General Discussion
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(14,570 posts)dalton99a
(81,464 posts)iluvtennis
(19,852 posts)raccoon
(31,110 posts)Ilsa
(61,694 posts)The Methodist ministers I know are kind, tolerant, intelligent folk. Methodists in general have always been big on promoting higher education, not ignorant decision-making based on shunning of science and empirical research.
left-of-center2012
(34,195 posts)It all began with this sign.
Little did we know what a response we would get.
On our signboard in the front of our church we put up a sign that said GOD PREFERS KIND ATHEISTS OVER HATEFUL CHRISTIANS.
The rest, as they say, is history!
Read more at:
http://www.rcpumc.org/weve-gone-viral/
They also have other signs at the link. Heres one of the many:
syringis
(5,101 posts)murielm99
(30,736 posts)would get off its butt and endorse this officially.
If there are some people who choose to leave over it, so be it.
Towlie
(5,324 posts)The New Testament is self-contradictory in that some sections claim that you have to be good to go to heaven (good works), while other sections, such as often referenced John 3:16, take what I like to call the "Hitler's in Heaven" view that you only have to believe, or in other words, be a Christian.
Wikipedia features a complex and confusing summary of Methodist beliefs, but here's something that stands out:
"According to Wesleyan understanding, good works are the fruit of one's salvation, not the way in which that salvation was earned."
("Wesleyan" refers to the founders of the Methodist church.)
Joe Nation
(962 posts)is the insanest aspect of this fight to any atheist I imagine.
syringis
(5,101 posts)I focused on the hopes the sign shares.
List left
(595 posts)Nitram
(22,794 posts)NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)And I like the signs. The first one speaks to the hateful Xtians, not to atheists. Their 2nd sign speaks to hypocritical Xtians.
Joe Nation
(962 posts)They are both just as convince as the other that what they believe or don't believe is the absolute truth while neither could possibly know if they are actually right or not in the absence of facts supporting either position. What's the difference in their beliefs or non-beliefs if neither can be truly known? Answer...None!
NastyRiffraff
(12,448 posts)The difference between belief in religion, mythology, astrology, Santa Clause, etc. etc. and the ABSENCE of belief is that one believes entirely on faith. The atheist doesn't believe in gods..whether it's Yaweh, Baal, the Egyptian Crocodile god, or any of the thousands of gods throughout history. That does NOT mean that the atheist denies the POSSIBILITY of a god of some sort, only that there is no evidence of a god or gods.
As Carl Sagan famously said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. The claim of an unseen god is extraordinary.
Mariana
(14,856 posts)There may be such things as gods, but I don't believe in them. I also don't believe there are any gray aliens levitating people out of their beds to take them aboard their ships and implant them with probes. The gray aliens may exist, but I don't believe it. Exactly the same way I don't believe in gods.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)We know what we don't know.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)Humans can never know absolute truth.
GoneOffShore
(17,339 posts)I'm going to quote Dylan Moran on this sort of nonsense
'I respect all the differences but if you believe any of it you're a moron. To me, it's just people talking about their imaginary friend at length'
Ilsa
(61,694 posts)not believers vs nonbelievers.
Believers debate the will of God based on their understanding of the Bible and what scholars have written, FWIW, even if that sounds just as crazy.
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)SergeStorms
(19,199 posts)Although I prefer 'secular humanist' instead of the religiously based word 'atheist'.
Yeah, I come from a long line of christians. They're all so miserable! I'm the happiest, and probably the most well balanced mentally, of the bunch. It took years of self-guilt and family/friend criticism to get past my religious indoctrination, but it was like a great weight lifted from my entire being when I finally shed the unnecessary baggage. I'm as happy as a clam.
BarbD
(1,192 posts)Like you, I too am as happy as a clam.
KY_EnviroGuy
(14,490 posts)I'm 70 now and not always 100% happy with all the aches and pains of life, but at least I know it's my doing and my responsibility.
Some wise 'ole bird once said that spirituality is nothing but deep self-knowledge, and I like that definition.
DFW
(54,369 posts)Probably no one has heard of it any more (except maybe this Tom Tate).
Stonepounder
(4,033 posts)Tom Tate and me
DFW
(54,369 posts)Seeing as I'm so old, I own fossils of animals that used to be my house pets, I tend to forget.
kimbutgar
(21,137 posts)Brainstormy
(2,380 posts)Big hit!
ProudProgressiveNow
(6,129 posts)Puzzler
(2,505 posts).
brewens
(13,582 posts)would be more inclined to believe.
whathehell
(29,067 posts)seem to have expropriated the title to themselves alone, that being kind of a joke, since they comprise only about 30% of self-identified Christians in this country.
Having been raised among the majority, I can assure you the attitude expressed by this Methodist Church is far more prevalent than you might think.