From newsmax.com
Submitted by Billy Fleming, Early County News
The Muslim Brotherhood, with the complicity of the Obama administration, has infiltrated the U.S. government at the highest levels and is influencing American policy that leaves the world’s Christians in grave danger, warns internationally known evangelist Franklin Graham.
Rev. Franklin Graham
Christians in these so called "moderate" Muslim countries have been secretly imprisoned and killed for years. This article suggests that tyrants that only secretly kill a limited number of Christians is preferable. That's total ignorance. Jesus sacrificed NO ONE!
I see this as the people of the Arabic nations rebelling against the tyrants who have ruled by the strength/fear of the Islamic religion. Great light will come from all of this.
Gary
Manson, NC
A vote for Barack Obama in 2012 is a vote for peace and finally health care for all Americans.
Best Wishes on that life support system.
This country is not a Christian nation, Muslim nation, or Pastafarian nation(if only). It has no main religion. The men who founded this country were secular and very much closeted athiests themselves. They wanted religion and government to be completely separate. No "one" religion built this nation.
No people, people of the moderate Muslim faith are not trying to infiltrate and destroy your morals and government. This country has been a melting pot of races and religion ever since it has constructed.
Christians, however, seemed to be the ones condemning others for quite some time. Verbally abusing homosexuals, protesting with pictures of dead babies at abortion clinics, and discriminating against people not of there faith.
Tolerant? Yeah I know right.
I'm not trying to call you people out, but get your facts straight for once.
All the best.
The parts about religion in the constitution is for the PEOPLE. It was put in place so that the people can not be prevented from worshiping, praying wherever they wish. My child CAN and DOES pray in school, even out loud if he wishes, and there's not a thing anyone can do about it.
People really should research American History and not make false staements that could mislead others.
This is Gods country, and has been since the declaration of independence was signed, and all the "naysayers" can't do bean dip about it. If you don't like it, leave, but don't spout ridiculous lies.
When the Founders wrote the nation's Constitution, they specified that "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States." (Article 6, section 3) .
Thomas Jefferson stated:
"Christianity neither is, nor ever was, a part of the Common Law."
-letter to Dr. Thomas Cooper, 1814
also:
"Millions of innocent men, women and children, since the introduction of Christianity, have been burnt, tortured, fined, imprisoned; yet we have not advanced an inch towards uniformity. What has been the effect of coercion? To make one half the world fools, and the other half hypocrites. To support roguery and error all over the earth."
- "Notes on Virginia"
Benjamin Franklin made the statement:
"Lighthouses are more helpful than churches."
Along with many others.
Our founding fathers were mostly SECULARISTS, only a small amount were of Christian faith. By many other statements I have read by them I can conclude that some of them were very much athiest.
Oh and before you get mad because you are wrong, while writing the declaration, Jefferson originally put "All men are created equal and independent. From that equal creation they derive rights inherent and inalienable" but congress changed the phrase increasing its religious overtones.
So please, take your fear based religion elsewhere. You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in god. If there is no god, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent god, he will judge you on your merits and not just on whether or not you believed in him.
Warm regards(:
Religion manipulates vulnerable people with the use of fear, hatred, and arrogance disguised as love. Religions claim to know, with 100 percent certainty, how the earth came to be, and that we continue to live in some form after we die. Religion encourages people to do horrible things in the name of their god. It is true that there are also good things being done, but I think that there are FAR more bad things done by the extremists.
No one knows for sure how or why the universe came to be, and no one knows for sure that there is some form of life after death. There is no evidence that we will live on after we die. The religious are all too ready to either die for what they believe to be the truth, or destroy other human lives defending it.
Faith is the opposite of reason. It's time for people to stop believing in childish fairy-tale stories and realize that this life may very well be all that there is. To believe otherwise is nothing more than wishful thinking.
John Adams "The general principles on which the fathers achieved independence were the general principles of Christianity. I will avow that I then believed, and now believe, that those general principles of Christianity are as eternal and immutable as the existence and attributes of God."
Thomas Jefferson "God who gave us life gave us liberty. And can the liberties of a nation be thought secure when we have removed their only firm basis, a conviction in the minds of the people that these liberties are of the Gift of God? That they are not to be violated but with His wrath? Indeed, I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just; that His justice cannot sleep forever; That a revolution of the wheel of fortune, a change of situation, is among possible events; that it may become probable by Supernatural influence! The Almighty has no attribute which can take side with us in that event."
Jefferson also said "I am a real Christian – that is to say, a disciple of the doctrines of Jesus Christ."
