Hey, MadWeazl - love that name! You sure have a lot of questions and I'm not sure you really want answers but I'll reply anyway. I like the way you brought motor building into this. You are right when you state that I would not build a motor based on 1 book or 1 perspective but there is a right way and a wrong way. If you build your life the right way, you reap a good life and if you sow bad seed, well, you reap what you sow. Simply said, we all have a free will to do whatever we want but we can't always choose the consequences of bad choices. Again you are right - we should live our lives like there is no tomorrow because we don't know what tomorrow will bring just like the 5,000 a month ago. God is not a "cosmic kill joy" - he wants you to enjoy your life. I love the book of Ecclesiastes in the Bible. It talks a lot about life but in the last chapter it brings it all together. The meaning of life is the 1st Commandment and Ecc. 12:13. Now my turn. What do you base your beliefs on? Is is solid as a rock? Mine is! Do you know when you will die - I don't! How do you know, without a doubt, where you will go? I do! Are you willing to bet your soul on it? I am! Do you have to teach a child to do good or evil? If you watch them, they know the wrong things to do and you have to teach them the right things. If they were not born with a sinful nature and were basically good, you would have to teach them to do wrong. It's not all "mumbo jumbo" - it just has to be sorted out. By the way, you can't be all bad - you jump a Mojave like a "mad weazl"!

 

i have to agree with mickey. (the reason he has to read more than one book on engines, is that they were written by man and not the LORD.)

 

The Bible was written by the Lord? Quite the contrary I'm affraid. I believe 100% that if and when I die (I dont know when and I dont really care) I'll be dead and it wont matter. If I'm wrong in my beliefs and there is some life after life (I really cant believe I wrote that, way to bizarre) than I know without a doubt that I have lived my life as good as any being and that if that wasnt good enough for the "Him" than I dont want to be a part of that after life any ways. I find it hard to believe that something so great (this would be in reference to "Him&quot would need a bunch of loathly sinners to worship it. I'm certainly not a great one (well, maybe I am) and I sure as hell couldnt fathom others worshipping me as I'm sure you cant either. I just let it be, hell, if worse comes to worse maybe I'll come back in another life )Q.

I forgot something, you stated that the baby was a sinner out of the whom and we had to teach it otherwise. Are you sure about this? I dont recall anyone leaving a baby to its own devises. Lets see, it wouldnt know how to feed itself (not even an apple), it wouldnt be able to find something to drink, it wouldnt be able to generate enough heat to keep itself alive, and within 72 hours it would be dead. The only sin I'm seeing is a moron parent. Its would appear much more accurate that we teach the child how to be a shmuck rather than a productive member of society. Wouldnt you agree with that?

Thanks for the Mojave props, I dont imagine you could be all bad building engines like you do either [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img].

 

pflueeb... Which life would you suggest?
My experience has been that there are 2 kinds of people that pursue religion. 1- the kind that do what every one else is doing, so they don't want to look different and 2- the kind that have tried everything else and have not been satisfied with the outcome.
Most people have a desire to improve themselves and their surroundings, and as a result of that people strive to get more things or better things or more status or more education or more of whatever they feel is a commodity. You will find that even when people achieve the title of 'Rich and Famous' they are still grasping for more. When the goals they have are reached and are found to be unfulfilling, or when the goals are unattainable, people turn to other things to distract them so they don't focus on the let downs.
With that in mind, I'm sure you can think of some who have achieved much but have still felt empty, or who have turned to drugs or other self destructive habits to keep their minds off of their perceived failures. I believe that Mickey who has posted here is a good example. There are also Biblical examples such as King Solomon.
He was undoubtedly the wealthiest who ever lived and down to this day his posessions and wealth are legendary. After he achieved all of his accomplishments he reflected and said that it was all a 'striving after wind' (Ecclesiastes 2:1-11) meaning it was impossible to maintain joy once the goal was achieved because there is always something better or always someone trying to take it away.
People who truly appreciate the teachings of Jesus agree with him when he said at Matthew 5:3... "Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need".
Again the choice is yours as to whether you want to fill that spiritual need or not.
What ever your choice is, it should be known that GOD does NOT approve of the slaughter of innocent people no matter what beliefs they have.
As far as I can tell, I have a life worth living and I appreciate that gift each day. But I'm completely open to your suggestions on how to make it better.

 

just rmemeber, Jesus will knock the hell outta you if you let him

 

Well, I might as well throw my .02$ in...

