Hitchens: Christianity is a fraud if it’s not literally true
source: http://rawstory.com/2009/10/hitchens-christianity-fraud/
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- WakeUpPeople
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Hitchens, an avowed atheist whose 2007 book God is Not Great attempts to divorce conservatism from religious teachings, discussed the role of religion in American society in the wake of a recent study (PDF) that shows the number of Americans who claim no religious affiliation has roughly doubled in the past two decades, from 8.2 percent in 1990 to 15 percent in 2008.
The study, conducted by Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, predicts that a full one-quarter of Americans will have no religious affiliation by 2028. The study notes that the number of non-believers among younger people is considerably higher than among older people, suggesting that the trend of Americans growing less religious will continue in coming years.
Those people who claim no religious affiliation are "not all atheists by any means," Hitchens told host Gretchen Carlson. "They're just people who don't attend a church, don't have a faith. I think it's fair to call them agnostics. The number of people, like myself, who think religion is false, that it's a delusion and that it's bad for you, is still pretty small."
Hitchens said Americans are increasingly turning against organized religion "because they want to push back against theocracy and the parties of God and the awful challenge they pose to us internationally."
"By the way, your side seems to be winning in public schools, at least across America," Carlson told Hitchens.
Hitchens appeared on Fox with pastor Douglas Wilson, who appeared along with Hitchens in the recent documentary Collision, which explores the battle of ideas between the religious and the non-religious.
The two came to an unexpected agreement on one issue: They both attacked the notion, popular among some secular thinkers, that Christianity is a socially positive thing even if it's not true.
"If Jesus didn't come back from the dead, then Christianity is appalling, it's an appalling fraud and delusion and every unbeliever should attack it," Wilson said. "Christianity is not good for the world because it makes people decent and sober and that sort of thing. At the end of the day, if it's not true, if it's not objectively true, then I don't have any more use for it than Christopher does."
Hitchens echoed that idea, but made it clear he does actually consider Christianity a fraud.
"They say, well the Bible story's not really true, they're morality tales. Don't listen to it, because if it's based on a fraud, if the virgin birth and the resurrection and the miracles did not occur, which they did not, then those teachings are immoral, they teach that sins can be forgiven by throwing them on to a scapegoat -- a positively wicked doctrine."
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boothanew
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that blonde bitch is so fucking rude!!
anything that questions her religion pisses her off...it's pretty obvious where her and fox news stands on religious debates....they try anything they can to make athiest/free thinkers look like the devil to spread their agenda.i also found it funny that she tried so hard to point out that he made a living out of being an athiest (as if it should matter in the debate in the first place) and she acted like she was scared of him....
how many pastors own megachurches?? how much money do you think they make?? - 1 year ago
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boothanew
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sugarlilly
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that interviewer is ridiculous. she words things to favor the pastor! to the atheist "you've made a career as an atheist" then to the pastor "please tell us why this atheist is wrong". fuck fox news. and fuck mythical texts that people make too big of a deal about (christianity). ugh vomit vomit vomit
- 2 years ago
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sugarlilly
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JanforGore
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And it left out that Jesus was the companion of Mary Magdalene and that she was to head his church. She even wrote a gospel that was hidden in Egypt with the rest of the Gnostic Gospels. Which is why the Council Of Nicea wrote out all references to Jesus's "humanity" in seeking to make him only "divine" so as to keep a hold on people by stating the church was the intermediary between him and them. We need no intermediary to know the light of truth. A little piece of it is in all of us if we would only look for it. That I believe was Jesus's reason for being here. To spread the truth that he was not God, but that we all are and to show us how to find it.
http://southerncrossreview.org/29/pagels.htm
“Faith is our earth, in which we take root; hope is the water through which we are nourished; love is the air through which we grow; gnosis is the light through which we become fully grown."
- 2 years ago
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JanforGore
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jubal
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JanforGore:
Jan you are wise beyond your years.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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csmonut
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JanforGore:
Ditto that, Jubal.
- 2 years ago
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csmonut
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csmonut
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As to the bible...it's a book and a not written very well, at that.
Man wrote it.
Man wrote it and put forth his own thoughts, words and feelings.
