Comments about ‘Religious war’

If there is a religious war going on, it is between religions jockeying for position and seeking to advance their own particular interests. These battles are originating from people who have forgotten the very principles on which their religions are based.

Sometimes we forget that life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is God given. The eternal quest of man to be better and to make things better come from God, not from government. Government is given very limited authority to act in a very limited way.

In the United States, the government is trying to tell us how to act towards God. God tells us that contraceptives and abortion are an abomination. Government tells us that if we don't provide insurance that provides contraceptives and abortions, that we are breaking the law.

Whose law?

When did the people ever give government authority to dictate to God what his laws are?

World-wide, the same problem exists. Not every country is as fortunate as we are to have a Constitution that clearly forbids government from dictating religion to us; however, God has given each of us a conscience so that we can know what to do in every situation.

Each of us is free to choose whom we will serve, God or government.

Only very foolish politicians would force us to make that choice. Those foolish politicians will lose - every time.

@Mike Richards | 9:12 a.m. Feb. 20, 2012
South Jordan, Utah

Whose law?

When did the people ever give government authority to dictate to God what his laws are?

=================

Like eating pork?
Circumsion?
Blood Transfusions?
Covering your head?

Who's God, and Who's Laws.

We have the right to worship our all Mormon Christian God,
as Muslim has the right to worship Allah.

You are no differnet than the terrorists 12,000 miles from here who support Sharia Law as God's law.

Stop trmpling our Freedom of religion and force your twisted Theocracy on our Constitution!

LDS Liberal,

You're going to have to decide, just like the rest of us, whether you will obey God and keep his commandments, as given to us through his son, Jesus Christ, or whether you will continue to worship pharoah.

This world is binary. It is not divided into shades of gray - except by those who will not make a choice.

Joshua stated it plainly. He ChOSE. You are sitting on the fence. Just how long do you suppose that you can sit there on the fence and delay making your decision to either stand for God, our Creator, or to stand for God's nemisis?

'Each of us is free to choose whom we will serve, God or government.' - Mike Richards | 9:12 a.m. Feb. 20, 2012

Religion, divides.

And the religious, support it.

JThompson: "You're going to have to decide, just like the rest of us, whether you will obey God and keep his commandments, as given to us through his son, Jesus Christ..."

Actually, I'm deeply grateful that you are _not_ obeying the commandments of the Christian Bible.

Or do you indeed force your wives to be silent in church and never wear jewelry, you never eat shrimp, you never wear clothes made of multiple fabrics, you don't permit people with birth defects into your church, you stone to death rape victims (or force them to marry their rapists), and you kill disobedient teens, people who work on your Sabbath, and people who don't believe your religion? All of those things, and more, are required by your religion.

For the sake of a sane and just society, THANK YOU for not obeying your religion's commandments.

Blue,

Those who use the Bible, or any other document, to divide Christian against Christian are not followers of Christ.

You may be deeply grateful, but you have absolutely no understanding of the book of which you profess proficiency. Try reading it and then applying the principles taught there before accusing others.

JT, I _have_ read the bible - carefully. It's full of irrational nonsense. Do you deny that the commandments I cited above are not in it? Do _you_ eat shellfish?

The good things in Christianity (charity, honesty, family, selflessness, mercy, the Golden Rule, etc.) are not unique to Christianity. Those virtues can be found throughout history in many cultures that never had anything to do with any of today's Christian theologies.

Conversely, the things in Christianity that are unique to Christianity, (witch burning, death to unbelievers, death to rape victims, death to children believed to be possessed by the devil, the inferiority of women, rejecting medical treatment for sick children and relying instead solely on prayer, etc.) exist _only_ as religious beliefs held by followers of the "desert dogmas" of Judaism, Christianty and Islam, all of which derive from the same primary Old Testament sources.

That which is good about religion is not unique, and that which is unique about religion is not good.

There is no "war on religion," but religion's ability to shield its fundamental irrationality from rational criticism is rapidly fading, and the consequences of that should not come as a surprise to you.

Re:MikeRichards
"God tells us that contraceptives and abortion are an abomination."

You are now far-right of LDS church policies. Guess you won't be voting for Mitt either?

Blue,

You have determined for yourself that the Bible, given to us by God through his prophets is irrational nonsense.

Those "commandments" that you cited were rules of health. Do you suppose, even for an instant, that God does not love his children and that he would caution his children to NOT each shellfish when they had NO refrigeration? Would YOU eat shellfish that had been left at room temperature for an extended period of time? Are you sufficiently educated to know the danger of eating room-temperature shell-fish?

Do you think that God would not warn YOU to watch what you think and watch what you do to keep you from harming yourself? Do you think that God loves you so little that he would not warn you before you make mistakes that would jepordize your ability to return to him?

You tell us that God's word is irrational nonsense. I think that any careful reader would question your authority to make that statement and I also think that your response is biased based on the way that you have chosen to live your life.

Truthseeker,

Far-right?

If protecting life labels me as being "far-right", then I am proud to be someone who stands up for life.

Given my chosen religion, I could never, at any time nor under any circumstances, align myself with you who would prevent life or destroy the unborn. Deciding that life can be prevented or destroyed when the mother has had the choice to invite pregancy is not part of my theology. I don't think, even for a minute, that God has approved his children's destruction of life prior to conception, during conception or after conception any more than he is going to rescind his commandment to do no murder that he gave to Moses.

