Stayed Too Long

Your point well taken of me interchanging denominations and religions. Thank you. The article states there are approximately 45,000 different denominations and I posted there are over 45,000. Let’s give or take a few thousand then. And you are correct many denominations have the sames rules for salvation. Let’s assume there are only a total of 9 major/minir denominations to chose from. How are you going to choice the one you want yo follow? What was your process of eliminating the other eight? Then throw in Bahai, Islam, Hindu, Judaism - what is your thought process for not accepting/rejecting them as the way to salvation? RC - Confessnmortal sins to a priest.

There are over 45,000 different Christian religions in the world, so if you accept that Christianity is the correct religion, how do you know you have picked the right version? How have you eliminated the other 44,999 as not being God’s accurate version of hell? https://www.christianwebsite.com/how-many-denominations-of-christianity-2024/

Definitely a dog person…my pooch has never let me down and can always be counted on for her loyalty.

I was thinking about what it takes to live a Godly life and realized one of God’s demands is for him to be worshipped by his subjects. People also love to be worshipped by the fact of owning pets. Not only are they good company, but my dog loves to please me, which also makes me feel good. If I say “down,” she jumps off the chair. When I say “out,” she heads for the outside door. And just like when God punishes me for not obeying him, when the dog does not jump down, I punish her for disobeying me. Apparently I really am a Godly person.

Apparently the RC church still needs cleaning up. After decades of promises to fix abuse, Pope Leo XIV says abuse needs to be uprooted. https://www.sfgate.com/news/world/article/pope-leo-xiv-says-there-should-be-no-tolerance-20387519.php Go Chicago Whitesox

For sure living this side of death to it fullest means not having to be concerned about a life after death. Just think how freeing it is, when you make a mistake in life and not have to worry about confessing it to an unseen god, and then also wonder what effect it will have when you finally see this unseen god face to face?

Thanks

When I was in TWI and prayed for someone to be healed, it never happened. I never saw a miracle result from anyone praying for healing.

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Sorry I don’t get the difference. My bad.

If we as humans have no eternal soul like the animals, assuming you agree with this, how about the following beliefs? What about Euthanasia? If we with all love and kindness end our pets lives so they no longer suffer, what about letting mom or dad end their lives so they no longer suffer? How about if grandma has been living with a terminal disease that has wracked her body so badly that she no longer has a peaceful moment? Should she be required to suffer for an extended period of time even though she will not get better, only worse? And concerning abortion should a family be required to to bring a human bring into the world that they do not want, for whatever reason? The root of why Euthanasia and abortion not allowed is because of religious beliefs. And as Raf pointed out, now that we have granted our pets eternal life, should we not outlaw Euthanasia and abortion of them on religious grounds also? So if there is no after life no has to be concerned about god punishing us for making dying a bit easier.

This is how I look at nothingness. Prior to being born I was absolutely nothing. And after I die I go back to that state of nothingness. I didn’t suffer prior to being born and will not suffer after my last breath. There is nothing brave about accepting reality. If I truly believed in an after life you can bet I would being doing all the arrive there. Actually I did chase that belief for most of my life. I went down so many rabbit holes trying to be godly it wore me out. Please answer me this. How do you know for a certainty your biblical belief is the correct one getting you into heaven? If your are a RC you get to heaven by being water baptized, attending mass on Sunday and holy days of obligation, confessing your sins to a priest, doing good works, and make certain you do not die with a mortal sin on your soul, because if you do you are assured of going to hell. A Baptist believes you are not saved by works, but by the grace of god. How do you reconcile these contradictory beliefs? Let’s assume you are a RC and die with no mortal sin on your soul. And when you stand before the judgement seat of god he says, “why haven’t you realized works will not get you into heaven?” Or what happens if god actually believes being a Muslim is the only way to heaven. Or what if god believes you must be a Buddhist to enter the pearly gates? How about you must be a Hutterite or Menonite? It defies logic that of the thousand of religions in the world, you somehow, have come upon the correct one! Let’s say one representative of each of the religions of the world stood side by side and formed a line for miles. And when god appears, he would tap you on the shoulder and say “you have got it right. Welcome to your group. All the rest have got it wrong.” Pretty crazy odds, no?

I have no problem believing there is no karma.

Moderation note: This conversation started on the "objective morality" thread and went off in its own direction. I LOVE the new topic but didn't want it to get lost in the old one. Raf/Modcat5 It it so difficult for folks who believe in God to accept that there is no spiritual punishment for any wrong actions. They just can’t wait to send someone to hell or purgatory, for say, killing someone, adultery, rape, and any other wrong against a human. Believers who have been wronged by someone say, “You might get away with hurting me in this life, but justice will be served in the next, and you will suffer.” If one believes there is no god, we understand a human being is just like any other life, and when we die our body rots and we are forgotten about after our 3rd generation. No god is keeping track if we wronged our neighbor or family dog, which will result in spiritual consequences. Nor if we spoke in tongues, helped a little old lady across the street, or sacrificed our life to save someone elses life, there are no spiritual rewards waiting for us to be claimed. Our last breath is our last breath, and our existence ends never to be heard from again. Very comforting, for sure.

