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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
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Originally Posted by Scott
Some have tried; the numbers are pretty large. That being said, I think that humanity as a whole is better off with christianity then without it. I think people don't stop to consider what we'd have had if christianity hadn't become the predominant world religion. Its main competition (Islam) is, in my view, generally worse. it is IMO the same lame horse by another name.
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Its no better or worse; |
We may have to disagree on that.
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
I'm not even sure why they're being posed as competition to each other as though one without the other would be some huge game changer.
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Alright, I can see that we don't agree as to the relative merits of the 2 religions, but surely you would agree that they -do- compete with each other for adherents?
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
These two are not the only religions of the world
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True. What's more, both of these religions have divisions within themselves as well as has ben pointed out.
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
and most people who see them as each other's opposite with one being the big bad wolf generally only think one is better due to one seeming "normal" and the other being touted as worse by splash media and their own ignorance.
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My mother's tried flavors of both, while I was muslim for a time (a western version, but islam all the same). I think I make it clear that I never said they were each other's opposite or that one was 'bad' and the other 'good'. I simply think that on the whole, I prefer christianity a fair amount, in large part because many people who identify as christians don't actually follow the rules of their own religion. It's not that I'm for hypocrisy, it's just that some things are far worse then hypocrisy.
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
All religious beliefs compete with each other if they don't share exact dogma in that case.
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Pretty much, yeah.
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
According to my grandmother's church community, if you don't belong to a few of the fundamental christian sects they agree with, its all devil worship and you're going to hell even if it is a christian flavored faith. People feel better about rooting for the "home team" even if they don't practice any faith devoutly.
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Yep. If there's one thing that I think is generally a good sign of the quality of a religion, it's in their tolerance for alternative points of view. There are ofcourse limits, but in general, the less tolerance for those outside of their group, the worse the religion.
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
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Originally Posted by Scott
I find that to actually be one of the most encouraging aspects of christianity. The notion that self sacrifice can be a good thing is also something I respect.
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You have to be someone who idealizes self sacrifice regardless of spiritual training for any aspect of it in any religion to be practiced. If not you get this:
http://www.salon.com/2009/07/21/c_street/ |
Yeah. "The Family"'s pretty messed up.
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Originally Posted by Vinccenzo
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Originally Posted by Scott
Who are you speaking to?
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The OP |
Ah ok.