LiveJournal user scarlett_1975 snapped this photo a few days ago: Link - via Accordion Guy.
Now, can someone explain to me what Pastor Ricky Shedd is talkin' about?
LiveJournal user scarlett_1975 snapped this photo a few days ago: Link - via Accordion Guy.
Now, can someone explain to me what Pastor Ricky Shedd is talkin' about?
In other words, Idle hands hold the Devil's plans.
These individuals don't want you out there questioning, testing, or learning...any of that stuff that goes against their particular flavor of superstition and/or their racket. Stuff like science, naturalism, evolution, or any other religion are BAD, BAD, BAD, and will win you a one-way ticket to eternal damnation.
This may help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freethinker
Let me try that again:
the pastor obviously means to suggest that if one IS not accepting the Bible as literal truth, ONE IS doomed to hell.."
There, that feels better.
Often, religion attempts to circumvent the individual's quest for these things by offering them wholesale through the authority of their faith. But since religion clearly cannot and has not offered innovation, technology, truth, and progress, it is increasingly becoming outmoded and made subservient to other human endeavours. Thus the devout of today claim that faith is a personal, spiritual experience, and does not offer such things as medical care (I'm ignoring the idiots). However, such an attitude would be unheard of in the Middle Ages, when health was seen as a gift and cures to illness were often sought in the Bible and the wisdom of the fathers of the Church.
From Wikipedia: Freethought is a philosophical viewpoint that holds that beliefs should be formed on the basis of science and logic and should not be influenced by emotion, authority, tradition, or any dogma. The cognitive application of freethought is known as freethinking, and practitioners of freethought are known as freethinkers.
Of course, the pastor is wrong: Freethinkers are not slaves of Satan at all, since there is no scientific or logical reason to believe that any such entity exists.
I saw my older brothers sisters riding pushbikes and thought 'I want do that'. Silly me.
I saw them learn to drive and thought 'I want do that'.
I saw some of them get in 'trouble' and thought 'I don't want do that'
etc
etc
etc
Perhaps the sign should say 'Don't believe in my God and my opinion of my authority I believe he has invested in me? Then you are going to hell'.
Which God are you referring to?
You were certainly right in saying that the pastor of that church was referring to "Freethinkers" -- and it was sad to see that the previous commenters were not aware of that.
However, sir or madam, you were wrong to write these words:
"Of course, the pastor is wrong: Freethinkers are not slaves of Satan at all, since there is no scientific or logical reason to believe that any such entity exists."
I doubt that the pastor meant the phrase, "slaves of Satan" literally, as though each and every Freethinker were controlled by the devil. I feel sure that the pastor meant that Freethinkers [including, apparently, yourself] were allowing themselves to be deceived by Satan into accepting atheism, moral relativism, and the like. The pastor is right about that.
Obvious from what I just stated is that you were also wrong to say that "... there is no scientific or logical reason to believe that any such entity exists." Only people who don't WANT God and Satan to exist (because of the guilt and fears that they properly feel about their skepticism and immoral behavior) would write the words that you wrote.
The truth is that it is not NECESSARY for "scientific" reasons to exist for a belief in Satan. There are lots of things in human life, the existence for which EVERYONE has a "belief" in, even though there are no "scientific" reasons for them. The most basic of these is LOVE. Moreover, it is indeed through "logical reason" that zillions of people have come to realize that God and Satan exist.
When you repent of your sins and ask God to reveal himself to you, you will come around, Willo.
When you have any empirical proof of your shit, pls to let us know. Ta.
You obviously don't understand science.
would that include asking any of the non-christian gods that the many billions of kind, righteous, loving people around the world believe in? moral relativism takes many forms - perhaps the insistence that all non-christians are damned to eternal torment is a form of evil in itself. i certainly consider it to be so. the claim that non-christian/secular but good people are somehow deceived by satan, and that morality is the sole preserve of the abrahamic religions is born of misanthropy and ignorance. seen from other perspectives, all religions claim to be the true path, and all teach that damnation will befall the 'other' (including buddhism by the way. they just call it the endless cycle of rebirth and threaten you with re-incarnation as a 'lower' life form)
i'm just guessing here, but i think perhaps you need to repent of your sins and allow your passport to reveal itself to you...
I can't feel guilty about smacking a puppy that doesn't exist.
And if you're so against science, why are you on the internet of all places? And Neatorama, too?
