Choosing a faith

If atheism isn't a belief, it sure has become a business. Aaron Ra can dye his goatee red, discuss what he *knows* all day long, and earn a decent living off of it. And yet few people criticize him for doing the same basic thing that media Christians do.Why is that?

A person,place,thing or idea supported by evidence. ...that can be detected objectively rather than simply believed or imagined.

Were there any evidence at all, it would not come from finding God (or a god.) It would come from observation and study of the believers themselves. If a given group of people claim that their belief in and of itself should be taken seriously, it would be a good idea to find out precisely what makes these people tick and why (in ancient times and in some radical sects) they willingly give up their lives to make a point. All I know is that for me, personally I'm not about to either give up my life nor give "everything" up.And yet the ghost of ringo keeps telling me that I should. (Even though he would never do it! )On another basic level, I feel as if though I already have given myself up to the God of my belief, but ringo astutely points out that all I have really done is give up my will to a God of my own imagination. Which presupposes that he has figured out what a believer must do even though he himself rejected belief! Of course he gets it from the book.Though I was told (in past conversations) to throw God away or throw Jesus away, I am more likely to throw the book away( figuratively of course) since I believe that the author of the Book lives today and is quite capable of conveying His message directly.

Contentious, aren't we! May I suggest that GDR is himself his own evidence. Its all we have.

I just thought of a joke. Santa represents belief meeting materialism! In the post-war America coming out of Depression and War, Santa Claus represents the Santa that was depicted in the
1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street starring Maureen O'Hara, John Payne, Natalie Wood, and Edmund Gwenn.

Wikipedia:

---

On Christmas morning at a party for Macy's employees, Susan loses faith in Kris when he admits he was not able to get her the house she wanted. However, after Kris offers Fred and Doris a route home that avoids traffic, Susan sees her dream house with a "For Sale" sign in front. Demanding that Fred stop the car, she runs into the house, exclaiming, "Mr. Kringle is Santa Claus!" Fred learns that Doris had encouraged Susan to have faith and suggests they get married and purchase the house. He then boasts that he must be a great lawyer since he proved an eccentric old man was Santa. However, when he and Doris spot a cane in the house that looks just like Kris's, he is not so sure.

---

In the dawn of todays consumerism/materialistic age, Santa represents the spirit of giving...even sacrificial giving, though what ended up happening is that children such as myself became spoiled by parents who gave us far more than we needed.Today's modern progressives have adapted a similar spirit advocating giving sacrificially to the poor disenfranchised masses of the planet.

Remember my old friend Bart Campolo? He is the host of Humanize Me podcast and he and I have had a couple of discussions.Anyway...TodayI woke up (day off) curious about what Bart has been up to lately, and was pleasantly surprised to find he had a good episode earlier this year featuring Vanessa Otero,founder of Ad Fontes Media.The podcast is here:
As usual, Bart had a smart guest and a scintillating show. What a way to start my day!
I suggest that you listen to it, Tangle. GDR already knows who Bart Campolo is and the topic is related to this thread.

Clueless about what? I think its a big mistake to shower oppressed people with reparations in the form of money. It will end up ruining them as much as it did me when I was growing up. Teach a man to fish. Forget giving him truckloads of fish!!

About that word, IDOLThe Bible itself tells us to stay away from idols.
Idolatry is in fact a poison. If we follow your train of logic, however, and have no Gods, we will end up with idols by default. We are not God. Thats principle #1. If we elevate humans to being our collective highest purpose, we will, in my opinion, make a tragic mistake.

Reluctantly I'll agree. It causes anxiety, though.

If nothing else, you may have finally explained what jar always meant when he implored me to "throw God away."And truthfully, if He *DID* exist, i'm sure it wouldnt affect Him at all.Perhaps my only concern would be how such an action would affect *ME*!

The US middle class is not responsible for feeding the world, despite Ringo's insistence to the contrary. The only reason you don't worry about it is you likely get paid by the government for what you do.

As far as the poor in this country, giving them money won't help change their habits and beliefs. If anything, it will teach them to expect the government to help them.

If you people think for one minute that I would give everything up while the rest of you don't, you are crazy.Jesus may actually agree with you more than He does me, but that's something I will have to work out in my heart. As of now, I don't want a government to legislate what is and is not fair to give up. And I won't vote for anyone who advocates that either.

What's NOT Christlike about teaching them to fish(job skills, career help, education) rather than simply handing them a check? They will get food stamp help and section 8 rental assistance as usual but any assistance above and beyond that should be invested in teaching "fishing" skills.

One of the most significant traits in regards to faith & belief is honesty. This morning, I just scolded Dredge for dragging Tanypteryx's topic off its rails, and I then followed Dredge over here to try and establish an argument appropriate thread for personal ranting. Upon arriving at this thread, I saw where Dredge and myself have often dragged this topic off course as well!! Allow me to take some deep breaths and Re-channel this topic back on course.Philosophically speaking, I see my error. When I react to what someone says, I tend to ignore the topic and focus on the sub topic heading and more specifically the written response. Thus, I REACT rather than RESPOND. Again, my apologies. ~Phat
**********************************************************************