There was no god involved in writing any bible. Be it christian, muslim or jew. - 2 years ago
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csmonut
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EdJoyProductions
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csmonut:
Amen to that. Specifically MEN wrote it. Thus the demonization of women and fear tactics. Any being, if it existed, that could create the universe could never be so shallow.
- 2 years ago
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EdJoyProductions
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csmonut
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As the Catholic Church was purging it's "flock" of pagan worshippers, and it seen revenue falling due to that purge and people getting really tired of being told what, when how, why and where, the church decided they needed a Messiah.
So they took a real person, Jesus, made him into a Messiah, and told people he was the son of god.
History is not quite that simple, there were many factors surrounding the purge, etc. and it didn't happen overnight.
Jesus was a real person, but he was just a man who had something very important to tell people.
"Be nice to others and yourself."
Would that we all could follow that simple teaching. - 2 years ago
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csmonut
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Gravity_Man
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csmonut:
People nowadays crave exotic & exciting answers. They also want to take scissors to the Bible and keep the parts they want... which is usually the parts they approve of. What parts they don't approve of gets chucked. Kinda explains why we are where we are eh? Each chooses to pound God into what they want, which is nothing more than making your own golden calf. Finding Bible truth sounds great but the idea of accomplishing it with a pair of scissors is foreign to me at the moment.
Maybe I'll change my mind later.
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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jubal
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@GAVINTHEMOTHER one good example is found in the book of Mark. A woman comes to Jesus to ask for help for her daughter. The woman was a Syrophoenician. He argues with the woman basically calling her a Dog saying "the food is reserved for the children (of god)".
Her response to him was "even the dogs get to eat the crumbs from the table of their masters."
This is contradictory to many of Jesus other statements saying that all human beings are the children of God; except, according to Mark, the SyroPhoenicians.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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JanforGore
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jubal:
Perhaps that is more the fault of the writer than the subject? If you know of Elaine Pagels, she wrote an account of Thomas that was quite illuminating regarding how he was written of in the Bible that dispels the myth surrounding him as well. But again, I do believe much of the Bible is open to interpretation, and I don't see it as a threat to my own faith. And when I speak of the Bible I do not mean the Old Testament as I don't espouse at all to the cruel depiction of God in it. The Gnostic Gospels would be in my honest opinion a far better choice for reading to find out the *truth.*
- 2 years ago
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JanforGore
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jubal
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@NOTFOOLED Where are those original texts written by Paul? HMMM? Could you point to them on the internet or at Amazon where we may all purchase a copy of them?
You cannot, because the oldest scriptures used to translate the NT are aprox 1200 years after the alleged death of Jesus.
You need to learn about the oldest handwritten text called the "Codex Sinaiticus". It is 1600 years ago and is in the process of being translated to many languages. The controversy of this book is that once it has been fully translated, it will reveal how much the current modern day bible translations have been manipulated over the past 1200 years and even to this day. There were several new translations that have appeared in the past 50 years. They have omitted huge parts of both the OT and NT scriptures.
The point is that what you read today in a bible has been manipulated by the politics of the Empire and the Church.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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EdJoyProductions
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jubal:
NOTFOOLED is. Nice response. :)
- 2 years ago
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EdJoyProductions
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Gravity_Man
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Ran out of space. But God did not influence anyone to shoot and kill that false brother. No, but what He can do is withdraw the protection of his holy spirit and withdraw any angels assigned to accompany us in our work. Of course no one can see all these things with their eyes but the few times we have seen stuff like this happen presents a very convincing case. Otherwise we might be shaking in our boots every time we walk up to a stranger's door.
A lot of you are real upset because you see your US government becoming more and more looking like other world governments. This was foretold in prophecy in a roundabout way. Found in the writings of Daniel there's a prophecy of a statue made of many types of material. Chapter 2, where it says in the last verse the statue is to be destroyed once for all time verse 44 "and the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin".
Well, all the world governments today make up that statue and they sense this kingdom "threat" is coming closer, so they are pulling together to the point where they all look the same, and very united in purpose. Anyone who wants to explore this further => http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060715/article_02.htm the Bible is coming true. The days pass and just as the Bible tells us elsewhere "Jehovah is speeding it up in its own time". Why would God alter the rate of time? It's because we are getting closer to the setting up of his kingdom government to rule humanity and finally bring world peace. As in the previous post, He controls a lot more than we are able to see with our eyes. He has already set the "day and the hour"? Perhaps so. Knowing the exact time he certainly can and probably has for a long time, but the closer we come the more need for tweaking the clock... because God honors his own timetables.
