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People talk about God and religion very openly, which is somewhat surprising to me in this day and age; so many people do not believe in God, or at least don't follow the 'main' and common religions.

So why do people insist on telling me 'bless you' instead of 'thank you', for my service?

Why do they gotta try and tell me God gave me this or that, assuming I believe?

Even though kind-hearted, why tell me God has a plan for me and is watching me? I don't tell people that there is nothing but the unstoppable flow of the universe and nature watching over them. Cos they wouldn't like that thought if they believe in God.

No offense intended to anybody, but I myself take offense when someone offers me blessings. Or tells me God loves me. It just gets on my nerves, because I COMPLETELY disagree.

Meh, those who believe in God need to keep that stuff to themselves, rather than putting it on people (often blatantly).

Guys this is a serious discussion so please no immature answers.

Nick (Can I call you Nick? ) I'm pretty religious when it comes to these things myself. I'm not saying anything against other religions or anything, (I'm a Roman Catholic) but the keyword is faith my friend.

Faith:
- belief that is not based on proof.
- the trust in God and in His promises as made through Christ and the Scriptures by which humans are justified or saved.
- My definition: It's total trust in the christian faith no matter what you learn in Science, Physics, Biology or whatever.

Science and Religion has been conflicting with each other for a pretty long time now. People have their own beliefs and it's their choice if they want to say "God Bless you" or something.

As it said in the bible, us humans were left with the church and it's our job to spread the word of God. So again, the keyword is faith. It's what keeps the religion and the christian church alive today.

Gawsh... don't I sound like a priest lol. Anyways, guys I have nothing against other people religions or what they believe and I respect that.

Again this is a serious discussion so please no immature answers.

There was this one time when I was shopping at Walmart, and this lady jsut randomly came up to me and said:

"Jesus loves you."

I stood there for a second, then said "Ok...", then walked off. She FOLLOWED me for nearly 5 min, and when I stopped to turn around and ask her what the hell she was doing, she says again:

"Jesus loves you."

That was one of the most random things thats happened to me. I didn't want to be rude and just turn around and say "**** off" either.

i also dont like them to push their religion.. when they try doing
that with me i mostly ask em difficult questions..

"god knows everything, right?"
"yes"
"then why do you pray"

its not that i want them to feel bad or that im discriminating the
christians, but its weird that most of the christians i meet cant
even answer this simple question. i think that is because a lot
of christians nowadays just "are christians" but have been taught
to believe rather than actually believing. mostly the youngsters
that get taught by their parents.

Yeah, I always try not to push it myself. I just don't go around and stalking people saying, things like that. I just keep it to myself. But try to understand that it's sometimes an obligation for some people to spread their faith.

@Cin

Again, It's Faith that keeps christians attached to their belief. Yes, most of us can't prove these things, but we got to have faitht no matter the circumstances.

i know, i spent a year on a norwegian folk high school which was
a christian one.. they spoke about god every morning, afternoon
and evening. i think belief can be a very good thing, but i have
also seen some bad aspects of it. id like to get a discussion going
but ppl might interpret it as flaming. so if you want to know what
i know or have seen tell me

aww Damn you lol

I believe that following a, or even better, many ideals from many different religions can be beneficial and make one a 'better person'...but I think that once faith comes into play, once you need to start believing things that not only can't be proved but that don't even sound quite right to yourself...you're making a mistake.

Why would you live your whole life based around a comprehensive list of rules and ideals to live by, solely on the foundation of faith? What if you and everybody else was wrong? You just lived that restricting, confining ideology in order to go to Heaven or to be rewarded your 40 virgins...to end up rotting in the ground, done.

But hey we're getting a bit off-topic, my point is in people being so open and/or prying about it. Especially at work - I work with almost 2000 other people, and so many of them try and tell me god bless you or god loves you or that he has a plan for me...and I find it incredibly inappropriate, yet they do it as if it's nothing, or even complimentary. I just want to go off on them about all of MY theories concerning why we're here and what's gonna happen...but they would almost certainly take offense and not look at me in the same way anymore.

Yeah, I don't like it either.
It only seems to be christians that push their beliefs on everyone too.
I don't know the religion of any of my friends, or any people I know unless they are christian.
There was this one kid I knew for a year, and one day, he said he was going to Hebrew class, and another of my friends said "Why are you taking Hebrew?" And he said "That's what Jewish people speak."
And, after knowing him for 14 months, I finally learnt he was Jewish.

You would blow up here... people often bless others... very often... and yeah i find it quite disturbing and offensive as an atheist, i consider that catholic people (in this city's case, because catholics are more common than christians) assault others when saying this... the fact a person believes in something they think is true, doesn't mean it's true for everyone else. So i think a "thank you" will always be better than a "bless you" when you don't know the other person, and their religious beliefs or lack of them

Couldn't agree more.

haha, i personally find organized religion to be a joke.

lots of my friends believe in God, and they all went to a friday youth group, so i went with them for a while. it was cool, and the youth pastor was nice.

don't get me wrong, finding religion to be a joke is my belief, and i don't go around calling all religious people delirious n all that. in fact, i have many religious friends, some very connected to their beliefs, and they're all really nice people, and I'm lucky to have met them.

