Quote:
Originally posted by James
Oh boy oh boy oh boy!! Fresh meat, steamy and juicy! :)
So we're flawed, big whoop. So they chide themselves on the things they do wrong (which I wonder about, but I'll take it as a given for the sake of discussion), woohoo. My problem with religion (and for that matter, Alcoholics Anonymous) is that it tells us we can't get better on our own, only through -insert deity here-. People are flawed but we do this amazing thing called "learning" where we realize what our actions are and the consequences they have, and then we mend our ways. We aren't allowed to say to ourselve "Dang, we suck, we wish we were better people" unless we make an actual attempt to fix ourselves. And the big news flash here that way too many people don't seem to realize is that it's a thing that's well within our grasp as humans. We'll never be perfect but that's damned well no excuse to go through life acting like we're King Shit of Turd Mountain just because we've bought into the idea that our flaws can only be fixed by outside or divine intervention.
Oh, and I'd say the score on Christians being persecuted vs doing the persecuting is pretty even. Bad things have been done to and done by this particular religion (which is merely one of several worldwide, although quite popular in the Americas) and honestly, I don't care anymore. The scorecard is full, can we start over clean any time soon?
James
See this is where I disagree with you. You say "My problem with religion is that it tells us we can't get better on our own, only through -insert deity here-". However Christianity does not teach that our problems can be solved through God. God is not some instant fixemup tool that makes all our problems go away. Those who follow Gods teachings would hopefully be wiser people and not "King Shit of Turd Mountain". We as people have the ability to become better people because of choice, and we can also become worse (OMG! Matrix reloaded flashback!). Even those who call themselves Christian have the ability to choose to act as they should, or act like an idiot. No one proclaims that once you become a Christian you are perfect. Heck, that is only the beginning. For the rest of your life you have to live up to the standards of being a decent person. This means you can't rob cheat and steal not only 'cause God said so, but for yourself.