CoderHead

Oh no. And what is the Christian God? The entire religion is based on the commands to worship, praise, and - at every conceivable opportunity - extol the virtues of God, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit. As a Christian, that's your sole function, is it not? Then, when you go to Heaven, your mission never changes. It's all about how great God art, from wall to wall. Jesus teaches to forsake yourself and your family and friends in pursuit of God's righteousness - which no human could ever hope to attain ("None are righteous, no not one."). And if it were possible to attain righteousness, then what? You get a special place in Heaven, where all are supposedly equal? What? I'm sorry if it offends, but if there were ever an organization based on the ego of a single being, it's Christianity. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

Yeah, I think people are using the word "understand" very liberally around here. Honestly, if you could UNDERSTAND god, you would have ascended already like Elijah. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

Then why is satanism bad? It's obviously got sound principles. Eh, forget it, don't answer that one. Look, every time you make a post it goes something like this: "Love, love, love, faith. Faith, belief, faith, love, love. Love love love faith love!" I'm honestly not able to follow anything you're saying. Anyway, this thread went way off track and has become pointless. I still say the original post was funny. Period. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

And you don't? Show me one person on this planet who can even fathom the concept of some omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent creator. There's absolutely no coherent explanation for that and, as such, nullifies itself (at least to me) due to laughability. You worship it but cannot even explain it. Cryptic nonsense. The heart is a muscle. If you're speaking of some figurative spirit-world vessel in each human that desires to be loved by a creator who only reveals himself through hand-me-down literature and expect other people to understand and accept it, you have to do a better job of illustrating it. That's always been one of my many problems with Bible teachings, everything is metaphor and parable. Nobody has ever been able to just come right out and say what they're trying to say! Please don't take this as a personal attack, but this has got to be one of the most incoherent and pointless paragraphs I've ever read. What does it mean? What are you trying to say? To say that love is a manifestation of inspired thought and then talk about how it "desires to be loved" is like saying that hot dogs are a manifestation of a pig's happiness and hot dogs desire to be eaten. Actually, I have fewer problems with that rationale. Who "sheds" innocence? Who makes a conscious decision as an eight-year-old (or whatever your arbitrary "age of accountability" happens to be) to not accept love in its fullest measure? Grace doesn't change lives. It's hope. When people "find" religion or spirituality they're building hope on the idea of their existence beyond this existence. It's hubris that makes us want to live forever in one way or another. Believing in something that promises to make that happen changes lives - sometimes for good, sometimes for bad. It can go either way, really. Wow. The comparison you're drawing here is, at best, incomprehensible. I'm not jabbing at you, but if this is a major point of the discussion for you could you please try to reword it so that we can figure out what you're trying to convey? That may be the problem with organized religions and the literature upon which they're founded. I was told once by an ordained minister that I was "over thinking" things and that's why I couldn't accept Christianity. But if it's possible to over think your religion, then your religion is designed for people who follow blindly without questioning. The Bible constantly refers to everyone as "sheep" and "children." Pardon me for saying so, but that doesn't denote innocence and purity to me, it denotes pliability. Those two entities are the most likely to just go with the flow and do what they're told and not question why they're doing it. And that's exactly why Christians have a get-them-while-they're-young-and-impressionable policy for recruitment. That's not me. I'm a reasonable human being who likes to question the things around me and find out how things work and why. Even Jesus questioned authority and told his disciples to do the same! But Christians say it's OK to question authority...just not God's. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

Because they didn't have cameras back then. Am I the only one that gets this? Which, in and of itself, shows the inaccuracy and ethnocentricity of the establishment. Jesus would have been a Middle-Easterner, not an Anglosaxon. Do we not see the continuing folly? Ummm, OK. That's your right. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

You also have the unalienable right not to look at it...or take it seriously. What are you most offended by, the picture or the words below it? Can you deny that the caption on the image bears resemblance to the belief system you're defending? I think not. In addition, just to reassert the obvious fact, the picture is not of your beloved Jesus. Quit likening it to someone posting a picture of my sister being dragged behind a truck. OK? Thanks. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

You forgot to add the word "subjectively" to the end of your sentence. Give us something tangible. That's my challenge to you. Stop speaking in parables. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