I was born and raised as a Roman Catholic, and attended their schools. I bought into their belief’s and even thought of becoming a priest, in other words I was sold on their doctrine. UNTIL the Second Vatican Council in 1962. Prior to this no Catholic could eat meat on Friday, and if they did it was a mortal sin. A mortal sin would send you to hell if you did not confess the sin to a priest. So if a Catholic was to eat a bologna sandwich for lunch on any Friday, and on the way home they were killed in a motor vehicle accident, their soul would immediately be damned to hell for eternity. Pretty severe for sure and not very comforting for their surviving Catholic family. Then, the Second Vatican Council decreed that eating meat on Friday, except for Lent, was no longer a mortal sin. In other words, you can eat bacon and eggs for breakfast, a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch, and rib steak for dinner, and no longer commit a mortal sin. How in the name of fairness and common sense, could a loving God cast his children into everlasting hell for eating meat on Friday prior to the Second Vatican Council, and not post Second Vatican Council? That opened my eyes to the ridiculousness of this teaching and started me on a very long journey realizing that trying to explain a loving God was also ridiculous. There are several thousand Christian religions that all disagree on how to obtain eternal life. Plus all the other world religions all have their way of salvation. If you can’t prove one is tight then all must be wrong.

Dave Allen…Irish comedian

I can understand where you are coming from making such a statement, since believer’s think one can only experience joy by what is written in a book written thousands of years ago. They rationalize the only way of knowing if something is right or wrong is by reading it chapter and verse from this book. They also must read, apparently, what joy is to bevable to experience it. As an atheist I can tell you i have not experienced so much joy since no longer relying on god. I find joy in everyday living doing the things necessary to live. Family and friends play a significant role in my happiness and it doesn’t matter what their religious beliefs might be. Plus I no longer have to be concerned if I am pleasing god or not.

The importance of not losing one’s rewards is one of the hooks TWI uses to trap people into remaining in the group. You will always be in the body of Christ when you believe Romans 10: 9&10, but then also apart of the household of God. And from this point you will be accumulating spiritual rewards based on your actions within the household of God. At the final judgement these earned rewards will be given to you to enjoy for eternity. However, there is one caveat to receiving your reward, and that is you must remain active in the household od God your entire life. This is interpreted as remaining in TWI until you die, and if not your rewards will be jerked from you. Unfortunately, not only will you lose your hard earned rewards, but as Craig so elegantly proclaims, “you will be a grease spot by midnight” because God will withdraw his hedge of protection from you. You can count on being dead real soon. As you can see God puts plenty of restrictions on how you live your life.

Yes, Vatican 2 made some changes to RC doctrine, and one change in particular, drove me away from the church. Prior to Vatican 2, a Catholic had to abstain from eating meat on Fridays under penalty of hell if they did not find a priest to absolve them of their mortal sin. After they die, just imagine all the folks suffering in hell over eating a bologna sandwich, if they didn’t confess to a priest. Then Vatican 2 decrees it is no longer a mortal sin to chomp down on a ham and cheese grilled sandwich. A Catholic can now eat their rare steak Friday evening for supper and not go to hell. But what about those terrible meat eating sinners who weren’t fortunate enough to live in the post Vatican 2 era? Apparently they get to watch from hell with envy, as their family and friends enjoy a hamburger and hot dog bbq on a sunny Friday afternoon. And unless their family or friends commit any number of other mortal sins that will result in them being cast into the fires of hell, they will never see each other again. This decree made by a man just hasn’t set right with me and got me thinking that religion is man made. Thank goodness I finally realized there is no god and all these religious beliefs have been lifted from me.

People act is if TWI is the only organization that will not change their doctrine when confronted with scripture indicating possible error. Ask the new U.S. Pope Leo XIV to justify purgatory from the bible or praying to dead people to help their loved ones on earth? Or declaring using birth control is a sin? There are over 2,000 Christian religions today and ask anyone of them to show why your religious beliefs are wrong. They will come up some scripture that indicates their religion is right. About any belief in the world today can be justified using the bible. Can you name a religion that will allow any questioning of their dogmas?

I had never heard of the Atheist Experience. A woman calls into the podcast saying the doctors told here she was unable to conceive children, but later she did deliver two kids. Her only explanation was that God had performed two miracles and she saw no other avenue to explain it. The moderators asked why this was her only understanding of what had happened? They went on to say no medical diagnosis can be 100% accurate and that other women had conceived who were told they were not able. Only attributing God as the solution is not logical. The caller went on to say her daughter was born with schizophrenia and was asked why God couldn’t have performed a miracle in preventing that? Great read.

Yea it could be word of knowledge, but you would think that discerning of spirits would have told them I was m&a, and not to seek me out!

Amazing! I got my invite today and I am marked and avoid. It is a mystery how they got my current address as I moved in here over 10 years after being kicked out of TWI? Did they send my name to remaining twiggers who knew me from the past to get my latest address?

Quite simple. Very easy search. https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/11/business/trump-gulf-of-america-google-maps-hnk-intl/index.html