[Crimson Dynamo]

christmas is also the time of year with the highest suicide rate..


another win for the gods there

[Livia]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

him being a jew, i bet he is stoked that he started christmas..

I bet he is... Don't forget, there's not a classic Christmas song worth the royalties that a Jew didn't write.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

I hear Marks do plus sizes now

How very dare you

[Livia]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

christmas is also the time of year with the highest suicide rate..


another win for the gods there

Presumably people who feel empty and alone. What a shame. Doesn't sound generally like someone who has a faith...

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

christmas is also the time of year with the highest suicide rate..


another win for the gods there

How is that anything to do with God,OH but I forgot he doesn't exist does he? so why blame something that doesn't exist ? silly humans.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Livia

Presumably people who feel empty and alone. What a shame. Doesn't sound generally like someone who has a faith...

I would imagine that depression has no respect for what god you chose to follow or ignore

[Livia]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

I would imagine that depression has no respect for what god you chose to follow or ignore

I'd be very interested to see the statistics.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Kazanne

How is that anything to do with God,OH but I forgot he doesn't exist does he? so why blame something that doesn't exist ? silly humans.

kaz what does the god you believe in actually do?


like day to day or year to year

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Livia

As a matter of fact... yes. It celebrates Oestra, goddess of fertility, who's feast day is 21st March and who's symbols are a hare (the Easter bunny?) and an egg... because she's a fertility goddess. It's also where we get the word 'Oestrogen', for the female hormone.

All that said... Everyone knows Easter is about Jesus Christ and the festival of Easter ties in with the Jewish Passover which was a thing while people in Britain were still running round painting themselves with woad. And no one on this forum could put their hand on their heart and say they are a card-carrying Pagan, everyone knows it's a Christian festival and they still give eggs and take the day off. I am not a Christian or a Pagan and I give Easter eggs and take the day off but I do acknowledge that the festival is a Christian one.

I am completely at ease with seeing this advert in a cinema. As a non-Christian I don't find in in the least insulting and it shocks me that people have made so much fuss about it, especially seeing that many of those same people don't have a problem with Christmas adverts starting at the beginning of November, costing millions in a desperate attempt to get us to buy overpriced stuff we don't need. Christmas is a Christian holiday, whichever way anyone wants to bend it. And I've heard all the stuff about it being a family get-together and how it was nicked from the Pagans... but like I said, no one on here is a Pagan. Plenty of people here have no religion but still take the whole of Christmas off, sing carols, give presents... without for one moment acknowledging the simple truth that Jesus is the reason for the season.

[Crimson Dynamo]

Ask yourself a simple question. Should those who claim to be Christian take the Bible seriously? In Jeremiah 10:2, God declared to His people through the pen of the prophet: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles." He went on to state that "the customs of the peoples are futile," that is, they are utterly empty and useless. God wants His people to follow His instructions, not to look at pagan practices and seek to copy them. What kind of empty, pagan customs was Jeremiah talking about in Jeremiah 10? The specific example in that chapter involved going out into the woods, cutting a tree and bringing it home to set it upright and decorate it (vv. 3–4). Does this sound amazingly like putting up a Christmas tree? It should.

Jesus declared: "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). Those who wish to use Christmas to worship Christ are faced with a dilemma: do they follow the pattern of worship prescribed in Scripture, or do they cling to cherished customs, regardless of when and how those customs originated? Jesus censured many of the religious leaders of His day because they rejected the commandments of God in order to keep their own traditions (v. 9).

Would Jesus say those same words to you, based upon your actions and your choices?

When the ancient Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land, they were warned against adopting religious customs from the surrounding nations (Deuteronomy 12:30–31). God told them instead to observe all the things that He instructed them, neither adding nor taking away from what He had taught (v. 32).

So, instead of seeking to put Christ back into Christmas, we must acknowledge that He was never there in the first place! Christmas never was Christian! True Christians will give it back to the pagans, to whom it has belonged all along! Instead of borrowing from the world around us, we ought to take our religious customs and practices directly from the Bible. Then we will be worshiping our Creator in spirit and truth, just as He teaches us to do (John 4:24).


