Man of Steel, you are one of the few religious people on here that I respect. Your tolerance, intellect and open mindedness shine through. But I also believe you would be this type of person without religion, I know you will probably argue against that. And in terms of others posting what you call ugliness, I don't think it's just a matter of their is "No Such Thing As Bad Publicity" and that you are able to put a positive spin on it because it draws more people to the message of Christ.
Opposing views are crucially important, no matter how hateful or spiteful. Without them people run the risk of closing their minds, this is how propaganda works, propaganda is always one sided. Take North Korea for example, all their media is state controlled, radio television etc. They get told what to think, what to believe and what to do from the time they are born. They have little to no access to alternative information. They literally have no idea that they are brainwashed and that their supreme leader isn't divine and has never performed miracles. Without opposing information, people become dangerously brainwashed, and when confronted with reality can literally meltdown.
And so it goes with those who oppose religion, imagine you had an adult friend who still believed in the myth of Santa Claus, not only believed but was convinced of it, and anybody who tried to convince him otherwise was simply dismissed as a sinful santatheist. Would you gently try and offer him evidence refuting it and relieve him of his delusions or would you simply let him keep his delusion as it seems to make him happy and doesn't harm anyone. I imagine a lot of people would simply let him be and write him off as crazy. And so it goes with religion and god, these are similar delusions, but far more harmful in my opinion and this is why people oppose it, because they aren't harmless delusions like Santa, but very dangerous ones.
By banning so called haters and those who post ugliness you would be doing yourself a dis-service. Not because you lose the potential for others to see those carrying Christ's message, but because you would lose the chance to sharpen your mind and increase your wisdom. I personally find the majority of religious thought and belief hateful and ugly, and have learned to tolerate it. I would never consider removing them as they are the greatest proof we have of how delusional thinking affects people and how dangerous it is. In your case you are like the happy drunk, your delusions seem to be of some benefit to you and of little harm, unfortunately the majority of religious people aren't like you.
Sorry for the long reply…….meltdown!!!
First off, I don’t mean to define those that disagree with me as “ugliness”. I used that term based on the context of the previous posts. I don’t find atheists, agnostics or those of differing faiths to be “ugly”.
I totally agree that opposing views are vitally important in a dialogue and I think both sides of the argument should be evaluated if doubt lingers one way or the other. If you have confidence in a particular direction based upon an honest evaluation of both sides of the argument then make your choice and live it out. Although, from a perspective of “religion”, I find that the religious evaluation is purely clinical or textbook in nature and it demands a level of evaluation that goes beyond any attempts to recreate the experience in a laboratory or endeavors to “bottle God in a beaker” or eliminate him via “test tube and centrifuge”. It requires a genuine sense of spiritual proactivity or at the very least a willingness to “try out God” on his terms. That’s the crux of the matter and ironically the most fully neglected. The proof of God’s love, grace, mercy, justice and salvation is within everyone’s grasp any minute of everyday if one truly desires to experience it. Still, as we all know, we’re all fully capable of reasoning away or providing full justification for dismissing the opportunity. Of course, this begs the question for nonbeliever (directed at the theist): “Have you evaluated others religions?” My answer is yes. Within my own spiritual walk I’ve evaluated Hinduism, Buddhism, Catholicism, Judaism, Christianity and now Islam. For me it was only Jesus Christ that validated the reality of who is yesterday, today and forever.
You know E, you are correct that before Jesus Christ changed me I wasn’t a bad person or filled with considerable hate towards anyone; although, I certainly wasn’t happy, I was rarely satisfied and I was prone to anxiety attacks and bouts of depression. Ultimately I desired to do the right things, but yet my heart was often filled with greed, envy and lust and my interactions with family, friends and coworkers was lackluster at best. It was how I processed the stress of day-to-day work and family responsibilities that was so drastically different from today. Jealousy towards friends and coworkers abounded and I was consumed with material possessions. I thought nothing about Christ and when I did engage in prayer it was about the trivial and superficial most often…..eventually my prayers stopped altogether. I’d regularly engage in stupid fighting with my wife and best friends and family (and 90% of the time I’d pick the fight LOL), but I justified it logically……I was right and everyone around me was wrong. I had an answer for everything even though I really didn’t know squat (bb related). Then for a period of years I struggled with the feeling of, “Do you really believe all this God crap?” I certainly wouldn’t have been mistaken for a Godly person…the words that came out of my mouth, my general temperament and my relationships with others only revealed a jealous, bitter, angry, depressed person. Then after I got hurt (as you know), that’s when times got really dark…..desperately dark……suicidal tendencies dark.
