I think I understand now...

[Bill3000]

No, it was specifically for before Christ died.

Stop debunking Christ, please. A prophet who says the the Law no longer applies is by definition a false prophet.

 

[Brian Shanahan]

How do you "accidentally" rape a cow?

By mistaking the cow for a sheep. Happens in Kerry, a lot.

 

[dannyshenanigan]

I think the Flat Earth Society is just a hoax, but I'm not entirely sure. Whoever runs their website sure puts a perplexing amount of effort into it either way.

 

[manim]

Ouch... Does anybody know anyone that's actually like that? I would consider myself a "fundamentalist" Christian, and some of you may think I'm crazy, but this stuff is just over the top!

srry for my bad english
well i cant say i have met any christian like that but that is mostly because i live in iran and here 98 percent of peploe are muslims but i can assure you that you can find pepole like that especially in our religon actually anyone who completely understands islam and still consider himself a muslim should be that way.... well expet for the cow part cuz in Shia Islam sex with animal is ok as long as you sell that animal after that sex

 

[NovaKart]

I can understand why you didn't know it was a satire. When I read the post I thought it's got to be a joke but then I saw all the responses and I was thinking, these people are totally crazy. Then I looked it up and found out it was a satire. I don't really understand why people get so into satires that they'll regular post on a forum and stay in character. It's like taking a joke way too far.

 

[.Shane.]

I actually think this site is being serious, which makes it all the more sad. I am also fairly certain its a real church.

No, it is complete satire. You can quibble on the quality of the satire.

So is Betty Bowers, America's Best Christian.

 

[Cashie]

srry for my bad english

Don't worry about it. Welcome.

well expet for the cow part cuz in Shia Islam sex with animal is ok as long as you sell that animal after that sex

Remind me not to buy any Iranian cattle...

I actually think this site is being serious, which makes it all the more sad. I am also fairly certain its a real church.

Oh, dear. No.

The Landover Baptist Church is a fictional Baptist church based in the fictional town of Freehold, Iowa. The Landover Baptist web site and its associated Landoverbaptist.net Forum are a satire of fundamentalist Christianity and the Religious Right in the United States.

I almost had it mixed up with the Westboro Baptist Church, but it's clearly a parody. Then, I see things like this.

 

[Evil_Abe]

srry for my bad english
well i cant say i have met any christian like that but that is mostly because i live in iran and here 98 percent of peploe are muslims but i can assure you that you can find pepole like that especially in our religon actually anyone who completely understands islam and still consider himself a muslim should be that way.... well expet for the cow part cuz in Shia Islam sex with animal is ok as long as you sell that animal after that sex

Don't worry about the english its no problem! Thanks for the insight! So is Islam technically not a "peaceful" religion?

I can understand why you didn't know it was a satire. When I read the post I thought it's got to be a joke but then I saw all the responses and I was thinking, these people are totally crazy. Then I looked it up and found out it was a satire. I don't really understand why people get so into satires that they'll regular post on a forum and stay in character. It's like taking a joke way too far.

I know right! That's why I got confused, because of the hundreds of pages of replies...I'm glad I'm not the only one!

@Domination: I looked it up and it is satire. Satire that these people put way too much time into. I do appreciate the thought and research you put into it though! There probably are some people that actually believe some of that stuff out there (pizzaguy's 20% rule). Don't worry I'm not going to stop being a Christian just because of that! There's crazy fanatics in every religion. Plus I believe that if you're truly a Christian you can't be "unsaved" and I think you believe that too from what I've gathered.

 

[Huayna Capac357]

I don't want to make this a discussion about Islam, but Islam is more ambiguous than violent religion/peaceful religion. Sometimes, the Qu'ran says stuff like "there shall be no compulsion of religion" and sometimes it does say violent stuff. But so does the Bible. If you put Leviticus and the Gospels side by side, you'd never think they were the same religion. You can't just divide the world into completely black and completely white, and that's fundamentalism's flaw.

 

[Evil_Abe]

I agree, and that's why I was asking about it. I didn't know if Islam called for violence in specific situations, or if it called for it in the same manner extremists and terrorists carry it out.

 

[Ajidica]

I agree, and that's why I was asking about it. I didn't know if Islam called for violence in specific situations, or if it called for it in the same manner extremists and terrorists carry it out.

It calls for violence as much as Christianity does. For every passage in the Qu'ran that advocates violence, it is generaly followed by a passage emphasizing the value of peace and mercy.

 

[madviking]

So this is the reason so many people have harsh feelings towards conservative Christians like myself? This almost convinces me to do a complete 180 on my religious and political views... Does anybody know any one like this in person? To make a discussion out of this thread, how would you respond to someone like that if you did talk to them in person?

I'll tackle this issue from a general atheist's point of view:

So the question you're asking is "Why do nontheists have a beef with (conservative) Christians?"