Troll?
think [if possible] before writing.
it's a great tactic that policy-makers and heads of state have been using since the conception of religion (which, btw, was CENTURIES before the existence of jesus). they use it because it works. scaring people into believing their "bad" actions only result in eternal hell-fire is a great tactic in getting people to obey. it keeps people subdued. it keeps them from thinking. then when they do something wrong, they blame it on satan instead of themselves. or they yell at god for ruining their life. or they believe praying will solve a problem instead of solving it themselves.
why can't people just be good because it's the right thing to be? if you're being good because some guy told you you're going to hell if you're not, how is that NOT a fear tactic? we have seen how this tactic has been used throughout history, and we have seen how it works. why WOULDN'T those who believe in god keep using this same tactic if it means more money for the church? the money that goes into churches could raise entire communities out of poverty. it could feed more hungry mouths than we know. it could place the houseless into shelters and get them back on their feet. it could aid in the recovery of drug addicts. it could even aid in the recovery of our slowing economy. but still, millions of dollars are being pumped towards this invisible entity, hoping it will buy those contributors a closer seat to heaven.
I find it amazing that your omnipotent God -- a god who, by definition, presumably created everything and knows everything that has happened and ever will happen, and everything that you have done and will do, despite granting 'free will' -- is also able to condemn people (that He/She created as fully fallible) for not providing them evidence of His/Her existence.
Doesn't make sense, does it? You know what else doesn't make sense? Believing in the boogey man. That's why I -- and millions of others -- don't.
I wasn't implying it was. I'll let you try the thinking now.
Good luck.
As a European that makes as much sense to me.
Ok, if you are a free-thinker, that is anti-christian (according to Wikipedia), you are probably as intolerant as the pastor here.
What bothers me is an entirely different thing:
What is it, that in US-America you can seriously talk or write the term "satan" or "evil" (as in axis of evil)- meaning it literally and still be accepted as pastor or president (leader figure)?
Do you people over there really believe in the personified evil?
Or is it that it just works for "all the others" but not the individual?
Hmmm...
Why am I not surprised?
AnUnSi is not a science hater so much as using science as a theological and political doctrine. You cannot hate this person for enjoying the by-products of scientific discovery than you can for yourself living in a Christianized nation that's peaceful and orderly.
I agree, but have you ever met people? They don't exactly inspire confidence in this ideal.
They apparently didn't read Orwell closely enough.
actually, you were.
lets not play "who is more polite" you were saying everyone on neato thinks just like you - keep trying with the thinking!
To bad it wasn't terminated as "A free thinker is."
Wow. Words cannot describe how stunningly ignorant you are.
Good luck with your future internet trolling, I'm done feeding you. Bye.
Surprised no one has seized on the sign's "SS" meeting at 10:00 am. Gotta love church sign irony. Boneheads.
your country is bursting at thwe seams with theocratic arse hats.
Why do any of you rational Americans even bother to grapple with them.
They are idiots who've added absolutely nothing to the species aside from endless droves of their idiot issue who are all as unwilling to understand science as they are keen embrace any technology they can to decry those who invented it.
This goes back as far as the bicycle to my certain knowledge.
The bike helped enormously in reducing inbreeding...and was decried from pulpits as the vehicle of the devil.
Same with radio cinema tv internet cellphones satellites etc etc etc.
Those nasty freethinkers, they're as bad as those scientists.
Ho ho de f*ckin' ho.
I don't really care, though. I'd rather think for myself than end up in heaven with people like AnUnSi.
However, to the rest of you, please don't lump us all together.
My father was a vicar for almost 15years until only recently and has always taught me to think for myself and make my own judgements and my own opinions.
So, please say "some christians", or something like that. We (I?) get enough prejudice as it is.
Thankyou.
I don't go round not murdering people because my culture's Christian heritage forbids it, I go around not murdering people because it's not a nice thing to do. I'm nice to strangers and to people who need a hand because society works better that way rather not because my world outlook is coloured by my society's dominant religion. You only need look at the commonailty throughout almost all religions and non-religions of certain basic modes of behaviour to see that it's not down to divine inspiration - if it were you'd have to admit that all religions are the same under the skin.
"Dear Willo the Wisp,
You were certainly right in saying that the pastor of that church was referring to “Freethinkers” — and it was sad to see that the previous commenters were not aware of that."
It's sad to see that, although I provided a link to the Wikipedia page on Freethinking, in the SECOND POST, that the magical powers that guide and protect you did not provide you with the grace and clarity to see and take note of it.
