I don't see a post, so I'll go ahead and start one.
We didn't get a chance to get into groups last week, so I'll just jump right into the discussion question.
Discussion: Christianity is a relatively recent religion. Even the foundations of Christianity, Judaism, are relatively recent when compared to far-east religions and other ancient beliefs. How can you reconcile the fact that these religions were not around, yet the people who lived during that time period were still supposed to be "judged" in the same way as Christian today?
Through a fair amount of research, I have seen that there may be a pretty simple explanation of how the newer faith of Christianity can be applied to the much older religions. They're basically the same stories retold in a different way. Here is a section from an interesting movie called Zeitgeist: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZgT1SRcrKE. The rest of the movie can get pretty out there, but these theories are fairly mind-blowing.
ReplyDeleteFact: True/False - Augustine had an easy time of converting to Christianity.
Answer: False - He very much enjoyed overindulging in many "worldly pleasures" that he would eventually have to give up.
Discussion: What would it take for you to change your whole belief system?
Zietgeist is awesome... Yea that's one of those questions for me that seriously make me doubt Christianity. I mean it's a great religion for those who decide to accept Jesus as their lord and savior, but what about those generations before Jesus? Or what about the people who are inherently good people but just aren't Christian? Do they deserve eternal damnation?
ReplyDeleteFact: When was Augustine converted
Answer: Year 387 AD
Discussion: Couldn't converting to a new religion be regarded as a sin?
I don't think people should be held to Christian standards, unless they choose to be. No religion is the right one. Every relgion thinks it is the correct one, but who are we to judge who is and is not going to be damned to hell? We aren't in that position and I think it should be a sin in and of itself to even judge the people of other religions. When it all comes down to it, who cares? Worry about yourself and your own beliefs. NO ONE ELSES.
ReplyDeleteDiscussion: For the people who were living before Christ's time, are they damned to hell since they never had the opportunity to know Christianity? (The so-called "RIGHT" religion).
THIS IS BRITTANY ALEXANDER......ON Chris's account
I think this is similar to the problem of how Christianity judges a person who lives their entire life in a secluded region of the Earth without ever learning about Christianity. They never had a chance, but should they still go to Hell for not following Christ? And if they are still admitted into Heaven because they lived good lives anyway, is that not fair for people who ignored Christianity yet still lived nobly?
ReplyDeleteFact: What is Augustine's status in the Roman Catholic Church?
Answer: Saint
Discussion: Augustine believed in "just war". How does this conflict with our modern ideas of Christianity and war?
THIS IS CHRIS LOWRY.....ON Chris's account.