Atheist

[KeithD]

Really? I wonder where all those people come from who fill the new Cathedral here in Tagum, six services every Sunday. I estimate that it seats about 1500, and there are often lots of people left to stand.

Our local church is full for two services, seating about 800. ... and there are many more churches in, and around, the town.

He was being generic, not specific.

[PeterB]

The point that I was making is that the Muslim population is in the minority - about 5% of the total population of the Philippines. That means that, even in Mindanao, Muslims are in the minority.

[aposhark]

You see, thats where people get confused, its people who kill people, not churches.

I've said this before, if you "believe", thats great, if you choose not to believe, fine, but I wish the non-believers would stop talking rubbish and just put up or shut up.

I disagree completely, and I am NOT confused.
People have killed each other in the name of religion all the time, and they still do.
I will not put up or shut up, because it is the people who believe in religion that knock on my door and try to convince me, and it is the church that sends these people out. Bah!
It is manic street preachers that feel they have a right to shout about religion and "God" at the tops of their voices in most towns.
Why don't they stay at home and "shut up".
Religion is dying fast in the UK, and that pleases me no end.
Most people do not believe any of that nonsense any more

[Geraldine]

This topic is never gonna end always a popular subject to debate on.

Its so easy to say I believe in this..in that...easy to go to church or attend bible studies...but what matters most is what is really in your heart. Its how you live your life and how you affect the people around you.

[Alan]

Ladies, Gentlemen, Good Friends and Python Fans,

I have read this thread with great interest and some dismay.

In England we say - when you are in a pub, never talk about Politics or Religion (Why have I capitalised those words?? I don't know - another Tanduay please.)

For sure, talking about these two subjects will surely lead to arguments and bad feelings.

Of course, this is a free forum and everybody is allowed their own opinion. However, I, for one, will stay away from this discussion because of the potential harm it could do to our GREAT family relationships here. I really hope that you all understand my point of view on this.

I make this post in the hope that I shall not be admonished.

May we all learn to accept and respect our differences.

Also, may we all pray that Oldham win the Division One Championship this season.

Al.

[joebloggs]

what's left to talk about then AL, the weather worse football

[Scouse]

If we don't talk about these things, nothing will ever change.

The people who say we shouldn't talk about politics or religion are thiose that don't know enough to discus them or know that your arguments are stronger than theirs.

[aposhark]

If we don't talk about these things, nothing will ever change.

The people who say we shouldn't talk about politics or religion are thiose that don't know enough to discus them or know that your arguments are stronger than theirs.

I would like religion to be off this forum, and for us to discuss far more worthwhile, less divisive, subjects.

[KeithD]

I would like religion to be off this forum, and for us to discuss far more worthwhile, less divisive, subjects.

Lesbians

[aromulus]

Ladies, Gentlemen, Good Friends and Python Fans,

I have read this thread with great interest and some dismay.

In England we say - when you are in a pub, never talk about Politics or Religion (Why have I capitalised those words?? I don't know - another Tanduay please.)

For sure, talking about these two subjects will surely lead to arguments and bad feelings.

Of course, this is a free forum and everybody is allowed their own opinion. However, I, for one, will stay away from this discussion because of the potential harm it could do to our GREAT family relationships here. I really hope that you all understand my point of view on this.

I make this post in the hope that I shall not be admonished.

May we all learn to accept and respect our differences.

Also, may we all pray that Oldham win the Division One Championship this season.

Al.

Crickey................!!!!

Look here what the cat has dragged in....!!!!

Hiyah, mate, glad to see you are still out and about..

Hope all is getting rosier now for you twos.....

[fred]

Love the starters of these religious threads.
They always seems to disappear just about the time when members begin to rip each others throats out.
Must disagree with Alans Pub comment though..
At least down the pub you can knock them clean out before the poison takes its desired effect.
Thats what I call gratification.

[aposhark]

Lesbians

[Alan]

Crickey................!!!!

Look here what the cat has dragged in....!!!!

Hiyah, mate, glad to see you are still out and about..

Hope all is getting rosier now for you twos.....

