would you consider yourself to be a good person?

Hi, what do people think of this that i found on a Christian fair trade clothing website (www.refinetrade.com)

Regardless of what you believe, you owe it to yourself to discover how real this is...
ASK YOURSELF SOME SIMPLE QUESTIONS.....

WOULD YOU CONSIDER YOURSELF TO BE A GOOD PERSON?

If you died tonight do you think you would go to heaven?
(regardless of whether you believe in heaven or not)

Heres a quick test...

Have you EVER TOLD A LIE?
Have you EVER STOLEN ANYTHING?
Have you EVER LOOKED WITH LUST?
Have you EVER USED GOD'S NAME AS A CURSE WORD? (regardless of whether you believe in God)

IF you died right now... and were before God... (10 people out of 10 die)

Would He find you guilty of these wrongs? (think about it... in a court of law, would the judge dismiss a wrong if you are otherwise a 'good person'?)

God is a loving, but perfect judge who will punish the wrongs of this world by His definitions (the ten commandments)...

If you are found guilty, Hell is the place you will go..

If your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell. Matthew 5:29

think about this statement

Eternal fire.... nashing of teeth..... imagine it.

HOWEVER

Jesus Christ took YOUR punishment upon Himself -
"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16, from the Holy Bible)
After His death on the cross, He rose from the dead and defeated death (This is God's free gift for you - we do not deserve it, but God wants us to have it).

Please, its your choice, say sorry to God for the things you have done wrong, and place Your trust in Jesus, and GOD WILL GRANT YOU EVERLASTING LIFE - Then, read your Bible daily and obey it.

/discuss

 

Yes to all.

God is fair. God understands why we do what we do. God knows how to correct us.

God operates on higher laws.

Call it school instead. Those who do not learn in this life end up in school.

No, he just set a good example. It would not help you to have another take God's correction (for you) upon themselves.

Actually, everyone has everlasting life already. It's about learning to enjoy this life. Some people need to see that this life is not the only one by dying, some are blessed- they believe without seeing.

 

What is there to discuss, that humans are imperfect and some believe in god?

Yes, I consider myself to be a good person. No, I am not perfect. I have done my fair share of lusting, lying, stealing, cussing, and more. I don't need the promise everlasting life to be a good person, and I am not worried about going to hell because hell doesn't exist. I also don't think that my or other's imperfections somehow make us deserving of eternal and everlasting punishment, and any "god" that thinks otherwise cam kiss my ass =p

 

Absolutely, and absolutely. The only reason I might not go to heaven is because I don't believe in God, and I don't disbelieve in him either, so ...

Yes, I've told a lie, but I haven't in the past ... probably at least 2 years.

No, I haven't stolen anything.

Yes, I've looked with lust, if I wasn't supposed to, why would it be (1) built into our psyches for reproduction, and (2) why didn't God disallow us from doing this?

And, yes, I've used God's name as a curse word, in ignorance, and after that, because I don't believe in him.

Would he find me guilty? Of some of them, yes.

But you say that he would punish the wrongs by his definitions, the ten commandments.

#1, if you repent (which if I was before God and knew he existed, of course I would), and try to better yourself henceforth, then you won't be punished.

#2, I am in violation of none of the ten commandments. Most people think that belief in God is one of the ten commandments, but it's not. The commandment goes, thou shalt hold no other idols before me. And I don't. Not humanity. Not the universe. Not even myself. Nothing.

Not if you repent.

Jeez, you silly Christians. Don't you ever read the Bible?

Unfortunately, it is not your eye that sins, it is you.

If you sin with your eye, you will sin without your eye.

So there is no point in plucking out your eye, unless you plan to offer it to the big man himself.

Why don't you start reading your Bible? IT IS NOT A SIN TO NOT BELIEVE IN GOD. Don't believe me? READ THE TEN COMMANDMENTS.

And why would I place my trust in a dead man?

Everlasting life? Why would I want that? The beauty of life is that it must all end someday. There is no beauty in something that is eternal. And similarly, there is no beauty in rule by something that is eternal (God).

Furthermore, I am appauled at all Christians. It's funny because, they all walk around buying into capitalism and supporting corrupt politicians, never once stopping to think if preemptive war with no immediate threat is right or wrong, and then, as soon as they are faced with the threat of Hell, "Oh Jesus, save me! Save me!"

