Reality isn't much of a reality in your view, is it? Religion was invented for one purpose, control of the masses for both the control and the profit, really huge profits.
Reality isn't much of a reality in your view, is it? Religion was invented for one purpose, control of the masses for both the control and the profit, really huge profits.I doubt any of this is the true end times, it's more like a dress rehearsal. The vaccine passports, and not the vaccine itself, is a similar idea as the mark of the beast and is getting people to accept the idea that you need this new ID just to participate in society, and can't participate without it, like you used to. Does not matter if you're vaccinated or not, it's all about if you have the ID on you. But chances are they will continue to add mandates to it so that you need to comply with them to keep the ID up to date.
Mark of the beast will be the same idea except be something embedded in/on you that you can't remove and be a done deal once you have it. I do think it will also require that you renounce your faith and submit to the antichrist though. So when it happens I think it will be fairly clear that it's that.
As much as it feels like the end is near I think it's still far enough away. The world is going to get much worse first.
Reality isn't much of a reality in your view, is it? Religion was invented for one purpose, control of the masses for both the control and the profit, really huge profits.
Chicken vs. egg analogy. Jesus is a product of religion (only one genre of religion by the way) thus created by the fallacy of religion to warn of the dangers of religion.Religion itself is indeed manmade. Even Jesus himself warned against following religions because only through him can you get to heaven. No religion alone can do it. Religion just serves to confuse people.
No, they aren't considered "devout Christians." I can guarantee that 99% of "Christians" would say this woman is batshit crazy, yet here you are calling her a devout Christian and proclaiming this is what Christians believe.
I don't know what your personal problem is with Christianity. Maybe you had a bad experience, but you post these crap threads and give voices to con artists claiming to be religious figures and then brand these con artists as representatives of Christianity. Posting what you are posting about Christianity would be like me posting Candace Owens and Bill Cosby tweets to argue that black people don't experience racism.
The majority of Christians in America voted for Trump, twice. And the most religious of all of them, the Evangelicals, are like in love with him. So I think there is a lot more to the crazy wing of Christianity in this country than a few outliers as you seem to imply.
99%? No more like 70% would view her as batshit crazy...No, they aren't considered "devout Christians." I can guarantee that 99% of "Christians" would say this woman is batshit crazy, yet here you are calling her a devout Christian and proclaiming this is what Christians believe.
People have believed in some type of metaphysical reality since long before any sort of written history. I won't go so far as to say it's genetic, but at the very least, our brains are wired to be compatible with such ideas. So much so that I can't think of any ancient civilization where religion wasn't a hugely significant part of their culture. For example, burial rituals go back 10k years at a base minimum and more likely, several times that.I view religion as a lifelong fear of dying while trying to candy coat it with fantasies of streets of gold or something as a reward. All the rules, rituals, and penance for deviation is a lifelong preparation to not be sent to suffer torment forever and ever and ever, because god loves you. Those with this view don't have the ability to reason, or are in complete denial of the reality of their existence.
Their end of times bullshit seems only to be a death wish, without the courage to end their own miserable existence.
No doubt that's at the very least part of the motivation. Christianity didn't settle into its current form until around 300AD with the council of Nicea which created the new testament canon. Constantine organized that primarily for the purpose of creating a state faith. If the church fathers could agree on a canon, he would pay for it's written reproduction, distribution and state mandated acceptance.If organized religion was actually about faith/religious tenets and not power, you wouldn't have millionaire pastors and political arms of churches. It's that simple.
"Certified" you say? Where do I sign up?You guys joke, but when the Seventh seal is broken and the skies darken with crimson blood, the oceans empty of water and are filled with the tormented souls of those released from purgatory, seeking only jealous vengeance on the living, and the Demon Lords stalk the earth recruiting the wicked to lead their armies against us, who do you want on your side? Some pedo priest armed with a cross-shaped tchotchke and "faith," or a goddamn certified Demon Slayer?
I know where I'm going.
I'm sure you know this but white bread Episcopalians,l Methodists, Lutherans, etc, are also Christians - at least technically. But evangelicals seems to be where the market is growing while the older sects just seem to be trundling along.The majority of Christians in America voted for Trump, twice. And the most religious of all of them, the Evangelicals, are like in love with him. So I think there is a lot more to the crazy wing of Christianity in this country than a few outliers as you seem to imply.
