gravid
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posted on April 11, 2002 11:30:23 AM new
http://www.startribune.com/stories/562/2207318.html
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kraftdinner
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posted on April 11, 2002 01:55:08 PM new
I absolutely feel the same way this guy does. The God I know, has nothing to do with the crap that's going on. Maybe 'religion" itself is the false prophet.
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alwaysbroke
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posted on April 12, 2002 08:32:18 AM new
I agree. The Bible calls this psuedo-religion a harlot. It walks around posturing and pretending to be "religious." The word religion or religious now leaves a bad taste in people's mouths.
Terrorists and sex offenders who do things "for God" have ruined the word, "relgious."
Every time the TV news people call the Church of Nativity in Bethlehem a "holy shrine of Christians", I cringe. Christians go to houses of worship; shrines are idol worship. Shrines pilgrimages are practices of pagan cultures.
The news keeps throwing out the words, "eye for an eye." Wrong again. That was part of the old covenent mentioned in the old testament:
Matthew 5:38-39 “You have heard that it was said, [b]`Eye for eye, and tooth for
tooth.’[/b] [Exodus 21:24; Lev. 24:20 and Deut. 19:21] [i]But I tell you, Do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes
you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.[/i]
What about blowing up your enemies to earn a place in heaven:
Matthew 5:43-45 “You have heard that it was said, [b]`Love your neighbour [Lev.
19:18] and hate your enemy.’[/b]
[i]But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.[/i]
I realize I'm going to get blasted, and some are going to say that the only religious people they know are all crooked. Well, then that should be a clear indication of whether they are of the real church or the harlot church. I'm sorry you don't know any real Christians, but their sorry lives don't make God evil, anymore than postal employees going on a shooting spree make the post office evil.
lurking is not an option
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kraftdinner
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posted on April 12, 2002 11:18:40 AM new
Well said alwaysbroke. I agree with everything you say.
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gravid
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posted on April 12, 2002 01:45:29 PM new
On the news last night they had a poll of trust in institutions. The only one that ranked lower than Eron management was the Catholic clergy. That is just sad. Both actually ranked lower than politicians.
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Borillar
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posted on April 12, 2002 02:03:25 PM new
That article is wrong when it states that political leaders will now come out against religion. Hell, if it wasn't for religion and their abuse of religious followers, not a single one of these maniacs would be placed into power. Oh, sure - they might make a public display of their horror at such things. but in the backstreets, they'll be there suckering in the faithful to pledge them powr, money, and their lives. What politician is going to give that up any time soon? Not George Bush, not Sharon or Osama Bin Laden.
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Borillar
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posted on April 12, 2002 02:39:19 PM new
Alwaysbroke: that part in the old testiment about the eye-for-an-eye thing was about compensation in ancient jewish civil law courts. In other words, if you caused someone to loose an eye, you would be expected to compensate that person for the loss of that eye (money, property, services, etc) -- not have your own eye plucked out as so many people have misinterpreted it.
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gravid
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posted on April 12, 2002 05:40:14 PM new
Borillar - There is a passage warning about a jealous husband who will not take any offered compensation for his wife being violated that gave me the impression that such payment could be refused - in which case you would be in deep deep trouble.
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outoftheblue
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posted on April 12, 2002 08:35:44 PM new
alwaysbroke
Edited to add: "The Bible calls this psuedo-religion a harlot."
I think you're right on track. Some day that religious slut will be wearing claw marks. (Rev 17:16)
[ edited by outoftheblue on Apr 12, 2002 11:08 PM ]
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rawbunzel
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posted on April 12, 2002 08:49:43 PM new
Oh my...religious slut??
This view of religion agrees with my own. Religions are nothing more than large corporations out for all they can get. This applies to large organized religions not the small ones.This is why I have always thought they should pay taxes on all the property they own.
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gravid
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posted on April 12, 2002 09:44:08 PM new
The Supreme Court has correctly noted in connection with this matter that the power to tax is the power to destroy. Therefore the tax exemption is both an acknowledgement of the constitutional seperation of religion and the polite fiction that government could not destroy religion.