Today the man of the past is no more. The change Jesus Christ made in my life has transformed me through and through. I’m a genuinely happy person today….I smile and hum (like a goof) virtually everywhere I go…..I literally have a song in my heart now. The days of darkness are over. The jealousy and greed that consumed me is a thing of the past now….I yearn for what God has already blessed me with and I thank him daily for his many, many blessings both big and small but equally great! Today, as a true believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit fills my soul from top to bottom and I want to share Christ with others because my desire for others to know Christ literally overflows from within me. I don’t wanna ram it down anyone’s throat, but I want to share it with people honestly and respectfully, live out my faith and hope that others recognize Jesus Christ in me each and every day. My work and family responsibilities are at least equally (if not more) challenging today than they were in the past, but I now process everything differently…..there’s a genuine sense of joy within me. I don’t really have work stress anymore. Sure I face challenges and difficult assignments, but they don’t consume me….I just tackle them and 9 times outta 10 I’m pretty successful (wasn’t like that before). Everything I do now I attempt to do in accordance with the Lord’s will for my life….I pray about that and meditate on that idea privately as well. Still, I give all praise and glory to God because the change is about him and has nothing to do with me. Today I can feel the presence of Holy Spirit almost daily…there’s nothing like it. My personal change was so amazing to me because it literally happened in almost an instant. When I surrendered to God I literally felt weight lift and the Holy Spirit enveloped me…..it was incredible. Since that time I’m trying to grow my faith and mature as a believer and I have a long road ahead…..I’ll work towards it for the rest of my life.
To conclude my post I thought I would share a few CCM/gospel song lyrics that really sum up my journey:
“Changed”:
I came up out of the water
Raise my hands up to the Father
Gave it all to Him that day
Felt a new wind kiss my face
Walked away, eyes wide open
Could finally see where I was goin'
It didn’t matter where I been
I’m not the same man I was then.
I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am
Changed
I got a lot of “hey I’m sorry's”
The things I’ve done, man that was not me
I wish that I could take it all back
I just want to tell 'em that
Tell 'em that
I got off track, I made mistakes
Back slid my way into that place where souls get lost
Lines get crossed
And the pain won’t go away
I hit my knees, now here I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am
I’ve changed for the better
More smiles, less bitter
I even started to forgive myself
I hit my knees, I’m here, I stand
There I was, now here I am
Here I am, here I am
I'm changed
Yes, I am
I’m changed for the better
Thank God, I'm changed.
“Through the Fire”:
So many times I've questioned certain circumstances
Things I could not understand
Many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
Then my frustration gets so out of hand
It's then I am reminded I've never been forsaken
I've never had to stand the test alone
As I look at all the victories the spirit rises up in me
And it's through the fire my weakness is made strong
He never promised that the cross would not get heavy
And the hill would not be hard to climb
He never offered our victories without fighting
But he said help would always come in time
Just remember when you're standing in the valley of decision
And the adversary says give in
Just hold on, our Lord will show up
And he will take you through the fire again
I know within myself that I would surely perish
But if I trust the hand of God, He'll shield the flames again
“Glorious Freedom”:
Once I was bound by sin’s galling fetters,
Chained like a slave, I struggled in vain;
But I received a glorious freedom,
When Jesus broke my fetters in twain.
Glorious freedom, wonderful freedom,
No more in chains of sin I repine!
Jesus the glorious Emancipator,
Now and forever He shall be mine.
Freedom from all the carnal affections,
Freedom from envy, hatred and strife;
Freedom from vain and worldly ambitions,
Freedom from all that saddened my life.
Freedom from pride and all sinful follies,
Freedom from love and glitter of gold;
Freedom from evil, temper, and anger,
Glorious freedom, rapture untold.
Freedom from fear with all of its torments,
Freedom from care with all of its pain;
Freedom in Christ, my blessed Redeemer,
He who has rent my fetters in twain.
Have a good evening!!