But this question remains as yet unanswered...

Harvey Kartel wrote on 02/20/14 at 23:09:41:


We're on the side of angels, after all. -LeAnn Rimes, 1997

Some of God's greatest gifts are unanswered prayers. -Garth Brooks, 1990

Harvey Kartel wrote on 02/20/14 at 23:09:41:
There are reasons and they're pretty well known. Tim gave you the most obvious one: conquests. France, Portugal, Spain and England had powerful fleets that have collectively conquered perhaps 90% or more of today's countries, which is why remote places like Africa, the Americas and Pacific Islands are generally Christian. Jesus is probably the most successful viral meme of all time but that doesn't mean he was more than human. The more one spreads a meme, the more mouths touch that meme before passing it on, and more chances that some of those mouths will warp the meme to more than it was.


Quote:
Because today's societies are more prosperous and much better informed than the old ones, and people no longer need to seek comfort in fairy tales about their struggling lives or why their cat died, or what causes thunder to boom. Such places, where people live shitty and/or ignorant lives, still exist and they are always heavily religious because that's their coping mechanism.

Shock wrote on 02/21/14 at 21:57:55:


We might be learning, but we still haven't learned exactly what the human consciousness experiences after physical death. In the film Escape From Hell, hospital staff placed signs featuring nonsense phrases (e.g. "Ducks be not proud") on the ceiling so that near-death-experiencers would see the signs and remember the words if their experiences were real and not merely hallucinations produced by a dying brain. So when a man came back to life and asked what "Ducks be not proud" meant, nurses knew that he really did go to heaven/hell and back.

Jesus he knows me, and he knows I'm right. -Genesis, 1992

We're a team, Me and God. -Josh Turner & Dr. Ralph Stanley, 2006

^ Still a good song, despite the real meaning being hidden behind the catchy chorus (in fact, I'm reminded of Bruce's "Born in the USA" here, and how most listeners misinterpret its meaning... it's actually about the lack of appreciation given to a returning Vietnam War veteran)

But if you only take the Genesis song's chorus, and ignore the rest of the song (especially the bridge) it's something I can strongly agree with  

TV ads do this to pop songs all the time, twisting the meaning that was intended by the songwriters, by only using the most prominent part of the song. Mr. Springsteen knew people would do this to Born in the USA and so does not allow anyone to use his music for advertising purposes (including presidential candidates).

But the other religiously-charged song lyrics I've quoted can be taken at face value.  

I'm just wanting to show how much our culture is permeated by the belief in Jesus, these songs got popular because listeners agreed with what they were saying.  

In the end, we really live in a Christian world. I'm not sure how some other countries can still use non-Christian calendars; in Saudi Arabia, I can certainly see the Islamic calendar being used for civil or religious purposes, but it could only be an obstacle in a business setting, especially when scheduling international business deals. I could imagine the same for the Jewish, Chinese, and any other ancient calendars still in use in the world. So at the official level, I'd say that it's "February 22 (or 23), 2014" pretty much anywhere you go.

Timothy wrote on 02/23/14 at 02:53:06:


One could argue that the Christian nations were able to conquer the world because God enabled them to, so that they could spread the Gospel to all continents such that every person on Earth has a chance to accept Jesus and be saved.

The countries who followed other religions couldn't impose them on the New World because God wouldn't have allowed it  

Shock wrote on 02/21/14 at 21:57:55:


People are learning. Right. (<- sarcasm) When you die, you will meet God, and beg on your knees for his forgiveness. And, from what the Bible says (correct me if I'm wrong, fellow Christians), God won't forgive you if you're already dead.

NicholasRen wrote on 02/23/14 at 16:19:28:


Yes, I'm quite aware of the terror and torture promised me and other non-believers in not just your religion, but practically every religion, ever. Sarcasm and threats of this order positively reek of intellectual cowardice. Come now, show me you've done your research before resorting to such low measures.

If god told people what to write in the bible, then god sure seemed to change his mind about things.

AlexPenev wrote on 02/23/14 at 20:23:45:

Actually, I've heard of at least one hospital where they indeed have something lying on a high shelf, facing the ceiling, so that if someone had an NDE and reports seeing it, it would essentially confirm that this person had a genuine out-of-body experience. If I am to believe the internet, there are actually multiple hospitals that have something similar. So far, no reports of success.

---

TASPlasma wrote on 02/23/14 at 16:58:46:


If you're going to take your information from this video, it's only fair that you should also watch this response:




Not to defend the Bible, but to separate fact from interpretation out of context.

Interesting, my suspicions on that video were correct. It seems like this is done a lot, claiming something, that most people are too lazy to verify. I was going to verify the contradictions video, but couldn't find a bible in my house.
I think the last time I attempted to read the bible, I stopped at the part right after Cain kills his brother (therefore only three people in the book that explains their origin), and without explaining anything, all of the sudden it says "Cain and his wife-" Where the hell did she come from?

I think it would be cool if there were an RPG based on Exodus, where you get to be Moses and you have to free the slaves from Egypt, lead them through the Desert, and battle the Canaanites for the promised land (that is who they fought, right?).

Walter wrote on 02/24/14 at 10:16:32:

I said don't listen to Harvey because he is representing his views as Christian when they don't harmonize with true Christian values and understandings.

My answer was to TasPlasma, who posed a question under the context of, "If x is true, then how can y be true?". Does the Genesis account contradict itself when referring to Cain's wife? No, it doesn't. Is the Genesis account factual? That's a separate topic that is beyond the scope of my answer to TasPlasma.