The Whole Relationship With The Lord Thing!

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mykcob4's picture
The Whole Relationship With The Lord Thing!

Living in North Texas I, in my daily life, encounter christians that, well, let us say, are eccentric in their belief. Few if any are "normal" if there is such a thing when it comes to their religion. They "praise GEEBUS" at the drop of a hat. Of course, it is all an act in the same way that gay men adopt a pronounced lisp to advertise their sexuality, the greater the lisp the gayer they are....I guess. Of course, there is no real degree or level of homosexuality but there is a level of christianity.
Christians are inherently tribal in their belief. They harbor prejudices even hatred for anyone or everyone that isn't just like they are. The same type of christian that they are. In my area, this overt display of their christianity has become a claim to a personal relationship with "jesus". Now they ALL claim to have this relationship but never actually can tell you what it is. They speak in platitudes and metaphors like "my life is wonderful now that I have a relationship with jesus. They tell you that YOUR life will change but they never tell you exactly how.
I know people who decided to embark on this "relationship" and I can't detect one real change other than the crazy glassed over stare and the continuous mantra of "I have a relationship with jesus". I've looked at their water bill, still the same, the grass in their yard, still grows about the same rate, their dog, poops in my yard with the same regularity. They still drive too fast and do exactly what they did and how they did it before this "relationship".
I actually think that this professed relationship is actually a show, a scam, an advertisement that says "Here I am, I'm as christian as you, don't shun me, let me continue to play in your reindeer games." Everything seems to be a competition, even how christian you are. The "I have a personal relationship with jesus" is just another competition. It's condescending in nature. Christians aren't satisfied in being condescending to those that aren't christian, they have to find ways to condescend to each other as well. They are saying "I can out christian you! I have a personal relationship with jesus." They sound like they are describing a new girlfriend. Like a nerd that finally got that elusive date with the head cheerleader. You know the story. The nerd thinks he is in love with the cheerleader but what he is in love with is impressing his friends.
We all know that there is no possibility of a "relationship with jesus". Even if there ever was a jesus he has been dead for more than two thousand years. These christians might as well say " I have a personal relationship with my imaginary friend" or ".....my teddybear". It means the same thing. I'm sure there is a psychological explanation to describe this behavior.
Speaking of which (off subject here) You know how some people claim to have a vision of jesus or god, or some famous angel? They never have a vision of an angel or god that they could have never have heard of. Well, it is the same thing as people that claim that the are Nepolean or some other famous historical figure. I have forgotten what it is called but it is a well known mental disease.
So when I hear someone say "I have a personal relationship with jesus" I think "man you have a serious penis envy problem".

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bigbill's picture
As a Roman Catholic living in

As a Roman Catholic living in new York state I do have a personal one on one relationship with the Lord. I receive jesus body and blood almost every morning, I read his inspirational word. I Fellowship with other catholics. So I guess you could call that Christian. The Eucharist gives me strength, I know that my Lord lives. So tell me by what and whose standards are you determining normalcy. How do you know that your normal? Judging by your language on these threads and post I really have to question your claim concerning normalcy. I don`t experience nor do I encourage competition with any Christian!!! I want the best for everyone. Being born again is an inward experience follow by outside manifestations.

Sky Pilot's picture
devout christian,

devout christian,

I can prove that you are just bull shitting. Follow Jesus' commandment and send me $100,000 by this December 24th.

http://www.bricktestament.com/the_teachings_of_jesus/on_giving/mt05_41.html 4 pictures

biggus dickus's picture
I thought you said you did

I thought you said you did not belong to any particular Christian cult.

algebe's picture
@Devout Christian: "So tell

@Devout Christian: "So tell me by what and whose standards are you determining normalcy."

Nobody's "normal", least of all people who regularly sip wine and munch wafers in the belief that they're eating the flesh and drinking the blood of a man who supposedly died two millennia ago. The whole concept sickens me.

Enjoy your personal relationship with the dead guy. Imagination is a wonderful thing.

ELIJAH4HIM's picture
Really you get sick of

Really you get sick of hearing about the body & blood of CHRIST? I say that's because the true symbol of both is unknown to you.
I must admit understand stand about religion making someone sick, being kicked out of a Roman Catholic Church when I was young & foolish it was never made known to me why JESUS split HIS blood there.

There is over 6,000 facts that JESUS CHRIST was born , lived on this earth for 33 years, was crucified on a cross , died and rose again , all recorded in the Historical Library in London England and only 2,000 facts about the life of Socrates , Greek Athenian Philosopher. So take a trip and go read the public records that are available.

Friend forget the wafer & wine and what it represents, come to know the TRUTH of CHRIST now . JESUS is alive and well , the grave couldn't hold HIM and HE is coming back again, JOHN 14:2-3 and the day this happens every tongue will confess and every knee shall bow, Romans 14:11.

