All Things Religion Thread
Such a great and major word U added GS , Faith .
Now moving right out of my comfort zone , but must add ALL Religions require Faith ( I think ) .
It's NOT just Opti's World .
It's not fair imho , everyone Calls it Opti's Words , Opti's Faith , View etc .
Everyone is Shooting the Messenger imho .
He doesn't have ME next 2 him , but he is certainly , not on his Pat Malone .
Optimist wrote:Every child is born a blank slate.
Meet Rob- gender wasn't a choice for him. Somebody chose it for him. Turns out 50 years later, it was the wrong one.Would you call him gay- dependent on the "choice" of feelings he made towards the opposite sex ?
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-02-21/rob-wilson-speaks-to-back-roads-u...
Great quick read.
This is where the ABC shines.
“ Every child is born a blank slate.”
That’s the biggest load of shit I’ve ever heard.
Supa asked for my thoughts on a question he asked me and I gave them.
It’s only my opinion though which I’m entitled to as is everyone else.
We call it freedom here in Australia. People can take it or leave it without the unnecessary frenzy.
Pop Down wrote:Morning Burly brain
I C U were a CHOMP again .
Guys like us don't believe in a God .
U are uncomfortable deep inside , so U go on a Religious Tread and love putting Up Shit , 2 try and get the Believers , 2 second guess their sacred beliefs .
U like playing The Pedo Card ffs and U think its your fn Trump Card .
Pathetic mate .
Thats as weak as Piss and U like those weak targets .
When U are 87 , maybe U will remember hanging shit on a guy your age in 2024 .
I guess U might grow Up and not lose it , like Biden .
Mate , we might meet at some Pearly Gate .
Could B JC and the DL , waiting 2 meet us .
Bon Chance with which Gate , U are asked 2 take .
I am willing to Forgive , His Holiness , 4 his silly mistake , done in Public and on Camera .
The Issue was a bit creepy , but NOT Sinister in ANY way .
An Old Man had a brain fart ffs and apologised .
U can work out what U are willing 2 PAY , 4 your behaviour , as I do 2 .
Mortals like US , are NOT the ultimate Judges of Sins , Big or Small !
We have 2 leave that stuff 2 the Gods .
64 Ashy , but very low Mileage .
You’re right pop, I don’t believe in the imaginary woman in the sky. God has been invented by humans as our brains developed many many moons ago
We’re all a little uncomfortable inside champ. But believing in a fictional character ain’t going to fix you and your twisted views champ. Maybe try deep therapy?
Silly mistakes are not asking a boy to suck your tongue. That’s not silly or a mistake, it’s gross, disgusting and a miss use of power from someone who has way too much.
The main problem is that you are not judged by your sins. How convenient the church is full of disgusting humans that think a few prayers can dissolve the lives of people they have messed up for life.
When you say an old man had a brain fart, you’re talking about yourself right?
Optimist wrote:Supa asked for my thoughts on a question he asked me and I gave them.
It’s only my opinion though which I’m entitled to as is everyone else.
We call it freedom here in Australia. People can take it or leave it without the unnecessary frenzy.
Yes it is only your opinion opti but surely you’re not so insular in your thoughts and life to not realise that your opinion could be deeply hurtful and how do you reconcile an opinion like that with your frequent expression of your Christian faith and your words of good will to others as expressed for example by yourself over Easter. Lots of contradictions there so wouldn’t it be better for all gods to love all their creation even the gay ones? Perhaps there is more divinity and humanity in that world, but only my opinion
God loves all His children guy including the gay ones and His son substituted for all. There is no contradiction.
God is our father. The father of all living things.
He like many dads is strict but fair.
The question you need to ask is “ will you be able to stand in the presence of a supreme being of pure light and Holy Spirit power who can see right through you and knows you better than yourself”…and knows all your sins.?
Could get a bit overwhelming if you’re not prepared.
Thats why I warn people….Im not a gay hater….Im not an anyone hater….but I am a person who has a job to warn people to be prepared for what’s coming…
Many will run for dark corners like frightened cockroaches once the light hits them.
I don’t want that for anyone…..
