Do you believe in God?

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Do you believe in god?

  • Of course, without him nothing would exist!

    Votes: 620 30.5%
  • Maybe.

    Votes: 368 18.1%
  • No way!

    Votes: 1,046 51.5%

  • Total voters
    2,033
"The first shall be last and the last shall be first"

"Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth"

How would you personally interpret these two sayings?
I interpret these as deliberate obfuscations designed to make the audience feel confused and therefore more dependent on the elite priesthood who have that magical capability to convince the masses that they alone have a communication with the god(s).

Boiling water can be used to clean oneself
Why do you think the full range of society is forced to go to school
So they know better than to wash themselves in boiling water, maybe?
 
Boiling water can be used to clean oneself, cold water can be used for drinking, but in the context of the times Jesus lived in lukewarm water would make one sick to consume and would serve no real purpose.

Again, no. Boiling water is scalding. I would recommend against burning yourself with boiling water. And lukewarm water that has been previously boiled is safe to drink. The current temperature of the water actually doesn't have a ton of bearing on whether it's safe to drink (apart from extremes, which I would have thought would be obvious).

Look, this part was just supposed to be a bit of fun. The link said some stupid stuff that ignored water drinking safety measures in an effort to make sense out of the biblical analogy. The fact that you're doubling down on it is mind boggling. I just saw some low hanging fruit and decided to have a go because we could all use a laugh. In no way did I expect you to actually advocate that "cold water can be used for drinking", which is not a good idea. I think you might be confusing this with the notion that flowing water can be generally assumed to be safer than stagnant water, but flowing water can come from a largely stagnant source and even if it's cold can harbor things you don't want to drink...

Why am I having to explain to you how to drink water?? Add it to the list of things I didn't think I was going to be explaining today I guess.

Jesus would probably say to stop being lukewarm about God and stop wasting his time

You can waste God's time? Aren't you talking about the entity that you think created you in the first place and knows everything you're going to do? How on earth can you waste the time of a timeless being, and how can you do that when it created you knowing that you'd do all the things you did? How do you say this stuff and not ask yourself questions about it?

we're all sinners but either turn your ways around and dedicate your life to God's ways as best as you can or don't bother with God at all and be of the world's ways. But don't pretend to be about God on the surface when your ways of living are very much for the world (Matthew 6:24) (lukewarm).

eye-roll-robert-downey-jr-8mssmj3ab9awwf8t.gif


This is the message to ALL disciples - turn your ways around and join the flock of sheep or you'll end up in hell. It in no way distinguishes people who are lukewarm. The same message applies to all sinners. I seriously cannot believe you're still claiming that your badge of honor for pissing people off is Jesus-like because of this bible quote-mine.
 
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Jesus often communicated through parables that those with the spiritual ears to hear would understand and follow. You can make sense of his teachings through your rational mind but it isn't really going to do much for you. This is because you have to hear his words through your heart for them to truly sink in, or rather you have to be spiritually open to recieving them in your heart for them to truly take affect.
This sounds an awful lot like a hipster beer snob telling me I won't understand IPAs until I drink enough IPAs to overcome my distaste and start liking them.

Guess what, I hate IPAs and I'm perfectly happy with a good lager or amber ale. Tell me again why I need to overcome my own preferences and learn to like what you like?

By the way, in this analogy, IPAs are religion and lagers are secularism.
 
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One of the many things I’ve never understood is why fundamentally religious people are so triggered by individuals like me who do not subscribe to their faith. I mean what am I taking away from them by not joining them? Is their faith less valid to them because I don’t subscribe to it? I’ve never even thought about convincing them that their faith in god is wrong, so why are some dedicated followers so keen in converting me?
 
One of the many things I’ve never understood is why fundamentally religious people are so triggered by individuals like me who do not subscribe to their faith. I mean what am I taking away from them by not joining them? Is their faith less valid to them because I don’t subscribe to it? I’ve never even thought about convincing them that their faith in god is wrong, so why are some dedicated followers so keen in converting me?
Because that's how Ponzi Schemes work ;)
 
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One of the many things I’ve never understood is why fundamentally religious people are so triggered by individuals like me who do not subscribe to their faith. I mean what am I taking away from them by not joining them? Is their faith less valid to them because I don’t subscribe to it? I’ve never even thought about convincing them that their faith in god is wrong, so why are some dedicated followers so keen in converting me?
If X believes that those who dont believe are enemies, then X will call holy war.
If X believes that those who dont believe will suffer in hell, then X propably tries to convince you to believe.
If X believes that those who dont believe can do whatever they want, then X is lukewarm 😅
 
One of the many things I’ve never understood is why fundamentally religious people are so triggered by individuals like me who do not subscribe to their faith. I mean what am I taking away from them by not joining them? Is their faith less valid to them because I don’t subscribe to it? I’ve never even thought about convincing them that their faith in god is wrong, so why are some dedicated followers so keen in converting me?