John Quincy Adams "The hope of a Christian is inseparable from his faith. Whoever believes in the divine inspiration of the Holy Scriptures must hope that the religion of Jesus shall prevail throughout the earth. Never since the foundation of the world have the prospects of mankind been more encouraging to that hope than they appear to be at the present time. And may the associated distribution of the Bible proceed and prosper till the Lord shall have made 'bare His holy arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God' (Isaiah 52:10)."
Roger Sherman (Dec of Ind signer) I believe that the souls of believers are at their death made perfectly holy, and immediately taken to glory: that at the end of this world there will be a resurrection of the dead, and a final judgement of all mankind, when the righteous shall be publicly acquitted by Christ the Judge and admitted to everlasting life and glory, and the wicked be sentenced to everlasting punishment."
Thomas Paine: "I do not believe in the creed professed by the Jewish church, by the Roman church, by the Greek church, by the Turkish church, by the Protestant church, nor by any church that I know of...Each of those churches accuse the other of unbelief; and for my own part, I disbelieve them all."
George Washington: Washington championed the cause of freedom from religious intolerance and compulsion. On his deathbed he refused any religious methods and the services of a clergyman.
John Adams: He wrote that he found among the lawyers 'noble and gallant achievements" but among the clergy, the "pretended sanctity of some absolute dunces". Also, it was during this administration that the Treaty of Peace and Friendship was ratified that article Article XI states: "the government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion."
Thomas Jefferson: "...which they might build up an artificial system which might, from its indistinctness, admit everlasting controversy, give employment for their order, and introduce it to profit, power, and pre-eminence."
James Madison: "Religious bondage shackles and debilitates the mind and unfits it for every noble enterprise."
Benjamin Franklin: "As to Jesus of Nazareth, my Opinion of whom you particularly desire, I think the System of Morals and his Religion...has received various corrupting Changes, and I have, with most of the present dissenters in England, some doubts as to his Divinity"
In short, most of our founding fathers were Deist, not "Christians". Doing all of this does not matter to you though. As like all Christians, you're shut off to the fact that this nation does not need religion.
And before you throw the "But why is In God We Trust on the money" argument: That wasn't entered until 1956 during the Cold War. It was motivated by a desire to differentiate between communism. In fact, most of the God references that we are used to now were introduced in the 1950s, not during the founding phases.
Graham states "what Obama is really doing is "giving Islam a pass" rather than speaking openly about the "horrific" treatment women and minorities receive." For over 200 years this "Christian" nation was, and in some instances continues to be, guilty of that same horrific treatment of women and minorities. It was also this "Christian" nation that committed genocide against the only true non immigrants ... the Native American Indians.
We must start embracing our differences, learning from each other and making sure that all citizens are empowered to succeed. That is the only way to continue to be great.
Why would you want to condemn a perfectly nice, caring, loving person to an eternal hell just because they don't share the same religious views as your own?
As I stated in my other comment:
You should live your life and try to make the world a better place for your being in it, whether or not you believe in god. If there is no god, you have lost nothing and will be remembered fondly by those you left behind. If there is a benevolent god, he will judge you on your merits and not just on whether or not you believed in him.
I CANNOT stress this enough people. Enjoy your life for what it is--finite. No, you won't live eternally after you die in a so called paradise or scorching hell. But you will, however, live on in the memories of your loved ones and friends.
I like to call this the "secular afterlife" because afterall, it is what it is.
Have a nice day people.
There are as many path's to God as there are faithful people in the world and as many interpretations of the Bible as there are Christians and Jews.
Your body is purely biological and will not last forever-- along with your consciousness. Just because we have evolved to be able to communicate our ideas with each other and actually be able to ponder on life itself does not magically create an afterlife for just us. C'mon man its science.
Once you die, your conscious dies with it. There is no homosapian meet up in the sky. There's, well, absolutely nothing.
"I do not fear death. I had been dead for billions and billions of years before I was born, and had not suffered the slightest inconvenience from it."
A very smart man by the name of Mark Twain made this profound statement. People feel the need to create, in their minds, a reason for why we live and an explanation for what happens when we cease to.
I'm just trying to get more people to think freely and become skeptics instead of mindless sheep. Religion will be the downfall of mankind and it is the duty of the more intelligent to prevent this.
When you tell someone not to touch a burning flame because it will burn their skin, you know what you are telling them is true, because you have been close to a flame before or possibly have been burned before and you know the flame is hot. Therefore, what you are telling them is fact and will indeed be of advantage to them.
Telling someone that they will burn in hell for eternity IS hateful, because not you or anyone else knows that hell is a real place. You might believe it is, but that doesn't make it the truth. There is no evidence for it. You are putting a very real fear into someone based on what may very well be a total and complete lie.