Hi Dom,

Thanks mate - and it's thanks to Keithangel that I am still 'afloat' albeit just about. No more 'fridge full of beer' - just - I can afford one when I want one. What more can one ask of life?

Al.

P.S. Oooooops! Forgot the most important - (Smacked bottie (please!!) ) - Hanna is still the lovliest girl in the world and I am the luckiest man 'cos she has chosen me.

[Piamed]

My view is that to the commited individual practising their Christian faith, it defines what they do and who they are. An athiest by definition, is someone that believes God does not exist and thus has different elements that define them. On that basis it would appear that living together harmoniously would be a challenge.

However, couples do living happily together when one is an athiest and the other is not. How they do this is unique to each couple. In the cases I've seen, the wife invariably has to compromise the practising of her faith far more than the husband has to compromise on his athiest philosophies. This makes life less contentious for them.

Respect for something is demonstrated by assigning some value to it. That might present as a paradox to some athiests and vice versa.

I also think discussing politics and religion is not a problem so long as it is done truly respectfully and in love. I have devout muslims as friends, jews, athiests, buddhists, etc. We all get on as we do not use condescending land demeaning language when referring to the others faith and belief. Additionally, we appreciate and love the differences that exist in the world and love to know more about what we don't know. Surely, if we can all take that approach with what we dont know, we wont remain so ignorant and many of the major world issues would not exist.

Just my thoughts!

As an aside, God said we should love each other. I'm trying real hard but....er...as a Gooner....Chelsea? Hmmn! Only kidding.

[KeithD]

Faith does not need religion, but religion needs faith

[joebloggs]

My view is that to the commited individual practising their Christian faith, it defines what they do and who they are. An athiest by definition, is someone that believes God does not exist and thus has different elements that define them. On that basis it would appear that living together harmoniously would be a challenge.

However, couples do living happily together when one is an athiest and the other is not. How they do this is unique to each couple. In the cases I've seen the wife invariably has to compromise the practising of her faith far more than the husband has to compromise on his athiest philosophies.

Respect something is demonstrated by assigning some value to it. That might present as a paradox to some athiests.

Just my thoughts!

about as challenging as a fish eater living with a vegan ... no challenge at all , near 6yrs wed, yes its 6, i thought it was 7, but it just seems it

the misses can goto church all she wants, I'll not stop her if that's what she wants, but I've been with her a couple of times, and that was twice too many .

maybe I've seen too many good people suffer to believe in god, some of the most decent people I've meet were atheists, my stepfather for one.

you don't need to be a Christian to have morals or standards. maybe 2 things lacking in some Christians

[KeithD]

....maybe 2 things lacking in some Christians

...or any other religion/sect/cult

[joebloggs]

...or any other religion/sect/cult

your right scouser keith, sorry don't want to pick on Christians only.

[IainBusby]

Ladies, Gentlemen, Good Friends and Python Fans,

I have read this thread with great interest and some dismay.

In England we say - when you are in a pub, never talk about Politics or Religion (Why have I capitalised those words?? I don't know - another Tanduay please.)

For sure, talking about these two subjects will surely lead to arguments and bad feelings.

Of course, this is a free forum and everybody is allowed their own opinion. However, I, for one, will stay away from this discussion because of the potential harm it could do to our GREAT family relationships here. I really hope that you all understand my point of view on this.

I make this post in the hope that I shall not be admonished.

May we all learn to accept and respect our differences.

Also, may we all pray that Oldham win the Division One Championship this season.

Al.

Hear Hear, apart from the last sentence of course.

Iain.

[Alan]

Hear Hear, apart from the last sentence of course.

Iain.

Hmmmmm! I WAS admonished. But at least I have ONE friend. Thank you Iain.

Al.

[firelady]

i am filipina and i have no religious life. i think its safe to safe i dont belive in the church or in a divine being.

the last time i was in a church to attend was when I was 12 because we were all required to attend the mass as part of out elementary school graduation ceremonies - whihc i must attend because i had to receive that shiny medal that my mom was very proud of.

my take is that religion should be a personal matter, that people should not insist their religion on other people - honestly i think this is very impolite and irritating

nor judge them because they have one or have not one.

frankly i think the world would be happier without religion or religious zealots. religion is credited for having spilled so much blodd in the name of the Almighty One.