I have family members that haven’t talked to me in almost 10 years because I’m not religious.
 
Jesus often communicated through parables that those with the spiritual ears to hear would understand and follow. You can make sense of his teachings through your rational mind but it isn't really going to do much for you. This is because you have to hear his words through your heart for them to truly sink in, or rather you have to be spiritually open to recieving them in your heart for them to truly take affect.

This sounds more like a cult member trying to sell someone on their leader's prophecy than an actual Christian....
 
One of the many things I’ve never understood is why fundamentally religious people are so triggered by individuals like me who do not subscribe to their faith. I mean what am I taking away from them by not joining them? Is their faith less valid to them because I don’t subscribe to it? I’ve never even thought about convincing them that their faith in god is wrong, so why are some dedicated followers so keen in converting me?
That’s the main issue. I’m a follower of Christ and it’s not for me to convert you. It’s for me to tell you, in my belief of the word of God, about the love of Jesus dying for our souls.

Many believers get angry when feeling they need to defend God. Defend their own stance for Jesus. The saying is “Let go and let God.”. Trying to Bible bash someone is not how God works. God is love. So if God is love and God is within me so should I act. It’s easy to say and as flesh it’s a struggle every moment.
This is why I must show and prove. It’s all good to keep telling everyone about The Lord, but dying to self is the key.
 
I have family members that haven’t talked to me in almost 10 years because I’m not religious.
I’m sorry to hear that 😕

That’s the main issue. I’m a follower of Christ and it’s not for me to convert you. It’s for me to tell you, in my belief of the word of God, about the love of Jesus dying for our souls.
Well, that’s fair if you’re passionate about your belief. Also I value the freedom of religion quite a bit. Many talk about the crusades but throughout history people have been prosecuted because of their belief so it’s a good thing that many countries now protect celebrating religions by constitution.

However freedom of religion to me also means that I have the freedom to not be religious. And that’s where I get uncomfortable when the mutual respect is missing to not intrude into my space.

Now I chose to join the conversation here, so to me it’s natural that fellow member express their passion for religion. That’s to be expected. However in every day life I don’t necessarily appreciate that nor do I understand it.
 
That’s the main issue. I’m a follower of Christ and it’s not for me to convert you. It’s for me to tell you, in my belief of the word of God, about the love of Jesus dying for our souls.

Many believers get angry when feeling they need to defend God. Defend their own stance for Jesus. The saying is “Let go and let God.”. Trying to Bible bash someone is not how God works. God is love. So if God is love and God is within me so should I act. It’s easy to say and as flesh it’s a struggle every moment.
This is why I must show and prove. It’s all good to keep telling everyone about The Lord, but dying to self is the key.

So where are you on the whole "babies need to suffer" thing?
 
So where are you on the whole "babies need to suffer" thing?
What in the what?
Edit:2 @Danoff point me to where you are coming from so I can understand the context.

Edit: @ItsHim just missed your post.

For me. I also remember and don't forget my life/thinking/living before I chose to believe in the Lord. Doubts galore when I saw the way other people acted within my own church and churches I visited. Especially when I opened my eyes to the many things done by people who claim to serve the Lord.

Here I was having a child out of wedlock and people of the cloth been doing nasty things for ages. I was like where's the lightning bolt for that, Lord?!
 
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That’s the main issue. I’m a follower of Christ and it’s not for me to convert you. It’s for me to tell you [...] about the love of Jesus dying for our souls.
Respectfully, no, it isn't. It's for you to live your life in accordance with your beliefs and principles. It's for you to identify yourself as a Christian, if so inclined. But it's for others to ask you about your beliefs if they are interested in learning more. Only then is it for you to tell them about how they can join in that belief if they wish.