That, in my opinion, is extremely hateful.
Your god committed horrible acts of genocide in the old testament. According to the bible that you believe is the "true word of the one true god", your god once wiped out the entire planet; he murdered everyone except for Noah and his family. (Not to mention that Noah and his family then had to commit incest in order to repopulate the planet) He killed innocent people. Even babies and little children. And that is only one incident. There are many other instances in the old testament where god killed people for the most absurd reasons. That is not my idea of any loving god. Have you read the bible? Do you just ignore all of this, or do you just pick the parts that you like?
http://www.evilbible.com/Murder.htm
"I contend we are both atheists. I just believe in one fewer god than you do. When you understand why you dismiss all the other possible gods, you will understand why I dismiss yours." - Stephen F. Roberts
I never said I *knew* for sure. I don't. No one does. Don't most Christians believe that heaven and hell are very real places?
Are you a Christian because you are afraid of hell?
Please take the time to read through all the comments I have posted. I have already pointed out Russell's teapot analogy.
I can say that there's a giant invisible spagetti monster beside me, but can you prove me wrong?
Nope you cannot.
You can however, use deductive reasoning skills to determine that no such thing exists. With extraordinary claims, you need extraordinary evidence.
That's what we are doing with religion in general. As Free Thinker stated before, religion was created before science could take its first baby steps. Now that we have explanations, people are afraid to break away from what they have been rooted into for so long.
I can see what most Christians do when they feel threatened. They tell you that you are going to burn eternally and refer to countless, vague, and meaningless bible verses. I'm not being intolerant or hateful towards you all, I am trying to piece reality back together for you.
All the best.
All the best.
Thanks for the support!
I posted a well thought out response to some of their so called "arguments" for why homosexuality is wrong according to them and some of the bibles logical fallicies, but surpisingly someone took it off. *Rolls eyes*
Anyways do you visit reddit any Free Thinker?
I've visited reddit a couple of times, but I'm not a regular visitor there.
I love Reddit, you should visit the r/atheism section sometimes. Plenty of funny/good arguments in there.
Well no sh** sherlock. This guy is just trying to scare folks and make a name for himself. And maybe get some tithes along the way.
An interesting site .
http://www.lastdaysmystery.info/beginning_of_birth_pains.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8RV46fsmx6E
I love science too. I always find it interesting to watch attempts of science to explain away things and to support things too. However, one thing science cannot do, and has never been able to do, is explain life from total lifelessness. Science will confirm that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed. Therefore it is scientifically impossible to have life from total lifelessness without a creator. If it were, our universe would be teaming with life on basically every planet or body. Life could just all of a sudden appear and would be able to adapt to the environment that developed it. As an educated person you are already aware that right here on Earth we have living organisms that survive in hostile non oxygen environments. That substantiates the ability of life in space yet we have not ever found any. My guess is that it has not been created or that we are not meant to know about it in this realm of life. You need the ability to think outside the box. Every journey begins with a first step. I feel it is physically impossible to comprehend the scope of the universe. As with school, we may be in our first few steps of learning. And as with school, some of us will pass while others fail.
Right now, it is impossible to travel outside of our home galaxy to see what might be out there. We simply don't have the technology to do it. We may never know. Especially if religion doesn't stop trying to halt the efforts of scientific discovery and research.
I think you are the one not thinking outside the box. Saying god did it is a cop out.
I'm okay with not knowing. That doesn't mean I'm not curious to find out things. The unknown doesn't frighten me. The wonder of the universe is beautiful, but I don't attribute it to a god. "God" is a human definition. It is what it is, whatever that might be.
There are just too many inconsistencies in the bible, and things that happened in the bible are things that you don't see happening in the world we live in. I simply cannot believe it. And I won't believe it just because it says it is true, and because it is the "popular" belief.
The universe is unfathomably large. This will give you a bit of perspective on just how large it is.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVjF_7ensg
Now get out of the box and wrap your hands around that puzzle. No pun intended.
That's a question neither man, nor science can currently answer. But that's like saying why do stars exist? Or why does oxygen exist? It's not really a sensical question that we can wrap our minds around. It exists because of the random nature of the universe.
It all began here on earth in the primordial soup that was present on the surface. The soup was full of different chemicals that eventually formed amino acids, then to proteins, then to dna, then to single cellular organisms and so on. It is really quite interesting stuff. I recommend looking more into for yourself if you have the time.
See, we can currently explain how, but not why. See what I'm getting at?