Anything short of that and I’ve failed the God who pushes me to keep telling people even though I don’t really want to…
I’ve had worse abuse in person than I’ve ever had on here….i lost many surf friends and family and been isolated but it’s all good …Jesus copped it worse.
I've even had people try to kill me who were into Satan worship but failed thank goodness….one biker guy became a Christian after 2 attempts ….God kept messing him up and he gave in ha ha….phew..
..it’s a little thing He asks as I’m a bit too old and tired to do all the energetic ministries I used to do over the last 40 years.
But I can still talk and “ God chose the foolishness of preaching to save those that believe”…..1 Corinthians 1:21.
You're a great foil in here @Pop. Post-religion society is hard, and scary to some, many would do better to go to a church and flail about a bit and read parchments in the evening, than indulge in online rabbit holes. Obviously, many use this new societal freedom really well, too.
@Pop, all religions have infinite variants within them, so i'm not dismissing Opti's tribe - my preferred reference point here is my Scottish grandmother: she insisted on saying grace, scolded me for writing 'xmas' or saying 'hell', respected the monarchy and conservative institutions, and lived humbly and virtuously (if a little severely), but would find some of @Optimist's fervent views odd and unseemly. She wouldn't have said so in public, which I guess is your point. But, then, Opti states his thoughts in public. Not a bad thing probably. Things not-spoken-about have caused a lot of trauma, damage and misery. People want to talk, now. Out in the open. Healthy.
(Some in the modern tribe would accuse my grandmother of 'not having an authentic relationship with Jesus'.. so there is no winning, really)
And, where I personally know one person damaged by Islamic fundamental beliefs, we, in Australia, probably all know dozens damaged via the Christian faith. Which is why we speak to that. I'm not sure why people want us to talk smack about faiths we don't have personal experiences with.
Christopher Hitchens was a miserable bastard, but his dismissal of Islam was based on their fundamental idea that religion must be central to their society. Here, thankfully, people's various religions are a thing to be tolerated. I think you are fighting for Optimist's right to be tolerated. Fine by me, if he realises he is part of our society; we are not part of his belief system.
To paraphrase Ricky Gervais:
@Opti rejects 199 gods, I reject 200 gods.. so we are basically the same.
Optimist wrote:Supa asked for my thoughts on a question he asked me and I gave them.
It’s only my opinion though which I’m entitled to as is everyone else.
We call it freedom here in Australia. People can take it or leave it without the unnecessary frenzy.
Although i dont agree on the blank slate thing, I 100% agree with this.
But I think pretty much all gay people are born gay, even in remote Indo villages you will get the odd person that is gay, and they havent been exposed to anything that would cause this. .
That said I do think that there is others that could swing either way and social influences could cause them to choose to partner up with either the same sex or opposite sex.
In the past many of these people would be unlikely to explore the same sex avenue and possibly just gone through life partnered up with the opposite sex.
And then these days it might even go the other way where someone may believe they are gay or bi when younger then latter go on to lead monogamous opposite sex relationships .
^ I said to a lesbian friend 20 years ago, 'what's with this born-gay stuff? who cares? why is it anyone's business what people do? why aren't you arguing for mind-your-own-business?'
She explained that the hardest thing in the world, is to come-out to your parents. And to make this easier, on weird parents that might 'blame themselves', they prefer the born-gay narrative. Just to make life a touch simpler. Even if reality is more varied, individual and complex.
Really instructive to me, there is always a lot to people's lived experience that isn't obvious from the outside.
Hey Optimistic ONE
Mate . U have True Grit and I so admire your type !
You really Practice , what U Preach !
Base 6 might call me a good foil , but I am NOT half the Man U are .
I Preach 2 much and can be a Real , Do as I say , not as I do type , on numerous issues .
A very old Mate told a new friend , Pop doesn't Give a Shit what anyone thinks ( am not a People Pleaser type ) .
Maybe I should give a Shit ? :) as impossible 2 get Faith without it , am guessing , again .
Opti sure does !
Your ability 2 Front Up and Work bloody hard , 2 spread your positive messages for ALL 2 read , or not 2 read , deserves my deep respect .