Me not believing in a great, white-bearded daddy in the sky is irrational? I'm not denying what I cannot prove. I'm denying what you cannot prove. Nope, you're right. You're not pushing your beliefs on me. Thanks for the clarification. I was so wrong. Also, I don't feel guilty of sin. I do what I do and get on with my life without harming others in the process, and I do that without the fear of eternal consequences. The man in the picture is not your family. The man in the picture is not Jesus. Jesus is not your family. God is not your biological father. This is an image with a funny caption. I'll give you that it's inflammatory toward a group of people with similar beliefs based on the icon that the man pictured is intended to represent. But that's all. What grace? What consequences? When you think about a soul in eternal joy or eternal suffering, does that honestly make sense to you? Let me ask you this: where do all these souls come from? Is there a soul factory in Heaven? Where is your soul located? Can you point it out on an x-ray? MRI? CT scan? Does the Bible explain that one? I'm sorry, but I feel no fear for the eternal state of my soul. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

How do you know that the "Pearly Gates" are intended to keep souls out instead of keeping souls in. Think about it. Sorry beowulf, that was not intended for you. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

And what am I to find on the other side of this door? An eternity walking "streets of gold" and laying crowns down at the feet of a deity who took an observer's role long ago and shouting, "Hosanna, Hosanna! How great thou art?" What use do I have for streets of gold? What appeals to me about eternally praising a "father" who threw me into a den of lions and intended from the start for me to suffer? A "father" who punishes all of his children for all of time for the crimes committed by two people at the beginning of creation? Is that how you parent? On this side of the door I have friends. I have dreams, hobbies, and fun. On this side of the door I'm alive. Why do I need to worry about what may or may not happen after I die in a figurative paradise or lake of fire? If God were real and we had need for Him, wouldn't I feel a void? Wouldn't I seek out the thing that will make me whole? I'm sorry, but your logic doesn't mesh with my experience. There's too much chaos and uncertainty in this world to sing, "He's got the whole world in His hands." As with any theory, you need to prove it. You Christians scream heresy at the mention of a new scientific theory and demand the full scientific process for proof, yet you yourselves provide none. Don't presume to tell me my life is missing something just because you grasp onto a fairy tale in your moments of insecurity. And don't persecute a person for finding humor in a set of faith-based beliefs with nothing more than a cryptic book full of outlandish stories to back it up. And spelling? Yes, spelling. As an adult, you should not only be able to write at a High School graduate level but also notice the "Check Spelling" button below the text box into which you're typing your reply. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

Provide us with evidence of the existence of this door. Anyway, what does that have to do with how funny the posted image is? That was the whole point of this thread. Also, it's spelled "friend." He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

+1 He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

What I would very much like to see is a convincing argument for Christian dogma that did NOT use passages from the Bible. For instance, if I set up a religion/cult/whatever based on the belief in talking bears, I could use all of the Bearenstain Bears books as my model. Whenever you said, "there are no talking bears" I could pull out a book and say, "no, you're wrong! It says right here that bears not only talk, but they garden and ride the bus into town as well." Having it in print doesn't make it so. I'd also like to see a demonstration of this faith of which you speak so vehemently. For example, I know through empirical evidence that I cannot fly. Therefore, I strap on a parachute before I exit the plane. If you were to have absolute, unwavering faith to the contrary, you'd still fall to your death. When you say "I have faith in God, therefore God exists," I say you've done nothing to prove your point. I, likewise, cannot prove God doesn't exist, so I don't try. But I can at least be rational about it. You want to believe in God, fine. Just don't push it on me. I don't want to believe in YOUR god? Fine, let me be. If someone posts an image that implies your beliefs are ridiculous based on how the real world functions, let them. Don't try to convert them. You would just as quickly post an article or chain letter that states how quickly all of the unbelievers are going to Hell. Just for the record, that image is freaking hilarious. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

My work is shit - figuratively. We've nicknamed our system "Hydra," because every time we fulfill one of the requirements, three more pop up. I hate I.T. work so much now that every time I go to my office I just want to slam my head into the wall. Anybody know of a mattress tester job? I need to switch careers. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express

I don't know how this is going to be taken, but I was never nervous. For me, skydiving is a childhood dream finally realized. I've always loved flying, never been afraid of airplanes. At one point I was researching a pilot's license but decided I'd rather jump from them than fly them. My first jump, I was excited and ready. I felt the ascent took way too long and when I let go of the strut, it was the greatest moment of my life! Every jump since then has just gotten better and better. My first solo jump was almost a defining moment...one I'll not forget. I respect the danger involved. I realize the risk, and visualize what my reactions will be in adverse situations. Just because I'm not nervous doesn't mean I'm apathetic or oblivious. But I'm going to have as much fun as I can for as long as I can and I'm just thankful that anxiety doesn't get in my way of achieving that. He who laughs last didn't get the joke. Freefall Express