Hey Guyz...

I was gonna post this thread... but then I was told it might burst your bubble because you believe in Santa Claus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U8E0pRA9qxw&p=D45DD1ABB53C1849&playnext=1&index=3"]YouTube- The "Invisible" God

Bill Maher is sooooo cooool...


edit: damnit.. I hit "submit new thread". sorry, ignore this.

 

a fairly pointless video xx

 

I wouldn't say "pointless". The point is obvious:there is suffering and evil in the world, so how could there be a loving God? The "Thinking Atheist" answer is disbelief in God. Note that it doesn't offer a solution to the problems of evil and suffering. Could anyone other than John Lennon be so naive as to think that if we only abolish religion humans will coexist in peace and harmony with each other? The Judeo-Christian tradition hasn't ever denied the suffering and evil in the world. In fact, it might be accused of exaggerating it. The attraction of this tradition is in purporting to offer a way of coping with it. The central message of Christianity is that Jesus offers a way out.

The symbol of Christianity is the cross--one of the most horrendous torture devices designed by human oppressors to inflict suffering on their fellow humans. By conquering the cross, Jesus provided us with the way and means to deal with suffering and evil--not by denying it, but by rejecting it's power over us. As the Buddha taught us, suffering is an inevitable part of the human condition, and much of it is rooted in worldly attachments. As long as we are attached to anything in this world except God and love for our fellow humans, we aren't free. The cross is our liberation.

 

'Our' liberation? God and the cross are behind us. Love wants out!

 

Today bring to Me THE STONED AND HUMBLE SOULS..


Most Merciful Jesus dude, You yourself have said, "Learn from Me for I am meek and humble of heart." receive this smoke ..and this sweet-smelling bouquet aroma of bud before the throne of Allah; God himself takes delight in the fragrance.

O Jesus, they unceasingly sing out a hymn of love and mercy and pray for miracle s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYcI6OEPijQ"]YouTube- Grateful Dead - I Need a Miracle - 9/10/91

Eternal Father, turn Your merciful gaze upon Stoned souls..

Father of Mercy and of all goodness, I beg You to love the Stoners and by the delighted by their stupidity.. for they know not what they do ..

Bless the whole world, that all souls together may they sing out the praises of Your mercy for endless ages. Amen...

 

Use of the crucifix did not begin until the fifth century. The first commonly used symbol was the fish. We also see the dove and the lamb.

Just another way to muddle the picture.

 

the use of the cross symbol originated with the worship of Tammuz and Semiramus centuries before the time of Jesus.

 

So? We might throw in the Egyptian ankh, and the pre-Columbian crosses found in Peru and Mexico. None of them, however, were symbols of crucifixion. Crucifixion was a common method of execution by the Romans, who executed Jesus. It is true that the instrument used wasn't necessarily a cross. It was sometimes a stake, but that would be difficult to turn into a symbol. Stake or cross, it was a horrible death, and evidence of human inhumanity.

 

And utterly irrelevant. The cross is now a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice, and that is the important thing. Doves and lambs are also important parts of the Jesus picture.

 

yes but frankly Christianity doesn't stand or fall on the crucifixion, but rather the resurrection.
Any fool can get themselves crucified, but only one claimed that the only sign to validate all he claimed about himself would be his resurrection.

So maybe Christians should wear an empty tomb symbol around their necks.

The focus on the crucifixion is a misaligned focus.
The focus, as the Bible points out clearly, should be on his resurrection.

 

You're painting with a very broad brush. Symbols are relevant, they are symbols for conditions. There are some "christian sects", that do not use such symbols.
I agree with you that the cross is the most currently recognizable or most commonly used symbol, but we also know that the most common "christian" expressions, in reality are not desirable.
Along with the question is there such a thing as a christian might be is the cross the official symbol of christianity. Is the banner of human sacrifice really the official fundamental force behind the teaching of christ.

 

My point is the cross is yet another symbol or idea adopted by Christianity from other religious sources, all of which have absolutely nothing to do with Christianity. Actually goes counter to it in a lot of ways.

 

lenny bruce said something to the effect that it was a good thing all this happened 2000 years ago

or everyone would be wearing little electric chairs around their necks

 

On this Labor Day Monday, I agree with Orison.

It tells us about it at the beginning...Genesis 1:29.

 

Sometimes it sounds like we belong to the same choir.

 

Aren't we?

As I often say, you and I posses a lot of viewpoints in common, but use different ways and language to express them. But when it is all sorted and shaken down, we often are singing the same song.
:cheers2:

 

An empty tomb is difficult to wear around one's neck, but the resurrection does bring home the triumph over the cross, which was my main point. Would anyone but a determined antiquarian know anything about Pontius Pilate were it not as a player in the drama of Jesus death and resurrection?

 

There is, of course, no "official" symbol of Christianity. I don't view the cross as mainly symbolizing sacrifice, although it certainly does that, but in also reminding us of victory over evil and oppression. I agree, the resurrection is more directly relevant, and if somebody could devise an empty tomb symbol as neckware, I'd be all for it. But to me, the cross is a reminder of the fact that life is a bitch. People die agonizing deaths from cancer, natural disasters, and human cruelty every day. We can blame it on God, or religion, or whatever, as the video that started this discussion off seems to do. Or we can decide how to do our best to help those in need, and to find our own meaning in it, by following the example and teachings of Jesus. The cross and the resurrection are inseparable.

 

Then I'm afraid you may have misread the message.


Phonyism verse 1.1

1.1 "And ye shall know them by their jewelery and trinkets"
1.2 "Yay though I drive on the freeway of life I shall fear no un-believer for they shall know my faith by my bumper stickers and plastic fish affixed to my car"


I never associated Christianity with any symbol because that is not what it is about
I am offended by people who wear their faith around their neck or proclaim their faith by whatever trendy slogan is on this years bumper sticker.

Let your speech and actions declare your faith, not trinkets and trends.