Atheists view all religions with equal contempt. It's just that we're paired up with Christians more often than not. But the source of the contempt is usually that we view religion as a (very) 'bad' product, and all adherents to religion are like spokespeople. Now, we know that there are 'good' spokespeople and 'bad' spokespeople. Fundies and generally crazy adherents are obviously the 'bad' spokespeople, and moderate and cafeteria adherents are generally the 'good' spokespeople. But regardless of your zeal, you're still sponsoring a 'bad' product. So atheists are kinda obligated to remind you that you're promoting a bad product, and try their best to get you away from the 'bad' product.

Now, another reason for our aggressive debating, is what I call the "ladder and building" scenario. Most explicit atheists have very good reasons for thinking so. They can quote the Bible as well as most Christians can, and they know which ones cause Christians to be in fits. So this solid base is like a building. Christians, in the view of atheists, are standing on very little solid evidence, and most of their beliefs are only just (we view) they were indoctrinated in those beliefs from a young age. So it's like they're standing on a wobbly ladder not leaning against anything, blindfolded. Atheists generally try to remind you that your ladder isn't leaning against anything, while you still insist on 'faith' to help you balance the ladder.

This is also why a lot of Christians have beefs with atheists; we keep trying to knock them down. Well, we're trying to make get off the ladder naturally, but the most often way Christians move away from Christianity is that the ladder just falls, representing their fall from grace/faith, and realizing that Christianity is pretty fishy. Now they can take off their blindfold, and realize that you don't really need a God to create the universe, (the blindfold is a casual allusion to Ben Franklin's quote "to way to see by faith is to shut the eye of reason") and they can join our ranks of baby-eating atheists.

 

[NickyJ]

Ouch... Does anybody know anyone that's actually like that? I would consider myself a "fundamentalist" Christian, and some of you may think I'm crazy, but this stuff is just over the top!

Me too. Also, pertaining to the sight, Web of Trust labels it as red. For people who don't know about "WOT", it lets users rate web sites' trustworthiness. Green is good, red is bad. Red usually means the site is a hoax. The site you linked to being red just reinforces my belief it is a hoax and fake loaded with viruses and who knows what else.

It calls for violence as much as Christianity does. For every passage in the Qu'ran that advocates violence, it is generaly followed by a passage emphasizing the value of peace and mercy.

I must disagree. Christianity doesn't call for suicide bombers. It also doesn't call for nonbelievers' heads to be cut off. 'Nuff said.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

I must disagree. Christianity doesn't call for suicide bombers.

I dont think theres anything wroted about suicide bombers in that. Did they even have bombs back then

 

[Perfection]

I'll tackle this issue from a general atheist's point of view

Please don't attempt to speak for atheists as a group.


You do not represent my views.

 

[NickyJ]

I dont think theres anything wroted about suicide bombers in that. Did they even have bombs back then

Busted!

I don't think there's anything written about suicide bombers in that. Did they even have bombs back then?

But in answer to your post: Why do Muslims do suicide bombings then?

Moderator Action: Trolling. It is not necessary to correct others' grammar/spelling.
Please read the forum rules: http://forums.civfanatics.com/showthread.php?t=422889

 

[NovaKart]

Suicide is a pretty big sin in Islam. I guess they think they are martyring (since you're the grammar police can you tell me if that can be used as a verb?) themselves which is certainly allowed in Islam but doing it in this way is suicide since if you're just fighting in battle you don't necessarily know you're going to die so I think many Muslims would say it's prohibited.

Thing is, there are a lot of Muslim scholars and many of them have different opinions. It's not really a monolithic religion.

 

[Ajidica]

I must disagree. Christianity doesn't call for suicide bombers.

Neither does Islam. Islam condemns suicide, except during the lesser jihad. The suicide bombers take actions that they are not supposed to a jihad (in a jihad, you are supposed to respect property and not target innocents. Furthermore, it must be purely defensive and as soon as the enemy asks for peace it must be given as mercy is a primary virtue. Lastly, it must be called be a legitimate Islamic authority and I belive almost all of them have condemned the current 'jihad'.).

It also doesn't call for nonbelievers' heads to be cut off. 'Nuff said.

No, but it does call for heretics to be killed and massacre the innocent just because they were a different faith. Look also at the First Crusade and the Siege of Jerusalem. Even chroniclers attached to the Crusade lamented the bloodshed and violence.

But in answer to your post: Why do Muslims do suicide bombings then?

Because they have been exposed to only extremly fundamentalist and dubious readings of the Qu'ran combined with other external factors.

 

[Puck Nutty]

So this is the reason so many people have harsh feelings towards conservative Christians like myself? This almost convinces me to do a complete 180 on my religious and political views... Does anybody know any one like this in person? To make a discussion out of this thread, how would you respond to someone like that if you did talk to them in person?

http://www.landoverbaptist.net/showthread.php?t=56552

While that site may be satire/trolling, the nutjobs at the Westboro Baptist Church are very much real. For honest, good natured Christians, these douches cast a very long shadow.

Unfortunately, there are individuals on both sides of the issue that make reasonable conversation impossible. However we can take solace in the fact that the Ann Coulters and Richard Dawkins' of the world are hugely outnumbered by reasonable people who are happy to agree to disagree.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Busted!

That wasn't very nice. Did you know I had a concussion a few months ago? I still not fully recovered so sometimes I use the wrong words or something.