Religious Discussion 101 (See page 7)

Will a mod please change the title of this thread to " Religious Discussion 101 (See page 7) "  I want newcomers to be able to join in with the discussion without feeling intimidated by the size of the thread.

Religious Discussion 101:  Part 2
For the newcomers who don\'t know what this thread is all about:  If you have a question about something someone else believes, or a question that you think will stump someone else about their religion, or are just unsure about something in your own religion, ask away.  Or if you just want to comment, feel free to.

I\'ve been without internet for a few days, but I\'m back now.  It looks like this thread hasn\'t been touched since then though.  Lets see if I can get it started again...

I\'ll ask another question:  From what I understand, many Christian churches believe that because Adam sinned, we are all born sinners and must immediately be baptised.  This question is for those of you who believe in that.  How can one justify being held accountable for Adam\'s sin, and how can one explain baptism at birth?  Would a merciful god hold babies accountable, even for sins they didn\'t commit?  Is this belief supported by the Bible?  If so, where?

And I want to bring back my first question, "How does one explain salvation by grace alone when verses in the Bible say just the opposite?"  Racer has given me his interpretation, but didn\'t bother to further explain himself when I brought up other scriptures.  So again, here are some scriptures from the Bible (King James Version) that support my question:

• Matthew 7: 22, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
• James 2:17, "Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone."
• 24, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only."
• 26, "For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."

If "faith without works is dead", then wouldn\'t that mean that salvation by faith in Christ without works is dead?[/list]

--------------

And now to respond a little to some previous posts:

Shockwaves:

I first want to give Shockwaves a round of applause.  Even though he doesn\'t believe in religion, and thinks the world would be much better without it, he still defends it against baseless attacks.  Words cannot show the amount of respect I now have for you.  Thank you Shockwaves.

Rya:

If God tells us that there is no other gods, then why does he even mention that there are other gods that can be worried over?

My guess is that he told us so we knew what we had to look forward to.  Most Christians believe that heaven is a place where we can just sit back and relax, playing our harp for eternity (maybe not playing a harp, but you get the point :)).  God wanted us to know that there was so much more than we had originally thought coming up in the next life.  Life after death really is life after death, not "sit around and be lazy for eternity" after death. :) He wanted to stress the importance of doing the right things in this life so we can actually be a part of the things coming up in the next life.  I think he told us to motivate us a little more to do what\'s right.  Of course, I could be completely wrong about his motives.

Clowd:

Bringing up an unanswered question: where in the Bible does Jesus walk through walls?  I am interested in where this is said.

[videoholic]

Page depends on how you have it set up.  It is only on page 4 here for me.

I personally think baptism near birth is such bullshit. Just b/c the kids parents believe in "X" religion, why should a kid be forced into it without consent like in the catholic tradition of baptism.

Im still rather pissed at my parents for that.

I know it kind of deteats the purpose if it isnt done relatively close in terms of being born vs. later in life when one can make their own choice. Even still, I think its a shit deal.

Originally posted by IronFist

Shockwaves:

I first want to give Shockwaves a round of applause.  Even though he doesn\'t believe in religion, and thinks the world would be much better without it, he still defends it against baseless attacks.  Words cannot show the amount of respect I now have for you.  Thank you Shockwaves.

Thanks.

Videoholic:

Page depends on how you have it set up.  It is only on page 4 here for me.

Yeah, but hopefully most people left their page settings alone.  BTW, thank you for changing it Videoholic.

luckee:

Im still rather pissed at my parents for that.

I agree with you that it isn\'t right to baptize someone without their consent.  But you shouldn\'t be mad at your parents for it.  If you don\'t believe in their religion, then you also don\'t believe in the baptism, thus, making your baptism meaningless.

[Titan]

Originally posted by IronFist
I agree with you that it isn\'t right to baptize someone without their consent.  But you shouldn\'t be mad at your parents for it.  If you don\'t believe in their religion, then you also don\'t believe in the baptism, thus, making your baptism meaningless.

That\'s what confirmation is for in Catholocism. Too bad I stopped believing after I got my confirmation.

I was forced to do that as well as well as forced to  go to private catholic schooling for 10.5 years

[Titan]

I don\'t go to catholic school, thank god (no pun intended). I\'ll probably leave the church when I go to college (safe distance from my mom).

BTW, thank you for changing it Videoholic.

When you make assumptions you make an ass out of you and me.

I agree with luckee here, if i were ever baptized I\'d be quite pissed off.  Even though I don\'t believe in religion and the likes, I still don\'t want to be involved in any religious rituals.  I mean even if you don\'t believe in the devil, most of you wouldn\'t want to be forced to pledge aligence to him.  (sorry that I compared Jesus to the Devil, but it does get the idea across )

However, from the parents stand point, I can somewhat understand it.  In some peoples eyes, having an unbaptised child in their house, is like housing a felon.  Though I still think that having a Baptism at a later age would not only be better for the child, but could make the ceremony itself more meaningful.  Instead of the child being forced into a belief system, they would be choosing it for themself.

Oops, my mistake.  Thank you Ryu.

[Titan]

Yes, everyone forgets about Ryu Vid is obviously the cooler one

...

/me kills Titan

Originally posted by Toxical
I did not read more than 25 percent of this thread, cause i know Dinosaurs still exist, i look at MJ and my point is proven.

As for religion, it is nothing more than superstition, and BS. All those dumb-fuk jihad/towel heads killing in the name of "GOD" is just dumb.  They kill because they rape donkeys, and sheep.

Religion is whacked.

WTF does this mean, was it directed towards me, I must change my name

Originally posted by luckee
I personally think baptism near birth is such bullshit. Just b/c the kids parents believe in "X" religion, why should a kid be forced into it without consent like in the catholic tradition of baptism.

Im still rather pissed at my parents for that.

I know it kind of deteats the purpose if it isnt done relatively close in terms of being born vs. later in life when one can make their own choice. Even still, I think its a shit deal.

yea but when ur born, your taught your believes... you dont just decide what religion you want to be.  it is one of those tradition things.