You seem to have missed my point entirely



That doesn't make "the church" a single organization.

Then, please what was your point? You disagree with me? Fine. but I was merely commenting on the subject that is being discussed.

No, but you have the same core belief and base your belief system on the same book. That makes you pretty similar relative to the rest of the world, no matter how much you wanna argue over the details amongst yourselves.

That's a pretty ignorant statement, and a very broad overarching generalization. I would say that there are some pretty major differences between churches, including differences that have led to wars. I mean sure they all follow the same book, but thats like saying since republicans and democrats all follow the same constitution they must be the same.

Trust me, that sign is about the bottom of offensive things I've seen on this board.

Like Kingfish said, sometimes things aren't evil. I'll admit I thought his reasoning was more nefarious than it was, so I apologize. But I guess as a Christian, I want to know why people hate it so much.

If you compare christian churches to one another, they are much more similar in beliefs than they would be to other religions. But it is a broad and general grouping yes.

And I would actually say democrats and republicans while having lots of differences are also pretty damn similar. They are both American groups and believe in the same general principals of our constitution, free enterprise, freedom of speech and other such major issues. They argue over the details but it not like you have one side espousing communism and the other fascism...regardless of what they say about each other when they argue.

And yeah, about now I am just arguing to be arguing...slow day at work. I also always get a kick out of Christians with persecution complexes.

You said that you are offended by Christians' desire to share/spread their beliefs, but everyone tries to spread their own beliefs, including you. As you're doing here. I'm not actually "offended" by you. I was just trying to flip that around.

The problem with lumping all Christians together is that you have an immense global religion with many diverse and even contradictory permutations. Some are basically cults and some are so open and loosely defined as to scarcely even qualify as a religion.

But maybe I should backpedal a bit here. The idea that there is a single Church is actually a Christian one, but the reality of the situation is far from that. There aren't supposed to be factions, but there are seemingly irreconcilable ones. It's possibly too easy to try to shrug off the actions of other Christians because of this, but I guess that's really the wrong attitude to have. We're supposed to own up to all of it.

Well, there is a big difference. I am casually sharing my ideas on a board where the topic came up. I am not flyering the town and dangling free food in front of impressionable young people before then trying to convince them of my ideas under threat of firey hell for all of eternity.

I do sorta find the various waring factions within the larger Christian church rather interesting to be completely honest. And yes, much of my interest has to do with the church's less than righteous moments and the petty power struggles that have drawn up so many of the dividing lines.

Confirm on all points.

That's a distortion on a couple of levels. But I get that it's a little more insidious when an organization is targeting youth and using deceptive tactics. I agreed with that point at the outset.

But I find it interesting that you (and several others) single out Christianity when it's hardly the only manipulative presence in our society that targets youth and children. But when this recruitment succeeds, what do you get? I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that you're one of those people that blames religion for a lot of the world's problems so I guess I can see how you see the expansion of Christianity as being so troubling. But what about the indoctrination of more slavish consumers? More junk food addicts? More insecure teenagers who think that buying this product or that one is going to make them into a more desirable person? Or that just getting laid is going to solve all of their issues with identity and self-worth? Oh, wait, you probably believe that one.

I have issues with all of the problems you have mentioned there. I just think the notion that Christianity is the solution to them is a stretch. Do I need to go out and get the data showing how the areas of the country with the most church attendance and the largest percentage of believers have the highest rates or divorce and crime? How about I go get the statistics of countries where violence is almost non-existent but where atheism is a majority viewpoint. Outside some vague notion, I've never seen any data backing up how makign people espouse christianity actually makes them behave any better.

I don't think that this is an accurate description of these sorts of events. I used to go to these sort of things all the time growing up, and they are, in my experience, never hard sells. It's usually a bunch of kids hanging out, with some light preaching thrown in here and there, and it provides a good place for kids to hang out and chill. At worst they'll become Christian and believe in things like forgiveness, and honesty, etc. Of course there are those relative few that are all about hellfire, but if a free pizza is all it takes to convince you then it's probably not a huge loss. I mean they aren't for the most part good at indoctrination, I started smoking weed because of people I met at church for christsake.

Jesus hippies.

I wasn't actually trying to say that "it's the solution" nor was I trying to say that Christianity necessarily makes anyone a "better person" at all*. My point was more along the lines of Is it really so bad the Christians are trying to make more Christians considering what other outside interests are aggressively trying to mold people's thoughts and actions.

* Of course this raises the obvious question of so what is the point? Well, it's probably better if I don't try to go into that.

wait. i didnt read this thread aside from the title and like the 1st post, then i stumbled onto this page. you motherfuckers took a thread on toaster ovens and managed to turn it into a debate on religion? this thread alone has more than likely cemented this place as the Worst Place on the Internet™. holy fucking goddamn shit you guys.

The original thread was about toaster ovens, then there was a post in the same vein about a sign on a church door. That's what turned it into a religion discussion/debate, not the toaster oven post.

so modem i blame you 100%. and why would you bump a thread on toasters to post something regarding our lord and savior. i think we need to chat

no i see that now. but am i correct in understanding that there is no specific connection between the two thoughts? admittedly i didnt read this thread in detail because i was blinded with rage

Thread should be called "Funny Signs I Made, by Modem"

That's interesting, because the number of people attending church since WW2 has gone down, but divorce rates in the US has risen. Just saying, you can make numbers say whatever you want.

But, I've seen those stats, and that's a problem with some churches. That if you divorce, then immediately you are outcast. I think one of the biggest problems facing Christians is this "holier than thou" mentality. Sure, there are Christians who just don't get it, but why marginalize and limit those who don't think that way. What about those that are making a difference in their communities? By turning your back on all, you're limiting progress for those who are working hard.

the solution is clear: modem must be banned.

It's sacrilicious.

are they using your toaster to make all the food?

rename the thread "modem's humorous notes and signs" to avoid the wrath of gay boy

And then do some more notes and signs, preferably at an abortion clinic or at the governor's mansion this time.

I gotta say he's batting .1000 so far. 2 for 2.