To Rapturists: have you no shame?

I agree. He would be condemned by those in these cult groups who claim to follow him and really know nothing of him nor the meaning of his teachings.

Thanks.

It absolutely was the media ( May sweeps, right?), and social networks and the people on all sides who ate it up and used it for their own agendas! That was all you saw up to yesterday! It is amazingly hypocritical. Here these same RWers will tell you that to speak about climate change and the effects of that which man is exacerbating so we can mitigate and or now adapt to it is "fearmongering," However, they can go around telling people the world is going to end scaring children and others and that isn't? Where is the accountability?

You're right in a sense generalnatty, as usual, the media and their hype are to blame. The reason that these doomsday cultists are not out helping their fellow countrymen and women is because the teevee didn't tell them to.

However government enforced tax exemption (501C3) makes seperation of church and state an oxymoron, literally and you can bet 99.9% of these kook churches are 501C3.

There is none, the only accountability was basically the one that was ingrained in the moral fibre of the people in the industry itself which have since succumbed to greed, we have a greedy corporate media that believes in "never let the truth get in the way of a good story" and its only getting worse, they will exploit anything for a buck,there was a time where the media would not publish a certain story because it would destroy a person or there family where there was a conscience amongst at least some of them, but whats worse is how well they were able to turn a non-story into front page news.

They used to tell us the media was reflection of us, as if we were really looking into the mirror of society when we watch the news, the truth is all we see is how the media can control what we think is important, control our thoughts and what influences us, we never really grasped the concept of how powerful it truly is when we read about communists utilizing the media to control the people, but now i see.

Now i got to wonder outside of making money is there an agenda and if so what are they attempting to accomplish?

See in canada churches are charities that have to use 90 percent of there earnings toward charitable works, so no one really complains about the tax exemption up here because no matter what society benefits, my old baptist pastor worked a full time job as well as ran the church, i never could understand how america allowed churches to become a multi billion dollar industry selling holy water on the shopping network, i swear lol "only in america"

Also there are strict rules about how to qualify for tax exemption, those westboro people applied for one up here and they couldn't get it because one of the rules is not to promote hatred toward another identifiable group or religion.

I would really like to agree with you. However, have you not noticed what is going on in all the Republican controlled states? If this is in line with Christian teachings you are reading a different Bible than I am. Look around America is a mess of greedy, arrogant, selfish, materialistic people. Sorry, this is no small group.

In canada the church is only allowed to involve itself in non-partisan politics and can only dedicate 10 percent of there time and resources toward politics or they would lose their tax exempt status, in america the church is an industry another lobbying corporation that that pays its way through politics, people that are in politics for there own greedy personal gain especially on the right, have more control of the image of christianity than the majority of the religious body in america does themselves, you may not know specifically whats going on in the pentacostal church for example but the media has already shined a negative light on all christianity so many may have negative view without having any actual knowledge of the church itself.

For example while this whole fiasco with the doomsday cult was going on, nobody paid any attention to the fact that the presbyterian church just announced it was allowing gay ministers to be in the clergy, now none of that made a blip on the national news but if sarah palin says any sentence with the word jesus in it, its big deal, with no requirement for truth in the american media how can you ever really know if what you are being told is a truthful reflection of whats going on in america or just bias or a way to make a quick buck.

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/11/us/11presbyterian.html

The opposite of "good" is "bad". The opposite of "evil" is "perfection" and since one doesn't exist, why should I believe the other does, and that it has gender and consciousness?

Well, there are Christians who 'are' doing bad things in the name of religion as are Muslims and Jews. The sooner we realize that and call them out on it based on what it is doing to humanity as a whole, then maybe we can see a better world instead of being oblivious to that reality.

all the bad will be taken care of someday and then we will have the Earth as it was meant to be!! I think there are just too much bad for it to ever happen here now....not that we shouldn't try...let's hope 2012 will bring about that new dawning of awareness we so desperately need!!

or the opposite of Evil is Love.....in it's purest most perfect form!! I think we have all seen or felt Evil at work.....and I hope we have all experienced Love!! God IS Love, and Jesus called Him "Father" so I too refer to Him. I feel we all can sense Evil......and Love!!

I do not call those people "Christians" and I am into Jesus not religion!! I am very aware of the bad people who are doing these things that you talk about....and yes, they should be called out.....it has been going on since the beginning of time tho.....and I think we do a pretty good job calling out on a lot of those people! But I am afraid it is going to take a higher Power than we have to actually get the job done but we can always try and hope for the better world we all deserve!! I have high hopes for the new dawning that is coming upon us....

I suppose that could work... I'm not 100% convinced (I'll have to think on it) but you are the first person to have a comeback for that one so kudos and +^'d

OK, The "God is Love" ideal is lovely, but it's a sugarcoated view of God that's likely bad for your health. In a study of 596 people over the age of 55 who were hospitalized for a variety of illnesses; those who attributed their illness to the Devil (A.K.A. Evil) were 19 to 28 percent more likely to die. Those who's God was "bigger"-broad enough to encompass both the good and bad in life-fared better overall.
Besides, most people believe God to be omnipresent, omnipotent etc., so it doesn't make any sense to say "God is in everything EXCEPT for [insert thingy here-NOT THAT THINGY DAMMIT! BACK!! BACK YOU BEAST!!].
Ahem..

