Why Christianity is important, even for a non-believer.

[kina]

All about Christianity, Satanism, and the Zeitgeist movement.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptjUhuv90vs

[cliffy1]

Oh My! More nonsense from the paranoid. The war between two fictional being over the control of human beings has been going on for millennium. The war, supposedly between Lucifer and God is the the fiction presented to a gullible public by those who are actually the ones waging this war: Christian leaders against anybody who they think is trying to take away their power. It has nothing to do with Christianity or any other religious, spiritual or new age organization. It is only about a falsely perceived idea of power to control the minds of humanity.

What most people fail to understand is that religion IS politics. It uses the spiritual teachings of ancient wise people to promote the idea that we are at the mercy of external forces, that we are powerless against these forces without the help of religion and its leaders. It is a lie of biblical proportions. They just want your money and obedience. . This documentary was released for one purpose only and that is to get you to give up your personal responsibility and power and hand it over to charlatans who make false promises of salvation.

You don't need leaders or religion to have a connection to your creator, no matter what or who you believe it to be. Your connection to truth/reality/god is a personal matter. Following leaders is to abdicate your responsibility to life - yours and every other living being.

[DeepEnd]

What I constantly see is the bashing of the religious/political machine and then call any Christian a fool for being a Christian.

I and my forever one are Christian and read the bible (more than once a week)

We see through the religious/political machine and their goals and spin. The Bible says to be weary of someone - religious or political or media or anyone - who puts their spin on the Bible's words to justify future events.

The Bible also warns us of those that will go off the deepend the other way and want it eradicated for the evils of the machine and to gain its power.

I think people would be surprised at the number of individuals out there that see through the smoke and mirrors all sides use.

I have power in my faith.

We do agree with this

Your connection to truth/reality/god is a personal matter.

[cliffy1]

I have met quite a few Christians who are waking up to the scam that is being perpetrated by so called religious leaders. People need to wake up to their own power and forsake the blood sucking self professed leaders who really do not have their best interests at heart.

[Sneaksuit]

Following leaders is to abdicate your responsibility to life - yours and every other living being.

I agree wholeheartedly. It's interesting to note how many people smear religion, and in their next post defend a political ideology. Hierarchical organization of humans is dying.

[cliffy1]

That is peculiar as politics and religion are the same thing. The process of such organizations is too slow, in my opinion, but it it definitely is on the way out as more people claim their own power.

[kina]

As non-religious as I am, I still agree wholeheartedly with DeepEnd. The reason I agree is because I am tired of seeing religion and spirituality put down due to the bad organizations which have taken those teachings and made them a tool for power over others. I have nothing against religion, as those others on this thread seem to. Christianity, and religion in general (when not corrupted), promotes the last piece of morality and ethics there is left in the world. And seeing as technocratic views and spirituality through "chemical experimentation" has been promoted more by those others who have posted here, I cannot see what the problem is to have those who believe that there is a God, as those on DMT, for example, believe they are in touch with higher forces as well (the spiritual oneness, etc.). This just looks to me like another form of "religious rivalry" which is being masqueraded as an "enlightenment".
I was asked by a stranger on the street once about what religion means to me. Although I don't follow any particular religion and would consider myself agnostic if anything, I said that I do like to read the bible at times since I like to see how some of it's teachings transcend time and can be applied to today's situations as well. I believe that this is the only true way to reach "God". It's personal, it's important, and it is widely interpretable, so there is no need to create institutions to run it. It's whatever is in our hearts.
As DeepEnd said, there are far more true Christians than we think here. But they probably don't wish to be subjected to the maltreatment and ridicule by other castanet-ers here so resort to being at peace in their own hearts and with what they believe is right. This is probably why those who do manage to post get caught up in the arguments, the ridicule, the name-calling, and generally behave as children do until one of the mods needs to step in. I have fallen into this trap many times as well, as much as I am against it. Christian ethics are lost here, so this is not exactly a place for them to be promoted, as I have realized.
The ideas of God, Lucifer, angels, demons, and so on, are mere personifications of ideals and energies (a.k.a. powers) among us. But some choose to ridicule and belittle that as well.
The military, for example, also can see the importance of spirituality and the power of the mind and have gone to great lengths to improve their knowledge and performance in those areas. The only problem is that their motive is to gain power over others instead of themselves, and to inflict pain and damage against those who they see as "enemies".
I am not a devout Christian, but I do believe in my fellow man. And if whatever they believe makes them happy and makes them appreciate those around them more, I am all for it. I support people, not religions. But in order to do that, I choose to accept them for who they are and what they believe, even if I don't agree with every little detail, as long as they treat me with the same curtsey.

