scoobert wrote:
...they were supportive of everything i said, until i brought the fact i am an evangelical christian into a discussion. according to the admin there, my religion is hateful and bigoted.... but the place was run by hypocrites.
I'd enjoy reading the thread you speak of. There's one thing I love and that's being an
equal opportunity critic of both radical Atheists and Theists, alike.
You shouldn't be so sensitive. Really, the good Lord is too big for this, and while you're getting bent out of shape, God is getting a chuckle out of people's ignorance.
scoobert wrote:
until i brought the fact i am an evangelical christian into a discussion.
according to the admin there, my religion is hateful and bigoted.
Q: Who did Jesus rail against?
Q: Who murdered Jesus?
A: The hateful, hypocritical bigoted religious establishment.
Sometimes, Atheists and Agnostics have reasonable points, other times they are blinded by their own narrow views.
I prefer to only read legitimate debates (not always so though, sadly, I can point out numerous examples where both radical Theists and radical Atheists LIE), otherwise, I consider it challenging questions and intellectual stimulation where questions are raised about biblical meanings/interpretation. Valid questions. Most Theists, honestly have no understanding of their own Bible and have little to bring to the debate (I confirmed this fact in the Baptist church I attended in 2000, when I raised the question with the Sunday school teacher, "Have you actually read the Bible?" to which he replied, "No." I asked, "Then how do you know its the Word of God?"
"My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God..."- Hosea 4:6
Average theist rebuttal to the Bible: "If it doesn't have to do with Salvation, it doesn't matter."
Mind you, I am a Christian but only recently, after a long haul through theological studies from numerous perspectives (raised similar to judaism, then a few years as a pagan/deist, to "blind faith" christian seeking answers and did not get answers from the church establishment and saw where they lied or refused to discuss truths, so I rejected it, and years followed as a Deist railing against religion... then when waking to see how Atheists and Agnostics had deceived me as well... therefore, at the end, I went through a period of re-embracing the faith (a few years ago). Years spent amidst atheists and agnostics. The majority of my life was spent as a non-Christian / non-believer, and knowledge understanding
why people lose belief. I find legitimate theology debates of interest, but occasionally run on some who use dishonest tactics.. both atheist and theist. I don't become emotionally wrapped up in their bickering, as I use to, because neither side merits a defense, due to their hypocrisy.
But yes, when you read the Bible... you'll come away with pretty much the same conclusion as atheists for the same reasons why Jesus was so infuriated with the
hypocritical, bigoted, and hate-filled religious establishment of the day.
I tend to see things from every side, and no side is innocent of hypocrisy.
Anyway, welcome.