007-12-16 13:08:40 · 15 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-12-16 13:08:16 · 6 answers · asked by Anonymous

I'm watching a show about Jeffrey Dahmer.. and Stone Phillips is interviewing Jeff's mother. I just can't imagine how she must feel, knowing what her child has done. Ugh!

2007-12-16 13:06:25 · 23 answers · asked by Linz VT•AM 4

A lot of people say that some of God's laws are outdated for today.... but its God's law? How can the word of God be outdated? He knew what would be comming when He made the law.

2007-12-16 13:02:35 · 19 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-12-16 12:59:18 · 32 answers · asked by Nick 2

2007-12-16 12:59:02 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous

"If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell." Matthew 5:30

If that is true, how come more people do not have their hands chopped off for doing wrong, or their tongues chopped off for speaking against the Bible?

Won't you go to hell if you don't?

2007-12-16 12:58:10 · 20 answers · asked by Anonymous

When you read The Bible...

1. How do you picture Jesus' personality?

2. How do you picture his voice? Is it calm? Passionate?

3. What is the expression on his face? Is it intense? Peaceful? Is he smiling, or is he serious?

4. In short, who is the Jesus that presents himself to you most of the time? Judge? Friend? Father? Teacher?

Peace be with you.

2007-12-16 12:57:38 · 13 answers · asked by Colin 5

Kyle said this on south park, and im not christian so im just wondering

2007-12-16 12:55:41 · 18 answers · asked by Anonymous

Many people say Catholics have a different Bible to Christians.

Can you please tell what that Bible is, I thought there was only one Bible, The Holy Bible, so which one do we have?

2007-12-16 12:53:54 · 22 answers · asked by Angel Eyes 5

2007-12-16 12:49:32 · 24 answers · asked by Anonymous

2007-12-16 12:48:49 · 10 answers · asked by Zezo Zeze Zadfrack 1

2007-12-16 12:47:45 · 14 answers · asked by Zezo Zeze Zadfrack 1

Fear about my own belief that I may fail, I may be unsuccessful ,I may not reaching the goal in life.

2007-12-16 12:47:13 · 28 answers · asked by chet gurung 2

The five fundamental questions of religions are
-What is the human condition?
-What is spiritual perfection?
-What is human destiny?
-What is the nature of the world?
-What is ultimate reality?

what are the answers to these according to:
-hinduism
-judaism
-buddhism
-islam
-taoism
-confucianism

2007-12-16 12:44:45 · 9 answers · asked by Mars A 1