So my friend I pray you seek HIM with all your heart and generate a true relationship with CHRIST, NOW because it's too late when JESUS CHRIST arrives. REV. 20:4-6

Be blessed with HIS peace

Jared Alesi's picture
If you're only here to preach

If you're only here to preach, and not to participate in rational discourse, you can just leave. Nobody is benefiting from any of your words. The nonbelievers aren't changing their minds over vacuous claims, and the believers already agree with you. You're essentially giving yourself Carpal tunnel syndrome for nothing.

bigbill's picture
YOU have a warped

YOU have a warped understanding of the catholic teaching of transubstantiation which states that the elements of conversion of the Eucharistic into the body and blood of our lord and Savior jesus Christ. I understand that you are ignorant of this happening because the mind is at enmity with GOD read Romans chapter one and following. then just then possibly you will grasp what I`m saying here.

mykcob4's picture
Wow GEEBUS must work in Rhode
Sheldon's picture
Do you really believe that

Do you really believe that communion wafers and wine literally convert into actual flesh and blood?

This would be very easy to test of course, I wonder that an institution as old and wealthy as the RCC has not done this to put this one to bed, so to speak. Odd that such an easy test to prove one of their core claims hasn't been done.

Tin-Man's picture
Err, uhh... Did DC honestly

Err, uhh... Did DC honestly just question somebody about being "normal", or did I read that wrong??? *confused look* Anyway, like Algebe said, there really is no such thing as "normal". Although, I feel the need to add that there are some who could possibly be considered less non-normal than others. (Let that one rattle around in your brain for a few minutes.)
Getting back on point, however, even way back when during the days at the height of my Baptist belief, I do not recall that I ever proclaimed to have any sort of "personal relationship" with God or Jesus. For some reason it always sounded way too arrogant or vain to say that. This may not be the best analogy, but to me it would have been like some groupie saying she had a personal relationship with some lead singer of a popular rock band, even though she was merely one of a few thousand similar groupies who MIGHT get to see the guy only when the band toured near her area. Even the people I knew who used that term could never fully explain exactly what it meant, so even then I was left a little confused. Anyway, I know this may not help much, Myk, because the whole thing perplexes me just as much as it perplexes you. I agree that it is some sort of psychological issue, but I'm afraid I do not have the expertise to explain it.

ELIJAH4HIM's picture
Well obliviously you have

Well obliviously you have never had any such personal relationship with the LORD JESUS CHRIST for if you did my friend you would definitely know it.
Its easy to say it doesn't exists when there is no personal experience of proof and for this I'm sorry and it's not because your grass will be greener or your life will have no problems or your bank account will reach 40 million big bucks tomorrow because you gave 10% to your local Church today. Those who sell life with CHRIST as problem free and everything turns up roses whenever I ask is not what JESUS teaches or what HE lived and died for. Romans 5:1 & John 5:24

Anyone who personally knows CHRIST and genuinely lets HIM live within, knows HE is real as this earth we live and walk in ,regardless of what others say or believe, we will not be moved. Romans 8:15

JESUS is alive and well , the grave couldn't hold HIM and HE is coming back again, JOHN 14:2-3 and the day this happens every tongue will confess and every knee shall bow, Romans 14:11.

So my friend I pray you seek HIM with all your heart and generate a true relationship with CHRIST, NOW because it's too late when JESUS CHRIST arrives. REV. 20:4-6

It's the ONE who lives in me that prompts me to share HIS truth and to pray for all HIS lost children , if I didn't have a personal relationship with the PRINCE of PEACE you wouldn't be reading what I wrote.....lol..so there's some living proof for you. 1JOHN 4:4.

Even Napoleon said " I know men and I know this man named JESUS is not just a man"

Get GODS word into you, buy a bible a start reading Matthew ,Mark Luke & John , then you eyes will be able to see because JESUS is the WAY the TRUTH and LIFE. I pray this for you my friend.

Be blessed with the peace of JC.

mykcob4's picture
You think that I as an

You think that I as an atheist have never known christianity. Brother, I was so emersed in it I reeked of it.
There is no god, and there was no jesus either. BTW, Mick, you are not to proselytize on these threads. I'm sure you'll get a warning.
BTW Napolean could wield propaganda like nobody's business. Napolean also said "Put a colored ribbon on a man's chest and he will die for you."

ELIJAH4HIM's picture
I have met people who said

I have met people who said the same thing , only to find it wasn't GOD who turned them off and destroyed their belief, it's was others in the same crowd. Just like JOB"S friends and family , first thing they told JOB was to blame GOD , even his wife said " there is no GOD"

Tell me what and how immersed you? was it HIS genuine love or did HE take your loved one, like HE took mine, and what did other's do or say when you needed them?