- See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazi....0q7CErcA.dpuf



Not the Old testament outing the "Christians" in this thread

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Well, I'm not a massive Chocolate fan anyway but my kids are and the eggs look nicer and something a bit different

What about Halloween then hhmmm, do your kids dress up because you know that's an old Celtic Pagan festival...... It's alright though I get it, it's fun just like Christmas (without the religious palavar that goes with it)

Halloween anyone???? ehem

[Livia]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

Ask yourself a simple question. Should those who claim to be Christian take the Bible seriously? In Jeremiah 10:2, God declared to His people through the pen of the prophet: "Do not learn the way of the Gentiles." He went on to state that "the customs of the peoples are futile," that is, they are utterly empty and useless. God wants His people to follow His instructions, not to look at pagan practices and seek to copy them. What kind of empty, pagan customs was Jeremiah talking about in Jeremiah 10? The specific example in that chapter involved going out into the woods, cutting a tree and bringing it home to set it upright and decorate it (vv. 3–4). Does this sound amazingly like putting up a Christmas tree? It should.

Jesus declared: "And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). Those who wish to use Christmas to worship Christ are faced with a dilemma: do they follow the pattern of worship prescribed in Scripture, or do they cling to cherished customs, regardless of when and how those customs originated? Jesus censured many of the religious leaders of His day because they rejected the commandments of God in order to keep their own traditions (v. 9).

Would Jesus say those same words to you, based upon your actions and your choices?

When the ancient Israelites were ready to enter the Promised Land, they were warned against adopting religious customs from the surrounding nations (Deuteronomy 12:30–31). God told them instead to observe all the things that He instructed them, neither adding nor taking away from what He had taught (v. 32).

So, instead of seeking to put Christ back into Christmas, we must acknowledge that He was never there in the first place! Christmas never was Christian! True Christians will give it back to the pagans, to whom it has belonged all along! Instead of borrowing from the world around us, we ought to take our religious customs and practices directly from the Bible. Then we will be worshiping our Creator in spirit and truth, just as He teaches us to do (John 4:24).


- See more at: http://www.tomorrowsworld.org/magazi....0q7CErcA.dpuf



Not the Old testament outing the "Christians" in this thread

The Old Testament pre-dates Christianity... so that's a bit silly.

If you're taking time off at the end of December and giving your kids presents... you are celebrating Christmas. Whichever way you wriggle, whatever you come up with on Google... unless you're one of the stupidest people in the country - and everyone knows all the really stupid people are over at DS - then you are celebrating a Christian festival. Mazel tov!

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

kaz what does the god you believe in actually do?


like day to day or year to year

The God I believe in isn't someone pottering about in the clouds ,making things happen, (or not happen)the God I believe in is a spiritual feeling of comfort,hope and peace,It's a personal thing, I believe Jesus was a real person and something higher exists,are you laughing yet

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

The Old Testament pre-dates Christianity... so that's a bit silly.

If you're taking time off at the end of December and giving your kids presents... you are celebrating Christmas. Whichever way you wriggle, whatever you come up with on Google... unless you're one of the stupidest people in the country - and everyone knows all the really stupid people are over at DS - then you are celebrating a Christian festival. Mazel tov!

Absolutely, I'm not denying this, but for me It's a tradition that I enjoy, because I get time off work and It's a good time to spend with my family, it has evolved for me absolutely away from the Christian bit and just into a nice relaxing time of the year, just like the Christians evolved Christmas from the Pagan festival

[Crimson Dynamo]

Originally Posted by Kazanne

The God I believe in isn't someone pottering about in the clouds ,making things happen, (or not happen)the God I believe in is a spiritual feeling of comfort,hope and peace,It's a personal thing, I believe Jesus was a real person and something higher exists,are you laughing yet

isnt that just you protecting yourself from the reality that there is nothing and your life and our lives has no meaning?

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Absolutely, I'm not denying this, but for me It's a tradition that I enjoy, because I get time off work and It's a good time to spend with my family, it has evolved for me absolutely away from the Christian bit and just into a nice relaxing time of the year, just like the Christians evolved Christmas from the Pagan festival

You are acknowledging it's a Christian holiday though... even though you don't celebrate the religious aspect of it, you still understand it's significance to other people who are Christian. I don't understand why people can't do that with this advert and just get on with their lives.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Halloween anyone???? ehem

Kids dress up and trick or treat,but Halloween is not something you believe in or not,plus,I also like a good horror movie ,just don't tell anyone.

