[Ydiss]

Originally Posted by Vance1

Let's just say he was really screwed up. Getting drunk almost every other day and going out and almost killing himself in a car accident. He was just really messed up and he needed help so he turned to Christ.....in turn, Christ changed his life around and now he is our youth minister. I am sure I am missing alot of things on his life but that's the jist. May I ask how your life became bad?

There is ultimately nothing wrong with this. It's nice to see somone who originally did bad things change their ways and put the credit in Jesus.

But, you can do all of the above without needing to be a born again Christian (or whatever faith it may be).

Each and every one of us is entirely responsible for our actions and, perhaps with the help of familly, or friends, or even complete strangers, anything is acheivable if you put your mind to it.

I have changed my life around before, from smoking tons of pot every day with "friends" who didn't give a shit about me. From losing my job because I stole property. From having no job and debts up to my eyeballs.

With help from my mum, but ultimately from my own hard work, I now have my own place which I share with my beautiful girlfriend, who is carrying our baby. I have a very well paid job with a huge multinational company (Europe's largest energy supplier no less) and I am content.

I did all that myself, with a little help, and I did it without the help of Jesus.

Now, if someone was to come to me and say "You were blessed by God and, through Jesus, you were saved" I would take it as a grave insult.

I did it. Not God.

I think religion can be a wonderful thing and it obviously brings a lot of people happiness.

But that is where it ends. Everything else is down to the person and their actions/intentions.

The worst kind of religion is where (and I point this at no particular religion or person or nation) religion is the excuse used by people for the horrible things they do or the depravation they inflict on others.

Originally Posted by Vance1

I pity the non-beileves of this board because they miss the major things that Christianity has changed -

- You see, the non-beilever/Atheist group goes like this: You are born, your life is crap, you die. The end. WOAH! That's REALLY COMPLICATED!

I bet you could take two people, Athiest and a Christian, both in weelchairs and both have some kind of disability. You ask wich of the two is a happier person, and I'll bet it's the Christian over the Athiest anyday.

That is insulting. The last paragraph is absolute rubbish.

Don't pity me because I do not have a faith. This is another aspect of religion that riles me no end. You are not better off because you believe in God. You have absolutely no idea how I feel because I do not believe in God, so I don't require any pity from you or any other person.

I doubt that if God truly existed that he would be happy that you made such statements.