I want to know...

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How could I possibly be a Christian when I listen to music that is sometimes ANTI-Christian? You can't tell me to just stop listening to it, I would still like it and nothing could change it, it would be petty for "God" to send me to Hell just for liking a certian thing or having a certian view too.

I also tend to "Take the Lords name in vain" i'm not censoring what I say just so some "higher" being isn't offended and I wont take it back either, I don't want to waste my time in a building full of people being told how other people (Possibly friends or loved ones of mine) will go to Hell if I don't do something about it and if I do something "Bad" (Such as insulting someone or thinking bad about someone) I wont pray for forgiveness, sure this might all sound selfish, but I don't want to have to apologise for the way I live my life.

By the way, i'm not interested in converting, I just want to know how you would explain this.

There are a number of ways you can attempt to rationalize listening to certain types of music, saying certain words when you are Christian, and some rationalizations can make sense to a certain degree. However your attitude I am quoting, "I don't want to have to apologise for the way I live my life" seems incompatible with most incarnations of Christianity I know of. What's the point of asking this if your moral thinking is apparently antithetical to a Christian attitude? What would you get from being a Christian? I'd respond to your comment about hell but I've been informed by some omniscients here that the bible teaches of no such thing.

My point is that some people would go to Hell just for being they way they are, they way they want to be, how is it hurting anyone if I just listen to a certian type of music? According to some people it's hurting God and Jesus which means that if I want to get into Heaven I have to stop being who I am.

If you don't follow the Bible how can you call yourself a Christian? Don't get me wrong I have a few Christian friends so I don't hate them.

And there's still the other point I was hinting at which is, that what if you had loved ones that weren't Christian? Wouldn't they go to Hell while you went to Heaven? That seems unfair to me.

The idea is one of respect, think about it, if you liked to listen to your friends badmouth your mother then would that be very respectful to your mother? If you like to listen to people who badmouth God then it is a similar thing. Taking the Lord's name in vain is another part of respect too, it trivializes the concept of religion and is sort of disrespectful if you think about it, G*D DAMNIT really is not a favorable thing to say when God probably does not really want to damn it, I mean it is just an issue of respect.

If you do not follow biblical rules then you are not a very good Christian(probably not Christian at all) and because of this you would go to hell and if you don't bother learning about your religion then you are not a good Christian either because that is a serious lack of devotion. Pretty much God has rules and he wants you to attempt to follow them, not doing so means that you do not really care about his rules or about him and to a divine rule-maker this is probably just cause to send somebody to hell.

They would go to hell and you would go to heaven, it is not unfair because they had the choice to follow God's law. It is no less unfair then the police officer sending your friends to jail if they assaulted somebody, they did bad so they get hell, you did good so you don't. Those are pretty much the rules of the game, perhaps some would say that assault is worse than unbelieving but if you think about it a spiritual ruler would punish spiritual crimes like a worldly ruler would punish worldly crimes. That being said I am probably not an expert on Christianity and really not a real christian by any means. I just know some of the logic(I think but not for certain) and know that my actions according to their rules would deserve hell.

[/quote]The idea is one of respect, think about it, if you liked to listen to your friends badmouth your mother then would that be very respectful to your mother? If you like to listen to people who badmouth God then it is a similar thing. Taking the Lord's name in vain is another part of respect too, it trivializes the concept of religion and is sort of disrespectful if you think about it, G*D DAMNIT really is not a favorable thing to say when God probably does not really want to damn it, I mean it is just an issue of respect.

If you do not follow biblical rules then you are not a very good Christian(probably not Christian at all) and because of this you would go to hell and if you don't bother learning about your religion then you are not a good Christian either because that is a serious lack of devotion. Pretty much God has rules and he wants you to attempt to follow them, not doing so means that you do not really care about his rules or about him and to a divine rule-maker this is probably just cause to send somebody to hell.

They would go to hell and you would go to heaven, it is not unfair because they had the choice to follow God's law. It is no less unfair then the police officer sending your friends to jail if they assaulted somebody, they did bad so they get hell, you did good so you don't. Those are pretty much the rules of the game, perhaps some would say that assault is worse than unbelieving but if you think about it a spiritual ruler would punish spiritual crimes like a worldly ruler would punish worldly crimes. That being said I am probably not an expert on Christianity and really not a real christian by any means. I just know some of the logic(I think but not for certain) and know that my actions according to their rules would deserve hell.[/quote]

I say it as a reaction, it's not intentional, but I say it, anyway some people show respect differently to others.

I agree but the rules seem petty for a God. What would he care if someone made fun of him? I don't make rules about others insulting me even if they're my friend.

But if you really loved them you'd technically be in Hell because they'd be suffering, you can't just say that they deserved it no matter how bad they were. It's hardly anything like Jail considering this would be for eternity.