At least they don't do that stuff here anymore like in kingdoms where they say "By the Grace of God his Majesty etc, etc...and attribute their reign to Divine Providence.
However the right to tax being the right to destroy did not stop them from ramming through a constitutional ammendment for the income tax - which tells you what they think of YOU.
[ edited by gravid on Apr 12, 2002 09:46 PM ]
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rawbunzel
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posted on April 12, 2002 10:02:13 PM new
I don't think they should necessarily tax the church building. Most major religions do tend to own a lot of other properties that should IMHO be taxed.
[i] And believe me I KNOW what they think of me as a citizen.  [i/]
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twinsoft
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posted on April 12, 2002 10:48:27 PM new
Borillar, interesting idea. Your comments are supported here.
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outoftheblue
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posted on April 12, 2002 10:52:29 PM new
[ edited by outoftheblue on Apr 12, 2002 11:10 PM ]
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auroranorth
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posted on April 13, 2002 05:20:09 AM new
opiate of the masses (only true thing the guy wrote)
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figmente
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posted on April 15, 2002 10:26:50 AM new
The exemption from taxation implicitly requires that the government recognize what is and is not a valid religious organization, and to the extent that religious organizations are exempted from taxes due from all other economic entities it constitutes a subsidy of approved religious organizations.
Claiming the tax exemption is required by the principle of the separation of church and state is a polite fiction to justify governmental subsidy.
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gravid
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posted on April 15, 2002 11:22:24 AM new
I remember reading in The Humanist that there is a bill before the Congress right now to remove the restriction that religeous organizations lose their tax exempt status if they engage in political activities.
It would substitute the wording that they will not lose such status as long as the political activity is not a substancial portion of their activities. But does not define that.
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mrfoxy76
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posted on April 15, 2002 11:24:01 AM new
99% of all the worlds wars through out history can be traced to one form of religion or another....religion has its good points....i guess this is one of the bad ones 
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nycyn
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posted on April 21, 2002 05:15:10 PM new
Several days ago (Mrs. Daniel) Pearl wrote a piece in the editorial section of the NY Times editorial section. I liked her interpretation of *jihad*.
I'm am atheist. I'm not so sure that's so good for The Kid in 2002 NYC. Values and morality are just not general interest topics.
(Maybe in another week I can work up to learning The Link Thing.)
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Borillar
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posted on April 21, 2002 08:36:54 PM new
"Borillar, interesting idea. Your comments are supported here."
Sorry that I didn't see your post earlier, twinsoft. I copied it to a text file for future corrections (I also read it).
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Borillar
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posted on April 21, 2002 08:42:40 PM new
"... lose their tax exempt status if they engage in political activities."
Oh, ho! I'll betcha this one gets hotly debated! I'm all for it! But I'm an altruist when it comes to God and spiritualism. When IO was a teen, I figured out that any religious body that participates in politics or attempts to sway legislation is nothing more than another political party and no longer a religious body. (paraphrased) "Render unto Caesar those things which are Caesar's, render unto God those things which are God's." In other words, keep Church and State separate. Neither should State interfere with God and God's Domain; nor should religion interfere in government. It is this single phrase from the Bible that has been so ignored in this application that has caused so much of recorded human misery.
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Borillar
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posted on April 21, 2002 08:50:56 PM new
"99% of all the worlds wars through out history can be traced to one form of religion or another..."
99% of all human misery can be traced directly to organized religions. Organized religion means POWER and Power corrupts. It is not God who is Evil, nor is it strictly religious beliefs that are at fault. It is the interpretation and misapplication of those religious beliefs by those who are in Power -- religious Power that causes so much human suffering.
Of note as well, that it is also the LITERAL INTERPRETATION of scriptural writings of any religion that supplants common sense and straightforward thinking that causes human misery as well. This is why Christians who are also Literalists are very bit as misguided and scary as the Literalists from any other religion. Count on it!
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