Wow, long thread. Lots going on in here. I'll just add a short little post to throw my 2 cents into the mix. ---- I don't care for any religion, esspecially those that are organized with centers of religious authority (churches, temples, mosques, etc., with prechers, pastors, popes...

Nothing but live it. Take all the pain; it reminds you you're still alive. Take all the pleasure, it's what makes life worth living. Sometimes I'm so depressed I'm crying, feeling so terribly horrible I almost can't take it and words can't describe the despair. And then, I start to laugh, I...

SWIM really loves that description. Especially the part put in bold. SWIM took a good hefty dose of mushrooms once and went exactly there. At first SWIM was fighting it trying to keep control. Then, SWIM lost the fight and landed right in the place you describe. It was an enlightening and...

I want to say thank you for the debate. You have opened my eyes a little bit and forced me to think and speak more clearly about the issue and how I feel about it. I feel as if I came out a little better for having the discussion. I also want to say I really like these forumns and, in...

I'm sorry, restin, for comming off in such an inflammatory way. Such is the nature of posting on the Internet. I'm a very shy person, but when on the net, well... not so much. When I was younger, my parents took me to church with them every Sunday. I would sing, go to bible study class, read...

I think there is a chance that there is some great pure form of Christianity and Christian ideals that are wonderful. I am totally willing to accept that as a possibility. However, all I can really see is the real world effects of Christianity as currently implemented in the world. Much as...

Well, you got me there. I can't really argue against that. The world would be better without hate, and I would be better if I didn't hate Christianity. You're totally right. I tip my hat to you, sir. However, I still think that even if I was able to get all my hate to melt away, the world...

(sarcasm) Yes, I make the world a bad place by stressing that people should never be hated, and that the ideas should be thought about as being negative instead. That just sounds like a horrible thing to tell people to do! (/sarcasm) And what's so wrong with trying to get people to do what...

As a rule, I try not to hate people, I try to reserve my hate for ideas only. I do hate Christianity, for many of the reasons you describe above. A huge component of the religion is to bear "witness" to others and try to convert them. This is a horrible aspect of an already horrible lie...

I was on youtube and saw a clip from Fox News covering this that someone had posted. You should have seen the talking-head bitch reporting it. She read the story with a very serious and scared look on her face and a totally condemning tone of voice. The story was all about the potential...

I understand where you're coming from here. However, while we're dreaming anyway, how about not drug testing anyone, ever, unless there is an emergency medical reason to know what is in a person's system? How about people are employed and paid based upon their actual performance and...