Are you religious?

[strange-steve]

That's a very interesting question Gulpitdarn. Is the cross over the altar a reminder or an object of worship. If you're away from home, do you look lovingly at a photo of you kids or wife or do you worship the photo? I think it boils down to that.

Couldn't you argue the same about the golden calf? Moses didn't think so.

 

[Clint]

I've been in the Golden Fleece in York...

 

[An Ankoù]

Couldn't you argue the same about the golden calf? Moses didn't think so.

I don't think so. The Israelites had a whip round specifically to get enough gold together to make an object of worship from an earlier religion. The girls gave up their ear-rings, made a Baal and they all had a jolly good time until Mo came down from the mountain like Mary Whitehouse and totally lost it. Well, who really knows what was written on the original stones before our lad had to knock up another pair, I ask you.
Never liked Moses. Still, God favoured him et à chacun son goût as they say in the desert.

 

[An Ankoù]

High time we moved this thread back to home brewing. Any thoughts on Jesus' initial attempts at knocking up a quick batch of wine when they ran out at a certain wedding feast at Cana?
Did he (He) or didn't he (He) use kweik to get things moving on a bit?

 

[strange-steve]

But they didn't make a statue to Baal, it was supposed to represent their God, the one who brought them out of Egypt.

 

[LED_ZEP]

Atheist, I just don't think we need religion now that we have the scientific method to constantly expand our understanding of the universe.

I also don't believe in dragons, unicorns, fairies, ghosts, zombies, imps, incubi and succubi, voodoo, magick (or magik) and for that matter any other made up relics of unenlightened early human societies.

 

[Rodcx500z]

If I ever get through the pearly gates I expect to see at the top table, Bill Shankley, Bob Paisley, and Alf Ramsey, I Think they could put the world to rights

 

[Rodcx500z]

Atheist, I just don't think we need religion now that we have the scientific method to constantly expand our understanding of the universe.

I also don't believe in dragons, unicorns, fairies, ghosts, zombies, imps, incubi and succubi, voodoo, magick (or magik) and for that matter any other made up relics of unenlightened early human societies.

You don't believe in dragons, I know a few blokes who married one

 

[LED_ZEP]

You don't believe in dragons, I know a few blokes who married one

All I will say is have you noticed every good looking lass has a dragon as a best mate? Well I've concurred more dragons than St George....

 

[Rodcx500z]

I wonder if there is a pub called dragons den

 

[Clint]

Ghosts...you may believe if you see...

 

[Rodcx500z]

Here you go,
https://www.yelp.com/biz/dragons-den-grill-and-pub-tapoco

 

[Clint]

Dragons...I believe the persona decides this...

 

[pms67]

The first thing most people do when the big C hits them or a family member is pray, believer or not.
I get slagged off all the time for being a bible basher etc ( it’s great fun tbh, the banters cracking) and I can’t complain as I done the same thing until 5 or 6 years ago.
If anyone is interested, I used to take plenty of drugs and attend every illegal rave going, I was basically an ***** and done a lot of things I’m not proud of, my wife announced she was going to try church a few years back and my reply was “go for it, hope you enjoy it “ as I had no intention of going, anyway I was dragged along a few services later and the sermon seemed to be preached just for me (maybe it was a set up lol)
I done a bit of research, started reading the Bible and all sorts of things started happening in my life, I kid you not, I had just started a new job, my wife prayed for me and things were happening at work that my colleague couldn’t believe, I was finding faults in the data/wiring systems that they had been trying for months to sort with ease, the oldest engineer was saying “who’s this, bloody Tommy Cooper?” It was actually hilarious but thing after thing kept happening.
We then attended a service in Pitlochry Baptist Church where one of the Deacons got up on stage and said he had a vision in the morning that God wanted to share (I know, I know, all sounds like a lot of S****) that someone had a decision to make but was struggling with it, he said he could see a single gate and through the gate to the left was the answer.
I hope someone is still reading this
Anyway, a week before this, a strong wind had blew down my driveway gates and left only a single gate standing in my driveway, it looked ridiculous as you could just walk around it. Two weeks before that happened my wife said she wanted to move house but we couldn’t really afford it as we were struggling financially and she wished we could do something with our large garden, after the sermon we went home, looked at the gate, turned left and my wife said, “I think you could fit a house in that garden “
I called the planning officer who looked at it on Google maps, he said no chance straight away but long story short, we sold that piece of land for £50,000 and there is a four bed house where the garden was and we moved as a result of this.
Now some/most of you probably think this is a pile of crap but I promise you I was the biggest unbeliever ever and through prayer and belief our God has helped us , there is too much I have missed out as things like we prayed for our son as he has EDS and struggles with the lack of Collagen in his joints and through the move he is now at a great smaller school all on one level that really support him etc.
Anyway guys, sorry for rambling just telling you a wee bit of my story, I understand people who don’t have any faith as I was one of them, I still cringe when I think back to two house moves ago, the day I was moving two Jehovah Witnesses came to my door and said God would like to help you, I smart arse said, oh aye, can he help move house?
He certainly can I now know.