You are free to beleive otherwise. I will answer to God when I meet him and so will you. Life is not political. Life is not a gift from the Supreme Court. Life is a gift from God. Anyone who thinks differently will answer directly to God at the appropriate time.

JT, what are the "health" benefits the Bible promotes when it instructs you to kill rape victims, rebellious children, people who work on Sundays and people of different religious beliefs? Why would the Bible prohibit the wearing of clothes made from multiple fabrics and people with birth defects from attending church?

Why does the Bible say not a single word against slavery, but much about the acquisition and treatment of slaves?

Do you really believe the Earth is fixed and unmoving in the heavens? Was Copernicus wrong?

How is all that _not_ irrational nonsense?

There are many dozens of deities that people on this planet have fervently believed into through the ages (Zeus, Ra, Odin, Shiva, etc.), then with the passage of time see them slip into the pages of history and literature. I am certain that where these gods are concerned, you're as atheistic about them as me.

I merely disbelieve in one fewer god than you.

Blue,

Do you think that your incomprehension of scripture validates your questions? Why not talk to your Bishop or pastor? Why not study until you understand?

Maybe you can tell the rest of us where in the Bible it tells us that the earth is the center of God's creation. That is totally opposite from what my scriptures tell me. My scriptures tell me that there are many worlds and that their number is greater than the sands on the sea-shore. Does that sound like this earth is the center of creation?

You may choose to worship any one of the lessor gods worshipped by ancient Greece or Rome. You may continue to try to impress us that God does not exist, but that is just your opinion. The fact is, you did not create life on your own. You exist. Something or someone made that possible.

You choose to think that you are the center of creation and that you have the right to tell God what to say and what to think. Just the opposite is true. He INVITES to to leave ignorance behind. He INVITES you to learn.

'My scriptures tell me that there are many worlds and that their number is greater than the sands on the sea-shore.' - J Thompson | 2:48 p.m. Feb. 20, 2012

Old Testament?

New Testament?

Quran?

Or BOM?

Even the 'scripture'...

cannot find agreement.

JT: "where in the Bible it tells us that the earth is the center..."

Psalms 93:1, Psalms 96:10, Psalms 104:5, Isaiah 66:1, Joshua 10:12-13, Chronicles 16:30, etc. Or did the Catholic church get its scriptures wrong when it tried Galileo for the heresy?

"He INVITES to to leave ignorance behind. He INVITES you to learn."

Nonsense. Religion demands unquestioning adherence to beliefs for which there are no objective supporting evidence, but for which there are libraries of solid evidence that the beliefs are untrue. Religion fears and despises honest inquiry into its beliefs.

Am I seriously supposed to believe that Adam & Eve were the first homo sapiens? That Noah's global flood was a real event?

How old do _you_ think the Earth is?

Religion values certainty more than evidence. It refuses to tolerate criticism. It punishes people who dare to ask to see the evidence, to examine the history, to apply the methods of science to religious beliefs.

I've exhausted my comments, so I'll conclude with this - there is no "war" on religion. Rather, religion's disconnect from reality is becoming increasingly obvious, and that has angered the theocrats.

Pagan,

You and Blue had better decide for yourself whether you're willing to do your own homework. The theology that you cited is well known and easily understood. It doesn't require a degree in rocket-science to be able to read, but it might require the aid of the "still small voice" that enlightens those who are searching for truth; not the truth that so many search for that they turn into a weapon, but the truth that God reveals to those who search with an eye single to his glory. Perhaps that's the reason that some people have such a hard time recognizing truth.

As far as the items that some keep bringing up that they can't rationalize, they seem to have forgotten that the Testaments are HISTORY and COVENANT. The historical portions are little different than court records or processes and procedures we could find describing the actions and interactions of any group of people at any time in earth's history. The covenant sections specifically relate to the promises God has made through his prophets to his children.

Implying that the Testaments are either one or the other negates the true worth of those volumes.

It would be nice if western civilization could make an accommodation with Islam. The trouble is where did Osama bin Laden, al qaeda, the Taliban get there ideas from :the Koran.

Wow, on the way to a conversatin.. priesthood meeting broke out.

"life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness is God given"..so just what is life, and what is the pursuit of happiness, or how much liberty should we have..to these questions governments are formed and I believe our government has spoken to all of these issues. Some answers..all citizens are entitled to free preventative health care from their insurance companies. Conception is not considered a human life until viability. The giving of money to support a political cause is free speech. Seems to me that the process is working as intended.

"You exist. Something or someone made that possible."..how about nature..evolution..your parents..shasam here you are.

@J Thompson
"Those who use the Bible, or any other document, to divide Christian against Christian are not followers of Christ. "

Your first comment was a strongly worded accusation that someone was straddling a fence and needed to get on God's side (which apparently is your side) or get away. Considering you were commenting to someone whose username is LDS Liberal, and since the LDS are Christian... you yourself just went after a Christian using the Bible. So I find this statement of yours hypocritical. I'm pretty sure you're a follower of Christ... but if your statement here were accurate... you wouldn't be.

@Mike Richards

"God tells us that contraceptives and abortion are an abomination."

You know the LDS church is fully supportive of members using contraception don't you?