Religion

[Violletta]

Of course Roman Catholics had something to do with it. I'm not fond of Roman Catholics or anyone that has to do with Catholism.

[PointOfOrigin]

Of course Roman Catholics had something to do with it. I'm not fond of Roman Catholics or anyone that has to do with Catholism.

They were the first ones. If any other Christian church came into existence before them they would probably use the same methods to draw the masses in.

[TikindiDragon]

Of course Roman Catholics had something to do with it. I'm not fond of Roman Catholics or anyone that has to do with Catholism.

Whoa. That's borders on being massively intolerant. How much do you actually *know* about Catholicism may I ask? And your judging people for being Catholic is no different to those people out there judging people for being atheist.

 

3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?

4 Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?

5 Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.

 

Also, from the perspective of someone from a country where Halloween isn't actually as big thing (we're becoming more Americanised about it, true, but that's very recent) - Halloween is really nothing to do with Christianity. If it's being subsumed into Christianity in the States then that's something to do with your local churches, and not the way-back-when.

 

All Saints/All Souls *is* Christianity (and, yes, blatantly a carry over from samhain) but that likewise has nothing to do with the way Halloween is in the US.

[satyr76]

Of course Roman Catholics had something to do with it. I'm not fond of Roman Catholics or anyone that has to do with Catholism.

Um, what's wrong with Catholics? Sure, there are radicals who do bad things, but there are some in every religion. It's not really fair to lump a whole sect together.

[Violletta]

No, they weren't the first.

 

The Church has never suffered a major schism since its beginning before the appearance of the Roman Catholic Church.

 

In reference to the Eastern Orthodox, or also known as the Greek Orthodox church.

 

Roman Catholics are crazy and thank god for Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses. Or else who knows what would happen.

[KageSora]

Roman Catholics are crazy and thank god for Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses. Or else who knows what would happen.

Oh, okay. Nice to know that my parents are crazy. :|

 

Thanks, glad to hear it.

 

They may be strict and religious, but they're certainly not crazy.

 

Same could be said about any sect of Christianity--even the nondenominationals. Every group will look "crazy" in the eyes of another group.

[PointOfOrigin]

No, they weren't the first.

 

 

 

In reference to the Eastern Orthodox, or also known as the Greek Orthodox church.

 

Roman Catholics are crazy and thank god for Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses. Or else who knows what would happen.

Please stop generalizing.

 

The East–West Schism, sometimes known as the Great Schism,[1] is the medieval division of Chalcedonian Christianity into Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively.

 

The successor of the original one was Catholic church.

[klinneah]

Roman Catholics are crazy and thank god for Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses. Or else who knows what would happen.

Good to know that me, my whole family, and my boyfriend and his family are all 'crazy.' That's massively rude and way too broad to be accurate.

 

And no, Halloween didn't originate with Catholicism. All Saints and All Souls, the two following days, did.

 

Christian celebrations have a tendency to correlate to pagan ones because, if I remember correctly, in the early days of the Church that was one of the ways to get people to join up, if the holidays were at the same time anyway.

[Obscure_Trash]

Please use the report button when necessary. A mod has taken care of it, so let's continue with discussion please.

 

Thanks.

[prairiecrow]

Actually, Halloween has no religious value to Christians. We never copied it, it's just a fun holiday to us. If you were a radical, then yeah you might believe it's a day dedicated purely to Satan. But it's not a holiday we adopted. The holidays I celebrate with Christian value is Easter and Christmas. And I do Lent too, but that's not exactly a holiday. So I'm sorry, but you are actually wrong in thinking Halloween is a holiday Christians made up.

Um, All Hallows Eve (which is the basis of Halloween) is very important to certain sects of Christianity.

[Kestra15]

Um, All Hallows Eve (which is the basis of Halloween) is very important to certain sects of Christianity.

However, it is not a Christian holiday in the same way that Christmas and Easter are holidays across all of Christianity. If certain sects have adopted Hallowe'en/All Hallow's Eve as a holiday that's fine, but for the whole religion it is not. All Saint's Day is a more general holiday, Hallowe'en is just an excuse for a party :~P

[philpot123]

Um, All Hallows Eve (which is the basis of Halloween) is very important to certain sects of Christianity.

Very true. There's a reason Luther posted his 95 Theses on that day. It was a fairly important day in Christian tradition, and yes, clearly a borrowed one. I prefer to celebrate the modern "Reformation Day" instead of Halloween, because sound doctrine is always preferable to candy

 

 

Roman Catholics are crazy and thank god for Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses. Or else who knows what would happen.

 

I'm as Reformed as they come, and I'm certainly no fan of the doctrines of the Catholic church, but it's quite unfair to say "Roman Catholics are crazy." You could legitimately criticize their doctrines, their church leadership, or the failings within the church, but making a blanket, critical, and honestly quite offensive statement doesn't really accomplish anything. If you want to seriously discuss specific things you disagree with within the Catholic church, I'm sure that would be a little more well received here.