Its not up to me to prove that GOD exists its for non believers to disprove all that HE has created isn't HIS but belongs to Mary Poppins or Ms Nature of this Universe

Whats proselytize mean? I'm not that intellectual .

Your brother in CHRIST

CyberLN's picture
Mick, you are welcome to

Mick, you are welcome to debate. Do not use this forum to preach.

mykcob4's picture
@ Mick

@ Mick
1) You can stop fucking preaching
2) We didn't make up god so it isn't our responsibility to disprove a god.
3) You make a lot of assumptions about me and you have no fucking idea who I am.
4) You are not my brother and there is no christ and who the hell wants to be "in him"?
5) Ther are not over 6000 documents that prove christ. In fact, there isn't one.
And 6) What the fuck does this quote from you even mean? It is incoherent.
"Its not up to me to prove that GOD exists its for non believers to disprove all that HE has created isn't HIS but belongs to Mary Poppins or Ms Nature of this Universe"
7) "pros·e·lyt·ize
ˈpräs(ə)ləˌtīz/Submit
verb
convert or attempt to convert (someone) from one religion, belief, or opinion to another.
"the program did have a tremendous evangelical effect, proselytizing many"
synonyms: evangelize, convert, save, redeem, win over, preach (to), recruit, act as a missionary
"I'm not here to proselytize"
advocate or promote (a belief or course of action).
"Davis wanted to share his concept and proselytize his ideas"
synonyms: promote, advocate, champion, advance, further, spread, proclaim, peddle, preach, endorse, urge, recommend, boost
"he wanted to proselytize his ideas"

Basically, it means to preach.
And you are correct, you are not an intellectual, not even close.

ELIJAH4HIM's picture
Mycob4 Thanks for your reply,

Mycob4 Thanks for your reply,

How do you know there isn't any facts recorded, have you been to the Historical Library in London?

I knew a man who visited Jerusalem and took a guided tour of historical sights and was taken to the place where the tomb of JESUS is still today, it was empty of course.

Why would anyone take on the responsibility of trying to disprove something they didn't believe in? Seems like a waste of energy to me.

Stand for ONE or fall for everything

Nyarlathotep's picture
MICK - I knew a man who

MICK - I knew a man who visited Jerusalem and took a guided tour of historical sights and was taken to the place where the tomb of JESUS is still today, it was empty of course.

There is at least 3 different sites that people claim are the tomb of Jesus; and enough scraps of wood claimed to be from Jesus's cross to construct a dozen crosses. I hate to be the one to break it to you; but these types of things are typically fakes.

Tin-Man's picture
To: Nyarlathotep Re: Jesus

To: Nyarlathotep Re: Jesus tomb(s)

Hey, Nyar, you seem to be missing an important point. Those site(s) are important tourist attractions that provide much needed income for the local populace. Their economic survival depends on it. If word got out that the tombs and cross pieces were fake, then the tourists would stop coming and the local economy would crash. Shame on you for trying to destroy an economy. *tsk-tsk*
Oh, and - HEY - Mick said the tomb(s) is/are still empty! Isn't that CONCRETE PROOF.... er... uh.... of..... something? *confused look*

mykcob4's picture
@Mick

@Mick
I haven't been to the library you mention because there isn't the library you mentioned just like there are not 6000 facts that prove jesus existed. In fact, there isn't even one fact that proved jesus existed.

"You knew a man...blah, blah, blah" What kind of second-hand bullshit is that? You really think that is evidence? There are literally several places that people claim the tomb of jesus is at and not one of them can be confirmed to be true, but I'm sure if you tried hard enough you can go even to a remote desert location in New Mexico and some enterprising scam artist will take you to a hole and claim it is the tomb of jesus...as long as you pay to see it that is! Fucking stupid!
I am not trying to disprove anything.
Oh and your little "motto" is ridiculous. "Stand for ONE or fall for everything". What are you misquoting the three musketeers?
Talking to you is like talking to an uneducated child!

algebe's picture
@Mick: "have you been to the

@Mick: "have you been to the Historical Library in London"

What's the "Historical Library"? Do you mean the British Library?

Jared Alesi's picture
Wouldn't Jesus's tomb be in

Wouldn't Jesus's tomb be in Rome, with the owner of the tomb being recorded as Joseph of Arimathea?