Just like when he finished each creative day then pronounced them good, he will one day soon pronounce the final outworking of his purposes to be good also. We have yet to finish the last creative day. But following the 1,000 year reign of his kingdom, and all people will be restored to the perfection Adam & Eve had, then will come the end of this last creative day we are in now. After Satan is unloosed from his restraining bonds we will be tested again also as Adam and Eve, and probably by something exceedingly SIMPLE as another fruit restriction, not something complicated we watch for.
And after all that is over those who survive will be pronounced good, at the end of this creative day.
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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Gravity_Man
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Your view is very common and accepted nowadays Mark701, because that line of thinking is very liberating. But if you knew that God is able and has in fact done it to influence the thinking of political people towards the end He wants to happen then much of your argument hinging on what Constantine and others did falls a little earth flat also.
To be liberated of all responsibility to obey a deity may be very appealing however, when you liberate yourself from this oppressor's grasp you have also cut yourself out of the future He plans to bring. And that future will be world's above what any man can give you under any political regime of whatever philosophy you choose, it still hinges on the words of a MAN to fulfill.
The God of the Bible has a different reality than ours. We see everything through a stopwatch. He sees the Past, the Present and the Future all at the same time as if there is no such thing as Time. He can reach back and make real-time adjustments if we make a choice in our Present that threatens to change the outcome He wants to happen.
He can and does also drop a religion that fails his purposes like a hot potato and choose another religious group to carry His purpose forward. When it comes to the outworking of his purpose, one being to restore mankind to the timeline that He began in Eden, we are all expendable. And I do mean "we", because in our religious group (JW) we have sometimes had impostors infiltrate our ranks just like everybody else.
We have accounts of what happens to people like that. When we go to people's doors many times the person at home will have a gun and yet they decide not to harm us but one account I recall in particular a brother was in the door to door work and he was shot through the door in his chest and died on the spot.
Later on when the brothers were cleaning out his belongings for him they came across a large accumulation of literature that clearly showed he was against Jehovah God and against JW's also. This is only one instance I know about. God takes care of his congregation. On the outside of his congregation -where you are choosing to be as is of course your Right- you do not receive that level of care. It's every man for himself and that usually means not so good.
But his other son besides Jesus, called Satan, he does do stuff to take care of you, so that many people outside the congregation will be seen prospering financially. Choosing that has its perks, but in the long run those who wish to catch the long ball -everlasting life in perfection => Matthew 5:5 that Jesus repeated as still being our objective and hope- suffering financially is a very temporary issue.
My hope is to catch that long ball. I believe this existence we have now is an aberration of what was supposed to be and that a course of correction has been set in place, so I try to live in accordance with Bible standards because I want the reality that is soon to be restored. The Bible is very clear about that. What was begun in Eden has been repeatedly re-stated throughout the remainder of the Bible and culminates in Revelation 21: 3 & 4.
I wish you well. You are welcome to write all the derogatory stuff you want about the other religions because we do that also, just that we add Bible scripture as our basis. Nor do we belong to any ecumenical body or the World Council of Churches kumbaya movement. We're standalone. We don't believe in a God who would create a place of eternal torture for people who refuse His Blessings and sin. That's a scriptural outrage and false teaching. We don't attempt to mash the Father with the son into a "Trinity" conglomerated being. In fact my friend the world's religions many times in our history have pleaded with the political people to ban us and stop our preaching such is their hatred for Bible Truth.
It's being done in Russia right now, today. Anyone serious about living in that restored reality finds themselves at odds with those who think this short sheet is real.