[ShinyTomato]

However, it is not a Christian holiday in the same way that Christmas and Easter are holidays across all of Christianity. If certain sects have adopted Hallowe'en/All Hallow's Eve as a holiday that's fine, but for the whole religion it is not. All Saint's Day is a more general holiday, Hallowe'en is just an excuse for a party :~P

Not even all sects of Christianity consider Christmas or Easter a holiday. There are multiple Plain sects among others, to whom Easter and/or Christmas is just another day.

[philpot123]

Not even all sects of Christianity consider Christmas or Easter a holiday. There are multiple Plain sects among others, to whom Easter and/or Christmas is just another day.

The denomination I am most closely affiliated with (PCA) does not officially celebrate Christmas or Easter as holy days, and abstains from preaching "Easter messages" or having a "Christmas service" because they are extra-biblical holidays.

[Red2111]

i dont subscribe to a set faith, mine is more a mixture of of differnet beliefs.

 

i believe actions speak louder than words and majorly in Karma.

 

i do believe in a diety but think its more a force of energy rather than a being.

 

i believe in reincarnation, and that souls and conciousness are seperate beings in our bodys. souls are recycled here on earth into all living things (animals, bacteria, plants, ect) while the conciousness moves on to the next level

 

i beleive in angles and demons. angels as souls who have unfinished business and therefor cannot be recycled until their put at rest. demons from too much negative energy being built up on their soul and are unable to reincarnate.

 

that our concousness, not soul, is what defines us as humans and what sets us apart.

 

that the diety ihas not influence on events other than ensuring a balance of Yin and Yang (good and evil, positive and negative) is maintained.

 

 

i believe in evolution and in looking to the natural world (outside of human influence) for what exists in reality and how lives should be lived. and this inturn defines my person philosphies adn what beliefs i have in most aspects (such as socail and economic issues and political beliefs)

 

 

i believe symbols have power because we choose to invest power concisuoly in them, adn in the power of thinking. that if you think or believe soemthign you can make it your reality and mold your future as such.

 

for instance i believe heavily in the symbold of the Pentacle, i wear a ring on my right hand. the symbol itself repersants a balance of the 5 elements (earth, air, fire, water, spirit and self); it repersents monitary wealt, and is a symbol of the earth Zodiac (of which i am both in the western and eastern zodiacs). it is also encircled, which repersents protection. wearing it on my right hand signifys wealth and is the hand i identify with as i'm right handed. and the point is pointing inwards to prevent and protect myself agaisnt negative energy.

 

 

as for other relgions, to each their own so long as they dont push it on others and dont assume their religion is the one truth.

[NobleOwl]

as for other relgions, to each their own so long as they dont push it on others and dont assume their religion is the one truth.

 

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. As long as they don't assume their religion is the one truth?" Do you mean assume their religion is the only truth, or assume their religion is truth, or what? I'm sorry if this is obvious, but I always find it best to clarify when unsure rather than assume.

 

The denomination I am most closely affiliated with (PCA) does not officially celebrate Christmas or Easter as holy days, and abstains from preaching "Easter messages" or having a "Christmas service" because they are extra-biblical holidays.

 

So do they celebrate Biblical holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, Tu B'Shevat, The Counting of the Omer, and Shavu'ot?

 

This is me just being curious.

[Red2111]

I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. As long as they don't assume their religion is the one truth?" Do you mean assume their religion is the only truth, or assume their religion is truth, or what? I'm sorry if this is obvious, but I always find it best to clarify when unsure rather than assume.

meaning that they dont assert that i'm wrong and my beliefs are less than theirs because i dont subscribe to their faith.

 

kinda like when islamist extremist call non-believers infidels or when christians call pagans (or people who believe in paganistic like beliefs) satanists. they devaule others belief by labeling them with a derogative and belittling term and assert their belief as the ultimate or dominate truth.

 

the fact is, no one knows truely what the correct belief is, or the true religion is or even if there is a true religion. no one truely knows 100% if there is a diety or if there isnt. so its rather absurd imo for any group to assert their religion as "true" set of beliefs and the "truth" in terms of religious beliefs and to admonish or belittle or dictate to others that their belief is false.

 

its fine to believe whatever you want, just dont push that on me; as i extend that courtisy to you.

[NobleOwl]

meaning that they dont assert that i'm wrong and my beliefs are less than theirs because i dont subscribe to their faith.

 

kinda like when islamist extremist call non-believers infidels or when christians call pagans (or people who believe in paganistic like beliefs) satanists. they devaule others belief by labeling them with a derogative and belittling term and assert their belief as the ultimate or dominate truth.

 

I see. I understand what you mean. I was unsure, because it kind of seemed to me, a little bit, like you were saying as long as they don't believe their religion is truth, which would seem a little counter-intuitive to me.

 

its fine to believe whatever you want, just dont push that on me; as i extend that courtisy to you.

 

Completely understand!

[philpot123]

So do they celebrate Biblical holidays such as Passover, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah, Tu B'Shevat, The Counting of the Omer, and Shavu'ot?

 

This is me just being curious.

No It goes back to the covenant theology thing we've discussed in the past, our belief that, according to the doctrines of the NT, our bondage to the ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ.