We have the same atoms , neutron and electrons flowing in and around us .
I am sure , yours are flowing more like Enya Orinoco , mine a bit like Niagara Falls , perhaps .
I have bloody Faith U will endure , Opti .
Great Work , mate !
U are a real CHAMP imho !
hope he endures, his hard-work to do with affordable self-build structures was exceptional, and had lots of us online-engaged. Led to many pertinent posts and sharing, he seemed to really enjoy it too, thanks @Opti!
A former Satan worshipper/bikie now turned to god after he tried to kill flopty twice. Hahahahahaha
Sums it up perfectly really.
burly brain puts his Unspiritual atoms 2 , no use again lol .
Rinse a Repeat and turning around in circles like a Wind Mill , again .
But like a broken watch , you are bloody Right , this time , f me lol haha !
Would I follow a guy like Burly , who doesn't seem like he knows how to fight his way out of Tight Spot or can keep getting Up , OR , a Guy like Opti ???
A Person who seems like he has seen some Hard Stuff , changed and seems happy and definitely has True Grit ?
First thing U have got right , Burleigh , is Does Sum it up perfectly .
F off , Burls , U keep getting smaller and smaller , next 2 The O !
Maybe suck your tongue or thumb , mate , u seem 2 get off on that stuff .
Just B careful , as U might Gag yourself !
edit
Thanks Ashy - The Mocking Bird is a great description !
Tweet Tweet , Burly .
Burleigh stick to mocking the vaccinated, your better at it.
Interesting perspective from The Utility Of Religion by John Stuart Mill...
"It is unnecessary to prosecute further the natural history of religion, as we have not here
to account for, its origin in rude minds, but for its persistency in the cultivated, A sufficient
explanation of this will, I conceive, be found in the small limits of man’s certain, knowledge,
and the boundlessness of his desire to know. Human existence is girt round with mystery: the
narrow region of our experience is a small island in the midst of a boundless sea, which at once
awes our feelings and stimulates our imagination by its vastness and its obscurity. To add to
the mystery, the domain of our earthly existence is not only an island in infinite space, but also
in infinite time. The past and the future are alike shrouded from us: we neither know the origin
of anything which is, nor, its final destination. If we feel deeply interested in knowing that
there are myriads of worlds at an immeasurable, and to our faculties inconceivable, distance
from us in space; if we are eager to discover what little we can about these worlds, and when
we cannot know what they are, can never satiate ourselves with speculating on what they
may be; is it not a matter of far deeper interest to us to learn, or even to conjecture, from
whence came this nearer world which we inhabit; what cause or agency made it what it is,
and on what powers depend its future fate? Who would not desire this more ardently than any
other conceivable knowledge, so long as there appeared the slightest hope of attaining it?
What would not one give for any credible tidings from that mysterious region, any glimpse into it
which might enable us to see the smallest light through its darkness, especially any theory of it
which we could believe, and which represented it as tenanted by a benignant and not a hostile
influence? But since we are able to penetrate into that region with the imagination only, assisted
by specious but inconclusive analogies derived from human agency and design, imagination is
free to fill up the vacancy with the imagery most congenial to itself; sublime and elevating if it
be a lofty imagination low and mean if it be a grovelling one"
http://www.sophia-project.org/uploads/1/3/9/5/13955288/mill_utility.pdf
Hello Burls
I had a spa , took a few deep breaths and Stretched .
Then jumped in the Sauna , which I pump Up the Volume , for a 5 min cook and then an Ice Cold Shower .
As the temperature was so high , I thought of Satan , U and Me .
Thought , as I am not religious like U , were are in the same boat .
It is strange that there are No Buddhist , Islamic , Hindu , Tom Cruiser's etc , commentating on this site .
As I said , I feel a bit sorry 4 the O .
I told U 2 F off this thread .
I should do the same as don't have the Credibility of an O .
The ONE thing ALL Religious people seen 2 be able 2 do , is Let Things Go and Not Micro Manage things so much , IMHO !
To have Faith , that things will somehow work out , is a gift .
So many crazy coincidences , can happen Burls , I do like your contribution 2 SN .
