faith

[screams]

as most of you are aware, tolkien held a christian faith as a roman catholic. i was just curious what faith and beliefs everyone here has.

[Gil Galad]

I am a strong Christian, to put my beliefs in a nutshell i believe that God is the Ultimate and in control of all things, i dont want to start a debate, but i believe he exist in three persons,The Trinity, i do not believe that you MUST be baptised in order to be saved, but it is a symbol as well as an act of obedience, i believe that the onlyway to heaven is through Jesus Christ, that if you believe in his ultimate sacrifice on the cross you are instantly saved and justified, your sins are paid for by christ, i believe Christ was and is God and became 100% God and 100% man born of a virgin, risen again from the dead, and now sits at the right hand of God and will come again to take away those who believe, there is much more but this should be enough to cover it,if there are any questions, i will try to answer them as best i can

[Insane_Monky]

It's nice to know fellow members have the same faith I have. Pretty much Gil Galad took the words out of my mouth.

[Gil Galad]

How awesome is that, I can honestly say Im glad that happende for once

[Rita]

Harbinger and Heru Morna would be spinning in their graves right now...if they had graves.

[HeruMorna]

I am too unsure about my own faith/religion to identify it at this point.

Harbinger and Heru Morna would be spinning in their graves right now...if they had graves.

Why would they do that?

[Pulsifer]

Harbinger and Heru Morna would be spinning in their graves right now...if they had graves.

Well, I'm not dead, yet . . . but I do have yet another username.

To sum my position up - I disagree.

[screams]

i guess i should say mine, since i'm the thread started.

i believe in god. i believe he rose from the dead to save me, and i'm going to heaven because i accept him as my savior. that's pretty much a summary of it. i agree with everything written in mere christianity, and my faith is simply, mere christianity.

[Gil Galad]

Thats a very good way to put it, no one ever said Christianityy had to be copmplicated

[screams]

christianity is simple. everything else doesn't really matter, it's all personal beliefs. christianity is just loving and serving god.

[Arthfael]

...because it's rude to talk about religion, you never know who you're gonna offend

(10 points to the person who can tell me where that quote is from)

It's been mine, as well as this forum's experience that debating or conversing about religion and its politics taboo in subject. Basically, you will never convince someone that their religion is wrong or flawed. People are too stubborn (And yes, this is a debate topic, it is in the DEBATING society). So simply, I suggest we all believe what we like, and talk about something more diverse and interesting than how strong you believe whatever it is that you believe. Can we agree?

[screams]

it's from big fish.

did you read the thread, or did you post in it because of the title and the threads location? the thread was moved to debates... it was basically a question, not a debate. believe what you like, and everyone else here will... and judging by my experience in internet discussion boards, the best way to avoid taboo discussions is to not post in them. if you want a diverse discussion, start one. don't try to sound like a mediator when no one is arguing.

[Rita]

He's just speaking from experience. We had some very heated arguments in the old forum about this kind of thing, mainly because people began to present their beliefs in ways that offended others who didn't think the same way as them, or when people became overtly critical of others beliefs.

[Wolfchild]

did you read the thread, or did you post in it because of the title and the threads location? the thread was moved to debates... it was basically a question, not a debate. believe what you like, and everyone else here will... and judging by my experience in internet discussion boards, the best way to avoid taboo discussions is to not post in them. if you want a diverse discussion, start one. don't try to sound like a mediator when no one is arguing.

You should have realised, screams, before you asked the question that this was going to turn into a debate, surely? With such a question you are guaranteed a mixed response from the people of strong religion, to the atheists like myself. I only prevented myself from voicing my opinions (which I have stated in previous versions of the board) because I knew a debate would begin between me and every single Chritian, or so it would seem. Arth has basically forseen what will happen, and is saying that the existance of this thread in itself will turn into a debate whether we like it or not. He is asking if we can put this type of thread to bed and move on. I agree we should, because it ensnares everyone into a faith/ anti-faith rally, which in the long run destroys friendships and promotes arguments. Arth is tryng to talk some sense into us all before we all turn into the crazed 'I believe this, and I will not budge on it' people that we have been in the past.

 I am also annoyed at your comment, screams, "the best way to avoid taboo discussions is not to post in them". What are you saying here? That people who have opinions shoud keep their mouths shut? Or only the people with opinions different to your own?

[screams]

i'm well aware of how internet debates happen, i assumed that people here would be able to accept other people's religions... it's not like anyone was questioning each others faith. you're an atheist, cool, that's what you believe.

if you perceive a topic to be taboo and are afraid you're going to start an argument then avoid it. that in no way means you should keep your mouth shut on what you believe.