My point here is Christianity is about freedom and personal responsibility and not being shackled to the government for survival all your life.

#9 | POSTED BY BILLJOHNSON

Then you have no point and are just another fool if you believe that.

Christianity is NOT about freedom. And I am pretty sure Jesus was ok with starving people taking handouts from their governments. They took handouts from him didn't they?

And you are definitely NOT A FREE THINKER.

Christianity (much like Islam) is about submission to the will of a God.

A god invented by men. Made up by men. And men have decided what this made up god says and means. As they have decided what all the gods men have made up say or mean. Men interpret the "will of God" through the writings of other men and various other means (like signs and prophecy) and then they tell other men what to do and say based on that they think.

I hate to break it to you. Your "higher power" is just you.

Christianity is about freedom ...

There is a very good reason we separate church from state in America.

If the Christians ruled this nation we would definitely NOT be as free as we are.

For centuries there have been people who distort Christianity for financial gain and power. Even the early churches had similar problems.

Because here we do not believe in monarchs and that absolute power corrupts absolutely.

...

That's not a reflection of Jesus or His message. It's a reflection of human nature and the failure of those who twist His message for their own agenda.

Sort of like the man in this video.

#18 | POSTED BY BILLJOHNSON

The man in the video was speaking of Christian values. He was speaking the truth as he saw it. What did he say that was not the truth?

What twisted agenda do you think the man in the video has?

The man in the video is obviously a Christian relaying what he feels is the message Jesus wanted us to hear. Which part do you disagree with exactly?

a full day of stuff planned...

adios.
#19 | POSTED BY BILLJOHNSON

No worries. I will check back later for your answers.

Yes, Christians are called to love their neighbor, care for the poor, and show mercy but those actions flow from a changed heart, and not from pressure to follow a political narrative dressed up as compassion. We are to follow Christ.

Christianity emphasizes a call to sacrifice for the benefit of others, particularly the marginalized. It is what your Christ told you to do.

Christians are called to offer their entire being to God, which involves being willing to give up privileges and comfort to help the weak.

If you are not doing that then you are not following him. Are you?

"Then Jesus told his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?'"

Now. Would you like to discuss what "Deny himself", "Take up his cross", and "Lose his life for my sake" mean?

I'll start ...

Deny himself: This means putting God and others before personal desires, comforts, and privileges. It is about actively choosing to prioritize God's will and the needs of others over personal convenience or self-interest.

Take up his cross: This symbolizes a willingness to face hardship, suffering, and sacrifice for the sake of following Jesus and serving others, just as Jesus carried his cross. This can involve giving up earthly possessions, ambitions, or even risking one's life.

Lose his life for my sake: This emphasizes the idea of a complete surrender to God and his purposes, even to the point of death, if necessary. This is a radical call to discipleship that requires a willingness to give up everything for the sake of the gospel and serving the weak.

You're fine with the guy in this video doing it, but if a conservative politician started quoting scripture to his constituents, you'd probably be outraged.

Don't pretend to know how I think.

He is not a government employee as far as I know. Nothing he says will "outrage" me. Nor should it. I may disagree. But in this case I do not.

He is a Christian talking to other Christians.

He is not speaking to me. I already know the Truth that he speaks.

I am however outraged when ANY government employees politicians use "scripture" or promote their personal religious beliefs while in a public office. Like MAGA Mike does for instance.

Government employees cannot use their official authority or government resources to proselytize or promote their religious beliefs in a way that violates the Establishment Clause. This means they generally cannot pressure, coerce, or discriminate against others based on religion, or create the impression that the government endorses a particular faith.

"It's sort of ironic the way Christian preachers shame their congregation, in the same breath as teaching forgiveness."

It's ironic that you feel no shame for denying your Christs teachings.

"Just curious. Are you saved?"

Am I a Christian? No.

Am I saved? Yes. But not by what your limited narrow minded Christian thinking would allow for, of course. I am saved (immune) from the stupidity of rigid Christian dogma. Or any religious dogma for that matter.

While I accept the truths of many religions including Christianity I am not beholden to any of them or any man.

You don't have to be a "believer" to understand Christianity. You do have to be a Christian "believer" to be able to deny the truths found in all religions.

But it was founded on Christian principles.

#33 | POSTED BY MSGT

"As the Government of the United States of America is not in any sense founded on the Christian Religion...".

-Thomas Jefferson

Using the Bible the way this video is saying is making people look to the government for guidance and survival instead of a personal relationship with God and becoming self reliant.

The Christian in the video was saying our government was not founded on Christianity and is not in any way acting as a Christian nation.

It has nothing to do with reducing "self reliance ".

Also the government IS the people. It's you and me. We elect them to represent OUR values. If you claim to be a Christian with Christian values then you should act that way and treat others accordingly.

If your values are to be cruel and uncaring to the situation of others you should just admit it. Like DingDong and lfthandturd does.

44 They also will answer, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'

45 "He will reply, Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.'

46 "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."

Yup. That's exactly what The Lord (who is also apparently god) said.

