Jesus Christ has returned!
Controversy surrounds a man who claims to be the man Christ Jesus here on Earth. He explains what he preaches and why he is the second coming of the Lord.
Controversy surrounds a man who claims to be the man Christ Jesus here on Earth. He explains what he preaches and why he is the second coming of the Lord.
Comments
heh. It is all a crock of bull...
Leave it to Fox(that happens to have a faith based network in the works. Gimme a break).
One definition of "Cult": A following of people. (www.britishcouncil.org/ukinfocus-music-glossary.htm)
I generally consider a cult to be a group of individuals who share a common belief, congregate, and who's beliefs rest in the minority compared to the rest of the population. Sounds like this place.
Dave Poole
For once I agree with you.
Now we must define what christianity is! It is an occult!
oc·cult - Of, relating to, or dealing with supernatural influences, agencies, or phenomena.
I'd rather spend my time with a cult.
Oh well. This guy isn´t forcing anyone, or preaching brimstone. He´s your run-of-the-mill "Give me your money I will tell you what you really want to hear"-type. As long as he´s not moving into a compound with armed guards and 54 child-brides, I say more power to him. Fuck the gullible airheads. Darwin prevails.
Okay. I don´t really feel THAT harsh... but honestly, people. How dumb do you have to be?
However, when a cult gets enough followers it becomes a bonafide, respectable religion, huh?
Cults=minorty; Respected religions=majority?
Okay, I got it.
Oh, and here's a more contextually consistent definition of a cult to go with this story, as if you didn't know:
cult–noun 1. a particular system of religious worship, esp. with reference to its rites and ceremonies.
2. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.
3. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.
4. the members of such a religion or sect.
From: dictionary.com
In the end, a cult in this case is a system or community of religious worship and ritual.
Therefore, I too agree with you, Christianity is indeed a cult.
1) If Atheism is a "belief", then NOT collecting butterflies is a "hobbie". So obviously then, no, Atheism is NOT a "belief"(for those who didn't get it the first gazillion times it was explained to them).
If someone asks a Templar Knight(a Christian): "Hey, do you believe in Allah?"....I highly doubt they'd respond with--"Why yes, I DO BELIEVE that Allah doesn't exist."
2) We "congregate"?...::looks around::.. Where?..at our PC desks? If we are "congregating", then ANYONE reading this is part of our "congregation". Everybody?... say hello to David Poole and welcome him to our "cult". "Hellooo David". BTW, we're not all Atheists, and/or of the same "NON-belief".
3) And yes, we're in a "minority"...just like we would've been had we existed when the MAJORITY of the world's population believed the world was flat. 'Thing is---most "cults" back their belief with heresy evidence and/or legendary religious dogma, not science. Stee-rike three! lol
I thought that the video's at least were a good step in the right direction. No devil and no sin. At least this guy got this far. He deserves a BMW for getting fundies further up the food chain.
If there has to be fundies around, maybe this guy is better than some of the alternatives.
I am a free-thinker, but I hope his church takes over many others! That would be a hoot and possibly a good thing.
HiHo
It used to be said that education would solve this world's problems. I think Westerners probably have a higher per centage of university educated citizens than ever before in history. Yet we see things like this!
These people are obviously upper-class rich and educated people. The "Jesus" guy is not all that bright. He doesn't know his history very well. Got some fact wrong; I forget what but it labels him as not being omniscient.
I'd buy THAT on pay-per-view!!
"I have an idea: Let's put a bunch of these people in a big arena with all of the Westboro Baptists and see who wins."
Are you saying let's revive the Roman whatchamacallit where condemned criminals had to fight wild animals?
Atheism: A belief that there are no gods. Greek "a-theos": without-god.
www.reasoned.org/glossary.htm
1. The doctrine or belief that there is no God.
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/atheism
Dave Poole
Atheism, in its broadest sense, is the absence of belief in the existence of deities. A narrower definition includes only those who believe that deities do not exist, and excludes those who hold no position on the question (see agnostics and other non-theists). In other words, an "atheist" can be defined as either:
A person who does not believe the proposition "At least one god exists"; or
A person who believes the proposition "No god or gods exist".