Heh, well I'm an atheist but I'm happy to watch movies that deal with angels and demons--I really liked "Constantine," for example. And I listen to songs about sex, violence, godly stuff (Evanescence's "Tourniquet," which deals heavily with Christian themes, is one of my favorite songs) and S&M (another of my favorites is Kidneythieves - "S&M: A Love Song," which has lyrics that include "Beat the love out of me, pound the love out of me") even though I find S&M disturbing as hell, am something of a straight edge, really dislike Christianity, and deplore real-life violence. See, it's entertainment--it's not real. Music, films, games, etc. are partly about escapism, getting out of the real world. Who cares if you listen to "devil music" or whatever? The music we like most isn't representative of our beliefs or even necessarily our personalities. Some of the nicest people I know listen to some of the most loud, angry, thrashy music, and some of the meanest and most tormented listen to happy, calm stuff--and vice versa. Music is about taste, nothing more.

Constantine was awesome.

I listen to some really violent songs too for example my avatar is the cover of a band that sometimes sings about worshiping Satan as if it was a good thing, but that's not exactly what I mean, my point is that it would be considered blasphemy if I chose to become a Christian wouldn't it? Even though it wouldn't be my beliefs it would still be bad.

What i'm getting at is that God seems to take a harsh stance on blasphemy, why? Why would he care? If someone said that I didn't exist or that I was stupid or weak I wouldn't torture them for an eternity and God wouldn't allow it anyway he wouldn't like it, yet it's alright for him to do it, that's just like the parent saying to the child "You can't do that" and the kid asking "Why? You do it" the parent is being hypocritical.

Well, I know that is true but still, it does trivialize the matter and fails to provide the level of respect that a divine being deserves. I mean, the very fact that he forbade it and that it does make sense as a respect issue should really be enough in the eyes of a Christian, after all, God is the heavenly father and this is not one of those major sacrifices.

Well, the rules are not him actively wanting to punish you it is a matter of deserving. Trying to follow these things shows a genuine and honest attempt at being a good person and that is what God wants, ignoring these things shows a lack of dedication to this goal. The step to salvation is wanting it and God would not force human souls into salvation.

Why would you be in Hell if you loved them? You couldn't do anything for them. Hell will be hellish no matter who or what is in there. Also, the latter part is something that falls upon the individual's interpretation of Hell. The Catholics believed in purgatory for people who lived in the border and Dante believed that hell had layers. Besides, he does have a popular book on how to avoid hell and get to heaven and one that is often free to get and which many people will try to help you on that path.

[/quote]Well, I know that is true but still, it does trivialize the matter and fails to provide the level of respect that a divine being deserves. I mean, the very fact that he forbade it and that it does make sense as a respect issue should really be enough in the eyes of a Christian, after all, God is the heavenly father and this is not one of those major sacrifices.

Well, the rules are not him actively wanting to punish you it is a matter of deserving. Trying to follow these things shows a genuine and honest attempt at being a good person and that is what God wants, ignoring these things shows a lack of dedication to this goal. The step to salvation is wanting it and God would not force human souls into salvation.

Why would you be in Hell if you loved them? You couldn't do anything for them. Hell will be hellish no matter who or what is in there. Also, the latter part is something that falls upon the individual's interpretation of Hell. The Catholics believed in purgatory for people who lived in the border and Dante believed that hell had layers. Besides, he does have a popular book on how to avoid hell and get to heaven and one that is often free to get and which many people will try to help you on that path.[/quote]

If I did believe in God why should I respect him in a different way to the way I respect others? So what if he created everything, he did that for his own reasons, doesn't make him a hero, in fact being that he's in a position of authority it makes me more likely to dislike the idea.

Pfff even if he existed he never did a thing for me.

And needing proof of his existence makes you unworthy? "Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blind-folded fear." - Thomas Jefferson

Well assuming you actually loved say your Wife or Girlfriend for example you wouldn't want them to suffer forever would you? What would you do about the fact that you knew they were suffering while you were living an eternity of bliss? And wouldn't you be sad about being seperated from them? If you were sad it wouldn't be bliss, but if you didn't worry about they're torture that would mean you didn't love them. And aren't you supposed to love everyone anyway? So shouldn't you be worrying about all souls even in Heaven?

Catholics ask way too much.

Well how are you supposed to know which interpretation is the right one? You could go to Hell just for being told the wrong thing.

and yet question too little. ironic how that works out.

Try quoting someone, it gets you further in life and makes you look smarter.

religion is the opiate of the masses.

What's your point?

i dunno....you said to try quoting someone.....i know it's quoting someone...dunno who off the top of my head....it was your idea.

Christianity is something that's pretty diverse.

Some Christians don't believe in "hell" persay. (And what is hell varies)

Some also don't neccesarily place an emphasis on following 'the correct' belief system.

Nup, doesn't work like that, you have to indicate who you're quoting, and if the person is intelligent or has a complex name then people will know you're really smart, otherwise you just look like some crazy person who thinks the world is round.