Religion & Spirituality - 23 December 2007

Since it's quite obvious that religious teachings are in many ways metaphorical and subject to wildly varying interpretation, why does so many people insist that their personal interpretation is correct, when the language itself is written is such a vague style?

2007-12-23 05:21:48 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

Are they a good supplement for professional therapy?

What about free forums and paying sites?

What are the best sites out there? And how do they help?

2007-12-23 05:19:25 · 7 answers · asked by Deelite Me! 2

2007-12-23 05:17:32 · 16 answers · asked by g 3

i want to follow taoism. is it a religion or a philosophy? do taoist believe in any gods?

can you please give me some details about taoism?

thanks :-)

2007-12-23 05:15:45 · 4 answers · asked by the girl ♥ 4

In a question I asked about three weeks ago, someone wrote, "The Tanakh is VERY specific about how the Jewish people should recognise the real messiah. Specific events must happen and if even ONE of them fails to take place, then we are to assume we are facing a false messiah."

As Christmas is almost here, I've been thinking about this person's answer. My question is, "Which Messianic prophecies were not fulfilled by Jesus of Nazareth, whom the Christians believe to be the Messiah?"

2007-12-23 05:14:54 · 11 answers · asked by The Non-Apologetic Apologist 3

i do not believe in god but believe that we was put here by another race so if anything happens they can come and harvest us...body parts ...or even food yum yum

2007-12-23 05:13:43 · 22 answers · asked by Anonymous

Have you?

Do they really act like they are on acid and had a wee bit too much moonshine?

2007-12-23 05:09:02 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous

They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their fathers, with all their heart and soul; and everyone who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, was to be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. (2 Chronicles 15:12-13 NAB)

I thought that God wanted people to love Him sincerely.
Clearly God is forcing people to believe in Him.

And killing? How come God is so vicious and blood thirsty?
Putting so much killing orders in the Bible is just absurd.
Kill gays, kill witches, kill non-believers, kill brats, etc.

Those laws were for Israel but that doesn't disclaim the fact that God made those laws.

Is that a God of love?
So what if the Isreal people were off path from God? Does that make it ok for God to kill kill kill and rape and have slaves and such?

God's evil laws in the O.T. just shows how evil God is not how loving He is.

So why call Him God of love?

2007-12-23 05:07:49 · 29 answers · asked by Anonymous

Thank you for sharing.

2007-12-23 05:05:54 · 33 answers · asked by MoPleasure4U 4

What a shmuck!

2007-12-23 05:04:14 · 7 answers · asked by Buke 4

11 months a year Christians tell you that money is the root of all evil, a false idol, that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to get into heaven--then come december they say" That would be just PERFECT for Joanie--wonder what she's getting me?"

2007-12-23 05:04:10 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

would you say they are some people who need help upstairs in this section.

God was never real you can not prove he ever lived at all

2007-12-23 04:55:46 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous

How would you explain evolution and the fall of man? Or the concept of Adam being the first man? Or that Death existed before the fall of man? Or would you just dismiss the entire genesis account? But then what would that say about Jesus who makes reference to Adam? Was he just making an allegorical reference? Is Genesis entirely figurative? What are your thoughts on all this?

2007-12-23 04:54:04 · 29 answers · asked by Nautica™ 5

not possible to build something so big

then think if it was built how did he feed all the animals

this story is not true

your thoughts please

2007-12-23 04:49:54 · 23 answers · asked by Anonymous

This lady asked for a lift to Church today morning and since i had time, i dropped her there. When we reached the Church, She said "Merry Christmas" and asked if i celebrated Christmas myself. I gave the honest reply that i celebrate all occasions irrespective of religions but deep down inside i felt that if occasions can not bring new agendas of Love and Peace then they merely become a cultural thing. I kept these feelings to myself because its sad to see so much poverty and lack of Peace around the world these days. Religion is just another hurdle to find Worldwide unification. Dont get me wrong, i am theist but i think the journey is about hardships without complians and expectations. My question is "Dont you think religions institutions should be an icon of hope and Love for humanity and not merely people segregated for belonging to a specific religion or denomination?"

2007-12-23 04:45:58 · 17 answers · asked by semi enlightened 2

Did Jesus exsist before creation and Adam and Eve and if so where does it say the writer and the verses please write as much as you know and thank you for answering this question today and have a Merry Christmas

2007-12-23 04:45:25 · 25 answers · asked by ? 1

...I ask this because I feel somehow that Christ is more than Jesus.
I just want to know what you are thinking.

2007-12-23 04:44:40 · 13 answers · asked by Claudia A 2

What do catholics believe? Are christians and catholics different? What do they have in common other than being humans? What do they believe about the prayers? Why do they believe the teachings of the church?

And most importantly...
For catholics and/or christians only...
Why are you Catholic?
Why are you Christian?