Although some atheists tend toward skepticism and secular philosophies such as humanism, naturalism, and materialism, there is no system of philosophy which all atheists share, nor does atheism have institutionalized rituals or behaviors. For example, while many atheists reject the existence of the supernatural, others do not. — wikipedia.org
David Poole, use any definition you'd like---Atheists are non-believers in God(s). If I'm a non-theist, that means I do NOT have theism. BTW, the original Webster entry was, a: one who denies the existance of god(s), which implies that there definitely IS a god, but some just deny the "fact". Why was it worded like that?....because Noah Webster was a Christian, that's why---showing that, yes, there's even bias in dictionary entries. Nonetheless, your original implication was that Ex-christian.net was a "cult". Wrong.
Again, not everybody here is a non-believer in god---and I don't remember any "cult" in history whose members had diversified views, do you? Also, we don't "congregate"; Webmaster Dave doesn't tell us what to NOT believe; we don't wear necklaces with little gold "A"s dangling from them; we don't carry around little hand-books; and lastly, there's no conditions attached to whether or not we are participants at this website.
Best regards.
Just a little truth for you all.....
Atheism: A belief that there are no gods. Greek "a-theos": without-god.
www.reasoned.org/glossary.htm
1. The doctrine or belief that there is no God.
http://www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/atheism
Dave Poole"
Why is it important whether or not atheism is a religion?
Peter, you don't even know the scripture from which you verbally vomit! Your point is wasted anyway. If you could only hear yourself. I feel for you 5 of 5. Resistance is futile.
I mean, yeah this guy is a phony, so is every other man who stands in a building and speaks from the bible. Its all make believe. Its all fake. Not one of them isn't living off of other people's money. And how exactly is 10% of members earings better than the members giving 80 to 90%? Exactly why does god need money? Oh yeah, because he never learn how to manage it, that's right.
Yes, the man drives an expensive car. How many other preachers do that very same thing? Some even live in very expesive houses. Seriously, this guy is only on TV because they view him as a threat to mainstream xianity.
Let's hope he doesn't die at the hands of another xian. He'll become another Jesus then.
Just a little truth for you all....."
Thanks for the "truth"-- so maybe that babbling over-zealous jewish fanatic who was eventually nailed to the cross has deceived a large portion of mankind into thinking he is/was someone he was not. Oh, but wait...if you're a self-elected "Christian", only others can be "deceived". How convenient.
In this case it wasn't about Atheism being a "religion"---it was a foiled charge that Exchristian.net is a "cult". Since Christians have no objective evidence for their belief, they sometimes attempt to bring the Atheist/Agnostic world-view down to their own dogmatic level. They do so by saying such things as-- "Atheism is a religion, too"..or, "Evolution is only a theory", etc. Y' know, the usual rap.
Gods word is Holy and true to those who have His spirit...
Dare I be accused of using a circular argument....
Like evolution stating that we date the fossils by the date of the rocks thier foundin. and we date the rocks by the date of the fossils....
2 Peter 3:3-7
knowing this first, that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to thier own lusts, and saying, "where is the promise of His (Jesus) coming???" For since the Fathers fell asleep, all things conyinue as they were from the begening of creation." For this they will forget; that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the Earth standing out of water and in the water, By which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgement and perdition of ungodly men....
hmm sounds like you he's talking about but thats just my perception....
Deuteronomy 23:2 A bastard child shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to his tenth generation, shall he not enter the congregation of the Lord.
Jesus was a bastard child!!!
Got it.
If all truth is God's truth, and you quoted 2 Peter 3:3-7, you must believe every word of 2 Peter 3:3-7. What does it mean that the world was formed out of water and by water? Does that relate to Genesis 1:2, where there was nothing but water before God started creating things? Then He stuck a firmament in the water, separating water above it from water below it (v. 6-7), and then made dry land appear in the water unerneath(v. 9)? Does that description match what we know about the world? Is it true? Does it make any sense?