Grow some balls, Christians. Take responsibility AND punishment for your sins. They are YOUR sins, don't punish Jesus for them.

I will never beg God, nor Satan, for forgiveness. I do not want to be forgiven, only put on the correct path. I and I alone will bear the burden of my sins. And if God does not see the worth in that, then to Hell with Him.

 

Good job Hikaru, couldn't have explained it better.

Plus Hell is fake, if you know anything. Too many people worship Jesus and not the message aka you take the bible too seriously.

 

there are no good or bad persons, only bennificial or harmful things that we do.

same goes for the nontangable as well.
there are simply not 'possitive or negative states of being'.
there are only the charicteristics of behaviour and preferences.

=^^=
.../\...

 

Good and bad are synonyms for beneficial and maleficial (NOT detrimental) on a relative scale.

And so the question stands, do you believe yourself to be a beneficial person?

Everyone believes that they are a good person ... it is the exploration of one's actions and behaviours that leads to the truth of whether or not you are good.

And the only person who would willingly say that they believe they are a bad person, is a person who's acting on the coolness of saying so.

 

Nah I don't think so. You stole his punishment, why not feel your own sacrifice?

 

Ok, if you really are sure that this is all in line with the Bible.. if not (and it sounds like that) then you are talking about another god.. and you still have the issue to deal with, with the what the Bible says... you owe it to yourself to find out if these massive claims on your life are true.

 

And you do this how?

By converting to your religion and waiting till your dead to see if the "claims on our life" are true or not? ALL of us here know the christian take on god and the afterlife. It isn't like we've never been introduced to the concept. If we aren't christians it is because we made a choice not to be. It's not because we don't understand christian doctrine, or know that the bible says we are going to hell - because believe me, we've all been told that plenty.

 

Come on... either you believe in God or you don't.. thats like saying i believe in that tree outside and i don't... hmmm

 

surely the Bible should be taken seriously if the claims it makes are true on every individuals lives...

 

dressing up reality with different words does not take away truth.. and the claims the Bible makes about you and where your life is if the Bible is true still are important are they not?

 

Thats a WONDERFUL way to win people over, slavetobutone, just insult their beliefs! You'd make a great salesman!

 

i do not believe i am a good person...

do i care if i am popular.. err no

Do i care about you guys here, yes

 

Please quote me so i know what you are talking about...

my point is that the Bible has such large claims, that its really important to address those claims regardless of what you believe or do not.

 

but its then obvious that you have not been showed how to see God by your initial question.

Did you know that God does not want you to go to Hell?

Read 2 Kings 5, become like Naaman did in His approach to... test God's promises in the Bible. I am not asking you to convert but come before Him with a sincere heart... admit that you could be wrong about Him not being real then ask Him to show you His reality.

 

It is?

What if I wrote a book that claimed if you didn't donate $50 a month to my mother-in-law you would be cast into a the belly of a man-eating monster that lives in space where you will be digested for all of eternity. Should we address that claim too?

All of us here already knows what the bible says about death and the afterlife and the end of the world. I'm aware that you truley think that we are going to go to hell when we die and you want to "save" us from that, but acting like the bible and what it says is the only important and absolute thing in the room is not a way to strike a cord with someone in the atheist/agnostic forum.

Most of us here started out as christians in a christian society and certain experiences and knowledge have changed, diminished, or evolved our beliefs. You're telling us what we already know about your religion. You're asking us to address it like it is a real possibility, but it just isn't. In a round-about way you're trying to throw us Pascal's wager, and it's a silly game to play along with, quite frankly.

 

Your "God" doesn't have to send anyone to hell. According to the christian definition, god is an all-powerful being, creator of all. It is completely within his power to not dole out eternal punishment to ANYONE in the afterlife.

Ok, slave, I didn't pick my beliefs. My beliefs are a result of evidence and experience aquired through my life, not my desires. I enjoy writing fiction, and personally would love for the supernatural to truely exist. However, my desire for that doesn't spawn my beliefs. I just don't believe in the supernatural, and that includes god.

 

I don't believe that you were paying attention, friend.

The original assertion by the OP was, "(regardless of whether you believe in heaven or not)," and "(regardless of whether you believe in God)"

Please pay more attention before you insinutate that I believe in that tree outside, and I don't.

