Thread: Isolationism

I would really like to go back to firmly believing in the faith of Christianity...but I cannot let myself do it.

I look at history. I look at the Samurai. In Fedual Japan, when the code of Bushido became mandatory for all Samurai to obey it was considered OK and in fact expected for one to kill himself after defeat. Suicide is not accepted in Christianity however.

The Samurai believed just as strongly in their "faith" as Christians do in theirs...and the samurai never ever heard of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years.

The same goes with the Vikings, Germanic Tribes, American Indians...ok religion is just one way that people who came together as a society made rules so that the society would work.

I believe in God...I believe in a creator of the universe. I believe that there is doing what is right over what is easy, and that a mans character is most important. But I do not believe in one "church" over another...

Originally Posted by hutchinson_3

I would really like to go back to firmly believing in the faith of Christianity...but I cannot let myself do it.

I look at history. I look at the Samurai. In Fedual Japan, when the code of Bushido became mandatory for all Samurai to obey it was considered OK and in fact expected for one to kill himself after defeat. Suicide is not accepted in Christianity however.

The Samurai believed just as strongly in their "faith" as Christians do in theirs...and the samurai never ever heard of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years.

The same goes with the Vikings, Germanic Tribes, American Indians...ok religion is just one way that people who came together as a society made rules so that the society would work.

I believe in God...I believe in a creator of the universe. I believe that there is doing what is right over what is easy, and that a mans character is most important. But I do not believe in one "church" over another...

you address an interesting point, what of the salvation of peoples before jesus christ? maybe the hebrews received a message and had a covenant with God, but what about other peoples of the world?

I don't like Constantine's influence on Christianity too.

The Samurai was simply a mercenary and then transitioned into a code of conduct. They were merely armoured elite soldiers. Later on, these mercenaries joined the imperial forces and so on.

Religion was really not as influential as you think. The idea was promoted due to the need for loyalty in that period.

Ok...but what I am saying is...that CONDUCT was parallel to the Hebrew CONDUCT...that is all religion is...rules set down by people in charge in order to keep the society from killing one another. What are the first five books of the bible other than a creation story, history, and how to live in the Hebrew culture so that they dont die of disease and kill one another.

That is all it is. Their way of life. And that is how it was for the Samurai...I know they were mercs and they formed to Bushido when the Emperor needed to CONTROL them just like Hebrew Judges needed control over thier people as well....

So how does Christianity relate to isolated parts of the world...it doesnt. Its all the same thing...man made.

Originally Posted by hutchinson_3

I would really like to go back to firmly believing in the faith of Christianity...but I cannot let myself do it.

Then look deeper. There are rational answers to your concerns.

Originally Posted by lakeman

Then look deeper. There are rational answers to your concerns.

Such as.......

[quote=hutchinson_3;445031]

I would really like to go back to firmly believing in the faith of Christianity...but I cannot let myself do it.

It has been said that there is a God shaped hole in all of us.

I look at history. I look at the Samurai. In Fedual Japan, when the code of Bushido became mandatory for all Samurai to obey it was considered OK and in fact expected for one to kill himself after defeat. Suicide is not accepted in Christianity however.

The Samurai believed just as strongly in their "faith" as Christians do in theirs...and the samurai never ever heard of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years.

You are correct that there are many different codes or ideas out there and lot's of people have faith in what they believe. So what principles do you use to decide what you will believe? I do not think we should just believe something because we want to. And that is not why I believe in Christianity.

I suggest that you first determine why you believe in reality. Then determine why you believe in science. Then use the same principles to determine why you believe in a faith.

Try starting here. Read the section on shaping principles. Then read the section on the tapestry of science. Then you will have a foundation to build a belief system. It is a long and difficult article but I would love to discuss it further.

The Nature and Philosophy of Science

The same goes with the Vikings, Germanic Tribes, American Indians...ok religion is just one way that people who came together as a society made rules so that the society would work.

If you start with the idea that all religion is man made then you will end with the conclusion that it is. I believe that much of it is man made but that Christianity is not. This is arived at by reading the Bible and testing it critically but without a priori assumptions.

I believe in God...I believe in a creator of the universe. I believe that there is doing what is right over what is easy, and that a mans character is most important. But I do not believe in one "church" over another...

If you believe that there is a right and a wrong from where do right and wrong come from? If they just come from us then they are subjective and changable at will. Then there really is no right and wrong. If it comes from something outside of us then it is objective and nothing we do will change it.

Iakeman I shall read that and we shall discuss it further on another Thread.

There really isnt a right and wrong outside of what we set as right and wrong. There is no purpose for us here, to our knowledge, that is not self provided.

We are together as a society, compromising our personal freedoms (which isnt really a bad thing because I dont want to match up against Mother Nature alone), in order to flourish as a society and utilize our edge of the natural world. That edge is our intellect.

The whiplash is the spectrum of emotion. In that spectrum there is an opposite and counter balance to everything.

You cannot have night without day, right without wrong, good without evil. Jealously without contentment...so forth.

So while I contemplate the paradox of there being no purpose has to co-exist with the fact of there being a purpose....I will read your link soon.

Prett much my signature sums up why I think there is a right and wrong. Men who put themselves through doing what is right...putting others before them (yes a very Christian Idea)...serving a cause higher than themselves (maybe just the saftey of our race)...and making themselves more perfect by trying and trying until success an goals are met.

Originally Posted by hutchinson_3

I would really like to go back to firmly believing in the faith of Christianity...but I cannot let myself do it.

I look at history. I look at the Samurai. In Fedual Japan, when the code of Bushido became mandatory for all Samurai to obey it was considered OK and in fact expected for one to kill himself after defeat. Suicide is not accepted in Christianity however.

The Samurai believed just as strongly in their "faith" as Christians do in theirs...and the samurai never ever heard of Jesus Christ nearly two thousand years.

The same goes with the Vikings, Germanic Tribes, American Indians...ok religion is just one way that people who came together as a society made rules so that the society would work.

I believe in God...I believe in a creator of the universe. I believe that there is doing what is right over what is easy, and that a mans character is most important. But I do not believe in one "church" over another...

After everything, all of it is false. The way to God is with Christ. The Vikings were heathen savages. Christ is the light and the way. Follow Him, follow Christ, there is no other path.