And the same goes for my belief, or lack thereof.
Many believers get angry when feeling they need to defend God. Defend their own stance for Jesus. The saying is “Let go and let God.”. Trying to Bible bash someone is not how God works. God is love. So if God is love and God is within me so should I act. It’s easy to say and as flesh it’s a struggle every moment.
This is why I must show and prove. It’s all good to keep telling everyone about The Lord, but dying to self is the key.
Also respectfully, the main reason why believers feel the need to defend their god is because they are trying to impose those beliefs on others.

Seriously, I could not care less what anybody believes. It may or may not inform my relationship with them, but I will staunchly defend their right to believe it.

But - and it's a critical BUT - if they try to impose their beliefs on others, especially via legislation, I'm going to defend myself and others against that. That, in a nutshell, is why believers (in particular (but not only) modern, Western Christians) tend to feel 'persecuted' or that there is 'a war against faith'.

There isn't. There is resistance to having faith imposed.
 
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There's a scene in a film where a character recounts her experience as a sex worker, and how the client's requests rattled her (specifically he asks for her to pretend he's his daughter while he jerks off).

Now, he's a paying client, and she is a consenting adult so no rights are violated but....the experience has a profound impact on her.

This made me remember that Twitter thread, which highlights the downstream effects of pornography consumption.

Now, this could all be the result of the industry completely separate from pornography as a general whole, but what if some of the latter feeds some of the "bad" side?
...

What?

Yes, porn is harmful.
What specific harm does pornographic material itself cause?
It is HIGHLY addictive.
It surely can be. That something may be--but isn't guaranteed to be--addictive isn't reasonably a reflection on that which may be addictive.
It can be used to self-medicate in EXACTLY the same way as all other drugs.
Lots of things can be used to self-medicate, but even self-medicating isn't in and of itself harmful.

Religious belief is frequently used to self-medicate. You've even advocated for its use to self-medicate. That it may be used in that way doesn't make it harmful. Religious belief is stupid and wrong. Religious belief is delusion. Religious belief isn't in and of itself harmful.

But you don't really want to know all of that. You just want to be right.
It's absolutely hilarious to me that you've directed this bitchfit at one who didn't solicit a response regarding pornography and completely disregarded the one who did.
I have an opposing question:

If God came down, in all His glory, and stood in front of you. Then, He showed you all of His works and creations.

Would it be enough?

THAT is the REAL question.

You want proof. I'm fine with that.

Would you ACCEPT the truth if you had it?
lol. lmao.

If "God" came down, in all "His" glory, and stood in front of me. Then, "He" showed me all of "His" works and creations.

I'd point at "His" chest and flick "His" nose as "He" looked down to see what I was pointing at. Then I'd run around "His" back and pull the waistband of "His" underpants up and over "His" head. While "He" is flapping "His" arms trying to free "Himself" from the wedgie, I'd tie "His" shoelaces together and then tip "Him" over.

Counterfactuals are fun.

The problem is, I have already experienced some of this. I have felt God's touch, and I have heard His voice.
Yes, that is a problem. It's mental illness.
This is, again, an interesting question. But personal choice develops around 8. Yes, over the age of 11 we have an even better chance of understanding all of the implications.
Can one aged 8 years give sexual consent to one aged that three times over? Should that be taken as legitimate consent or should their understanding of that to which they've apparently consented be scrutinized?

What of consent to wed?

new radicals
You've got the music in you.
 
If he can reach out and touch you, then he has a muscular system, and if he has a muscular system, then he has a circulatory system, and if he has a circulatory system he can bleed, and...
That is, unless what is percieved of the embodiement of the god of Christian faith would turn out to be an artificially created something by an alien race that is so far away they already died.
 
Before answering, did you read the Twitter thread posted or only the one Tweet?
I can't read Twitter threads unless they are compiled somewhere not on Twitter. Regardless, I didn't read any tweet or thread relevant to the subject matter.
Note I'm not saying "porn is bad....m'kay".
Question Mark What GIF by MOODMAN

I took objection to the point that there are no bad sides to pornography at all.
What, which is innate to pornography itself, is bad about it? That there may be some subjective "bad" about the porn industry does not reflect on pornography itself anymore than that there may be some subjective "bad" about the foodservice industry reflects on food itself.
 
I can't read Twitter threads unless they are compiled somewhere not on Twitter. Regardless, I didn't read any tweet or thread relevant to the subject matter.
Ahhhh.

The other tweets in the thread (LANGUAGE WARNING - which should have been on the original post):






(I'm not sure on some of the videos' conclusions that this = porn is evil/bad)

There's also a video that I can't remember the location of which talks to pornstars and their regrets on joining the industry, specifically on if they would recommend it to someone else and what it does to their relationships with family, friends, potential partners and other career prospects.

