A group of women are sitting around and discussing life in general. Jane says "I don't know what I would do without my husband, he is the sweetest, kindest, most generous man I know."

How should the other women react? Has Jane insulted all of the other women's husbands? No, she has simply stated what she believes about her husband. She obviously loves her husband and was talking about her love for him.

In the same way, believers speak of their religions. Hindus, Muslims, Buddhists, Shiks and yes, Christians all love their religion and speak of it as being the truth. This isn't an insult to any other religion, because the members of those religions all feel the same way about their own. If a Muslim didn't believe his religion was the truth, then why be a Muslim?

Loving your religion and speaking about your beliefs and religion with glowing terms, even calling it the worlds only truth is not insulting to those who love their own beliefs.

nice example spider :)

did all the other women also agree that they wouldn't know what they would do without Jane's husband

did Jane inform the other women that if they were willing to open up their hearts that her husband was willing to have the same relationship with all them that he was having with her

did Jane tell the other women that her husband will torture the ones that wouldn't or didn't have a relationship with her husband?

did Jane inform the other women that even if they filed a restraining order against the husband it wouldn't matter because he would violate it and stalk and torture the other women anyway ...for an eternity

well I think the point is that everyone's truth is different, but to that person their truth is the truth, even if in this case the other women don't believe the same thing maybe they think their husband is the best ( their God). Everyone has a different opinion, truth, .. eww there's a bug on my desk

the point is that the original question is not in the same context with the point that is trying to be made and that is what always happens when someone try to compare what humans do with Gods

one of my favorite quotes is " truth is constructed" and " what you say depends upon where you stand"

I have no problem with spider's statement, his statement is to merely attest to the fact that he understands that everyone in this chat has different God(s) or may not have one at all, but that to him his God is what he believes in and when he gives his opinion it is his "truth" that he is presenting... Maybe i have it wrong what he meant but I see no fault in his example I actually think it is a good one that most people can understand. Perhaps they are two very different subjects, the point of the religious thread in my opinion isn't to form a group of the christians, and non believers which is what has seemed to happen and therefore when everone one post a rebuttle from the other party is immediately entered! the point is to acknowledge the differences but to talk about them to come to a better understand of each other.

No analogy is perfect. The wife is the believers, the husband is the god or belief system. I thought I should explain that to you, because you seem a little confused on how this analogy works. But to answer your question, they will, according to the Bible.



No, because that's not correct. In the analogy, Jane's husband represents a religion. Jane's husband could be Islam, Hinduism or Sikhism, you are assuming that Jane's husband has to be Christianity. So let's assume for a moment that Jane's husband is Christianity, then Jane isn't a person, but a body of people who all accept Jesus as their lord. In that case, anyone who accepts Jesus as lord is part of Jane.



I am not sure what religion you are now comparing Jane's husband to... maybe Islam, but I don't know what they believe about hell. In Christianity, hell is being outside of God's presence. If hell is being outside of God's presence, then hell could not be being tortured by God, since God isn't (by definition) there.



You've been rather loose with the analogy up to this point, but here you are completely off. I'm not sure what religion believes you can get some sort of "restraining order" against their god, but I'm sure I've never heard of it. And once again you are talking about a god that tortures people, I'm sure we would all like to know which religion that is.

sororitygurl4life,

You understood my message completely.

It's good to see you posting again.

of course everyone in this forum have different Gods or no God but Spidercmb was trying to get a point across pertaining to God or religion ..but depending on which God was being portrayed as being Jane's husband then Jane wasn't revealing the true nature of her husband ..

oh sure invite the other women over to her house and let them find out for theirselves ..but the fact would have been that her husband would have inflicted some form of his justice upon the other women and they would have had little or no choice but to submit ...I'm only adding to the example what Jane and Spidercmb deceptively left out

well said spider!

you were going good there until you slipped at the end...

calling it the world's only truth

this implies that your religious views are superior
to others. this does not respect the beliefs of others.
that is why those who believe differently from you
are likely to be offended! many of them are likely to
feel that their religious beliefs are just as true
as yours.

close. no cigar.

and that was my point that you was trying to compare what humans did to what god supposely does ...it was you that choose to use that analogy I was just pointing out how flawed it was

Honestly, it's a very flawless analogy, but you kept throwing in mentions of bizarre religions that have gods of torture and restraining orders.