The question still stands. I don't believe in such a concept as heaven or God, but that doesn't mean that the concept doesn't exist altogether or that I can't pretend that it exists, for sake of discussion.

Pay more attention, and then ask me questions about my answers.

Also ... if I am going to Hell for telling a lie as a child ... so are you. Unless you repent. Which I would do too, if God showed me that he existed.

There isn't a single adult alive who has never told a lie, even in their childhood.

Furthermore, I was in violation of that commandment, in the past. But I never said I didn't violate them. I simply said, I do not violate them now. Regardless of whether or not I believe God exists, the ten commandments seem like a fairly good idea of good morals to have, and mine are similar to them (although far more modern).

No shit, but the OP obviously doesn't know much about repentance, because he/she said that you are damned. To which I replied, not if you repent.

Too bad that the summary aren't the actual commandments themselves.

The Bible is just like legal code (which is a reason why I don't like it). The summary of the law might be "love your God and your neighbour and yourself" but the actual meat and bones says nothing of the sort.

Kind of like those laws that say "this law was put into place to get information about terrorists" and then the law is abused and used to get invasive information about any citizen in the U.S.

Lol ... you call my beliefs bizzarre, just because I don't believe in a big magickal sky daddy and a big angry horned three-faced demon whose name means "bearer of light"?

I laugh in your general direction, friend. =)

Congratulations: You understand this concept.

Now look back at what I said, and interpret it as sarcasm.

Congratulations: You now understand my sarcasm related to this concept.

Pretty much this entire post is aimed at non-Christian Christians -- or specifically, the OP.

I don't see Lucifer bowing. Guess that the Bible is wrong, huh?

Besides ... Lucifer wants to take God down, right? I'm sure there is a spot of power, command, prestige, and security, at Lu's right hand.

"God's a kid with an ant farm, and he doesn't have a plan." - John Constantine, from the film Constantine

Who needs his blessings when you have six sixty six?

(laughs demonically)

By the way, if you can't tell, I'm being sarcastic again.

I don't think that hypocritical Chrisitans are any good at detecting sarcasm anymore these days ...

Hehe ... true on every individual's life?

Go fuck yourself, mate.

When I was a kid, I got my ass kicked every which way by my ex-marine child-abusing father. I got picked on by everyone in school. I had no friends. I was the byproduct of the sum of all sins.

And despite all this, I was a pacifist until I was 17. I never hit anyone who hit me back. Maybe that's why they hit me all the time. I made it a point to not hate anyone. To not hold grudges. To turn the other cheek. Back when I was a Christian. A good person. Never did any wrongs, and hell I even washed my own mouth out with soap when I cursed. Nobody even heard me, I did it on my own.

AND WHERE THE FUCK WAS YOUR GOD WHEN I NEEDED HIM?

Watching In Living Colour on Comedy Central?

Maybe masturbating to the thought of Eve naked in the Garden? Daughters and Fathers have that kind of relationship after all.

You, and your God, can go take it up the ass. The only affect that God has had in my life is a negative one.

You say that, God is with you, if you are a good person, you will be saved, you will no longer suffer.

Do you have ANY idea how blatantly wrong that was?

The second I stepped down from such a grand pedestal, and defended myself, I got a little respect. I made a few friends. My life started turning around. When I tried weed for the first time, I became more social. I made a LOT more friends. I became more popular, I became wanted by other people. People enjoyed having me around, and I did them. My life has turned around for the better, ever since I abandoned God.

Why?

Because God abandoned me, and I didn't abandon him.

The same is true of every sad little love story you hear, of someone who suffers because they long for something that isn't fucking there anymore.

You and your fake mother fucking God can cram it up your ass and shut the fuck up.

I don't believe in God, and I don't believe in no god damned Satan either. But let's pretend for a second that they exist. I could sooner swear my undying allegience to Lucifer than I would to Yahweh. He can kiss my kicked ass.

Sure, you care. You care a whole lot. That's why you come on this thread, and you insult everyone's beliefs, under the guise of love and the protection of the two simple words, "God bless."

You make me fucking sick, you cretin.

You speak down to us, like you are some sort of perfect clergyman, telling us how wrong we are and how we will burn in Hell for our sins.

AND THEN YOU DON'T EVEN THINK THAT YOU ARE A GOOD PERSON?

Wander out into oncoming traffick and spare God the trouble of sending you to Hell himself.