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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Mark701
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The Bible is not the inspired word of God, it is simply a book that was written by men who were trying to hold a diverse flock together in the face of Roman persecution. It's contradictions and prejudices reflect those held by it's writers. The bible and christianity would have been relegated to the backwaters of history had it not been for the pagan Emperor Constantine who made Christianity the state religion and backed it's spread by codifying its concepts and supporting them with military strength. It's sadly ironic when one considers that all the murder, rape, pillage and mayhem done in the name of god is rooted in a ploy by a very clever Roman emperor to maintain control of his empire. When he died, the lie lived on because those in power were determined to stay in power. There is really nothing more to Christianity than that. The same is true for Judaism and Islam; their concepts were deified so that a small minority of people could maintain control over a large minority. I'm hoping that someday, man matures enough to cast off religious nonsense in the same way we cast off our belief the world was flat.
- 2 years ago
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Mark701
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jubal
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Mark701:
@NOTFOOLED, this comment also answers your question you posed to me earlier.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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Gravity_Man
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Every person who believes in Jesus alone is a brain washed simplistic simpleton.
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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hpseaton
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Gravity_Man:
And that's why I'll stick with Thor and Odin.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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NotFooled
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Gravity_Man:
What do you mean "Jesus alone" ?
- 2 years ago
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NotFooled
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Gravity_Man
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Gravity_Man:
Anyone who believes in Jesus alone without knowing his pre-human heavenly existence -and importance to his Father- plus also without knowing what his role is now in this past century -as having taken his place on the throne and begun ruling as king which he had to wait many centuries to be given him- is believing because they want to believe in SOMEBODY, which may as well be Thor or Odin. It's the same level as someone who falls in love because they're in love with being in love it's a wonderful feeling what with a dump truck load of endorphins coursing through your veins and the resulting morphine-level high, but the real thing comes when you learn the rest of the package... and graduate from pew sitter to street witnessing doer... which endorphins fall short of causing. Only a complete knowledge of the "Big Picture" will take a person above simpleton level, and this web page is as good a place to start as any => http://www.watchtower.org/e/20060715/article_02.htm
I should add that I was raised in a church setting and I was one of the brain washed for my young life also, so it isn't like I'm talking about "everybody else".
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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Atalanda_Cameron [removed]
- This comment was removed as a violation of community guidelines.
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Atalanda_Cameron [removed]
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hpseaton
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Atalanda_Cameron:
I've read the bible, numerous times, I've studied it historically and critically, Atalanda so that is why I am quick to take issue with it. I love to bash religion, just returning the favor since it's been bashing mankind for so long.
Jesus preached love? Yes, but does that matter if it was all written by men living long after any historic Jesus departed the scene?
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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NotFooled
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Atalanda_Cameron:
hpseaton you don't know what you are talking about. The oldest part of the New Testament was written by the apostle Paul between 80 and 90 A.D. Most of the rest was written around 30-50 A.D. Alot of whom were eyewitnesses(disciples).
- 2 years ago
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NotFooled
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wayseeker
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Jesus doesn't have a copyright on love, non-judgment, etc. Many have come to these conclusions about life without his input.
- 2 years ago
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wayseeker
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GavinTheMother
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If people were to actually listen to the words of Jesus (including Christians), the world would most certainly not be worse for it. Jesus taught love, non-judgment, and service to others, including people who don't give a damn about you, even to the point where you would be willing to suffer for it. The fact that nobody cares what Jesus actually said isn't his fault.
- 2 years ago
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GavinTheMother
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hpseaton
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GavinTheMother:
Ummm....have you read your New Testament lately? Jesus said a lot of things, some contradictory, some not peaceful at all. It all depends on which gospel or epistle you consult. This is why christian apologists exist: to try and explain all the inconsistencies and downright contradictions that can be found.
'The fact that nobody cares what Jesus actually said isn't his fault.' Lots of people care, in fact they pull all the various strands of his preaching out and use them to buttress their numerous beliefs.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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GavinTheMother
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GavinTheMother:
Yes actually I"m quite aware of the New Testament and I'm not sure what you're talking about. When was Jesus contradictory on how to treat people? People taking various things Jesus said just to "buttress their own numerous beliefs" isn't listening.
- 2 years ago
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GavinTheMother
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royulery
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governments use religion to promote war. they say "we are the chosen", how many groups say that? do we believe the; mormons or the jews, maybe the druids? it would make a big difference if their were one religion. i find it odd that the biggest faiths; hindhu, islam and christian, are almost the same size, about 20%.