Quote: "The site I listed basically defined the term "birth pains". And, yes I am aware people have talked about the end times since the beginning and there is nothing wrong with that. As with anything, there is a beginning and an end. And of course it is your right to call it "superstition and fairy tales" and believe anything you wish and tell others your beliefs too. It is not my right to try and force you to believe, but it is my right and responsibility to make an effort to show you the word. Jesus said to go and make disciples of all nations: (Matthew 28). In simple terms that would say to show everyone the word."
So, you believe the bible to be true. Then, you must believe what it says about how the earth, humans, and animals were created. If these stories were true, then why have scientific discoveries and research not found evidence pointing towards that? The evidence that we have found consistently points away from it. I'm sorry, I don't believe the bible to be true, and nothing you say will change that.
Oh, and the end times? According to the bible, the "end times" should have already taken place.
I'll say it again. Just because science doesn't yet have the answers, doesn't mean "god did it". So why do you go around telling people that? Do you believe the bible is true just because it says it is? You have to take what it says as truth on faith. You believe it to be true, and you think everyone else should too. Have you ever doubted it, ever?
As for the rest of your post, it seems like you have done some research outside of the bible, as have I. Good for you. At least you're taking steps in the right direction.
"Wishfully thinking outside the box without the ability to get out of the box"? That sounds like more of an excellent explanation of what you seem to be doing. That box is religion, and I'm staying away from it.
I don’t profess to be the most intelligent person in the world. Therefore, you say, “According to the bible, the "end times" should have already taken place.” Please enlighten me as to where that is said in the Bible because my Bible says no one knows about that day or hour. My Bible explains signs to be aware of which are referred to as the beginning of birth pains. Those signs are so very evident today however, I still don’t know when the end will come, I only know that it will come and signs of today point to that; yet that time still may not come in my lifetime.
You say, “So why do you go around telling people that?” I do believe the Bible to be true and faith is important. However, you are incorrect in your assumption that just because I believe it to be true; I think everyone else should too. Perhaps I can better answer that with a question to you. If you see a blind person about to walk off a cliff because that person can’t see, are you going to allow that person to continue and die, or are you going to attempt to enlighten the person of the dangerous hazard to save his life? You see, with my beliefs I see you as that blind person about to walk off the cliff. I am only trying to show you the hazard; I cannot force you to stop walking.
Moving on to the biggest question you ask. “Have you ever doubted it, ever?” Doubt is a very strong descriptive word as it is phrased in your question and the best answer is faith must curve doubt. I believe the Bible to be absolutely true as I said above but I don’t think there is anything wrong with asking questions and discussing the how along with the truth. The disciples ask questions too.
In closing, I’d like to address the box issue. You and I view the box differently. You say that religion is the box and in reality religion may actually be a box. Christianity is separated from all other belief systems in that it is not a religion such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, or Islam. You see a religion can be described as man’s search for God. Christianity is God’s search for man. Research: When Worldviews Collide by Ergun Caner.
Moving on to #6.1.1.1.1.1 LogicInTheMist on 03/24/11 at 02:29 PM: You obviously believe only in evolution and the concept of creation is a physical impossibility. That is your right. The controversy between evolution and creation continues to this day, with the mainstream scientific consensus on the origins and evolution of life challenged by creationist organizations and groups of which most are Christian. Some see science and religion as being diametrically opposed views which cannot be reconciled. More accommodating viewpoints, held by many mainstream churches and many scientists, consider science and religion to be separate categories of thought, which ask fundamentally different questions about reality and posit different avenues for investigating it.
Of course the Christians are the only ones challenging this topic. It clearly opposes their religious answer for how we got here.
Trust me, Evolution is not controversial at all within the normal scientific community. It's mostly the creationists that try to halt the growth of science by pushing forward their thousand year old answers to our present day questions. Those two just aren't compatible with each other.
And I'd like to address what you said to Free Thinker. You believe the bible to be completely true, no? Well I have some bible verses for you to ponder on:
If a man lies with a male as with a women, both of them shall be put to death for their abominable deed; they have forfeited their lives." (Leviticus 20:13 NAB)
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)
Whoever strikes his father or mother shall be put to death. (Exodus 21:15 NAB)
Yes, I realize these are from the old testament, but so are a lot of things Christians still push to be truth today. It also says homosexuals should be killed in the old testament but no where in the new testament does it mention anything at all about homosexuals. You should have no problem accepting them then, right?
Also take the time to think about these things Jesus said:
"Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household."
(Matthew 10:34-37)
"Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: For from henceforth there shall be five in one house divided, three against two, and two against three. The father shall be divided against the son, and the son against the father; the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law."