To end, I would ask all those here, believes or not, to hear this video. And, please, try to see beyond the word "God".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zlp0GBn02wM

[Nebula]

Christianity, and religion in general (when not corrupted), promotes the last piece of morality and ethics there is left in the world.

I completely disagree. One can be eminently moral and ethical without the trappings of Christianity or any religion.

[fluffy]

As DeepEnd said, there are far more true Christians than we think here. But they probably don't wish to be subjected to the maltreatment and ridicule by other castanet-ers here so resort to being at peace in their own hearts and with what they believe is right. This is probably why those who do manage to post get caught up in the arguments, the ridicule, the name-calling, and generally behave as children do until one of the mods needs to step in. I have fallen into this trap many times as well, as much as I am against it. Christian ethics are lost here, so this is not exactly a place for them to be promoted, as I have realized.

Maybe the tendency to argue and criticize is indicative of something else, perhaps a lack of faith in ones own belief system whatever that may be, a need to reassure ourselves that the choices we have each made are the "right" ones, even if to do so means putting down the choices of others? Christ was but one teacher of many, and the basics of a moral lifestyle transcend the numerous delivery systems devised to bring "the message to the masses". There really isn't a huge amount of difference from one to the next, the ultimate aim of living a life of respect, truth and compassion is pretty much the bottom line no matter what form of guidance you employ to keep you on the path. This can be extended even to those who wish to live based on their own insights, it doesn't necessarily need any association with others to accomplish.

The ideas of God, Lucifer, angels, demons, and so on, are mere personifications of ideals and energies (a.k.a. powers) among us.

I am of the mind that the Bible was never meant to be taken as a literal account of history, rather it is a collection of stories meant to convey a moral message, and that literalist views can be numbered among the many perversions of religious belief, but that's just me.

[cliffy1]

The relationship of DMT and the pineal gland suggests a gateway between the spiritual and the physical realms. This is an interesting video and the theory is backed up by scientific studies.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9GZ2WzwekM&feature=related

[kina]

Ok, so the decision is to replace religion with psychotropic drugs? I personally would rather choose to be spiritual through something that I have a conscious choice over and can control (such as the choice of whether to believe in a God or not) instead of choosing to be in a state of complete hallucination (such as DMT). If those who support DMT say otherwise, I'm fine with that too. But realize that not all agree and in the end there is no right or wrong, just a personal choice. So it would be better that we all just accept each others beliefs and move on instead of putting down believers as "paranoid" (as Cliffy said) or religions as a "trap" (as Nebula stated).

This thread never was about the institutions of Christianity such as churches and organizations, but about the teachings of Christianity itself. As I have said before, I agree that a religion should not be institutionalized since it is personal for an individual and something that nobody else should attempt to have control over. That doesn't mean that the teachings of the religion are wrong though.

[DeepEnd]

What most people fail to understand is that religion IS politics

Understanding is far different to believing. I understand what you're saying, I don't believe it.

[DeepEnd]

But realize that not all agree and in the end there is no right or wrong, just a personal choice. So it would be better that we all just accept each others beliefs and move on instead of putting down believers as "paranoid" (as Cliffy said) or religions as a "trap" (as Nebula stated).

I was just going through posts and noticed the use of "perversions" of religious beliefs. The use of these words is cut and paste from those that want to control what you think and what you believe in.

It's scary in a way to know that there are people out there who only think of the individual. Having different beliefs is nice. People, decent people, don't bash others because their different. It is not up to me to judge or compare what they do to what I do.

1) "I believe, without a doubt, that god or gods don't exist other then in the the mind of the deranged, perverted and misinformed. I, instead of allowing them to individually choose in a belief system of their own, choose to attack instead of accept."

or

2) "I believe in god. I believe others may not. I will treat all sides with respect and listen."

Very easy to see who the ones that fit the first category on these forums. I'm sure they are nice decent people, just with a refusal for others to believe in god.

We, being Christian, do not try to lure people, trap the innocent, take credit for others work. We live by our word and the bible. It makes us think before we act.

[cliffy1]

I believe we have a miscommunication here. I in no way am saying believers are nuts or wrong. I did not say that Christians are paranoid. I said, or at least meant, that Christian leaders are paranoid and that the video in the OP was paranoia in that it warns against other belief systems. I have no problem with the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth, but what has been done to those teachings by so called religious leaders is nothing short of criminal. I am referring to the millions, possibly billions who have died because of the misrepresentation, misinterpretation and mistranslation of the original texts.

[fluffy]

Deepend, I would like to hear you elaborate a bit on your issue with my use of the word "perversion". Not looking for a scrap here, just elaboration.