( .. Not buying verse 46. Which is why I cannot be a Christian. There is no proof that there will be any accountability. But if you believe that then Bill should be terrified. You can "believe" what you want but as far as any human in existence actually knows, dying is an escape from the human condition to nonexistence. Which should be quite relaxing and peaceful if my own NDE meant anything.)

Dude, you're over in the Texas flood thread cheering the drowning of children FFS.

#43 | POSTED BY ONEIRONAUT

Your god won't be pleased with your lies.

No cheering here.

I said that "only the weak will drown".

Which is just basically rephrasing what your Dear Leader has already said and what he obviously believes.

You're just repeating yourself and I'm not going to. I put time into writing them.

If you reply to my posts with just more insults or tunnel vision, don't expect any sort of response from me.

I won't see you.

#48 | POSTED BY BILLJOHNSON

I am not repeating myself. But I am consistent.

Tho as a teacher myself I have learned that repeating is sometimes necessary for some with thick skulls or who cannot hear past the voices in their heads.

I understand that the truth can hurt. I try to say it in words you can understand.

I try not to insult others religion. But you have no trouble insulting my intelligence. So much so that it has become so much harder these days with the hate and cruelty that has resulted from Christians pushing their dogma onto the rest of us.

If you can't take the heat then yes I suggest you definitely get out of the fire. You sit there and quote your scripture and preach to others as though you have some higher moral authority. You do not. You are just a human subject to the human condition. Just like the rest of us. No matter what it is you think you "believe".

And I will respond accordingly with what I believe.

The man in the video was obviously more of a true follower of your christs teachings than you are. Too bad if you take that as an insult.

I believe in separation of Church and State. However, if you are a professing Christian the rules change for you. You should be doing what I believe a Christian should do, although I'm not a Christian and have no personal experience to speak from. I just read about it and feel qualified to tell you what you should do as a Christian.

Like I said. Sometimes for people with thick skulls I do have to repeat myself.

I believe in the separation of church and state because my country was founded on that belief and no man or woman should be forced to believe any one myth and the church can and has become a corrupting and unelected power. I believe in freedom FROM religion as well as freedom of religion.

I believe that you claim to be a Christian you should act like one. Not tell us to follow Jesus then treat your fellow humans as animals.

I was born into the world of Christian faith. I have experienced the Christian faith when I was younger. I was saved. I believed. Until I didn't. I was even on the church debate team. We debated The Acts.

"When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man, I gave up childish ways"

Now that I am older I have some experience with ALL religions.

I believe I am qualified to tell you if you are following your faith or just picking and choosing the stuff you want to follow.

Again. I believe one does NOT have to be a Christian to understand Christians.

I believe that the problem with the followers of Christianity (and Islam) is that they are narrow minded and think THEIR faith is the only true faith and everyone should believe what they believe.

Yes this angers me.

Islam and Christianity have both used force to make others adhere to their beliefs. Christianity and Islam are right now using politics and physical force to MAKE others to adhere to their beliefs.

I believe that right now they are using political power and violence to force others to adhere to their beliefs.

Yes this angers me.

But because of my philosophical beliefs my mind is just fine thank you. No storms here. When storms arise my faith gives me the tools I need to deal with it beside "thoughts and prayers".

Pro tip: meditation works way better than "thoughts and prayers".

Btw- You are the one who hears a voice in your head and thinks it is a god. Sorry to break it to you child.

It is just you. Talking to yourself. You are your own "higher power".

Re 83

Great imagery!

Re 85.

Oops! Wrong link.

Was thinking the Putin/apocalypse thread ...

Re 87

Psychohistory.

Psychohistory, in its most common usage, refers to a fictional science from Isaac Asimov's Foundation series, which combines history, sociology, and mathematics to predict future events based on large-scale human behavior. However, psychohistory also exists as a real, though controversial, field in the social sciences, using psychological and psychoanalytic methods to analyze historical events and the behavior of groups and nations.

Isaac Asimov was a pretty good predictor of how things work. AI changes everything.

Re 102

Got it.

What you need to ask your self is how is the AC is gonna use AI against you? Or will it be used against him?

If you have it available on your smart phone then assume it is already being used. For you and against you.

My smart phone stays as stupid as I can make it.

Corky

I don't think that will be the correct strategy moving forward.

I assume you and I are older and we won't be around for most of it. But not having it in your phone will only mean you will be at a disadvantage against those who are using it against you. (Which I personally believe is already happening)

And your personal AI will be on YOUR side. At least initially. Until the Singularity. Then all bets are off.

"Personally, I hate that religion is even brought up when it comes to politics."

Then you Christians should not be doing that. But you are. Like forcing your religious dogma on children in Texas classrooms where Texas's law is REQUIRING the Ten Commandments to be displayed in public school classrooms. Like MAGA Mike proselytizing from the House of Representatives. Or administration officials like Joni Ernst in this sarcastic video where she preached her beliefs in Jesus from a graveyard. You will have suffer her arrogance thru to the very end where she violated the constitution to endorse her personal religious beliefs while a government employee.

I have expressed my spiritual beliefs here many many times but I bet you can't tell me which religion I favor and adhere to and abide by.

As it should be for all government employees.

Forgot the link for 115

She blatantly violated the Constitution at the very end of the video.