Lol I would have said "if you are an idiot say Jesus loves you. "

I pray because even though God wants you to take some steps in your faith. God knows everything, however he gives you free choice. God doesnt want mindless robots to worship Him, He wants people to follow Him by their own free will. He's not FORCING you to pray, nor be a christian. You have to take some steps on your own.

Here's one thing about the Atheistic mentality that i don't understand.
Heres the scenario:

Atheist:

I die, there isnt a God nor a Heaven. Well its all good then. I just die
Or
I die, there is a God. I go to Hell.

Christian.

I live my life, die and there isnt a God. I lived a life based on principal. then i died. Sounds fine to me
Or

There is a God. I die. I lived a Moral life. I went to Heaven.


I don't understand why you wouldn't be a christian. Well you could say: I want to be able to the things i want to do. Like i want to have sex with every other girl i meet...Why would you do that anyway? Seems to me that all the people that do that have screwed up their lives.

On the topic of evolution: I believe the theory of microevolution is true. Why wouldn't God make organisms adaptable to their surroundings? I, however, don't beleive in macroevolution.

Don't get me wrong however, im not just following God blindly. I have a mind open to logic. To me however, everything ive seen points to God.

And to the people who would say : You christians dont accept poeple. You're just as bad as everyone else. Christians who follow the bible do accept poeple. Don't get me wrong, the bible does say it's wrong to be Gay, however we are supposed to show love ( stop thinking those thoughts you PERVS ) to everyone.


I'm open to all arguments.

I hate it when christians say "well, if u die, and there's a hell, u'll go there." or something to that effect. i mean, it sounds like they're christian just for assurances sake, not true faith.

and who's so say atheists can't live a life based on principal? i live my life based on my own principal. i may not pray, or go to church, but i respect people, i don't live a life of crime. from where i'm standing, i'm not too far off from my christian friends, except that i don't believe in God.

Whether religion is based on fact or not, it still holds valuable principals and morals. I'd rather be at least influenced during my life by religion rather than shutting it out completely because of a chance that it might not be true. After all, something had to start everything. Whether it's random scientific theories or some all powerful creator(s), something had to start everything.

im not saying that's why i believe I'm just saying, what reason is there for not becoming a christian? You have nothing to lose.



Edit: Read reises post above. That's the point i was trying to make there.

I'm not saying you can't live a life of principle, however, it still doesn't make you sinless. no im not saying im perfect. I'm sinful, however, i can be forgiven. There's much more incentive for me to live a moral life when I beleive in God.

Also, wouldn't it be rather dissapointing if life lacked a purpose. You're born. You live your life. You die. It's over. Doesn't seem to be a very bright outlook on things.

You say you're not far off from you christian friends. If you act like your christian friends anyway, what reason do you have not to become a christian? You have nothing to lose.

What about the evidence of intellegent design. There have been comentarys on Intellegent design by non-christian scientists.

A good summary of why/what i believe is Mere Christianity by C.S lewis.
It's not a long book. He was a former Atheist, and actaully set out to prove Christianity wrong, before his conversion. He didn't write the book to try to preach to you, or convert you. He just tells why he is no longer athiestic.

If you want to get a good non-preachy summary of the christian faith. read that book.

On the contrary, if i act like my christian friends, i still can not become what they are, because i don't believe in the existence of God. That's my reason, and it should be my only reason, because that's all you need isn't it? to believe in God.

i obviously haven't shut religion off completely. my friends influence who i am today. i'm thankful that i have friends that had a strong moral background, because i'm sure some of that rubbed off on me as well. Even with atheists (and other people of another faith) who do not have very many devote Christian friends (i'm sure u can find a few), they do have very similar moral codes.

as to whether heaven or hell really exists, i can't say. all i believe is that as of right now: there is no God.

and my life has a purpose. i plan to become an architect, save money, get married, have children etc. I plan to do all the intricacies of life that make living so great. My parents worked hard so that I can live my life a little easier, and i plan to further that "teaching" along to my children, and grandchildren.

you really have a low respect for life if u think that without God, life has no purpose. Why do u only concentrate on death? "you'r born, u live ur life, u die." That's not it. God isn't everything. the world is everything. there's a whole world out there just for you, yes you! ur friends, family, random people u meet on the street. ur games, ur musical instruments, ur books. they're all at ur disposal. u could say that God gave u the opportunity to have those things, but i'd like to believe that it was the brilliance of humanity that gave those things to us.

rofl "you have nothing to lose.. so become a christian"

i never heard anything like that.. this sounds like recruiting ppl
for the salvation army. they also have nothing to lose.

cause we might just simply think it's all bs

I mean why should care about it? if I don't believe in it I don't believe in it that's all there is no ''If god exist I might...'' In my mind it's clear ther eis no god and no heaven. why? cause if there was one I would have reason to believe in it... ok jesus walked on the water and all, moose does his magic trick... but what with George Bush? he's fighting in the name of god no? the only thing he can do is choking on bretzel...


