Another INSANE Steam Engine thread

[aMD]

must. avoid. temptation. to start an argument!

:-X

i'm trying to be good, people.  I'm trying REAL hard.

Let's hear it man! I'd love to have a good discussion about all this with you involved in it. But let's shoot for a little bit more peaceable of a "discussion" rather than an argument.

I'd love to have a peaceable discussion with ya, Tom , but religion ain't the place for it. I know better than to discuss religion on a public forum.  Tho let it be known that I think Steam Engine is an amazing song, Jesus is alright with me, but Jebus is much funnier!

peace.

[EC]

i really enjoyed reading that, t.
it made me think about a lot of things i should be thinking about right now.

p.s.  it was brave of you all those years back to take everyone on, by the way.  i gotta remember to act like a 17 year old more often. ;)

[ycartrob]

I was with Tom the night he turned into a man; a real man...

[tomEisenbraun]

indeeeeed Tracy...that night I felt something inside me I'd never felt before...














(One of the most vicious "It Beats" of all time. Shoosh.)

[BH]

I was with Tom the night he turned into a man; a real man...

indeeeeed Tracy...that night I felt something inside me I'd never felt before...

:o That's soooo sweet you guys!  I had no idea.   Congratulations.

[pawpaw]

haha, anything you guys'd like to add or challenge?

I'm not doctrine by any means--far from it, in fact. I'd like to hear y'all's takes. Maybe this deserves a thread in off-topic? I really don't want to be the guy to start that one up--I've given myself a justified bad wrap on the subject a few years ago, but it's something quite important to me, which I guess is why I'll get so fired up about it. Especially when people don't listen or claim that one thing is something that it isn't. Anyway, I'd like to hear y'all's takes on the whole Jesus deal.

I have some free time on my hands today, and thought I'd tackle this one...

A little about my religious background...I was raised as a Catholic, became pretty disinterested at a young age, but kept on the path of receiving all of the sacraments (through Confirmation) because of my Mom. After that, I kind of drifted away...High School and College I was anti- a lot of stuff, went pretty far to left field, though I also REALLY liked studying, reading and thinking about religion (Christianity included) in some of the classes that I took. Today, I'm busy as hell, and unfortunately don't give too much thought to religion, though I'd love to devote more time to it. I don't attend mass more than a time or two a year (with Mom).

I believe in God. I truly do. I DO believe that Jesus was an amazing man, who had the most beautiful message. He was a Jew, and basically his teachings were not too different from the accepted Jewish beliefs of his day, with one major exception; he believed that the Lord is ultimately compassionate, and that the Lord's love and forgiveness is for everyone, regardless of social title or standing. So yes, Jesus spoke with and ate with and helped and inspired the dregs of society, and he did it all with the greatest compassion and humility. He encouraged others to live their lives openly and lovingly. I ALSO believe that after he died, his word, his "spirit", inspired his followers to risk their lives (at the hands of the Romans) to speak out and spread his message. Other than that, I really don't know what to believe, but I don't need any more than that.

I haven't spent much time with a Bible in 15 years or so...It always bothered me how people would justify things based on strict, literal interpretations of Bible passages. Definite rulings of the Catholic Church bother me. People taking advantage of followers through religion REALLY bothers me. But, the simple truths of Jesus are what I love, and on a good day, what I strive for.

I wish I could devote more time to reading and thinking about religion. All of the major religions have amazing lessons to offer, and really, they all have pretty similar views of how to live "this" life. I feel they're all different paths to the same God, or at least they were originally intended to be.

I admire people with unshakable faith, but I don't know if I'll ever be able to wholly support any specific religion in its entirety. I question things too much, and am actually glad that I'll never have it all figured out.

[aMD]

I used to believe in Santa Claus, but then I realized it was just something smart people made up to make sure not-so-smart people behave themselves.

[Taterbug]

I used to believe in Santa Claus, but then I realized it was just something smart people made up to make sure not-so-smart people behave themselves.

:'(  Santa Claus is NOT real ?