- 2 years ago
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royulery
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kineticolive
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It is people who are certain that cause problems. If we all just contemplated more on how little we know instead of on what we believe, then the world would be a better place.
- 2 years ago
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kineticolive
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quitedandy
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Watch her body language.
- 2 years ago
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quitedandy
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FishaHouse777
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quitedandy:
A supernatural force (wether being, energy, thought, or spirit) sparked the first Big Bang which spawned our universe. From this bang came upon all laws of physics, newtonian and quantum, and then beginning of evolutionary life.
My deep beleif is God (or whatever name you give it) created the universe, but life or evolution took over from then on. I also beleive that it is possible to consciously re-unite with God spiritually, but never physically. God is completely meta....meaning he can't be sensed with the five senses, only emotionally and spiritually felt.
Meditate on that, it's neither religious or atheist....It's just my thoughts on "being" - 2 years ago
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FishaHouse777
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ankab
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Big surprise. He's an atheist. I'm glad it was posted on a Monday.
- 2 years ago
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ankab
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Saladin
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ankab:
He doesn't even remotely represent the atheist movement.
Can you think of -any- other atheists think that the Iraq war was a good idea so that Muslims could be killed?
You're as much of a dick as he is.
- 2 years ago
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Saladin
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FishaHouse777
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ankab:
I can actually think of quite a few, but I still understand why you and other commenter's on this thread hate him so much. He brings a bad name to the religion, or institution whatever you want to call it, of Atheism. He is the Judas Priest for you guys, and someday he will probably be excommunicated from your ranks.
- 2 years ago
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FishaHouse777
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hpseaton
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ankab:
Blahh....there are no ranks, there is no defined movement! Hitchens speaks for himself. When I speak, it's for myself - not for some mythic atheist command group. I have never agree with his politics, but I support his right to say whatever crosses his mind on whatever network is crazy enough to invite him.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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ozoneocean
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This is childish stuff. This shows the level of understanding of human history and culture of a child. How do these idiots reach adulthood? Of course there wasn't any resurrection or miricales etc, that doesn't invalidate almost 2000 years of human history and culture just because some moron misunderstands the cultural concept of religion.
- 2 years ago
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ozoneocean
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hpseaton
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ozoneocean:
'Cultural concept'? So because religion fucked us up in quite a few ways but that doesn't invalidate it because it's the cornerstone to our cultural identity?
Should Hitchens spend precious time laying out every academic argument before getting to the crux of his issue? People watching Fox are more likely to believe in miracles, the literal interpretation of scripture, etc. then have any inkling of religion's imprint on the culture.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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RFIDemocracy
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What I object to about Hitchens is his cheerleading to kill Muslims and his unflagging support for the invasion Iraq.
Plus, he is generally obnoxious but I admit he can be rather brilliant if controversial. - 2 years ago
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RFIDemocracy
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EdJoyProductions
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RFIDemocracy:
Christopher Hitchen's stance on Iraq and Islam are disturbing but he has many spot on insights about how religion has destroyed many lives and retards technological and intellectual growth. It is not necessary to agree with everything he thinks but his general message is sound.
- 2 years ago
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EdJoyProductions
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Chod77
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I detest Christopher Hitchens. I saw him debate Dinesh D'Souza last month and he was just terrible. He also comes across as a sexist bastard because of his views on women in comedy. He isn't half as eloquent as Dawkins.
On another note. He always looks sweaty and greasy.
- 2 years ago
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Chod77
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EdJoyProductions
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Chod77:
LOL. I think I like him because he always looks sweaty and greasy.
- 2 years ago
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EdJoyProductions
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Gravity_Man
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Paranoia grips the land. Can our Caped Crusader save us? Will the Boy Wonder take Batman's job while he's on vacation and then not give it back because of Obama? Stay tuned for next week, same Bat channel, for more fraud waste & abuse of dollars that have no value!
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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ksutherland27
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WOOOO Trinity i live by there!!!!!!
Funny thou..they have a pro-religious bias...or so i had come to believe
- 2 years ago
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ksutherland27
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JanforGore
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Let's see Hitchens prove his point then instead of simply spouting out. While I personally find it questionable that Christ rose from the dead physically, I can believe the interpretation could also mean spiritually. Remember the time period we are talking about and that words have different interpretations. Spiritual enlightenment and "resurrection" are something I happen to believe are very possible and how I wish to interpret that, so who is Hitchens to deny me that belief? How does it threaten him? But again, if Hitchens is so gung ho about shooting his mouth off, let's see his proof besides attacking an entire group of people.
