X-Message-Number: 19828 Date: Sun, 18 Aug 2002 09:49:43 -0500 From: " - KC Homes - www.iggy.net" <> Subject: religious people References: <> This one deals with a religious person and my/their view on the world. If not interested, delete. I had an chance to visit with a Christian yesterday. We got off to talk about an unrelated issue, but the conversation touched upon the principles that person held. Although I realize it takes many and this person doesn't represent the wider group he belongs too, I was struck by his "protectiveness" of the religion and the "stand offish" attitude he took in relating to me. Our conversation was at times rather rough as when I was going over some of the principles of Christianity and how they relate to today's world (homosexuals, cloning, death, politics as in letting another cheek to be slapped and letting it go in case of Iraq and "thirty pieces" of silver as related to campaign contributions and our Presidency, Ten Commandments applied to everyday life, etc.). The person asked me if I read the Bible, I said I read the New Testament, but the Old One was rather boring to me and I stopped 1/10th in. The New Testament is riddled with inconsistencies and scientific blunders (Jesus walking on water, sharing a loaf of bread and one fish with thousands of people, ascending to skies, geographic misplacement of the events, etc.) I speculated that Jesus may have had walking in wooden "boat shoes" (like Leonardo DaVinci used in the movie "Ever After") or had some sort of a hovering apparatus (highly unlikely 2,000 years ago) and that he found out the basic principles of "3D Printing" or "food replicator" when he fed all those people. To which I received an answer, we can't explain it, therefore it's true. Evolution, sex, AIDS, paganism, multitude of religions, worshiping animals and reincarnation, as well as Big Bang, society's morals, interpersonal relationships, etc. were discussed in one form or another. I faced in a way by a certain hostility that my opponent held to my ideas and how simplistic his rationale in defending his views was. I asked him if he'd give a slightest possibility that Jesus was not a perfect man and that the subsequent accounts of the Testaments made him look that way, he was shocked and almost began trembling and shaking while raising his voice and pointing his fingers at me telling me to leave his God alone and that he only serves his Lord and if I don't understand the basic principles of the faith I cannot judge it. I asked him what can possibly change his mind about religion or at least open it to the possibility that there maybe another view on the world and the answer was "Nothing! My Lord is my Savior and that's the end of it!" We did not go into cryonics :o) with him :o) I feel that I can take the possibility of having after life in the religious sense (Hell in my case :o) as 50/50 chance and willing to face the music if I am wrong, while the religious people don't have the luxury of choice? The thinking is done for them already as if it was a franchise idea and all they have to do is just to embrace it and the rewards (Heaven and Life with Jesus) will be there for them for that. The whole experience left me wandering if it really is worth it to even raise these issues with religious people ever at all? Maybe just let them be? Unfortunately, the Ten Commandments don't have this one :o) - only "Love Thy Neighbor..." He happens to live on the other side of the street one house down from me. I don't love him, I really don't know him and cannot make my judgment about him this way or another, yet I am afraid that he has already made up his one. Life is full of surprises! Sincerely, IGGY Dybal Your Real Estate Consultant - Kansas City - RE/MAX Best E-mail: mailto: Web site: http://www.iggy.net Office: 913-894-4024 Toll-free: 877-550-IGGY/4449 Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=19828