Nope, I disagree completely. I have friends who are Muslim and Sikh and they are firmly convinced that their beliefs are the truth and I'm not offended in the least, because I think the same of mine.

You missed the most important part of the sentence...



I believe that if someone loves his beliefs and believes that they are the truth, it would not offend him to hear another describe his own beliefs as the absolute truth. It gets iffy when someone isn't convinced in their own mind that their beliefs are the truth. Such a person will perceive insult where no true believer of any religion would be offended. In such a mind, one man's affirmation of faith is an insult to his own, so he lashes out at those who find truth in their beliefs.

To those who are true believers in their religion, there is a stark distinction between affirmations of faith and mocking another's faith.

well Spidercmb your anology was about humans which is why I use human life to explain what may take place ..so when the other women did meet Jane's Husband as God and as God he would eventually force his will upon the other women as in threats ...then they may or may not decide to get a restraining order ..as for torture ..hey that is what Gods do ..

How does one get a restraining order against a god? It's like you have taken a hat and tied a T-Bone steak to it. They don't go together. You took an analogy that makes sense and turned it into something unrecognizable.

You seem to be trying to insult Christianity, but the problem is that you are getting it all wrong. Jesus was sent to save the world, not condemn it. The world is already condemned. God isn't sending anyone to hell, we are already going there. God is saving people from the fate they deserve. God is perfect and the imperfect cannot exist with the perfect. We cannot be in God's presence in our current state. Even angels cannot stand before God, they must cover their bodies from God's presence. In the Old Testament, the Prophet Isaiah wrote about "the clothing of righteousness", to protect them from the all consuming fire. "The all-consuming fire" was referring to God. The imperfect is destroyed in his presence, to protect them from destruction and respect their wishes, God casts them away from himself. The torture in hell is caused by the conscience of those who are there. The torture of knowing that you were offered to be washed clean of your sins, but choose not to accept. I'm sure that the punishment will be terrible, but it's not applied by God.

Funches,

If you want to be an atheist, disagree with Christianity or heck, hate Christianity, then go right ahead. You don't need my permission, but I'm giving it anyways. But if I can make one suggestion, I really hope you will take my advice: Know your enemy. If you think Christianity is so flawed, why is it that you can't seem to even explain simple Christian doctrine? I don't believe you understand Christianity, you have a very warped view of what the Bible teaches and what true Christians believe. I think it would behoove you to learn more about Christianity so that you know what you are rejecting.

geez Spidercmb was Jane's husband actually God in your example of was you using an analogy? ..if you was using an analogy then wouldn't the restraining order also be an analogy since Jane's husband wasn't actually God ...you have become confused by your own question ...again that is why you shouldn't use human examples to compare what God supposely does



sorry "Spidercmb" I never denied the existence of God or Jesus or what was in the bible I always debated everything logically.. that you can't come up with a logical answer should be a learning experience and not a reason for you to start making false accusations



atheism would not exist if God could prove he did ..so I'm not an atheist ..I'm just your average joe that rely mostly on his common sense ..

Spider, its not a flawless analogy..but like the adoring wife in your story, you are just as blind to the insults you toss at those around you while you profess your loving devotion to your god...

its ok to love your god, justkeep it to yourself,I dont care and dont want to know about it... just like the wife should have respectfully kept her opinions to herself....

Okay, the restraining order is an analogy...I get that. WHAT DOES IT STAND FOR? The wife is the believers, the husband is the god or belief, so WTF is the restraining order? In an analogy, each piece mentioned should correspond to another concept or idea. You can't just go throwing stuff into an analogy, because you think it would be fun.