I have no idea if God exists, and don't care about it. I don't need no imaginary omniscient world/person to help me go through the hard times of life, and I don't need the feeling of that same person constantly looking down on me to be honest. I live my life the way I want it, and don't need no one to be honest or fair or friendly or whatever I think is good. And even if God existed and proposed me to help...I'd rather deny it and tell him to help those who really need it (which doesn't happen!)

One thing I hate religions for is the interpretation some people do of the original writings. Talibans (and Osama) are not better than the Irish (well....what happens in Northern Ireland...), just like the thousands of people killed in Rwanda for nothing (oh yeah, except...you're utu...you're tutsi. All this extremism is disgusting. Some people have had their human part deleted by their religion. And it's bad, we see why.
Another thing I hate is people who publicly try to convince others that God rules the world, and you should convert to **** (name your religion) before it's too late. Just like this thread...Because we stopped pryaing god, Osama killed us. All I can think of when reading this is "*uck you". I don't feel guilty, and it gets me mad to hear that the reasons of terrorisms are from the above. The reasons are objective! Bin Laden is CRAZY, and chose the biggest target to satisfy "his God" (not even sure Allah would be happy to see 5000 people dead "for him&quot.

On the side, if people can find comfort in religion, go ahead, that's great for you (the happier we live, the better), as long as you don't bother me with it.

 

OOps!

 

Give God what's right-not what's left. "Pray" is a four-letter word you can say anywhere-except in public schools. Man's way leads to a hopeless end; God's way leads to endless hope. A lot of kneeling will keep you in good standing. He who kneels before God can stand before anyone. To be almost saved is to be totally lost. In the sentence of life, the devil may be a comma-but never let him be the period. Don't put a question mark where God puts a period. God grades on the cross, not the curve. Are you wrinkled with burden? Come to the church for a facelift. When praying, don't give God instructions-just report for duty. God doesn't want shares of your life; he wants a controlling interest. Don't wait for six strong men to take you to church. We don't change God's message; His message changes us. The church is prayer conditioned. When God ordains, He sustains. Warning: Exposure to the Son may prevent burning. Plan ahead-It wasn't raining when Noah built the ark. Most people want to serve God, but only in an advisory position. Suffering with truth decay? Brush up on your Bible. Exercise daily-walk with the Lord. Coincidences happen when God chooses to remain anonymous. Wisdom has two parts 1) having a lot to say; 2) not saying it. Never give the devil a ride. He will always want to drive. A clean conscience makes a soft pillow. Nothing else ruins the truth like stretching it. Compassion is difficult to give away because it keeps coming back. He who angers you controls you. Worry is the darkroom in which negatives can develop. Give Satan an inch and he'll be a ruler. Forbidden fruits create many jams. Be ye fishers of men-you catch them and He'll clean them. Deciding not to choose Jesus is still making a choice. God doesn't call the qualified. He qualifies the called. Read the Bible-It will scare the hell out of you. If God is your co-pilot-swap seats. Came across these one-liners in a newspaper. The brief statements contain deep meaning. Read each phrase carefully.[img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-smile.gif[/img]

 

Those are deep? You're right, I think I need to put on my rubber boots because its getting pretty deep! Those phrases are lame and are the work a selfish being. If I said those to you in reference to myself what would you think of me? "That guys a fruit loop!" My way leads to hopeless end? Who the hell are you to even have an opinion of me? No one special! I'm a US Marine and I dont need any help standing before anyone I assure you! God wants to control my life? Sorry, I moved out of my parents house for the same reason.

The Bible is so vague you cant make anything out in it. Thats the beauty of it I guess, you cant be wrong and you cant be right. Its just that simple, if you were able to look at the Bible objectively you couldnt possibly see it any other way. If I had 10 different people from 10 different backgrounds that had no prior influence I guarantee they would come up with at least 5 different ideals on what was being said. How dare any man decide what my life should be like, I'm free to make my own decisions for a reason.

According to most western religions the earth has existed for approximately 5000 years. How in the world do you explain dinosaurs? Does carbon dating only majically work for 5000 years and then all of the sudden its inaccurate? Put away the glass pipes my friends!

If this is how you enjoy spending your time I think thats great. I have to much life in me to spend on such things though. Call it what ever you want, I call it "work hard, play hard."

 

OK now its my turn
The reason many of you become so angry at this topic is you are scared of hearing religous words and have no direction in your life.Gods work is done in strange places sometimes in an atv forum,I never feel closer to god than on a crisp cool morning riding my quad and enjoying nature.I challenge you the next time your heart is heavy and things just are not going right,turn your life over to christ and you to will be a believer.I know it takes a lot of courage but once you do it you will never look at life the same again
Bearman