- 2 years ago
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JanforGore
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Gravity_Man
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JanforGore:
You all need to listen to this girl, she speaks God's Truth! Jesus didn't raise himself from death. He stayed faithful to death and his Father raised him up. If Jesus had raised himself back to life then what meaning his sacrifice? There would be no meaning.
Jesus walked the walk right into the grave having faith he tells us to have, faith that God will give us back everything and then some, including restoring the inheritance Adam lost. Dead on the money Jan. The first man lost our right as sons and daughters of the Creator to enjoy this Earth forever. Jesus came from a cushy spirit life down here to walk our walk and show that Adam could have remained faithful.
Now we can switch parents, switch off from being headed behind Adam into death and accept Jesus as the new Adam, and take our place in a restored parentage and a soon to be restored timeline.
Jan was right to question that false teaching. If Jesus was really God and raised hisself back to life then he never really died and couldn't be the second Adam for us. It would all be a sham and a first class scam, smoke and mirrors holy water we're being asked to drink. The word trinity is not even in the Bible but it was a popular feature in ancient Babylon where it was copied from to help "heathens" convert to the Church.
They also adopted the cross from ancient religions also. The New Testament writings the word was not cross (crux Latin) the word used was stauros, meaning pole or tree. They didn't add a cross member til much later, but adopting the cross also helped ease the conversion to the Church. All a big scam to add numbers to membership rolls and build the Church into what it is today.
Full of priests. uh-huh The night light is in your eyes now.
http://www.newpath4.com/ouijaboardsexposeddevilsatandemongamemsgyeswecanwearejeh...
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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RFIDemocracy
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JanforGore:
Then why does the bible offer so much detail with respect to the physical aspects of the story if it is only allegory? Seems intentionally deceptive at best.
- 2 years ago
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RFIDemocracy
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FishaHouse777
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JanforGore:
Don't pay much attention to the bible, it was written 2 centuries after Jesus' death. Jesus also didn't start Christianity, if anything he was a cultist (and I don't mean that in a bad way). But what you can follow is your own inner beleif of what is true and false. If jesus was real he would want the people to live a peaceful and spiritual life, not one arguing over God's and No-God's. Beleiving in the Bible is like beleiving in Tall Tales.
- 2 years ago
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FishaHouse777
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hpseaton
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JanforGore:
'Prove his point'? We're talking about faith, there's nothing to 'prove'. Everyone just has opinions, we give credence where we wish. Religious people 'spout off' all the damn time, with a shred of fact. So why shouldn't their attackers do the same thing? Plus, Hitchens knows his stuff, he just chooses his arsenal according to the venue.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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JanforGore
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JanforGore:
Yes, and vodka is usually what's in his arsenal. And so what you are then saying is that he is "attacking" simply for the sake of attacking. So nothing to see here.
- 2 years ago
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JanforGore
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EdJoyProductions
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JanforGore:
You say "vodka is usually what's in his arsenal" like it's a bad thing. :)
- 2 years ago
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EdJoyProductions
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jubal
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I have to agree with this man about that point, but I would go further and say that all the Abrahimic religions are frauds; Judaism, Islam, and Christianity.
I don't know much about the man who wrote the book or what his wider views are. I guess I got some reading to do.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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mjseydel
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jubal:
I would suggest reading his stuff. The man is brilliant. Right or wrong.
- 2 years ago
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mjseydel
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NotFooled
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jubal:
And what do you base your conclusion on that "all Abrahamic religions are frauds;..." ? Just wondering what your professional qualifications are.
- 2 years ago
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NotFooled
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jubal
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jubal:
I don't have credentials from some University like a PHD in Theology, if that is what you mean. But I do have a long history of personal experience, study, and self education focusing on the history of these three religions and their texts; that by the way cummulatively claim 1/2 of the World's population.