Also, just because the giant magical dragon which hovers above my head at all times is invisible and undetectable, doesn't mean it isn't there. AnUnsi, you just have to BELIEVE in my invisible dragon, and you can share in the mystical, completely REAL, life-changing experiences which my mighty dragon has given to me. If you DENY my dragon, you are an A-dragonist, and that is just a sick, sad thing to be!
May dragon help you.
Love,
Joe
I'm getting popcorn.
@Polx
>Why do any of you rational Americans even bother to grapple with them.
Because if they don't they end up in Iraq, and maybe Iran. Remember the man with his finger on the button believes in the 'Rapture' and the 'Apocalypso'.
@Brice
>Surprised no one has seized on the sign’s “SS” meeting at 10:00 am
Yes, good spot. LOL. They were the ultimate fear-mongers and hated free-thinkers.
And as others have said (but I said it first, hmmmph) can some please let me know which God we are discussing.
there.
Did anybody notice that AnUnSi never responded? That's because AnUnSi leaves one comment, and never comments again. It's like the old lady who passes around Biblical leaflets in the middle of the department store, or the JW who knocks on your door to get it slammed in his/her face. All the irrational and rational debate won't recall AnUnSi back to the thread. AnUnSi isn't listening.
Bunch of hypocrites.
This guy's sign is pretty awfully worded.
I'm sure he didn't mean what you people are assuming he means.
I see 'In Anus', I won't be saying anything else as someone is bound to point out the Arse in mine (at least I know I am!)
JOIN ME IN HELL
HAHAHAHAHAHHA
What a sad, sick theory you must have formulated in your godless void of atheism. I suppose you think it's funny to make a mockery of the head dragons? Even though he is neglected and ignored, your floating head dragon loves you and will only show himself after you have dug the elves out of your ear and stepped on him.
Woah!
the interweb sure does rock. Almost as much as amazing cell phones.
I'm going to try to smoke more.
evidence for the devil, is that fact that christians serve so willingly do evil.
Christians believe that the human ability to think is corrupted by powerful demonic influences. It's rather as if Satan had the power of hypnotic suggestion - that he can put thoughts in your head and make you think they're your own.
The only protection that humans have against this influence is to have faith in Jesus Christ to deliver them. Otherwise, by breaking free of Jesus you become a slave to Satan.
This spiritual condition might be seen as analogous to the physical situation of a child who thinks that once he gets free of his parents and runs away to the Big City, he will never again encounter people who will abuse and exploit him, and of course he is wrong.
The analogy breaks down, however, in that while parents and unsavory members of the urban underclass exist, God and Satan do not. And while human reason is indeed corrupt, its corruption is nowhere more manifest than in the human propensity to embrace 'faith' as superior to reason.
Fuh-Q Farging Fuqs!
I honestly wish religion didn't exist, it causes me lots of emotional stress. Hopefully this will go away over time, but I feel like shit every time I think what if I'm wrong and will end up in hell, regardless whether I live a good life or not just because I noticed there is something wrong with this whole religious thing.
Nowadays a priest raping kids and repenting will go to heaven, but if you read Harry Potter you burn in hell. What a joke, I feel sorry for this world.
all evil has to do is take over the christian leadership(as it has already done) and the sheeple follows blindly into the abyss. god gave us the capacity to think and analyse as a weapon against being deceived.
:-)
"They must find it difficult...
Those who have taken authority as the truth,
rather than truth as the authority."
-Gerald Massey
A Free Thinker is one who allows himself not to be bound by systems of belief. That does not mean that one does not have morals etc. By definition if one is a thinker then you have put some time into thinking about a whole range of issues and it may well be that many Free Thinkers live their lives on a much higher moral ground than those who profess to be a Christian but live their lives in an Un-Christian way.
A Free Thinker does not look for your disapproval or approval; a person with a conscience needs most to be at peace with themself.
Regards
Colin
If You guys say that a free thinker is near to Satan ..
then i guess , its like asking people to join/hold the bible .. what? is it some kind of club?
i could say that, free thinker use most of the time thinking how to earn $$ to survive, going through lfe,
no time for religouse stuff ..
The reality in relation to what we can know is severely limited, the more science discovers the more questions are manifest, not answers. This is how many scientists, to resolve the overwhelming cognitive dissonance, will turn to religion. There are intelligent science aware Christians, but they have in being Christian, surrendered thinking freely.