South Park joke

drugs-are-bad-mkay.gif

What, which is innate to pornography itself, is bad about it? That there may be some subjective "bad" about the porn industry does not reflect on pornography itself anymore than that there may be some subjective "bad" about the foodservice industry reflects on food itself.
The full Twitter thread, plus examples you can easily look up of other actors and their regrets of doing porn should convince you.

Now, part of this may be a result of society's views on porn needing to change, I grant you.

However, we can also see harm from consumption:

 
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The other tweets in the thread (LANGUAGE WARNING - which should have been on the original post):
This topic probably belongs in a different thread, it seems like a tangent, though anything about the industry is not about pornography. The other points to me suggest a problem separating reality from fiction.
However, we can also see harm from consumption:

I didn't go through the links in the article, but the article itself doesn't mention rates for anything. How many people experience these problems? Are they in different conditions from those won't don't? Is there is an amount of consumption below which the issues don't appear? I don't see a solid indication that pornography is bad.
 
Ahhhh.

The other tweets in the thread (LANGUAGE WARNING - which should have been on the original post):





Fighting porn addiction is fine & justifiable.

The way this guy does it however, is manipulative & pushing falsehood. Just looking through his Twitter feed, he has community notes on trying to use brain scans to prove his point, he relies on pushing Christian gospel (No porn=Closer to God=God makes your dreams reality), he likes making the notion that skinny guys watch porn and muscular guys don't, & he seems to really like using a woman who spoke out against porn but still participates in it (even with people apparently notifying him of that very fact). Then, there's this tweet:
I get up at 6am to make good money

She wakes up at 6am to be a good mummy

Love it
For someone who seems very concerned about women only being seen as sex objects or b/c of porn, he doesn't really seem to have a problem in still participating in outdated gender stereotypes where he goes to work & the woman stays home to raise kids.

And then there's this weird statement. "I quit porn 3 years ago. Helped 56 men live porn free 3000+ days". This guy has helped 56 men be porn free for 8 years, but has only been "clean" for 3 himself? So, this "Freedom Coach" couldn't take his own advice? In addition to this, I also ended up finding his YouTube where he doesn't just seem anti-porn, but anti-masturbation as well & has multiple videos about "retaining" semen. Science though, has already been studying if ejaculation could potentially lower prostate risks; 1 study found that the men who did it more often had around 20% less risk of prostate cancer. It's not definitive proof, but the science is there to challenge this guy's beliefs. Also possibly contradictory is that while he states porn consumption can lead to erection issues, "retaining" can lead to ejaculation issues as well.


All-in-all, I really hate that I looked into this guy b/c you brought him up again. Edit* For clarification, this isn't meant to be a dig or arguing towards you, Henry. I just don't think this particular guy has the credibility for the points you're after.
 
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All-in-all, I really hate that I looked into this guy b/c you brought him up again.
Your service to the thread is noted and appreciated. The guy seems like a total winner (sarcasm).

I have a soap box about how much men get lead around by their libido, and this guy seems to be on the same soap-box but with the exact opposite approach to mine. His approach is denial of the libido in hopes that sheer willpower can free you. That seems like just crawling straight into the trap to me. I think the opposite needs to be true, accept yourself, libido and all, and try to find healthy ways to satisfy yourself in a way that doesn't negatively impact your life or the lives of those around you.
 
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Ahhhh.

The other tweets in the thread (LANGUAGE WARNING - which should have been on the original post):





Screen_Shot_2020-07-24_at_11.33.38_AM.jpg

(I'm not sure on some of the videos' conclusions that this = porn is evil/bad)
...

Alison Brie Reaction GIF

South Park joke

drugs-are-bad-mkay.gif
Okay? It's still peculiar that you would offer a denial absent accusation.
There's also a video that I can't remember the location of which talks to pornstars and their regrets on joining the industry, specifically on if they would recommend it to someone else and what it does to their relationships with family, friends, potential partners and other career prospects.
Regret doesn't imply harm. Turns out regret is also highly subjective. Individuals may regret most anything. There are those who have abandoned religion and specific belief, regretting having gotten caught up in it, and that still doesn't make it innately harmful.

You're also still conflating particular industry with pornographic material broadly. At best it is stupid to do so; at worst, deceitful.

Oh and that some turn out to be crybitches about certain things doesn't make such things harmful.