Isn't it Grand that terrible OTHER Thread has F off , though .
Who misses that crap ?
Basesix Scottish grandmother sounds like a true champion of God.
She loved God …taught the kids to give thanks at dinner and lived a quiet orderly life. There is no prize for who does what in Gods kingdom.
It’s faith in Jesus that makes everyone the same no matter what role we have in life…..
The Billy grahams of this world are co equal in Gods eyes to the elderly lady who cooks great scones for after church morning tea…..that’s a gift.
I remember one church I regularly attended years ago had a really nice pastor who on occasion could be a bit monotone in his message but…..I could always count on old Audrey’s scones to fire me back up again and make my day….especially if I’d been surfing before church and was starving…..
So you see….famous evangelist …..old scone / cookie tea lady….equally important to God……and p.s…..it’s okay to say XMAS as the X stands for Christos or Christ in Greek and is an abbreviation…..
Early Christian’s under persecution would draw a fish in the dirt with their foot to identify a fellow Christian…..You can google ICTHUS . The ICTHUS fish had a message in it as Greek (like English is these days ) was the global language of the day. Hence the reason the New Testament was written in Greek originally.
Here is my experience with religion for what it's worth. Like many young kids from good Aussie methodist families in the early 60's I was forced against my will to go to church and Sunday school. I hated it but it instilled good values and morals in me like respect and consideration for other people, something sadly missing in todays me, me, me secular society.
It's hard to have faith when modern science contradicts so many things in the Bible, but surely it is a miracle that such a book even exists. I see it as a book of guidelines to stop people from killing each other and anarchy ruling. If everyone lived by true Christian values the world would be a utopia, free of hate and crime. Love would overcome all.
In my early 20's I noticed some of the top surfers around here had found God and completely changed. Greg Frost was the enforcer at Seaford, he had a class act and the best roundhouse cutback on the coast. He was one angry, big-headed prick into the heavy drug scene and if you got in his way you would be sent in, screamed at, told to fuck off to Moana or he would follow you in and smash your board to bits on the rocks.
I wanted to be just like him.
Then he found God and became a mellow cool dude desperate to spread the word to anyone who would listen. He told us when the Holy spirit enters your body it is a life changing experience, better than booze or any drug and I would be full of love and joy wandering around in a shocked daze for weeks eager to preach the word to all. He talked me and my chick into going to the Vogue theatre where we were baptized in a bath on stage in front of hundreds of cheering people. We were then taken out the back and told to chant hallelujah over and over in hope of speaking in tongues and receiving the holy spirit. Sadly, nothing happened, perhaps I wasn't humble enough in his presence or hadn't reached rock bottom enough to truly have faith.
From a science perspective I think perhaps there is a part of the brain you can unlock through many ways and belief in a God is just one of them.
Anyways good on you Optimist, love your work.
basesix wrote:And, where I personally know one person damaged by Islamic fundamental beliefs, we, in Australia, probably all know dozens damaged via the Christian faith. Which is why we speak to that. I'm not sure why people want us to talk smack about faiths we don't have personal experiences with.
Christopher Hitchens was a miserable bastard, but his dismissal of Islam was based on their fundamental idea that religion must be central to their society. Here, thankfully, people's various religions are a thing to be tolerated.
rubbish. You're just trying to come across as moderate and shock horror not being seen as an islamophobe and so avoid stating the obvious. I am happy to talk smack about Islam because you only need to delve into their sympathies for sharia and jihadists and all the other whack shit they practise and support to understand the threat this religion is to our western democratic society. UK and Europe provide very good examples of what that looks like and the allegiances those islamic communities have towards dark ages shit.
Islam as practiced now, causes more damage than any other faith, and certainly much more damage than the Christian faith. To state otherwise is ignorant or just a lie.
Of course many Muslims and they way the follow their faith are not like this. But many others are, and they enable, support and sympathise with those that do cause damage throughout the world. Christians do not even come close to the level of damage that Islam does and if they did they have been mostly if not all abandoned hundreds of years ago
old-dog wrote:I see it as a book of guidelines to stop people from killing each other and anarchy ruling.
ummmmmmmm, i've got some news for you old dog.