(Luke 12:51-53)
These compare well with Exodus 15:3, "The LORD is a man of war: the LORD is his name".
All the best.
You are absolutely right in your reply though. They pick and choose which parts they want to hear.
On a related note, its Richard Dawkins birthday today.
All the best(:
Matthew 23:36
Matthew 24:29-35
Matthew 24:34
Mark 9:1
Mark 13:30-31
Mark 14:62
Luke 21:25-33
These “signs” you speak of have been happening for years and years. Now, of course Christian apologetics will say that the meaning of “generation” in these verses may mean any number of things. People can take these verses in the bible and interpret them however they please. When Jesus says that some of the men standing there with him will not “taste death” before the kingdom of god comes, I take that to mean that it was supposed to have happened before some of the men that he was speaking to died.
Oh, but we are not supposed to read the bible literally, you might say. Or, the word “generation” is used here in a different way than I would think. If your god existed, and the bible was his written word, how are we supposed to know his intentions CLEARLY if he speaks in parables and riddles? You would think, that if he had so much love for us humans, he would communicate his intentions in a way that would be clear and concise, and not open for “interpretation” and misunderstanding by so many people. If someone you cared about was in a situation where their lives were in danger, and the only way you could save them was to write what they were supposed to do to get out of that situation down on paper, would you write it in riddles and metaphors for them to “figure out”? No! You would write down exactly what they were to do. You would not want them to get the meanings of your instructions wrong.
As for your blind man walking off a cliff question, this is just like wdm’s post about telling someone that they will burn themselves if they hold their hand near a flame. If a blind person was walking towards a cliff, I wouldn’t just shout and warn them, I would use everything I had to force him to stop walking. What if he didn’t listen? Maybe he was trying to commit suicide? Would you stop someone from killing themselves if you could? Or maybe he is deaf, and would not be able to hear me. You see, your analogy here takes place in the REAL world. I would be able to physically see this man walking off the cliff, and if I was close enough, I would physically be able to stop him. I would be able to physically see the distance from the top of the cliff to the ground below.
You cannot see heaven. You cannot see hell. You have no evidence for either besides a book that was written 2000 years ago. So don’t tell me I’m about to walk off of a cliff that you don’t know exists.
The disciples? Well, they saw Jesus’ miracles with their own eyes, didn’t they? Jesus even gave doubting Thomas the proof he needed. I haven’t seen any miracle my entire life. I haven’t seen anything that couldn’t be explained by natural phenomena.
You say that Christianity is god’s search for man. God created man, why would he need to search for him? Oh, that’s right. It’s all just a big test. I don’t “test” the people I love, just to see if they will love me in return; especially not my own child.
I cannot believe the bible, because trying to believe it creates a cognitive dissonance that I cannot and will not ignore.
That's a big IF.
Thank you.
SO, DO YOU HAVE ANY ANSWER TO US GETTING AN AMERICAN CITIZEN INTO THE OVAL OFFICE?
I am suprised that someone as intelligent as you profess to be is still buying into that lie. But, you know what, we all have a right to an opinion as long as others are not harmed. Therefore, I am not going to argue or get into some extended "tit for tat" with you over it. Instead I am going to live by my priciples of "embracing our differences". I just wish that you would take a little more time in educating yourself before you form your opinions, especially in the matter that you questioned.
If you are ashamed of Jesus...he will be ashamed of you.
When you get to Heaven, just get in the Anonymous line...it will be the long one.
You can say, "I spread your word and love to all who read the blogs, Jesus."
And in his infinite wisdom, he will probably reply, "But Anonymous, if one of my children had needed your help or prayer, to whom would they have come to ask, as you are Anonymous."
We are no longer a country of compromise which I personally believe this country was founded and made great upon. History shows that we turn our back on our own beliefs when it suits us to do so.
Until we as a people come together and work with each other with mutual respect then this once great nation will continue to fall. Until we stop looking at policy as a sporting event where only one side can win and work together for compromise this country will become more and more irrelevant. Just some food for thought I doubt it will sink in
As for living in this town you have four choices. They are North, South, East, or West. Don't let the door hit you in the rear on your way out.
Besides, it doesn't say in ABRAHAMIC GOD we trust, it just says god. It could me Allah, Jehovah, Zeus, Poseidon, take your pick.
However, I have never seen science turn a life around. I cannot find a scientific explanation for a person addicted to drugs or living a life of crime, who, after being exposed to the Word of God, finds peace and strives to live a life filled with joy and happiness.
Yes, science can do great things. God can do greater things.
To the person who has never seen a miracle... may you open your eyes and heart and find one soon.
I have your scientific explanation. It's called the placebo effect.