 

[MickDundee]

All I will say is have you noticed every good looking lass has a dragon as a best mate? Well I've concurred more dragons than St George....

 

[Gulpitdarn]

Atheist, I just don't think we need religion now that we have the scientific method to constantly expand our understanding of the universe.

Even the late Proff Stephen Hawkins came to the conclusion that there is a God.

 

[kelper]

Even the late Proff Stephen Hawkins came to the conclusion that there is a God.

That's completely untrue! https://www.livescience.com/63854-stephen-hawking-says-no-god.html

 

[Slid]

Fair comment, but while the claims made, particularly in the "afterthought" chapter 21 might be open to scrutiny. The writer does sort of "sign off his work" even if he does so in the third person. He pretty much identifies with the apostle whom Jesus loved ie, Jesus' favourite, and while Ephesus is a good way from Jerusalem, he has an intimate knowledge of the customs and mores of the people there and of the events he recounts. What gloss he puts on those events is again open to scrutiny. The question for me is why did he write so late, and having left it late, why did he write at all. I wonder, too, if he had access to the earlier, so called "synoptic" Gospels. At least we know why Luke wrote because he tells us in his openening to Theophilus.

Never expected to be discussing the authorship of John's Gospel in a homebrew forum. Not a bad thing. Haven't read it for over 20 years, I suppose I'd better blow off the dust and give it a bit of a staring at.

When I was researching, the start point was at "Early Christian Writings". This is a link:
http://earlychristianwritings.com/

 

[An Ankoù]

But they didn't make a statue to Baal, it was supposed to represent their God, the one who brought them out of Egypt.

I know. And the commentaries agree, but I'm not so sure. Why a calf? YHWH had never been depicted thus. These prehistoric narratives reveal a development of understanding of the nature of God from their tribal god as a god of many aspects verging on polytheism through the god who has affirmed them as his own chosen people, to the rather one-dimensional god who reveals himself in the burning bush to Moses. The Baal aspect of an understanding of God is the mount of El, and divine in his/its own right as the god of storms and fertility, among other things. All the Israelites have done is reverted to an earlier form of worshipping their god in the face of the prolonged absence of YHWH's principle prophet. The "sin" is not idolatry- they hadn't been given the Commandments yet, but rather apostasy or backsliding. Their dancing and revelry looks very much on the way to a fertility "orgy". Why Mo had to then smash up God's tablets and have 3000 of them slaughtered is just typical of the tantrums of a the tyrant he was. No wonder God wouldn't let him into the Land. That's my theory, anyway.

 

[An Ankoù]

When I was researching, the start point was at "Early Christian Writings". This is a link:
http://earlychristianwritings.com/

Thanks for the link. Haven't grazed these fields for many a decade.