The Mescal Mocking Bird Tweet Tweets , some Words ( a bit Wormy ) , than only HE can Read/See Between the Lines , to and Old Dog and I heard it :)
Sounds like God Stuff , 2 me , nearly !
Sorry Burls :) I couldn't Turn the other Cheeky bit of me , off .
Jelly Flater wrote:;);)
;););)
@ burls, pity there's no 11th. commandment, thou shall not wank. ;) Guidelines are made to be broken, that's why I said guidelines and not rules.
Old Dog that’s a good story…..I had a similar experience with a bunch of old farmers praying in tongues over me the ‘hippy surf rat ‘ who just became a Christian…found it all a bit odd then
There are many manifestations of the spirit and speaking in an unknown tongue is one of them but not for all. It really is a personal thing anyway and Paul addresses doing this in public. If your in deep prayer pray privately….tongues pop up sometimes then especially if your focused on a person and don’t know what they need so Gods spirit steps in and takes over.
Some get carried away and put expectations on you that aren’t correct and that’s just an immaturity thing. Scripture covers all these topics.
There are different gifts but the same spirit. You just have to ask God what your gift would be and then apply it. He will show you.
It may be a teacher it may be prophetic or a tradesman working with your hands in the church or it may be like my wife hospitality and friendliness. She is a shining example of just being a kind friendly person who loves God and points others to Him. She’s also red hot on her bible knowledge.
St Paul talks about the church as a body….can everyone be an eye or a hand.? Where is the body without the legs or the tongue. All people are different and have different gifts. They bring all different things to the church and make it a success.
The most boring churches you will ever go to are a church full of the same types.
Frightened of spiritual gifts…”that’s way too out there man.”
A whole church full of hands and no legs, no eyes no spirit filled teachers no prophets no healers and no visionaries…lots of book keepers though…
….stuck in a Mc happy place but all good for them they are happy. They also have great community input in different aid programs. Even though these churches are a little reserved and hate change they have good fruit on their tree. Growth is limited though.
When you think about the created things and the wonders of our world you realise God is far from boring and quite the opposite in fact and worth looking deeper into His person which in Jesus is a lot easier these days…eg..Colossians chapter 1.
Pop is out here speaking in tongues every damn day
Old dog that would of been the revival centre, pretty much a cult.
They believe amongst other things, if you don't speak in tongues and don't get baptised you are not going to heaven.
Talking in tongues you say ….
https://m.
https://m.
By some miracle I understand what this charlatan is saying: now repeat after me … lay down all your earthly possessions and give them to me!
One of my all time favourite albums
Good times/different world when that album was released!!
I used to have that album on vinyl.
- top of the pops ;)
https://m.
&pp=ygUYc3BlYWtpbmcgaW4gdG9uZ3VlcyBza2l0 He’s an opportunist nut like you.
^^^
- "Some get carried away and put expectations on you that aren’t correct and that’s just an immaturity"
;)
- "If your in deep prayer pray privately….tongues pop up sometimes then especially if your focused on a person and don’t know what they need so Gods spirit steps in and takes over."
Haha
- sure thing flopti ken ;);)
ashsam wrote:Old dog that would of been the revival centre, pretty much a cult.
They believe amongst other things, if you don't speak in tongues and don't get baptised you are not going to heaven.
It's all a cult, just different levels of fucked up clutness.
Born again christians are just the worst. Pretty funny old dog got sucked in for a moment.
JW's are the worst
goofyfoot wrote:Pop is out here speaking in tongues every damn day
Thanks gf , I just spat my coffee everywhere
@optimist , thanks for replying to my question the other day , I respect that you express your thoughts freely and stand for what you believe.
Gold star GF haha, now I know why I don't understand
Ok , ha ha , a bunch of Tasteless Tongue Twisters , that are hardly Side Splitting my insides out , I am afraid .
Actually feeling some Deja vu creepy thingy ,about it all and would have thought , as I post so fn muchly , U guys would have bloody caught on2 my frigging bloody Lingo , by now .