All:
Cults, no matter what they are based on, typically have the following characteristics:
1. Most importantly, an avatar. The avatar is the cult leader, who is essentially God to the cult. If ex-christian.net has an avatar, I've never hear the name, seen the face or been told to follow the person. This site is just a lot of like-minded people engaged in freethought. I can't imagine that anybody posting here would accept the role of an avatar in their lives.
2. A recruiting strategy that includes isolating people, subjecting them to intense emotional appeals, then putting them on the spot with an intimidating invitation to dedicate their lives the group and do everything the avatar says. The invitation is very difficult to refuse in the social situation and "just feels right." Nobody at ex-christian.net is trying to isolate me and subject me to that kind of appeal.
3. Separatism. Contact with people outside of the cult is highly discouraged, except for the purpose of recruiting new members. Outsiders are not only considered different, they are considered evil. Ex-christian.net does not separate group members, and the membership is an extremely loose association of completely free individuals. I can log on whenever I want, or leave the group for any length of time, or tell the webmaster to f' off without fear of reprisal.
Any cause can bedome a cult. Amway and other multi-level marketing organizations have been known to function that way. Ex-christian.net doesn't come close, but the churches usually do. Having a large membership and a mainstream ideology doesn't make them non-cults, IMHO.
Every cult on the planet says the same thing: If you apostatize from the cult, you were never a "true cultist™."
It's a retarded apologetic.
Get lost.
Most of what's good in Christianity existed earlier in Buddhism, the Jain religion, Daoism, Hinduism, the Analects of Confucius, and just about every religion that has nurtured and improved society. Most of it is just common sense that any thoughtful, compassionate person could figure out on their own.
"For you to truly believe in something you have to be thouroughly convinced of it without doubts."
Follow that premise to its natural conclusion, please. If your belief system cannot countenance any doubt whatsoever, you will literally drive yourself insane pretending that you have no doubts.
"...because without the foundation of christianty there wouldnt be the hospitals the schools the missionary and charitable foundations the justice system and the wonderful free society we all enjoy!"
Wrong. Medicine, education, charity and justice exist in all successful societies, regardless of any supernatural beliefs their populations may have held.
But you can keep the missionary crap if you want. Don't need it.
Shall I assume you feel that Plato, Aristotle, Euclid, Confucius, Homer, and Archimedes, contributed nothing of substance? Or do you claim they "stole" from the Bible?
diesel: "When one speaks that they were once christian beware of that human being because for a person to truly believe that Christ was the son of God and now they say hes not were never true believers in the first place!"
Well, then, you have a bit of a problem. You see, many people here really truly believed that Jesus was divine, and bought into the entire Christian edifice. But now they don't. People can and do change their minds, especially when better or more complete information comes along. Those who left Christianity and other cults generally did so after realizing that much of what they had been told just didn't add up. So, it seems that the facts contradict your statement.
diesel: "For you to truly believe in something you have to be thouroughly convinced of it without doubts."
No, no, I disagree most emphatically. If you cannot entertain doubts, then you are not critical. If you are not critical, then your beliefs are somewhat arbitrary, and therefore untrustworthy. Thus, if you cannot doubt, the odds of you being right are vanishingly small.
If you are not critical, then your beliefs are somewhat arbitrary, and therefore untrustworthy. Thus, if you cannot doubt, the odds of you being right are vanishingly small
--
WELL SAID Jim!!!
Of course, as we all 'know', nothing can beat faith when it comes to 'knowing' something with great certainty.....NOT!
ATF
That's like saying that a child who no longer believes that Santa is real, NEVER really believed in him in the first place.
Bullshit!
It may very well be that there were no doubts at all, at least untill some new information came along. And that is what makes it possible to change ones beliefs. New information that calls into question what one has held as a truth.