I say that they are frauds because they cannot prove historically or scientifically that their most sacred tenents are true. The diety they technically worship is the so called "friend" of Abraham, because he was such a loyal believer because he was willing to murder his own son to prove his loyalty to his bloodthirsty "friend/God". Why would a benevolent diety, who Jesus, supposedly the diety's son, said is Love require his subjects to prove their loyalty through a murder? When you take a serious look at the maniacal edicts of this Friend/God of Abraham, you start to paint a portrait of a homicidal psychopath.
Jesus is a paradox. He probably never existed, but yet his story and his words are not, as a general rule, followed by his followers. They prefer to follow the homicidal psychopath and complicate the thing by claiming that Jesus is part of a trinity diety, like a homicidal psychopath with multiple personalities or bi-polar disorder.
However, sadly even if Jesus were real, many of his words would have been distorted by the same political/religous union; The Holy Roman Empire with Constantine at the helm.
Shall I go on, or are you going to dismiss me and my ideas becasue I don't have the proper credentials?
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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jubal
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jubal:
One other thing. Remember the old adage that states "you are what you eat"? Well I would argue that the followers of the homicidal psychopath reflect the pathology of their God. They imitate his psychological makeup. War, judgment, murder, punishment, and genocide are an integral part of the history of all three religions.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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FishaHouse777
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jubal:
Jubal you are taking words out of context, you need to re-evaluate your "findings" over the bible. I say only the bible because from what you just said it is obvious you are only using the bible as your proof of words. Nonetheless though you do bring up a couple good points, just saying don't rant on calling God a homicidal psychopath from a folk tale in one scripture.
- 2 years ago
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FishaHouse777
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hpseaton
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jubal:
Have you read the bible lately? There's dozens (that's being lenient) of stories that reflect some bad morals and some large character flaws. No one's beliefs are free from critique.
And Notfooled what do you mean 'professional qualifications'? If you've read the bible (qu'ran, etc.) or been immersed in religion at any point then you can make a value judgement on its inherent merits. Tons of religious believers do that all the time with little or no formal education.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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NotFooled
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jubal:
But just because you have read the Bible or been immersed in religion, does that give you the expertise to say that all Abrahamic religions are a fraud.
- 2 years ago
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NotFooled
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jubal
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jubal:
I believe it does. These religions are being judged by their fruits. What are their fruits? Why don't you elaborate on how they are not frauds?
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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humanaut
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"If the story of Jesus Christ isn't literally true, then Christianity is a fraud that promotes 'a positively wicked doctrine,' conservative writer Christopher Hitchens told Fox & Friends Monday morning."
I'm no fan of Hitchins, but I must admit he's absolutely right on this point. The documents within the New Testament itself claim that Christianity is a fraud if the resurrection never happened (in particular, St. Paul's letter to the Corinthians). This is nothing new.
- 2 years ago
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humanaut
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hpseaton
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humanaut:
What is new is that someone is taking it to the masses (ie Fox).
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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Gravity_Man
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Everybody seems to get on TV... but, getting on TV isn't necessarily something to brag about that TV chose you to fill the time between their commercials.
- 2 years ago
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Gravity_Man
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Saladin
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Hitchens is useless.
I don't know why he's put up as high as Dawkins or Harris to represent our movement, he's a total cunt.
- 2 years ago
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Saladin
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jubal
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Saladin:
Why is he useless? Please elaborate.
- 2 years ago
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jubal
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mjseydel
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Saladin:
I second that!
- 2 years ago
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mjseydel
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EdJoyProductions
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Saladin:
I will give you that this was probably not the best interview, but Christopher Hitchen's book "God is not Great" was quite good.
- 2 years ago
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EdJoyProductions
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Chod77
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Saladin:
Agreed Saladin. He really is useless. If anything he makes us look bad.
- 2 years ago
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Chod77
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hpseaton
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Saladin:
As I've said before, I like Hitchens. I like the fact that he says what is on his mind and he's elegant doing it, usually. Good to see one of the 'godless' tearing into those who want piety and deference towards their chosen faith.
- 2 years ago
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hpseaton
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DJMatt2
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Well that's sure to fire up the self-righteous. Sort of reminds me of Denny Crane's closing in "Boston Legal" where he talks about having a bulls-eye on his backside.
- 2 years ago
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DJMatt2