The full Twitter thread, plus examples you can easily look up of other actors and their regrets of doing porn should convince you.
Why should it? Again, regret doesn't imply harm. Individual experience, subjective as it is, isn't a compelling argument.
Now, part of this may be a result of society's views on porn needing to change, I grant you.
No Way Love GIF by ABC Network

However, we can also see harm from consumption:

Oh look, more subjectivity. What is "regular" consumption? Its use here seems like "excessive" consumption, and that which is "regular" or "excessive" is unlikely to be a constant between individuals.

Is there any consideration for the nature of material? That which has been labeled pornographic runs a substantial gamut. Is it only certain types which are "harmful" or does that descriptor apply wholesale? When material is so varied and application of the term is so subjective, how can such a descriptor always apply?

he relies on pushing Christian gospel (No porn=Closer to God=God makes your dreams reality)
surprised look GIF
 
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From what I can tell, he didn't produce the videos quoted.

E.g. one of them seems to be from here:


There is a strong whiff of evangelism in some of these. I'm not sure if that's enough to throw out all the testimonies however.... (Riley Reid is another who really made an impact with her video detailing what being a performer did to her life)

More subjectivity. What is "regular" consumption? Its use here seems like "excessive" consumption, and that which is "regular" or "excessive" is unlikely to be a constant between individuals.
TheConversation is pretty good, from what I've seen.

For example, this is one of the studies linked to in the article:


The frequency of pornography consumption has been shown to predict various negative outcome measures in humans. A representative Swedish study on adolescent boys has shown that boys with daily consumption showed more interest in deviant and illegal types of pornography and more frequently reported the wish to actualize what was seen in real life.1,6-8 In partnerships, a decrease in sexual satisfaction and a tendency to adopt pornographic scripts have been associated with frequent Internet pornography consumption.9 A longitudinal study following Internet users has found that accessing pornography online was predictive of compulsive computer use after 1 year.10 Taken together, the aforementioned findings support the assumption that pornography has an impact on the behavior and social cognition of its consumers. Therefore, we assume that pornography consumption, even on a nonaddicted level, may have an impact on brain structure and function. However, to our knowledge, the brain correlates associated with frequent pornography consumption have not been investigated so far.
(it then proceeds to investigate gray matter volume differences between individuals based on self-reported porn usage)
 
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(Riley Reid is another who really made an impact with her video detailing what being a performer did to her life)
It sucks for her, I get it. Mom used her to farm wealth & dad is afraid to be seen in public with her. That's a consequence of getting into porn.

However, Riley clearly accepts that consequence because she's still in porn. She has a very expensive OnlyFans & she pushes Instagram's rules on nudity to its brink just to advertise herself. I also don't think she advocates for the banning of porn like Mia has, but that's probably because she fully understands it affords her lifestyle.
 
It sucks for her, I get it. Mom used her to farm wealth & dad is afraid to be seen in public with her. That's a consequence of getting into porn.

However, Riley clearly accepts that consequence because she's still in porn. She has a very expensive OnlyFans & she pushes Instagram's rules on nudity to its brink just to advertise herself. I also don't think she advocates for the banning of porn like Mia has, but that's probably because she fully understands it affords her lifestyle.
Understood.

But it does (seem) to be common:

 
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Respectfully, no, it isn't. It's for you to live your life in accordance with your beliefs and principles. It's for you to identify yourself as a Christian, if so inclined. But it's for others to ask you about your beliefs if they are interested in learning more. Only then is it for you to tell them about how they can join in that belief if they wish.

And the same goes for my belief, or lack thereof.

Also respectfully, the main reason why believers feel the need to defend their god is because they are trying to impose those beliefs on others.

Seriously, I could not care less what anybody believes. It may or may not inform my relationship with them, but I will staunchly defend their right to believe it.

But - and it's a critical BUT - if they try to impose their beliefs on others, especially via legislation, I'm going to defend myself and others against that. That, in a nutshell, is why believers (in particular (but not only) modern, Western Christians) tend to feel 'persecuted' or that there is 'a war against faith'.

There isn't. There is resistance to having faith imposed.
Well that’s why I placed the sentence before the ones you quoted: “It’s not for me to convert you.”.

Indeed, many people have commented about how I carry myself and notice something different about me compared to other people they meet. For sure I tell them why and if they want to have a conversation and learn more of why then we talk.

I agree with your closing thoughts. Again, it’s in my last two sentences.
 

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