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Kazanne

The God I believe in isn't someone pottering about in the clouds ,making things happen, (or not happen)the God I believe in is a spiritual feeling of comfort,hope and peace,It's a personal thing, I believe Jesus was a real person and something higher exists,are you laughing yet

It's impossible to explain faith, Kaz. And LT knows it, the absolute b*st*rd...

You are. LT. You know you are.

The closest things to an explanation I've ever heard is the story of the blind child flying a kite. He can't see the kite... but he can feel it pulling on the string.

[Niamh.]

Originally Posted by Livia

You are acknowledging it's a Christian holiday though... even though you don't celebrate the religious aspect of it, you still understand it's significance to other people who are Christian. I don't understand why people can't do that with this advert and just get on with their lives.

Oh yeah whatever, I forgot this thread was even about the advert lol Regarding the advert though, it was the cinema who refused to air it not people petitioning them or anything

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by LeatherTrumpet

isnt that just you protecting yourself from the reality that there is nothing and your life and our lives has no meaning?

I do think my life has meaning though LT.I respect you don't , I don't think I am protecting myself .

[Livia]

Originally Posted by Niamh.

Oh yeah whatever, I forgot this thread was even about the advert lol Regarding the advert though, it was the cinema who refused to air it not people petitioning them or anything

The cinema chain accepted the ad. They even offered them a discount. It had been passed with a U certificate, all was going well... until the cinema decided it was "policy". Apparently a policy that they didn't have a couple of months ago.

They're terrified of people of other religions - and atheists - having a hissy fit while actually, most people of other faiths probably have no idea what the fuss is about.

[bots]

Originally Posted by Livia

The cinema chain accepted the ad. They even offered them a discount. It had been passed with a U certificate, all was going well... until the cinema decided it was "policy". Apparently a policy that they didn't have a couple of months ago.

They're terrified of people of other religions - and atheists - having a hissy fit while actually, most people of other faiths probably have no idea what the fuss is about.

I honestly don't get the fuss at it being pulled. This is clearly a business decision by the cinema owners. If the church wants to, it can saturate ITV and the satellite channels with its Ad. Its not been banned universally.

People should chill, tis the season of goodwill

[Livia]

Originally Posted by bitontheslide

I honestly don't get the fuss at it being pulled. This is clearly a business decision by the cinema owners. If the church wants to, it can saturate ITV and the satellite channels with its Ad. Its not been banned universally.

People should chill, tis the season of goodwill

Funny thing is, it's given the advert a lot more publicity than it would have ordinarily received.

I agree BITS... everyone should just chill.

[Kazanne]

Originally Posted by Livia

It's impossible to explain faith, Kaz. And LT knows it, the absolute b*st*rd...

You are. LT. You know you are.

The closest things to an explanation I've ever heard is the story of the blind child flying a kite. He can't see the kite... but he can feel it pulling on the string.

isn't he just ? Yes that is a good analogy Livia.

[Crimson Dynamo]

William of Ockham (1285-1349) points out that, where one is presented with two hypotheses that are otherwise equally well-supported by the available evidence, you should always pick the simplest hypothesis. In particular, we shouldn’t gratuitously introduce any superfluous entities. This principle, known as Ockham’s razor, is very sensible. Take, for example, these two hypotheses:

A: There are invisible, intangible and immaterial fairies at the bottom of the garden, in addition to the compost heap, flowers, trees, shrubs, and so on.

B: There are no fairies at the bottom of the garden, just the compost heap, flowers, trees, shrubs, and so on.

Everything I have observed fits both hypotheses equally well. After all, if the fairies at the bottom of my garden are invisible, intangible and immaterial, then I shouldn’t expect to observe any evidence of their presence, should I? Does the fact that the available evidence fits both hypothesis equally well mean that I suspend judgement on whether or not there are fairies at the bottom of the garden?

Of course not. The rational thing to believe is that there are no fairies. For that’s the simplest hypothesis. Why introduce the unnecessary fairies?

Similarly, if the available evidence were equally to fit both atheism and theism, then atheism would be the rational position to adopt. For the atheistic hypothesis is simpler: it sticks with just the natural world we see around us and dispenses with the additional, supernatural being.


https://humanism.org.uk/about/humani...ng-with-faith/