The National Forum   Donate   Your Account   On Line Opinion   Forum   Blogs   Polling   About   
The Forum - On Line Opinion's article discussion area



Syndicate
RSS/XML


RSS 2.0

Main Articles General

Sign In      Register

The Forum > Article Comments > Traditional churches are dying > Comments

Traditional churches are dying : Comments

By Everald Compton, published 11/7/2022

Census 2022 reveals that only 44% of Australians believe in God.

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. Page 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. All
Unfortunately, belief in God has justified atrocity. The Inquisitors thought they were doing the will of God. Calvin presided over a tyranny in Geneva in which such atrocities were committed as executing Servetus who doubted some Christian dogma. Hitler said he was furthering the work of the church, and many Germans believed him. Hitler may have believed he was doing good. It is an open question whether belief in God has been more of an evil force or a good force. Such belief can enable one to do evil with a sense of righteousness. I think it better to consider acts on the basis of what they result in rather than on the basis of belief. At this time the Chinese are forcing the Uighurs to discard their belief system by putting them in 're-education' centers where their beliefs are disregarded. Are the Chinese doing worse than was done in the mission stations in Australia where Christianity was forced in the Aborigines?
Posted by david f, Tuesday, 12 July 2022 8:05:40 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dear David F.,

«Are the Chinese doing worse than was done in the mission stations in Australia where Christianity was forced in the Aborigines?»

What possibly could be worse than the Uighur holocaust?!

And it is not only the Uighurs - all religions are banned in China, even while some churches are still allowed to operate by name only.
China allows just one pseudo-religion - the worship of their leader.
While they don't formally name him 'God', that is their attitude, that is how they treat him.
Even those Christian-in-name churches that are still allowed to operate had to replace the crosses and images of Jesus with enormous pictures of Xi Jinping and their sermons by his praises.

Yes, Aborigines in Australia were wronged in many ways, but they never had to endure 1/100th of the tortures the Uighurs are undergoing.

May China's name be obliterated for eternity.

«belief in God has justified atrocity.»

Nothing justified atrocity. Even when evil people tried to use their belief in God or whatever to justify their acts, that never in fact justified them.

As for Hitler, while he said so many things, he never believed in God.
Posted by Yuyutsu, Tuesday, 12 July 2022 11:58:51 PM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
david f,

<<Generally, people who think that God or Jesus speaks to them are candidates for a mental institution. It seems reasonable to assume that you do not reveal the contacts of your dialog with Jesus because the personal relation with Jesus is nonsense. >>

That's your worldview speaking through its presuppositions.

The facts are, according to the Bible: (1) Jesus counselled His disciples, “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matthew 26:41). Through prayer, we can overcome temptations to sin. We can pray for God’s help to keep us from making wrong choices. I don't expect you to understand this biblical dynamic. (2) Paul told the Roman church Christians: "Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer" (Romans 12:12).

So, Christians who pray are not heading for a mental institution. To the contrary, they pray not to fall into temptation (to sin) and they are faithful in prayer to indicate they are joyful and patient in trials of various kinds.

I will not reply to any of your further scoffing at my Christian beliefs.
Posted by OzSpen, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 7:42:19 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dear OzSpen,

You said, <The facts are according to the Bible>

The Bible is a compendium of legend and is not a source of reliable facts. It is not a peer reviewed journal, a scientific text or a reliable chronicle. Certainly I scoff at appeals to that unreliable document. There is wisdom in the Bible amid the dross.

There are Christians who are aware of this and how the Bible was constructed. They question and see both the imperfections and value of their faith. You accept it without question. I do not scoff at all Christians. I scoff at your willful ignorance.

I hope that I am a good person. I know I have flaws. The flaws will not be corrected by appeals to an imaginary deity. Neither will yours. Blind belief is not a virtue.
Posted by david f, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 8:02:19 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Paul1405,

<<Just as one can be "good" without a belief in a god, but if Christian faith, and a belief in a god inspires some folk to do good works in the community, such as charitable/humanitarian work, and for the same reason are good within themselves and towards others, does it matter if God exists or not. Is it not the end result that counts?>>

How do you define the boundaries of what is "good" and "bad"? Without some absolute standard, human beings are subject to subjective, changing human values.

The Christian life is not meant only for doing good humanitarian work. Jesus Christ changes people from the inside out, causing people to worship God, have a relationship with Him, and enjoy the privileges of eternal life that begins now.
Posted by OzSpen, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 8:07:05 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
Dear Yuyutsu,

How do you know what Hitler believed? Could you read his mind?

We don't know the full story of what went on the missions and will never know. It is easy to see those we oppose as devils and disregard our own faults.

There is a tendency for humans to think, "We are the good guys. They are the bad guys." There is a tendency for the oppressed to want to get back for the wrongs that have done to them. The past haunts them. The Chinese did not have the strength in the past to stop the English selling opium to them. At one time 1/7 of English income was derived from selling opium to the Chinese, so I have read. At one time various bits of Chinese territory were controlled by mainly European powers and Japan.

The Chinese are not devils. We are not angels. We both emphasize what we want to emphasize.
Posted by david f, Wednesday, 13 July 2022 8:20:01 AM
Find out more about this user Recommend this comment for deletion Return to top of page Return to Forum Main Page Copy comment URL to clipboard
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. Page 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. All

About Us :: Search :: Discuss :: Feedback :: Legals :: Privacy