me and my aetheist friend

So what is it that keeps you from believing?

I suppose it's all efforts that Christians make to seperate themselves and to punish people. Do you know about the hate crimes bill? Did you know that there is this huge effort on the part of evangelicals to keep it from being passed.

I'm aware of that.

What's that all about?

I'm sorry I just haven't really studied the whole deal...

They want freedom to hate?

Like I said, I don't know but it really sounds terrible doesn't it? I think they are afraid that ministers will be arrested for calling homosexuality a sin. But I have to admit that I don't think that Jesus' main mission was to condemn the world but to save it. I would agree that the church has been way to preoccupied with isolating itself from sinners than we have been in redeeming them.

What do you mean redeeming them?

I mean uh... introducing them to Jesus.

I don't think people like me want to be introduced to Jesus.

Right. Why not?

Because Christianity doesn't work.

Really?

Of course it doesn't work. Look at the crusades.

That wasn't Jesus.

Sure it was.

That was Church behaving badly.Look I don't want to get into a discussion of all the churches failure. I'd rather talk about Jesus. Look... the church has always had its "crusades," we've been judgemental and rude and volitile. But that's not Jesus. He eats and drinks with sinners. He touches the untouchable.

And he's coming back to take all the good people out of this world.

(I laugh) that's if you are a --- well-- if you have that theological mindset. I just don't know. I'm not smart enough to figure out how all the end times stuff works out. But I do know that life is eternal and there is a heaven and there is a hell.

whatever...

I just wonder why abortion is considered murder and war is not. Why people say Jesus loves everybody and yet his followers have to have the right to do hate speech.

Look I believe God hates abortion but he didn't come to condemn... rather to protect life and i have to say that right now when i look at all the violence over in the middle east i have to wonder where Jesus is in all this.

see that means nothing to me.

What do you mean?

"Jesus s in all this"

Oh, sorry.

No problem... you just sometimes crack me up.

Comments

[~m2~]

i can't believe you are posting on this and may have to link back to you because i was going to put something up about the two atheists i have recently met (God has brought to me for a reason?) that i am struggling in my responses to...hmmm.

[~m2~]

sorry matt - plus in my "smells" thread at the very bottom, someone just came in early, early this morning with an atheistic slant...interesting.

[Matt]

wow!

As my grandma used to say "God works in mysteeeeeerious ways!

Blessings friend...