You religious idiots are all losers!!! [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/kidding.gif[/img] Just a slight jab at the "flame free" request. God debates happen here and happen well. Last time I posted one, I was roundly complimented on the size of my cohones, but it went off just fine.
Felix, Attalus touches the tip of an iceberg of a good point. My church twice drove me from religion. ONce due to an overbearing pastor who, in response to me requesting help getting to know God, made me sit with him and do the "accept me into your heart" prayer bit over and over. Finally, I relented and LIED, said I felt enlightened, and was Christened as "saved." A bad scene really. Second time - another church another place - an idiot youth group leader who argued me on the point that Mormonism (and when I pressed him on it, Catholocism too) is a CULT and not a religion. That soured me too.
But, I should not have let a few people's comments drive me away. One idiot extremist (or a few) in a church can cause many faithful to flock elsewhere. You may have been a victim of this.
Many people try many different churches before they find one they like. Look around. Questioning God? Go to tabernacle, and go to mass, and go to other forms of religious worship. There are many flavors out there, and you owe it to yourself to see what religious points different sects are devoted to differing about.
I still like going to church upon rare occassion. And, if it's different than one I've ever been to, then great. The bible is full of wonderful metaphors and ethics, some very very deep. One instance: the doctrine of the woman stepping in to intervene when the man fails in his duty, as evidenced when Mary circumcised Jesus, thereby preventing God from smiting Joseph for failing in his duty as a Jew. (Did I get that right you more knowledgable folks? It was Mary and Joseph, right?) Anyway, this made for a great Mother's Day sermon in a black church I once heard.
My point is -- KEEP INVESTIGATING.
Until you have decided, like I have, that there is no god and no afterlife, you owe it to yourself to check out everyone else's ideas about god. And, then you still owe it to yourself to keep investigating anyway.