Protestantism

» HeadZenCards - Burn baby, burn

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by pink101:

The LORD GOD is Satan.

Jesus has the keys to hell.

-- posted by HeadZenCards

» Migisi - Burn baby, burn

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by pink101:
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Where do we get these ideas that drive us to such distractions?
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Straight from the human MIND. Some minds are pretty vicious!
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Are you saying they come from the Bible?
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Some. More like the religious nut finds the ~justification~ in their sacred texts (the Bible or Qur'an, whatever) to commit their own atrocities. If a religious fanatic can't find justification, they claim Satan made them do it. Either way, they deny personal responsibility for their own horrendous behavior.
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Clearly, the Bible authors had violent and cruel ideas which they disowned and instead attributed to their God. And note they write "the Lord God commanded...", not "Satan commanded...". Frankly, I often can't tell the difference between Satan and God. And apparently, some of the Bible authors had trouble too: 1 Chronicles 21:1, Satan incites David to commit the sin of taking a census of Israel. In 2 Sam. 24:1, this same story portrayed the LORD as the one who incited David to take the census.
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Aren't there other sources about Satan than the Bible?
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"Satan" is a HEBREW word for "adversary". However, the Hebrew angel "ha-satan" has no demonic qualities in the Torah writings. In fact, he's considered a great and glorious angel created by God for the purpose of testing and proving.
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This is kinda interesting about Lucifer...
http://www.lds-mormon.com/lucifer.shtml
and this...
What the Devil? Prince of Darkness Is Misunderstood, Says UCLA Professor
http://www.physorg.com/news75128924.html
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Where does Satan first appear in human history? Surely not in the Bible.
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From what I've read, the name "Satan" first appears in the Bible.
But the original idea of a demon didn't originate with the Jews. Seems to have been around since the cave man. Even he needed a scapegoat to explain why men do deplorable things to each other.

-- posted by Migisi

» HeadZenCards - Burn baby, burn

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by Migisi:

Read Job. The LORD GOD and Satan seem to be good drinking buddies.... or THE SAME BEING.

-- posted by HeadZenCards

» EvilChihuahua - Burn baby, burn

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by Migisi:

Blame Satan? Read the words of the Bible God

I don't blame Satan, I blame the mother and her obvious mental illness.

The whole "devil made me do it excuse" doesn't work anymore. People need to be accountable for their own actions.

-- posted by EvilChihuahua

» Migisi - Burn baby, burn

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by HeadZenCards:

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I've studied it, and discussed it here on Suite. Quite a cruel game - at Job's expense.

-- posted by Migisi

» Migisi - Burn baby, burn

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by EvilChihuahua:

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The whole "devil made me do it excuse" doesn't work anymore. People need to be accountable for their own actions.
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I totally agree, Kim. Unfortunately, it's still used as an excuse by defense attorneys to get their murdering clients sentenced to a mental hospital rather than prison. And churches that preach God-sanctioned violence and/or devil possession, are culpable, IMO.

-- posted by Migisi

» pink101 - The People's Enemies

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by Migisi:
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It was common practice during the pre-revolutionary war period that the colonists carried effigies of the "people's enemies" in the streets before they burned them and held mock funerals. Usually, the effigies were accompanied by another effigy that depicted the devil; so, two effigies were burned.
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America's Revolutionary War was truly a civil war quite similar to what is being carried out in Iraq at the present time. It started decades before the Shot that was Heard Around the World and--in a certain sense--continues today although the violence has subsided.
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-- posted by pink101

» HeadZenCards - Forced Circumcision

In response to Burn baby, burn posted by Migisi:

From http://www.doctorsopposingcircumcision.o...

An Oregon father, (an attorney), claims to be in the process of converting to Judaism and wants his now 12-year-old son, 'Misha', of whom he has custody, circumcised against both the child's and the natural mother's express wishes.

Sadly, a physician, a fellow congregant of the father, has already been found willing to ignore the child's wishes. The father claims a rabbi has insisted on the child's circumcision. The father's motives might even be sheer spite toward Misha's mother; we can't know.

The case is now on its way to the Oregon Supreme Court after losses at both the trial level and an intermediate appellate court.

Judges have affirmed without opinion or testimony that a non-medical circumcision of a 12-year-old is 'within the discretion of a custodial parent.' There is no medical necessity alleged at all by anyone. The circumcision would be purely cultural, even merely spiteful.

This is the clearest case of a parent's claimed religious beliefs trumping a child's right to an intact body that I have seen in 26 years of practicing law.

Those of you with an interest in reading how the US Supreme Court balances children's bodily rights vs. a parent's rights to the free practice of religion might considering reading Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 US Sup Ct 158: "Parents may be free to become martyrs themselves. But it does not follow they are free to make martyrs of their children."

-- posted by HeadZenCards

» pink101 - There Was A Time Quite Recently

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There was a time quite recently and before Christianity got to be such a serious-take-over-every-aspect-of-life thing that life was much, much, much more pleasing.
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Here's an example,
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http://www.stinalisa.com/AlleyKat.html
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-- posted by pink101

» Brian Tubbs - Atrocities Then and Now

As I've stated, I don't have much more to say regarding the Old Testament atrocities. However, I can't sid idly by and allow the linkage of today's atrocities (microwaving babies) with Christianity.

When I read about adults murdering or torturing babies and children today, I renew my commitment to capital punishment. They should face the wrath of the state and then they will face the wrath of God for that.

However, do NOT link such grievous, shameful atrocities of today with the Bible and mainstream, evangelical Christianity!!!!

I'm sure Oliver, Migisi, and perhaps Pink will jump up and down - and demand: "Why not?"

First, it's an inflammatory, outrageous, and dishonest cheapshot - and you all know it. Mainstream, evangelical Christians don't go around killing children. It's frankly infuriating that I should even have to make this point!

Mainstream, evangelical Christian churches (and I define those as running the gamut from Falwell's Thomas Road Baptist to Rick Warren's Saddleback to Joel Osteen's Lakewood and so forth) are completely committed to helping children. Not hurting them.

Second, it is LOGICALLY fallacious and dishonest to selectively utilize the Old Testament to judge God. If you're going to cite passages in the Old Testament to indict God for atrocities, then you must take the WHOLE of the OT (unless you were THERE to verify that this part is true and that part is false). So, if those atrocities took place (as the OT records), then you must also confront what the OT says about the nature of God. He was all-knowing -- meaning He knew EVERYTHING about everyone involved. You must also accept that He was/is all-present. And you must also accept that the Israelites KNEW the reality of God and had seen His power demonstrated time and again.

God, after all, had delivered ten plagues to Egypt, parted the Red Sea (some say "Reed Sea" - but that's a different debate), thundered down on Mt Sinai, and dropped manna from heaven. So, it wasn't a matter of believing in some wish-based "faith" and then manipulating that to justify genocide. If you take the OT in its full context, then you must acknowledge that the children of Israel really DID hear from God and they knew that this all-powerful, all-knowing God (whom they had SEEN work wonders and make His presence known) was commanding them to take the land of Canaan by force.

If you're going to say that they should have stood up to God, well, then let's have that debate. But let's make it an honest one. Don't pick and choose what parts of the OT to accept as valid. BECAUSE....

If you believe the Bible is "fiction" (as Oliver said), then what are we debating? If you say the Bible is fiction, but then cite these "genocide" campaigns, then all we're doing is debating literature like Homer's "Illiad." Sorry. I'm not interested in doing that.