2007-12-23 04:42:32 · 14 answers · asked by Arcen 1

(Deuteronomy 22:28-29 NLT)
If a man is caught in the act of raping a young woman who is not engaged, he must pay fifty pieces of silver to her father. Then he must marry the young woman because he violated her, and he will never be allowed to divorce her.

What kind of lunatic would make a rape victim marry her attacker? God?

The O.T. got much more violent and vicous words of God in it but I don't want to expose it.
I know this was the law for Israel people.
But that is not important.
For whoever those vicious killing and raping laws were for God still made them.

How come an all loving God show such evil and violence?

You can't say that prophets misinterpreted or twisted Gods words since that would disvalidate the whole Bible.
How can you know whether the modern Bible is tampered with or not?

NOTE:
My son asked me this question after reading the O.T. Bible I had in the shelves.

I don't blame him from not attending church anymore.

Comments?

2007-12-23 04:38:59 · 28 answers · asked by Anonymous

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2004088502_santa23m.html

2007-12-23 04:34:11 · 27 answers · asked by Anonymous

Is the reason for the season to "Collect the whole set"?--Tree, santa, frosty, snowglobe........they came out with an animated inflatable ice skating rink this year--the wal-mart god saw it and knew it was good.........

2007-12-23 04:33:39 · 16 answers · asked by Anonymous

WAS JESUS PREACHING A DIFFERENT MESSAGE HERE THAN WE PREACH TODAY? OR ARE WE PREACHING A DIFFERENT MESSAGE THAN HE PREACHED?



Mark Chapter 10
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?

18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God.

19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother.

20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth.

21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.

22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

2007-12-23 04:32:47 · 33 answers · asked by don_steele54 6

Jesus' dad was a jerk!

2007-12-23 04:22:27 · 37 answers · asked by Buke 4

2007-12-23 04:19:13 · 12 answers · asked by hog b 6

"Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumscised, Christ shall profit you nothing"
Surah 5:73 "Surely they are disbelievers, those who said "Allah is one of the three in a Trinity.' But there is none who as the right to be worshipped but one God. If they cease not from what they say, verily a paoinful torment will befall the disbelievers among them."
Go on to read John 17:21 and 14:8 aso with Philip and John 4:24 and 5:37 and I Timothy 6:16
Maybe then you can turn to Mathew 1:18 and finally wake up. InshAllah amen.

2007-12-23 04:17:59 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous

This idiot wanted all racists to burn in Hell. When I responded that we are supposed to love our enemies, even racist, I get an e-mail calling me a racist (I'm white, my kids are black---go figure) and a murderer because I'm a vet. This is Sunday morning, I'm on R&S with my Bible right here to support my statements. So, instead of getting more angry, I'm going to pray for this poor, misguided soul. But, isn't there something we can do to keep unsolicited insults out of our e-mail?

2007-12-23 04:17:44 · 15 answers · asked by RT 66 6

i haven't gone to church in over 3 years, for personal reasons. Let's just say, my mate cheated on me for 6 months with a church girl. After that, I lost all respect for Christians, and haven't wanted to be around them. But I want to try again.. at a new church.

But I don't like that, as a member, you are expected to support the church with your "prayers, presence, gifts, and service". I am okay with all of those except the gifts. Do they like, bill you for church? Or ostracize you if you don't give? I can barley make ends meet as it is, I wouldn't be able to uphold that leg of the table of membership. Should I not join?

And also, is it OK to take communion before I am an official member? I was baptized and confrimed as the same religion as this church.

2007-12-23 04:16:59 · 26 answers · asked by Me 1

The original Hebrew scriptures are written in a dead language. Even today, we keep getting more tidbits of info about the language, and keep updating the Bible with yet another translation. The "virgin" passage in Isaiah actually meant "young woman." Why would God write His word in a language and then let it die out, so we need experts to tell us what it means?

The churches can't even agree on which books are to be put in the Old Testament. The protestants took some out, claiming that they were "not part of the original Hebrew", but the Catholics still have them in their own section (apocrypha). Wouldn't God want to make His word less ambiguous?

The decision that Christ was literally God, and not just His son, was only accepted years after Christianity had been around, and was done in part out of fear that the religion would become a sort of semi-polytheism, like Hinduism. Wouldn't God want to make His existence more clear cut?

The God of the Old Testament is responsible

2007-12-23 04:15:23 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous

The more we learn about the brain, the more it becomes clear that the notion of a soul is totally unnecessary to explain human psychology.

So why does anyone continue to believe in a soul now that we know so much about how the meatloaves in our skulls work?

2007-12-23 04:14:00 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous

I realize this is going to come off snide and I don't intend it to but I am truly curious.And apologise ahead of time if it seem's like I'm being snide.But I am trying to understand this better..
Why do most Christian's think they have the right to claim Christmas when in fact its mainly a "Pagan" holiday?And why don't they give credit to the religion whose traditions they are following?
Is that not a hypocracy in and of itself?

Thanks

2007-12-23 04:12:30 · 14 answers · asked by Malia G 4