And another thing! I'm an atheist, but...don't all Jesus' children say you're going to hell if you don't believe? I mean, isn't that, like, "Christianity"?
Can tell you haven't been to church lately. The fire and brimstone guilt trip, that I grew up with doesn't float any more.
I accepted Christ as a teenager. Met my wife and married through the church. Good thing. Guilt, church politics and hypocrites. Bad thing. Up until last year, I had not been to church in about 20 years. But, I was still a Christian.
Through our son, we went to a local church. We care for each other. Our pastor is human, and he has a great sense of humor.
Above all, I have learned that God is love. I'm not saying our life is more perfect now. We still have ups and downs, as everyone does. But, when I listen to my heart, I know what that God is talking to me. And when I listen to my friends, I know they care.
Talking to liberals, and I know from whence they come because I was a Democrat once, I like talking to your kids. They just have their minds made up already. And like our kids, we don't hate them. We just get PO'd because we don't know how to get through to them.
An open mind, on both sides, would help immensely.
No, Jesus' children say you're going to hell if you don't BEHAVE!
How do you know when someone doesn't believe? Can't you have your heart right with God, yet reject a particular church that maybe isn't as Christian as it claims?
Jesus knows who His children are. Don't you remember the part about the goats and the sheep.
Since you are an atheist, why do you care? Everything outside of your physical senses in irrevant. A Buddist would say you are accumulating bad karma by not following their teachings. Does this person bother you also? Any attention to these teachings leads to perplexing dilemmas. Focus on the perfection to be achieved within yourself for the proper dominance over others. Read the teachings of Nietzsche and Hegel, and read about those who followed their example to find your true course.