Quote Originally Posted by ahabion
it does hold true that God does not need anyone, especially Christians, because as many other Christians know, there was nothing to begin with anyway, and yet He still already existed.
This statement just pulled me back in here.

You are completely and totally wrong in that entire statement. Amazing.

Without people to worship the divine or a diety, the diety would cease to be a presence in the collective conscience of the people. The people would move on to other sources to fill the missing divine and you have another in a long line of religions. I still find it quite comical that Christians are so conceited as to claim that God created the world but yet Chrisianity is but a blip on the collective religion radar.

Roughly 2007 years ago, Christianity was formed. I'm sure there were ramblings before that date but that is the date most commonly used (like our calendar). Before that it was all sorts of other religions. All Christianity has done is drive other religions out and form up the majority under one banner. Without christians, God would cease to exist. No other way around that. Sort of like this "If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around to hear it, does it make a sound"

So instead of realizing that things had been around MUCH longer than Christianity had been, some christians come up with this theory. Young Earth Creationism. Some crackpots in the religions community believe that Genesis created the earth between 6,000 and 10,000 years ago. Nevermind that carbon dating and any other ways of determining age of things show differently, these people have decided that all of that is false and bunk. They even made a nice, huge little amusement park style ride in middle america, filled with Disneyland style animatronic gadgetry to teach others this whacked out belief. So instead of learning, they just formulated this to coincide with their beliefs. Amazing what blind faith can do.


Quote Originally Posted by ahabion
Don't confuse God with churches, because the church (in its physical form) is only a place of fellowship and communion for those ppl to meet. The church, as in a people or community sense, does not need money, electricity, or anything physically to exist. (ie: particularly churchs in poverish places, they need not a building, money, or electricty to function)
You are wrong....again.

I would have expected more thought out of you than this, especially with you being the son of a pastor. Without the church, much of what you currently call Christianity would not be near as large as it is. Not only does a Pastor need monety to survive because as one person stated in this thread earlier, church is not one day a week, it is all week. That would not allow the pastor to make any other form uf sustanance. All Christians would love to believe that the word of god is nourishment enough, but try that for 3 months and get back to me.

Not only do the masses need a figurehead to channel their worship through (pastor) they also need a place to do it. A Church is not just a building. It is a focal point for worship, gatherings, prayers, weddings and many other functions. Without power, none of those would last very long. I hate to tell you but even churches in impoverished places need power to perform. Without power, money or a building, religion wouldn't last long. Most people don't do it on their own, they rely on the church to fulfill that spiritual hole in the soul.

The most holy and largest beacon of spiritual light in the world quite possibly is the Vatican. If the Vatican were destroyed tomorrow, Christianity would suffer a huge blow. If all the churches in the world just dissappeared, Christianity would blink out of existance. Sure, there would be some that remembered, but the masses would look to other guidance.

In closing. Most of what most people have said isn't aimed at God, it is aimed at organized religion. Organized religion is that monsterous face that is applied to God because every atrocity that was commited was commited in his name. From the Inquisition to the Crusades to Waco, they were all done in the name of religion. David Koresh's church, the Branch Davidian church was an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist church, used the Bible (revelations mostly) to convince his followers that the Government was their enemies. He also told them that God had told him to have sex with all of the women in his following to create his "Special people" or his "House of David". That meant married couples dissolving their marriages and only David having sex with the wives and minors (yes, he ****ed children). When the Gov'ment came a calling, Ol David called back and got pwned.

There are hundreds of similiar cases. People have used religion as the means to get wealth (whether is be money, land or asss) throughout the centuries. Most of it was by actual members of the church. But, same with the other guy in here, none of this will probably register with you. Faith is total and complete, right down to the religious blinders that are placed around your head. Christians will sell out or just plain ignore reason, logic and common sense for that once small chance of life after death.