This preacher and his intended message is unknown from just the title. It's even possible the preacher is deluded enough to think free thinking is compatible with Christian faith and means to argue against the Title of the sermon.
to Satan.
cnt tell mankind wot religin 2 beleve in. so how com we hav 2 put up wif it l8r on. or do we. cnt we just beleve in luv, medetation, respect, ya no, da key aspects of each god but not beleve da god itself nd not beleve in da devil. if we all stop belevin in da devil den maybe da devil wont exist ny mor. or we could 4get da devil derefor creating a paradox in wich da devil is born back 2 da univrse nd we all die lik squishd ants. hlp som1, PLZ!
THEY want to enslave everybody, just like the ISLAM does.
They reject everybody who think by themselves, since these guys can´t manipulate a person like me.
Although I come from a Catholic family, I question everything and I won´t accept to follow blindly a man who pledges he is there in the name of God to tell me what I should do with my life.
Religion is just for spiritual relief, and I think God is not a person, but is everywhere. HIS (or could be HER) house is not made of wood, bricks or stones. HE lives inside people´s hearts. Just keep your peace of mind doing good things, to be as righteous as possible. This attracts the good vibes.
I took long to find out, but I´m very proud to be a free thinker. I´m not a God´s servant or a Satan´s slave. I am my OWN MASTER, as God made me.
We are all here for a reason. God only knows what it is. : )
The Bible as Truth? Nonsense. It's not even good religion.
If God thought the world was so wretched and wicked, so much that he felt the need to destroy it in the Genesis Flood, why did he save a remnant of the same sin-ridden creature only to start the whole thing over again? If God eliminated wickedness from the earth with water, why do we need a savior? Makes no sense, unless one realizes what a self-centered, egotistical sadist the god of the Bible actually is. He sounds like, oh, let's see... Yeah, he sounds like a ranting child, a human child, who always wants his own way. And smash you if you don't give in. You think the God the New Testament is loving? Guess again. More that 99 percent of all humanity is scheduled for hell. Even the good people. Why? Because they don't believe a certain way. Like you, Christian? Not necessarily. Every Christian group thinks it's right and the rest are wrong. So Methodists, Lutherans, Catholics: You're all hell bound. Get used to it. You're not part of the Elect. John Calvin said so. And he was the only one to get the New Testament right. Believer it or go to hell.
Rantings of an avowed atheist? Hardly. I simply know, from studying Scripture, that the true creator of this universe does not exist in its pages. That god is a human creation, and not a very good one.
You damn right I'm a free thinker. If that means I'm in league with Satan, so be it. Rather an eternity in hell than one single moment with the Beast of Heaven!
Anyone who believes in God must believe in Satan or the so called infallible word of God is defunct.
So the sign should be read" A Christian is Satan's Slave."
Hey bill this is one person in America not all of us believe this. People like you are the dumbest on earth. regardless of your country you live in.
"Hey Richard im not here to judge you its not my place but i consider myself a free thinker as well. and Satan didnt just question God...."
How dumb can a person get? everything you have written contradicts, including the claims. "Satan tried to kill god"....:)... where do you get these ideas from? I bet some lame TV stuff, eh! You are a class clown man! And with a great potential to make others laugh!! You should try joining or perhaps starting your own circus. Be sure to buy some clown gear, you will need them (In case you don't get what I said)..And by the way, I am not the same "bill" you have addressed. Not the American Bill at least... :)... who cares... Aaron the Levite doesn't
Looks like Hell for many of the regulars then. I’m done in for certain and its curtains for the Mikes. mespo was pulled off stage by a shepherd’s hook. Elaine is tormenting the staff with puns. Slarti and Alhazen are having a cage match with Bob and Kant. The winner gets their pictures taken with Newton, Einstein and Bohr. Byron is busily trying to convince a waiter that unregulated markets don’t lead to abuses. Jesus, the free thinking Pharisee rabbi, is steadily slapping him in the back of the head, saying with each smack “money changers”.
The scenery is beautiful. Wish you were here.
We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, will have our own section of tables at the Devil’s Debauchery Diner-Dancehall & Debate Club. It’ll be an easy party to spot, but remember! The first rule of debate club is you don’t talk about debate club. There will be an open bar but the kitchen is closed. It is Hell after all and not so nice. It’s hot, but it’s a dry heat
We’ll leave a burning witch on for you.
It’s a long dark road out of the 14th Century.