How could you miss it? I think that you expected others to find what only you can find for yourself. Now you are disappointed that "they" led you astray, as if you are some "victim" of religion.
Personally, you could toss out all of the NT save the Sermon on the Mount and, if you followed it, you would be the LIGHT of the world......few opt to go that route though. Most are looking for somebody else to tell them how to get to the kingdom.
You should simply accept that Christianity was made political long ago, but that doesn't alter the initial intent of Jesus Christ and His teachings.....go read the Sermon on the Mount again and you will "see" it more clearly.
All religions teach that to some extent or another. The beauty of it is that IF you can't control your mind you are a slave to it and hence you create your own hell.
"Fear NOT, ye of little faith." You have now traded your fear of hell for fear of "Christian terrorists" so I'd say you are no better off for it.
you've admitted you've willingly crippled your mind, but you havent explained why rational people should pay attention to you.
Oh, do tell, how have I "crippled" my mind?
You haven't provided any indication of rationality yet. A "rational" person would accept that nobody has asked you to pay attention and a "rational" person would ask themselves why they continue to do so. Why do you need any explanations from me in regards to where you place your attention?
you agree that all religions require you to cripple your mind.
you seem to be a christian.
what are we supposed to think of your pretenses at rationality?
My point of agreement comes from a greater depth of reading and attempting to understand MULTIPLE faiths and with no judgment as you place on it. What you deem to "cripple" any person's mind is actually your own inability to understand and your feeling of having been "led astray" in your quest for understanding. Simply because you feel crippled by your limited understanding, doesn't mean that the rest of us feel this way.
You think this because your understanding is limited to that which is Christian. Hence, you can only grasp a concept from this limited perspective, but you are in error in attempting to limit mine.
What are you/we to think? I am not here to tell you what to think......that is your job. A rational person thinks for themselves.
why are you swallowing dogma that cripples your mind?
What dogma would this be? You seem to be "crippled" from your experiences because you went to others to think for you and now you feel that you are a "victim" from what they "taught" you about religion. I don't suffer this affliction.
why are you swallowing dogma that cripples your mind?
A mind can only be crippled if it thinks it can be crippled. Not only do you see or think yourself as having been crippled, but now you see crippled minds EVERYWHERE...even where they do not exist. You suffer weak thinking, but I don't have this affliction. : )
Change your thoughts lead.and.lag......and change your world. Your world is crippled. Mine is strong, vibrant and healthy. Are you going to answer my question about reality? How about dogma? Your diversion is duly noted.
This is actuallly a funny thread. The references to being 'mistreated' in Sunday school reminds me of those books by Bradshaw all about 'the inner child' & the hell on earth many shackle themselves with from memories years past. Eegads.
I agree with you that fear, particularly fear of demons & hell, is no way to introduce children to Christianity. That is a very wrong tact & is not what Jesus did. I am sorry if that is what you experienced.
Christianity certainly shouldnt terrorize anyone.One can believe that hell exists without exploiting it to scare kids to death. If i can ask, what religion were you raised in? That may help me to understand your position better.
The reason I asked what religion you were was to determine who exactly taught you that way.If it were a protestant, where did he get his 'credentials', etc. Probably minimal, which is why there are not really 1000's of Christian sects.Only one true church
If one believes Jesus is the Son of God & came to establish His church, it would not make sense to have 1000s of sects disagreeing on everything.Thats not logical. Jesus established one Universal Catholic church. Luther went astray.
"The Malleus Maleficarum asserts that three elements are necessary for witchcraft: the evil-intentioned witch, the help of the Devil, and the Permission of God."
It's evident from your question that two of the three elements are present! ;)
Now chris, it was questions like this that inspired The Church to heave up a blanket response to free thinking wimmen.
Malleus Maleficarum
Uh, sorry. No.
They weren't True Christians
True christians are an elusive breed, rarer than bigfoot. In order to even hope to see one, a christian must look in the mirror to find one, and then realize that every other christian is deluded and DOOMED TO HELL.
There is only one True Christian, and he/she is special.
So, therefore I have just proven that christians are not responsible for burning people alive (or burning them dead if they were feeling merciful that day), or for torturing those that were a little too anti-authoritarian.
ETA: This is Very Important: Satan is the bad guy. Don't forget that. /s