Chicken vs. egg analogy. Jesus is a product of religion (only one genre of religion by the way) thus created by the fallacy of religion to warn of the dangers of religion.
what's the difference? In either case people are making up the rules as they go. Where it flies off the rails is when one religious edict proclaims the unfaithful must be murdered.I just had a depressing 'maybe true' thought:
Religion was created because it's better than the alternative: People running around and making up their own religious beliefs and forming cults. Obviously this kind of thing still occurs, but maybe on far fewer occasions because or organised religion: the action of sky wizards, myths and rules being made up / chosen by committee based on what's most likely to appeal / be accepted by the target audience.
WHITE EVANGELICALS voted for him. There’s a whole other block of black and brown evangelicals who voted for Biden
Religion/gods germinated in the petri dish of ignorance. Ancient man, hunkered down in a cave or crude shelter listening to the sounds of the night, without even the knowledge that the warmth and light of the sun would even return.People have believed in some type of metaphysical reality since long before any sort of written history. I won't go so far as to say it's genetic, but at the very least, our brains are wired to be compatible with such ideas. So much so that I can't think of any ancient civilization where religion wasn't a hugely significant part of their culture. For example, burial rituals go back 10k years at a base minimum and more likely, several times that.
Religion seems to be so basic to human existence, that it has existed on some level always and everywhere. It can't be as simple as a fear of death. If that had been the only reason, then certainly there would have been exceptions we could point to. Instead, it has been part of human culture with an almost oppressive consistency.
As for religion in its modern incarnation, of course it has been co-opted in a vast variety of ways. There's no arguing about its use as a method of control or source of power. And hard core evangelics definitely have something akin to a death wish. But for them, it's not death, it's salvation. You're whisked off to heaven without tasting death. Personally, I'm envious. I've spent most of my life trying to deal with my mortality and to that sucks ass doesn't even start to come close.
Unless someone uses a cult to recruit for their own cult. Trumpanzees are a fanatical as any off the rails religious cult. With their COVID is a hoax, anti-vax stance, they are drinking their own mixture of poison laced Kool-Aid.I just had a depressing 'maybe true' thought:
Religion was created because it's better than the alternative: People running around and making up their own religious beliefs and forming cults. Obviously this kind of thing still occurs, but maybe on far fewer occasions because or organised religion: the action of sky wizards, myths and rules being made up / chosen by committee based on what's most likely to appeal / be accepted by the target audience.
You know, if they were actually going the Jim Jones route, I might have some sympathy for them. But given the fact they want to re-install the orange menace and push the country in an authoritarian direction, I'm cheering them on. If I think there's a chance I could change someone's mind, I MIGHT make some attempt, but mainly because they're potential breeding grounds for new variants. Otherwise, Darwin rules.Unless someone uses a cult to recruit for their own cult. Trumpanzees are a fanatical as any off the rails religious cult. With their COVID is a hoax, anti-vax stance, they are drinking their own mixture of poison laced Kool-Aid.
I saw about 10 "Trump 2024" flags yesterday on my drive into Arkansas. They are already on the bandwagon that hasn't even started moving yet. Also saw lots of "Trump 2020" flags. Those people are still waiting for Mein Pillow guy to reinstate him I guess. Any day now im sure....You know, if they were actually going the Jim Jones route, I might have some sympathy for them. But given the fact they want to re-install the orange menace and push the country in an authoritarian direction, I'm cheering them on. If I think there's a chance I could change someone's mind, I MIGHT make some attempt, but mainly because they're potential breeding grounds for new variants. Otherwise, Darwin rules.
edit: didn't there used to be an expression that went something like 'too stupid to live.'
what's the difference? In either case people are making up the rules as they go. Where it flies off the rails is when one religious edict proclaims the unfaithful must be murdered.
I view religion as a lifelong fear of dying while trying to candy coat it with fantasies of streets of gold or something as a reward. All the rules, rituals, and penance for deviation is a lifelong preparation to not be sent to suffer torment forever and ever and ever, because god loves you. Those with this view don't have the ability to reason, or are in complete denial of the reality of their existence.
Their end of times bullshit seems only to be a death wish, without the courage to end their own miserable existence.