If I have no proof or any decent explanation to something I wont believe in it. Even if I'm taking the risk of going in hell if there is one

Lets see, They care about you, they believe in god, they want to bless you and protect you or whatever. don't bitch about it. even tho you don't believe in it, atleast it makes them feel better.
I went to India, i don't believe in their religins but i went with my friends to some temples just to watch, priests were like blessing us or whatever we didn't bitch and asked them to stop..

You still havn't answered my question. Why not? what will you lose by becoming a christian?
I'm trying to understand the atheistic mindset.

And yes, i do try to get poeple to become christians. For what reason would i not try to show poeple the way to enternal life. If you're horribly offended by it then i wont shove it down your throat.

TOloseGT: I don't only concentrate on death alone. I personally look ahead. I've wondered what happens to me if i die. This is the answer that i found to be the most logical. I don't think God wants me to hate life, I just also think there is something to look forward to. Sure, the brilliance of humanity gave us those things, however, i believe that the brillaince of humanity is God given.


It's late, and I gotta go to bed. 'night.

yes thats all really nice and stuff. i will tell you what some of
the "extreme" christians, that move to these countries to bless
people, think of the local religions..

when i was in norway, i was at a certain meeting with a
christian speaker. she lived in a family in the middle-east for
about 2 years.

somebody in the family died while everybody was at home.
people started panicking and screaming and all the girl said
to us was that she felt sorry for those people.

sorry that they were praying to a non existing god

WTF she said the person would go to hell and thats why the
people were screaming! i mean.. we have to feel fine with
religious people, and we do, but if i hear things like this i get
really pissed off -_-"

christians say that the moslims are invading the western world..
but what have christians been doing all the time in the middle east.

it seems to me they dont care about you. to be honest it feels
to me that religion is a drug, and praying to god and talking about
it makes you forget the real hard world that you are in. why else
do they keep getting former alcoholics to talk about how god "saved"
them. he was completely lost. anything could save him as long as
he would believe in it. and saving persons from alcohol is no miracle.
rehabilitation clinics do it all the time.



answers to your question: - i dont want to feel like a complete retard
and believe somebody just snapped his fingers to make a world.
- i have never seen, heard nor felt god even though ppl kept telling
me hes all around us.
- i dont believe all in the bible is true. somebody couldve just made
it up. ppl thought the blair witch project was real too right?
- i tried understanding the christian mindset and its not my thing. i
shall never believe.
- i believe more in ghosts or reincarnating than in heaven and hell.
- my parents never taught me to believe in god. they didnt spam me
with it every single day.
- hell yeah i went to church every christmas. did nothing with me. just
part of the routine.

about showing ppl the way to "eternal life".. rofl who would want to
live forever anyway. highlander, superman and that captain of the
black pearl werent too pleased with it.
why has nobody ever found heaven. they flew to the bloody moon

and im not offended by christians with an opinion; i just dont get them
and i dont believe a word of what they believe in thats all.
i mean.. christians are laughing at scientologists.. both are laughing at
moslims.. they laugh back at the christians, scientologists and whatever
cult/religion on earth. who the heck is right? they dont make it easier
on us do they...

edit: oh yea and i do have sex and i love it.
LOL i even had some christian gf and they didnt mind either.
will they go to hell?

i don't think the question u'r posing is fair.

in essence, u lose nothing by being christian, but u lose everything if u don't. however, i think it's my inability to become christian, that's what's stopping me. even if i wanted to (i don't), i can not become christian.

Oh this is just BS to get there and get the oil..
People now using religions to get to their political greeds..

For me i have alot of friends from each religions, i don't stand up to them and tell them you are going to hell, hell i even ask them to pray for me..


lets face it, religions makes people feel better, and feel that they exist in the world for a reason, i am not gonna ruin that for them, even if i don't believe in that..
it's human nature, when you are in a big trouble what do you say? oh god?! even people that don't believe in god say it, oh common, why asking for help from something you don't believe in, it's because human is a weak superstitions race.. they need a god to believe in.

thats why i stated religion seems like a drug in a way.

anyway, i have christian friends / girlfriends and i dont bother them
and they dont bother me. just this one girl -wtf- found it offensive
when we said "JESUS WHAT A NICE CAR" because the name of the
lord shouldnt be used in such a way -_-" her problem is that she sais
she believes but as soon as we start a discussion, she walks away to
the toilet

What you do not take into account is the following. There must be something beyond this life. It does not end in your body discomposing. That's simply not it. You need to care what your eternal life will look like. Wether you like it or not, one day, you will die. What happens afterwards, depends on what you did in this life

Blaise Pascal once said the following:
If God does not actually exist, and you believe in him, you lose nothing.
But if he exists and you do not believe in him, you lose everything.

+1

You couldn't be more wrong.

lol im not right but u arent either..no one knows but i believe what choco said