I am praying for and with you!!!!
I am praying for and with you!!!!
Já, I concur. However, I think that death-obsessed cults such as Christianity stand in the way of that work.
"I choose life, and that is Christ Jesus."
I also choose life, and that has nothing whatsoever to do with Jesus (who, if he ever existed, is nearly 2,000 years dead).
"Sure, you are saying that this is a bunch of crock, but the truth is..."
Yes, we know what the Bible says. I, Myself, do not consider the Bible to be a credible source of information, any more than you would find the Hávamál credible.
"I beg you to seek God while he may be found!"
Andrea, what part of Ex-Christian did you not understand? The search is over, and your god was a no-show.
"Make Jesus your choice today and miss the fiery hell for those who chose not to believe."
Andrea, if your god actually exists (and I doubt it)...
And if said god is such an arrogant, asinine, vicious bastard that it would actually torture people forever for non-belief (and I doubt that even more)...
...I choose to go to that Hell rather than worship such a being.
And there is nothing you can do to change My mind.
"I love you, but most of all God loves you..."
Then pray to your imaginary god to abolish this hypothetical Hell for all time, and release every sentient being therein, including any purported 'demons' who may reside therein.
If you are unprepared to pray for such a thing, you are as much a jerk as your god, and your 'love' is just fear of death wearing a party frock.
(Oh, and unless you make blóta to Oðinn; do puja to Lakshmi; and regularly thank the Parking Gods for that really good spot by the grocery store, you ain't prayin' with Me.)
Yes, I remember. Take a paycheck, for instance. I assert that if one has been punching a time-clock for 30, 40, or 50 years, and never once saw an employer or paycheck, well, I think it might be time to start looking for different "work". Call me "cRaZy".
You...Life is not easy but it is filled with choices. They consist of life and death, good and evil. I choose life, and that is Christ Jesus.
No, I'm so sorry, but that is not entirely true. You see, "life" is simply "life", and it is so, regardless of what religious figureheads one believes in. "Death" is part of "life". Everything that "lives", eventually dies...kaput; bye-bye; adios; the end. As for "evil", there is none. There is only what is unethical, taking cultural relativity into consideration.
And besides, even if your philosophy were true, "evil" IS NOT "a choice"; you are a "sinner" by birth, thus, you cannot avoid "evil". Good luck with that.
You...Sure, you are saying that this is a bunch of crock..
The first - and probably the only point - we'll agree on. Although, personally, I think "crock of shit" rolls off the tongue a little better.
You......but the truth is that in the Bible many were chosen for just that their past and due to the pain and strife that they would endure for his name sake.
The truth? The truth is that you haven't shown that the bible is "the truth". And unless/until you do, refering to it is about as useful as a wad of bubblegum on my door mat.
You...Yes there are heartaches and pains but it shows us what we are made of and if we are really ready (tried and true for the call of God).
There are "heartaches and pains", because your invisible biblegod is either nonexistent, or else, he is behaving precisely as if he is nonexistent. 'Same difference.
You...I beg you to seek God while he may be found!
I beg you to find reason while it may be found!
You...You see the times that we are living in, it is not too late!
The "times that we are living in"? Oh, you mean, the end times? Do you realize that if no one knows when "the end" actually is, that it's technically ALWAYS the "end times"?
You...Make Jesus your choice today and miss the fiery hell for those who chose not to believe.
Make reason your choice today, and miss wasting another second of your life believing in superstitious, logically inconsistant, stupid shit.
You...I love you, but most of all God loves you and I hope you will repent and turned from your sin and wicked ways before it is EVERLASTING too LATE!
I don't love you, or any other person I've known for 8 seconds, but most of all, I don't love any being who would promise to incinerate me for not believing in them, and thus, I couldn't give a shit less if it's "too LATE", or not.
You...I am praying for and with you!!!!
No, you'll be on your knees by your lonesome. I gave up begging invisible beings to help me, the day I got my mind back.
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