Don't ry and read b/w my lines , my message feels crystal clear 2 me , by the way .
Just saying .
Carpe Deora - Dare 2 B different .
I spoke 2 Adam 12 ,a few days ago and he is trying 2 give up S & M , 4 a while .
I don't think I am really ready 2 stop S & M yet , as just started doing it and its IS Fun .
Social media can be a pain in the Butt 2 , though .
@ burls, your religion is the anti vax clut (?)and you preach it every day. I was never sucked in, just curious. I probably didn't get born again because I had already been born again with the aid of a lb of pot and a few hundred mushies.
Pop Down wrote:Ok , ha ha , a bunch of Tasteless Tongue Twisters , that are hardly Side Splitting my insides out , I am afraid .
Actually feeling some Deja vu creepy thingy ,about it all and would have thought , as I post so fn muchly , U guys would have bloody caught on2 my frigging bloody Lingo , by now .
Don't ry and read b/w my lines , my message feels crystal clear 2 me , by the way .
Just saying .
Carpe Deora - Dare 2 B different .
can we get an amen!!?
(yeh, @RK ^^^, that's a thing.. what's with all these woke ratbag-conservatives calling things 'woke' where 20 years ago they would have described certain ideologies and behaviours as 'gay', 'sissy' or 'namby-pamby'. Don't get me wrong, their progressive self-censoring is appreciated, but it just seems uncharacteristically woke of them)
Ashsam, yep JW’s even scare me. I’ve spent untold hours trying to prove that Jesus is the Jehovah of the Old Testament.
I prove it with scripture from sources they respect ( not the one they read) they respect the king James and the American standard bible which the watchtower society bought after it was upgraded to the. New.american standard.
They only bought it to get it out of circulation I think but they own it so I use it.
The frustrating thing is there are so many nice people in that cult and even if you prove that Jesus is the God of the Old Testament they kind of stare at you with glazed over eyes because the watchtower society told them otherwise.
Jesus IS the visible image of an invisible God….they don’t get it…he’s just some lesser guy to them….He is the I AM THAT I AM.
The key they miss is…..God cannot be seen….its like an ant trying to discern an elephant….they know your there sought of but can’t comprehend the scale.
So…God had a son way back in the beginning…in His son he put all His spirit.
What the Father thinks the son thinks….what the father wants the son does….
Co equal co linked in every way…..all things were created through the son and for the son…..and then something incredible happened…the son, the word of God became flesh…..and we beheld His glory the only Born of the Father…full of Grace and Truth…..He wailed among us and then……..
^^^Haha
- holy dear lawd that last bit ;)
Goin full flopti priest el nutto haha, and, remember
- “ ….tongues pop up sometimes “
Get up
- get on up ;)
https://m.
&pp=ygUMamFtZXMgcHJpZXN0 Walked amongst us it should have read…..and Jellyguy smiley you should concentrate on having some personal experiences instead of bagging other peoples ones…I share a lot on here from personal experience.
It’s obvious you have nothing personal to offer when you constantly refer to someone else’s you tube constantly….life is amazing and the search invigorating.
Why not start to look…..the journey may take you somewhere you never dreamed possible……Lee Strobel is a classic example.
I don’t think the typo was the problem Opti.
The last paragraph was a doozy though.
Belly fat gets all his experience from a computer screen lol
;)
Here you go optimist
Not sure my motivation...my instinctive need to stick up for the underdog...my secret desire to be one day honoured rightfully with the role of Forum moderator (expecting a call any day)...
But anyway I couldn't help but read your troubles on another thread...unfortunately I found myself siding with everyone's posts...other than your own...except for the part where you were told you can't post here!
So I put my low IQ mind to coming up with a solution that suits all...and here it is...a safe place if you like
You can post anything you like about your beliefs...and no one has to read it unless they want! Easy peasy...
maybe you could even get Jesus, fat Buddha, Mohammed, and friends to converse in adult conversation here
Solving the world problems, one at a time...call it taking a shovel as a way of moving that mountain
All the best...brother
PS...I actually was born again once, but I grew up, and grew a brain of my own...and realised it was all a load of shit!