[NobleOwl]

No It goes back to the covenant theology thing we've discussed in the past, our belief that, according to the doctrines of the NT, our bondage to the ceremonial law was fulfilled in Christ.

Which still doesn't make any sense to me, with all the picky-choosey stuff, and the fact that the covenant bat Sinai is said to be eternal, and the fact that Jesus said explicitly that he did not come to abolish the law -- and I don't see how you know, New Year's can be "fulfilled" so it's no longer necessary, or seen as bondage, but oh well.

 

Thank you for answering my question.

 

 

 

 

[demonicvampiregirl]

I don't believe in any form of religion anymore. To many politicians using it to get their ways, to many crazies out there who use it for their own personal gain, and it's used more for reasons to hate someone than what it's supposed to be about.

 

I don't believe in any god at all. I do believe in Mother Nature of course as I can see that. I hate how people use it as a reason to not allow homosexuals to get married. So after seeing all this crap I gave up on it and now hate religion.

[Aurvandil]

there's definetely a superior force who rules the universe, i call it the providence, i can't explain rationally but i feel it, when i listen to a christian hymn or when i meditate about God i feel moved i even cry sometimes, i feel deep inside, i'm completely sure that God exists, about the different deities i think that people mold God according to their view of the world and experiences, for example, the indo-european pantheons are all similar, based on ancestry, maybe the deities are based on the ancestors of these peoples? I'm christian myself, because i was raised in a christian family and community, everyone i knew since birth was christian, but i believe that it doesn't matter what name you call god, or what characteristics you give them, male or female, or a ethereal spirit, many gods or a single one, a personified deity or a non-physical conscienciousness, i don't believe that God cares about that, that he will send you to hell if you don't believe in a certain religious doctrine, but the message of every religion is the same, love and respect to others, be it to your kin or the whole mankind, i believe that the purpose of life is the spiritual evolution, becoming a better person and higher soul until you can "level up" to the otherworld, i have a kinda spiritualist belief on this point, like the ancient druids thaught, spiritism/kardecism or buddhism, or maybe we go to heaven after death to live with God in the afterlife, i don't know, but one thing i'm sure, we're here to evolve, and love others.

[Dashie]

My religion is Christianity, and I do not bash other people's religion. I believe there is a God watching over us.

 

Religions and politics do NOT mix.

[greatguy]

Which still doesn't make any sense to me, with all the picky-choosey stuff, and the fact that the covenant bat Sinai is said to be eternal, and the fact that Jesus said explicitly that he did not come to abolish the law -- and I don't see how you know, New Year's can be "fulfilled" so it's no longer necessary, or seen as bondage, but oh well.

 

Thank you for answering my question.

Christians are not bound to the set of laws in Leviticus and Deuteronomy and Numbers. Heck, we don't have to do anything except trust Jesus.

 

That's not to say that there aren't things we SHOULD do, such as being kind to others and evangelizing. But if you trust and love Jesus, those things would come of their own accord.

 

The law was fulfilled, not abolished. Read Paul's letters to understand what that means-those outside the law are exempt from the law, and those under it must obey it. Without law, sin cannot exist, just as shadows cannot exist without light. Therefore being set free from the law also sets us free from sin.

 

I'm not a theologian, so I may be wrong. Feel free to attack that view.

[NobleOwl]

 

Feel free to attack that view.

 

Oh, I don't want to attack anyone's view. I just find it frustrating because it makes no sense to me, from a scriptural perspective.

 

The law was fulfilled, not abolished. Read Paul's letters to understand what that means

 

I have read Paul's letters. He says both, actually.

 

by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, [Ephesians, 2:15]

 

having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. [Colossions, 2:14]

 

Here you can see he says "abolished" and "canceled"

 

Without law, sin cannot exist, just as shadows cannot exist without light. Therefore being set free from the law also sets us free from sin.

 

That's an interesting view.

 

The problem with it, for me, lies in the fact that in Judaism, in Torah, the covenant between G-d and the Jews is eternal, and cannot be abolished, canceled, or fulfilled. So if you believe the Tanakh/Old Testament to be the word of G-d...therein lies the issue, at least for me, personally.

 

And yet for all that, when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them, neither will I abhor them, to destroy them utterly, and to break My everlasting covenant with them; for I am the L-RD their G-d. But I will for their sakes remember the covenant of their ancestors, whom I brought forth out of the land of Egypt in the sight of the nations, that I might be their G-d: I am the L-RD. [Leviticus 26:44-45]

 

He hath remembered His covenant forever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations; And He established it unto Jacob for a statute, to Israel for an everlasting covenant; [Psalm 105: 8, 10]

 

Remember His covenant for ever, the word which He commanded to a thousand generations; [i Chronicles 16:15]

 

Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel for ever; for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He ceased from work and rested.' [Exodus 31: 16-17]

 

Ack, I just realized how long this was. I'll apologize now for putting so many verses in here. Please, do understand I am not trying to attack you or your faith, merely trying to explain my issues with some of the theology I find problematic. Since Judaism does not have a hell, it never tries to convert anyone.

 

And everybody's heard this before, so you all can just smile and nod and say "Yes, Nascha" like Talalitha does

Edited November 9, 2012 by NobleOwl