[amyburple]

They said Philippines is a country of God fearing nation? Why some filipinos marrying foreigners whose Atheist? I don't condemed people being Atheist I just don't understand why filipinos suddenly forgot the foundation of being a Christian. How can a Christian and Atheist live together happily?

Most of my Brits colleagues are very open being Atheist. Well, as they said its not end of the world...yet let see

Ummm I'm dating an Atheist before which is don't know that he is. It didn't work out..I'm born again christian and he is atheist can't stand on that. I will not compromise my self dating or living with someone that our beliefs are contradicting... I will will not work at all...

Good thing my husband to be is born christian since then... So we ENTRUST our plans for the FUTURE and our RELATIONSHIP to GOD...

[aposhark]

i am filipina and i have no religious life. i think its safe to safe i dont belive in the church or in a divine being.

the last time i was in a church to attend was when I was 12 because we were all required to attend the mass as part of out elementary school graduation ceremonies - whihc i must attend because i had to receive that shiny medal that my mom was very proud of.

my take is that religion should be a personal matter, that people should not insist their religion on other people - honestly i think this is very impolite and irritating

nor judge them because they have one or have not one.

frankly i think the world would be happier without religion or religious zealots. religion is credited for having spilled so much blodd in the name of the Almighty One.

Well said firelady
Trouble is, if it is a personal matter, why do so many people get on buses in the Philippines and read out the bible.
THEN ask for MONEY
I wish they'd leave people alone.

If people in the UK got on buses and tried to preach ANY religion, they would be shouted down and put off the bus in no uncertain terms.
British people would not put up with that nonsense.

[KeithD]

If people say a relationship failed on religion they are either useless at relationships, or it was likely other reasons, but blaming religion is the easy option. I have never personally known any couple have problems because of differing religious beliefs.

[vbkelly]

Well said firelady
Trouble is, if it is a personal matter, why do so many people get on buses in the Philippines and read out the bible.
THEN ask for MONEY
I wish they'd leave people alone.

If people in the UK got on buses and tried to preach ANY religion, they would be shouted down and put off the bus in no uncertain terms.
British people would not put up with that nonsense.

i agree

[KeithD]

i agree

If we search for Vbkelly's "I agree".....it comes up with half of your posts

[Geraldine]

If we search for Vbkelly's "I agree".....it comes up with half of your posts

I agree!

[aposhark]

I agree!

I agree!

[Piamed]

about as challenging as a fish eater living with a vegan ... no challenge at all , near 6yrs wed, yes its 6, i thought it was 7, but it just seems it

the misses can goto church all she wants, I'll not stop her if that's what she wants, but I've been with her a couple of times, and that was twice too many .

maybe I've seen too many good people suffer to believe in god, some of the most decent people I've meet were atheists, my stepfather for one.

you don't need to be a Christian to have morals or standards. maybe 2 things lacking in some Christians

As usual, I agree with much of what you said Joe. Many of the most decent people I've met are non-believers. Someone calling themselves a Christian does not necessarily mean that they are aspiring to practice their faith in as commited a manner as is possible for them.

Nor does it mean that most of society will consider them exceptionally nice persons. Ones faith is very much a personal thing; only they and God know what they are truly about.

Remember that the term Christian was assigned to those that observers felt behaved in a manner consistent with that of Christ. Unfortunately, the terms use is often subjective.

When we evaluate the behaviour, we should consider whether their behaviour is reminiscent of Christ. If it is not, then are they Christians?

...or any other religion/sect/cult

I agree to an extent. I also think the detailed answer is 'it depends'. Depends on the individuals practices as well as what their beliefs are.

Hmmmmm! I WAS admonished. But at least I have ONE friend. Thank you Iain.