Edit: The study was conducted by Dr. Kenneth Pargament who is a psychologist and professor at Bowling Green University in Ohio

Yes, and they need to understand that nothing good ever came from a theocracy.

Agreed. It's time for some shame.

look at that.we now agree on two whole things.
at this rate we will be friends when the actual rapture comes :)

Good story, and that did take guts. We do have our moments. ;-). When I too look back to all of the suffering brought about in the name of religion while preaching about a loving God, it saddens me. Especially now when we see all that is continuing in the world because of it as well. It's hard to keep faith in times like these, but those moments give some hope.

Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing.

Wow I am sooo sorry to hear that a church would tell you something like that about your son. Find yourself another church that teach the Word Chapter by Chapter, Verse by Verse Precept by Precept. A Church that will teach you the truth, One that educate not lie.
A sad story again so sorry.
.

That was no real church you went to. That was despicable and insensitive, and I am so sorry you had to go through that. I have found that for me I don't need a church to reaffirm for me what I already know. I hope you found solace after that incident, and that your son is doing well.

Might want to find a church that just focuses on the rosy aspects of the bible and glosses over the cruel, morally corrupt, misogynistic, and contradictory aspects of the bible. Following it word for word might drive a sane person to the extreme.

For example:

"Lot refuses to give up his angels to the perverted mob, offering his two "virgin daughters" instead. He tells the bunch of angel rapers to "do unto them [his daughters] as is good in your eyes." This is the same man that is called "just" and "righteous" in 2 Peter 2:7-8. 19:8" - One might think a real man would offer himself before his flesh and blood.

"God blessed Abraham by giving him lots of slaves. 24:35" - I am sure they deserved to be slaves.

"Lot and his daughters camp out in a cave for a while. The daughters get their "just and righteous" father drunk, and have sexual intercourse with him, and each conceives and bears a son (wouldn't you know it!). 19:30-38"
-Of course, the daughters took advantage of the father. That must be what happens in every case of incest.

"Laban, Rachel's father, is hunting for the "images" that Rachel had stolen from him. Rachel sits on the "images" and says to her father, "Let it not displease my lord that I cannot rise up before thee: for the custom of women is upon me." She knows that no man will come near her when she is menstruating. 31:34-35"
-Because menstruating women are icky!

"Where did Jesus first appear to the eleven disciples after the resurrection?

Mark 16:14
Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen.

Luke 24:33-37
And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

John 20:19
Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."

Courtesy of the Skeptics annotated bible.

I'm not a Christian but I think I can say that Christianity as a whole won't suffer too much as a result of this. Most people recognize that Camping and his followers are the crazies, the lunatic fringe, the whackos. They were entertaining in their own way. The people who are going to suffer are the idiots that quit their jobs, sold their possessions, their homes and embarrassed their families. Oh, and Mr. Camping of course by virtue, of the inevitable law suits that will follow.

yes, it is disheartening that the Media has to play up this type of thing....it actually scared a lot of younger people and children!! Perhaps if someone did sue him, it would make other false prophets think twice(doubtful).....but he apparently truly believed it was going to happen. I do not understand why he thought that... being a preacher and all, he should have known that there is no one who knows that type of information!! The whole chain of events was quite uncalled for and sad!!!!!!!!! He should have to take that 14 million and do some damage control with it!!

I agree, he should be sued. He and those who pushed this are no different than scam artists.

True. Religion across the board has been corporatized and politicized, and that has taken much of its mystery and true beauty away. I attended an Evangelical Lutheran church growing up, but even back then it was nothing like what we see today. As I grew older I grew away from the church and its structure because I too saw how it was becoming all about the money and too tied to political influences. I turned to reading the Gnostic Gospels and a more spiritual life independent of outside influences and it was the best thing I ever did in finding out more about who I really was and our purpose here.

We sure would. When I graduated from high school ( many moons ago), our yearbook had us put in a phrase that was kind of our philosophy. Mine was, "if you can dream it, you can do it." I still believe that. You have a great weekend too.

Thanks.

Thank you.

So true. And I am also saddened because it is only these Christians who use Christ as their shield that we only hear of. There are many around the world who are true to the words of Jesus Christ and are not filled with such pride and arrogance. But they have been silent as have others in other religions where extremism has taken over. I keep hoping one day that a change in consciousness will come.

Well we were told to pray in secret and not bragg about our "holiness". I guess that and the bit about not going door to door weren't as captivating as all the old testiment killing and abomination stuff. Kennymotown's church of the alien god's 10 rules just doesn't cut it with the crowd of "LOOK AT ME" and gimme mo-money. We just need to keep on trying to make this a better place in the here and now and not sink to their level of vitriol (though I do have my fun pointing ot the hypocracy between what Christ taught and what they say).

And just HOW do you correct typos after you notice them after posting? ot???

Well yes, boastfulness is not what I'm into. My beliefs are private to me and special. The silence I am referring to is in not holding those who abuse what Christianity should stand for, for their own gain at the expense of others. This "end of the world" nonsense is a good example as well as their infusing their extremist policies into our political system. Oh, and if you want to change a typo, there is an edit link under your post that will let you make any changes you need.

"And just HOW do you correct typos after you notice them after posting? ot???"

The links are all to the right of the time the post was left. You have to mouse over them to see them. Edit, Delete etc are over on the right side.