NationStates Jolt Archive

http://www.gulbransen.net/photos/london/images/18.atheist.jpg

I belive he has a point; Jesus had some good ideas, respected women and was a generally nice bloke. Why shouldn't Atheists follow his teachings to a point? The teachings about loving God et cetera can be safely ignored by the Atheist, yes, but others like "love thy neighbour" should be practised.

Your opinions?

(Apologies if this has been whored to death).

I think at that point it's just called "being a nice person" and doesn't really need the religious affiliation.

*seconding dakini*

It sounds like an oxymoron to me. Don't Christians say you have to believe in God to be Christian?

I agree with Dakini, at that point it is just a philosophy. Now you could argue that that's all religions are to the atheist, philosophies with a faith in a god thrown in for good measure (not my definition, but it seems to be the position others argue from). But then you're calling atheism a religion.

whats that picture from?

i dont see why a person couldnt choose to follow the teachings of jesus in the same way they might follow the philosopy of sartre.

whats that picture from?

Here's (http://www.gulbransen.net/photos/london/pages/18.atheist.htm) the original site. Dunno what it's about though.

I think at that point it's just called "being a nice person" and doesn't really need the religious affiliation.

Good point. Being a nice person and being a good person is based on Christianity's definition of it. Didn't think about it that way, did you?

No, you don't have to have God belief to be a Christian. So long as you sincerely believe in the teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, anyone can be a Christian even us heathens. As a Unitarian Universalist (UU) I believe that people are entitled to search for truth and meaning (however they define it), that reason, compassion and justice should play roles in religion and that the environment and the web of life around us is to be honored and protected. In the UU tradition I'm a Buddhist, Pagan with Agnostic leanings. So anyone can be a Christian. A good deal of Jesus's teachings I find valuable like the Kingdom of Heaven referring to a pleasent utopia on Earth, the idea of the divine spark in every person, his call for justice for all oppressed peoples, other teachings like the Beattitudes. He's kind like the other major prophets and wisdom teachers of the world (Buddah, ect.)

"A man's ethical behavior should be based effectually on sympathy, education, and social ties; no religious basis is necessary. Man would indeeded be in a poor way if he had to be restrained by fear of punishment and hope of reward after death." -- Albert Einstein

Besides, Jesus never even existed, everything he supposedly said was written by other men.

I think it is called socialism.

Besides, Jesus never even existed, everything he supposedly said was written by other men.

Actually, there is evidence to suggest a man named Jesus Christ was crucified in Roman times. It's the "Son of God" thing that's a fallacy, IMO.

Yes. Jesus existed.

Anyways. Shouldn't christians follow what Jesus taught?

As in
Tolerate thy neighbor or something?

(Meaning, leave the atheists, homosexuals, etc alone. And don't curse them all to hell)

As a Catholic I believe that even if someone says they don't believe in God, but then does the right thing, they are in fact following God because to follow God is to live as Jesus lived and do good works. It's good works that gets you into heaven, religion is just there to help.

It's to be a good person.

Im sorry but you cant be an athiest and beleive in God, seeing as God does not believe that there is such a thing as an athiest.

From the Biblical point of view, God is within all of us as we are created in him image, so when we stand before Him we wont be able to make the pathetic excuse that we didnt know.

Also, not every person is a Christian according to their own beleifs.

Being a Christian is not a religion but a relationship. Jesus certainly didnt follow other religions. Also, theres a big difference between buddhism, muslim, other religions and Christ.

Every other prophet from every other belief is dead, yet Jesus died and was raised again. Also, God has a set of standars so to say that you can beliee what you want and its ok is rubbish.

If i believed that in my religion i could do what i want to please myself then i would be allowed to take innocent lifes and get away with it and still get into heaven. Sorry, universalism is pathetic and is just another excuse for people with no morals so they dont have to accept that they are going to be found Guilty by a God who believes in justice, as scripture teaches.

Im sorry but you cant be an athiest and beleive in God

But we are talking about following Jesus' teachings. Not God.

seeing as God does not believe that there is such a thing as an athiest.

Huh? What's that got to do with anything? And does that mean that God does not belive in the people who don't belive in him?

From the Biblical point of view, God is within all of us as we are created in him image, so when we stand before Him we wont be able to make the pathetic excuse that we didnt know.

Why is it pathetic? A person, on an island far away, having never seen a Bible nor heard of God, can't say he didn't know?

Also, not every person is a Christian according to their own beleifs.

Yes, we know there are other theologies.

Being a Christian is not a religion but a relationship. Jesus certainly didnt follow other religions. Also, theres a big difference between buddhism, muslim, other religions and Christ.

I thought he was a Jew.

Every other prophet from every other belief is dead, yet Jesus died and was raised again. Also, God has a set of standars so to say that you can beliee what you want and its ok is rubbish.

Tell that to most Christians.

If i believed that in my religion i could do what i want to please myself then i would be allowed to take innocent lifes and get away with it and still get into heaven.

What about reprenting before you die?

Sorry, universalism is pathetic and is just another excuse for people with no morals so they dont have to accept that they are going to be found Guilty by a God who believes in justice, as scripture teaches.

Now, now, no flaming. Calling a belief system "pathetic" just because you don't belive in it is A BAD THING. As well as saying that all Atheists and other non-Christians have no morals.

Oh, and welcome to NationStates!

ZOMFG that annoys me SO much… the whole "atheists have no morals" line… of course they have morals, just that their morals are a] less likely to swing to pride and b] less stable.
Yeah, anyway. Um, I suppose you could be a "Christian atheist", although I have to say it wouldn't suit me or any of the atheists I know… binding oneself to a philosophy unless it is of utmost necessity doesn't appeal to me. But variety is the spice of life…

ZOMFG that annoys me SO much… the whole "atheists have no morals" line… of course they have morals, just that their morals are a] less likely to swing to pride and b] less stable.
Yeah, anyway. Um, I suppose you could be a "Christian atheist", although I have to say it wouldn't suit me or any of the atheists I know… binding oneself to a philosophy unless it is of utmost necessity doesn't appeal to me. But variety is the spice of life…

Actually, I find them more stable. They are self-defined, therefore you do not get that nasty thing where you start to disagree with your religions' dogma.

And what does ZOMFG mean?

Actually, I find them more stable. They are self-defined, therefore you do not get that nasty thing where you start to disagree with your religions' dogma. Yes, but there are over 6 billion self-defined beliefs. That's one divided world. Of course, everyone believing the same thing which happens to be a terrible belief is just as bad.
I don't know… too many vengeful and angry tendencies in me for Christian Atheism.

[EDIT/] ZOMFG is a l33ty thing which I find mildly amusing. OMFG = Oh My F(e)cking God. I have no idea what the Z stands for.

I belive he has a point; Jesus had some good ideas, respected women and was a generally nice bloke. Why shouldn't Atheists follow his teachings to a point?

Because Jesus didn't justify his teachings, just like God didn't. They just say "doing this is good, doing that is bad" - but for the most part do not provide a consistent logical reasoning behind those "commandments".

If you have faith in God and Jesus, them saying so is enough justification. If you are an atheist and do not you need more. "They look good" doesn't cut it.