Al.

at least TWO amigo.

i am filipina and i have no religious life. i think its safe to safe i dont belive in the church or in a divine being.

the last time i was in a church to attend was when I was 12 because we were all required to attend the mass as part of out elementary school graduation ceremonies - whihc i must attend because i had to receive that shiny medal that my mom was very proud of.

my take is that religion should be a personal matter, that people should not insist their religion on other people - honestly i think this is very impolite and irritating

nor judge them because they have one or have not one.

frankly i think the world would be happier without religion or religious zealots. religion is credited for having spilled so much blodd in the name of the Almighty One.

I hear where you are coming from. In my view, a church is a collective of people with a common belief system. If the believe system is based on love then it can do much good.

The word zeal is often misused, so in order to retain its original sentiment I will use the following synonyms which have not been abused as much: fervour, zest and passion. For the purpose of avoiding ambiguity, I shall also effect a contextual change of the word religion for the word faith.

Thus, passion and faith go hand in hand.

When people refer to religious zealots, I believe they mean people who have at best a complete misunderstanding about a faith and have become obsessive about an issue to the extent that they are willing to cause harm. They associate their 'cause' with a faith and the average Joe Public cannot discern the difference.

Ummm I'm dating an Atheist before which is don't know that he is. It didn't work out..I'm born again christian and he is atheist can't stand on that. I will not compromise my self dating or living with someone that our beliefs are contradicting... I will will not work at all...

Good thing my husband to be is born christian since then... So we ENTRUST our plans for the FUTURE and our RELATIONSHIP to GOD...

If people in the UK got on buses and tried to preach ANY religion, they would be shouted down and put off the bus in no uncertain terms.
British people would not put up with that nonsense.

Hi Aposhark. I'm assuming that you are speaking in some semblance of a metaphor. People are always campaiging for their faith and/or money on the transport systems. I find that travellers are either receptive or at worst, just ignore them. People in the UK are mostly socially tolerant. Often to the extreme.

If people say a relationship failed on religion they are either useless at relationships, or it was likely other reasons, but blaming religion is the easy option. I have never personally known any couple have problems because of differing religious beliefs.

I have known a relationship to fail where the couple were initially evenly yoked but then the wife became a Born Again Christian. It changed who she was while the husband remained the same. Unfortunately, each then had substantial expectations of the other. That caused the break up. I guess they grew apart.

[scott&ligaya]

just my observations first.... remember the same posters commentary on WHY the Philipiinnes is poor.... here were my comments at the time

The Pope could reduce poverty, enrich family lives and strenghthen poor countries overnight just by saying three words CONDOMS ARE OK!!!! ..... but then children might get educated and become more self reliant and begin to question some of the other teachings and where would the catholic church and more importantly the wealthy and powerful bishops be then?

My problem is not so much with religion or faith as I was brought up through the Church of Scotland where ny father was a deacon and elder but importantly you join at 18 by taking new communicants classes. there was no pressure even from my father to join.

My wife is JIL and loves going to her church in Palawan, in Hong Kong (packed out 400 at each of three services and what an atmosphere) and has found a filipino christian fellowship here in Bham. I go along and enjoy the services as they are bright, full of feel good factor and not at all like dour Church of Scotland services. I cannot quite get into all of the exhortations some make but all in all it is good to be there and I genuinely can see that the congregation get something from the experience. I prefer to keep my own counsel, and believe that faith is a personal journey and down to the individual. I totally agree with the view that children should not be brainwashed and forced to confession at six... how ridiculous is that!!!!.

You can see when you visit the Phils that the only growth industry is churches, have you seen an iglesia ni christo church!!!? talk about money! they are all there peddling their "brand" and grabbing the poor dumb filipinos money (some up to 30% of their meagre earnings). They sell hope and a better afterlife when they should be helping the poor filipino to improve his/her lot, get educated and self reliant but that would be self defeating for them.

I do get angry when I see jehovas witnesses, 7th day adventists, mormons and others all queuing up to steal the minds of people who for too long have been let down by their leaders.

Sorry if this seems like a rant but it does irratate me to see this going on.

Another poster summed it up well when they said religion needs faith but faith does not religion and also spoke of organised repression. People should take personal responsibility for how they live out their lives. Good morals, deceny and natural justice are not confined to the bible,Koran or other religous teachings.



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