Fall of the Catholic Church

You're not stepping up and representing though, you'll lose your corner to other dealers very quickly in this hood!

Jesus might think you're too weak for the cause anymore.

He might even bring it up at the deathbed scene, you know what He's like.

He's a stickler for the rules, because it's in the book.

Oh the wit !!! Unbelievable. You should be on TV.....🤣 ( but dont give up the day job, going by the nr of likes you are getting) LOL😂

I made a fairly innocuous comment on the belief system of another poster, a belief system that my wife and her many of her family also share. I'm intimately familiar with that belief system having grown up in it myself. Although I don't share those beliefs, I certainly don't loathe them and recognize that there are elements of those beliefs that offer comfort and support to believers, particularly at difficult moments in their lives. That belief system is something you clearly detest and causes you distress. I suggest you simply ignore it if it's adversely impacting your mental health to that extent.

With respect to your second paragraph, it's futile moaning to me about the scenarios you've outlined. I'm not a change agent and am relatively content with the status quo. Why don't you do something tangible to act as a catalyst for change? Would you consider entering public life and campaigning on that platform?

Abusive comments? Cop on to yourself.

So basically, you’ll continue whining on an obscure website, with ever declining active user counts, but you aren’t prepared to take a stand, to act as agent for the societal change, you so desperately desire. That attitude is the very definition of inertia.

G’luck!

Where did I say any of that? Nowhere.

It's like you're arguing with yourself.

You assume that I can't read or something? His adverts are everywhere.

I know of him.

I have read the debate about the pro and cons of the source material, read about the politics involved in selecting what to include in the bible, the different factions and where they ended up, how the question on whether Jesus was "made" or "begotten" was finally settled, and so on and so forth. Fascinating stuff that leads down interesting rabbit holes.

I've read about other religions and their sources too.

I believe in none of them

We read the same material and came to wildly different conclusions, but the Christians seem to see no need to wonder why that should be, while atheists do.

You're not cut out for this game, a rote Christian! raised on slogans - He died and rose again

Your question asking to prove the non existence of god shows the level you're at.

And the cries of abuse confirms it.

@housetypeb Even though he's been dishing out snide little digs all thread along the lines of you must be an atheist because "something happened to you" or "something is wrong with you" 🙄

T'was a lot easier for them back when all doubters and dissenters could just be silenced, permanently if necessary... 🔥🔥💀

Well Hotblack, seems to be a lot of non-believers taking "Digs and aiming smart comments" at Christianity here on the forum, ( and me personally) and I'm curious to know what drives them to use their time and energy do something like that when they profess to have no interest in the subject????.....just boredom? or is just a hobby with them? As in " lets go on Boards and annoy the Christians?" You've already said that you have no problem's with any religion, as long as it's not taught in the schools, so that's fair enough. And like wise, I can understand people who were abused by Priests and other Religious in schools etc. reacting like that to any mention of religion, that's very understandable. I was taught by the CBS for many years myself, and I don't need anyone to tell me what they were like. And the reason I ask questions, is to try and understand the motivation. Its not a statement of fact implying any fault on the posters side, and neither is it done in a derogatory manner.

If you look back at what I have said its a about the religion rather than the person. General observation about the lack of critial analysis about their beliefs.

What I have noticed is that believers expect deference to their beliefs and feel persecuted when they don't it.

I also think it's important work to attack the malign impacts of religion where ever they appear.

What positive impacts of religion? There are certainly good things done by those who believe, just as there are good things done by those of other religions and those of none.

People should be praised for doing good things, of course, not sure religion has much to do with it.

I already said that religious people do good. And so do non religious and people who have other religious beliefs, So it would seem that religion is not the reason for doing good.

Do you think there are no good deeds done in muslim countries, or India. Do you think that only religious orders do good work?

Why would I ask believers? They are just going to say its because of their belief in God, and just like you are not going to ask themselves any questions. It simply backs up their own bias.

The real question is how can other believers, like the priests who rape children, can do such a thing when obviously their faith makes them inherently good.

This is the your reply that I was commenting on:

And equally praise the positive impacts where they appear?

My point being, as you have accepted but seemingly need to argue anyway, is that it isn't religion that is the basis for good deeds, as evidenced by the many non religious and other religions that do good deeds. Why not ask the believers? Because they of course will say it is because of religion, and do so without any review of the clear evidence that good deeds do not need religion.

If you found out tonight that God didn't exists, are you really thinking that you would never do another good deed?

You do know. You are inherently good, as are the vast amount of people. The very fact that you can't even bring yourself to say that you yourself are good is quite telling. It is an aspect of religion that really bothers me. The feeling that people are not inherently good and need religion to make them do good things.

"If you found out tonight that God didn't exists, are you really thinking that you would never do another good deed?" - I have yet to be persuade that God doesn't exist, so any answer to that would be silly. Earlier in this thread you said that at one point you lost your faith. So you know the answer to this. Where you incapable of doing good deeds during this time of lost faith?

But many of those who are religious and do good works, would claim that religion and their belief is what motivates them. Many serial killers claim that their mother told them to do it. So what? What they claim is not backed up by any evidence. Religion may play a part in their lives, but it is the same as saying that someone who does good deeds only does it because they follow Liverpool!

I would fully agree that the good deed is the most important, and I am perfectly fine with people claiming that religion is the root cause of that good deed. However, one must then be prepared to accept that religion is the root cause of bad deeds. The locking up of pregnant unmarried girls, the crusades, Spanish inquisition. The protection of rapists to protect the church.