Sheldon's picture
"Its not up to me to prove

"Its not up to me to prove that GOD exists its for non believers to disprove all that HE has created isn't HIS"

No it isn't, Onus probandi incumbit ei qui dicit, non ei qui negat always lies with the party making the substantial claim, and rejecting such a claim holds no burden of proof. The late author and polemicist Christopher Hitchens popularised an existing epistemological razor, and it was named after him, you might want to look it up, as it concisely and accurately dismantles your claim. You might also want to read a little from David Hume, and understand what a 'burden of proof' is, and where it might apply.

.....but do watch you don't trip over that invisible pixie behind you.

"When two parties are in a discussion and one makes a claim that the other disputes, the one who makes the claim typically has a burden of proof to justify or substantiate that claim especially when it challenges a perceived status quo."

This is particularly apropos for your post...."One way in which one would attempt to shift the burden of proof is by committing a logical fallacy known as the argument from ignorance. It occurs when either a proposition is assumed to be true because it has not yet been proved false or a proposition is assumed to be false because it has not yet been proved true."

algebe's picture
I once knew a guy who had a

I once knew a guy who had a personal relationship with seagulls. He used to walk around town wearing a tin foil helmet with a wire coat hanger attached so he could pick up the birds' electronic messages. He told me the gulls were really Venusians in disguise. He talked back to them through an old Sony transistor radio.

People said he was crazy, but I never saw him kneeling in a church while a doddering pedophile shoved bad wine and crackers in his mouth, pretending that he was eating some dead man.

ELIJAH4HIM's picture
I'm not talking about

I'm not talking about seagulls or pedophiles.

Sorry you missed my point, I typically come up short when trying to explain myself.

HE comes like a thief in the night though, so take care my friend

algebe's picture
@Mick: "Sorry you missed my

@Mick: "Sorry you missed my point"

I didn't miss your point. It's not a subtle message. Believe in Jesus and be a happy clappy born-again wanker, or go to hell. Surely you don't think you're the first preacher to throw the smug "Jesus saves" spiel at me?

There's another choice. Open your eyes and mind to the wonders of the real world. Look at nature, the stars, other human beings. Explore the power of your own mind. What more do you want?

"HE comes like a thief in the night though, so take care my friend"

Are you talking about the tax man?

ELIJAH4HIM's picture
Right look at all those

Right look at all those things ....amazing eh? Look at the sun, its recorded that if it was one degree closer to the earth ,we would fry and one degree farther away we'd be popsicles. I wonder who or what super form of intelligence perfectly position it?

Yes the human body & mind , medical science has found that the heat from our rapidly beating heart would kill us, if it were not designed with a special lubricated bag that reduces friction. Who you think thought of that design?

CyberLN's picture
That is hysterically funny!

That is hysterically funny!

algebe's picture
@Mick: "Look at the sun"

@Mick: "Look at the sun"

Be sure to wear special glasses when you do that or your god-designed sun will fry your god-designed eyes.

The biggest influence on the positions of planets in this solar system was Jupiter (the planet, not the god!). If the Earth was closer to the Sun it'd be Venus, and further away it'd be Mars. Either way, we wouldn't be here talking, thinking (or in your case, praying) about it. And then there'd have been nobody to create your god.

We're just very lucky accidents.

Jared Alesi's picture
Actually the distance from

Actually the distance from the Sun to the Earth varies drastically throughout the year.
Secondly, that's blatant confirmation bias. How about the billions of planets that are too far or too close to their suns to be habitable? You're over-valuing the success of Earth.
Thirdly, let's talk about stupid design. Like how our eyes can be so unreliable that we need spectacles, or how any random bacteria can overwhelm our immune system and kill us, or how we breathe and eat out of the same hole, leading thousands each year to choke to death on food?

Tin-Man's picture
Howdy, Mick. Pleasure to make

Howdy, Mick. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, and thank you for your prayers. However, if you are going to pray for me, I request you pray that God will show Himself to me in a way that would leave me no room for doubt of His existence. Being God, He should very easily be able to do that. And if He truly does love me and wants me to join Him in heaven, then it only makes sense that He would do everything in His power to convince me He is real. And before you go quoting bible scriptures, it is only fair that I tell you that you cannot use the bible to prove the bible. Doesn't work that way. I have to admit I am kinda new to all of this, but I like to think of myself as a quick learner. As I have mentioned in other posts, I was raised in a Baptist/Methodist family and brought up to obey the Word of God and Jesus and so forth. Yet, even as a young kid of 7 or 8, I was already noticing anomalies and inconsistencies in the bible and in the teachings. Anyway, long story short, over the years since then I have come to realize the truth about God and religion in general. And because of that, I seem to sleep much better at night now.
That being said, I am also a fairly open-minded kinda guy. Show me proof of something and/or present a valid and rational argument, and I am all ears. At the very least, I try to be fair about the views of others as long as they are not just over-the-top ridiculous. So, welcome to the chat, and I look forward to a lively discussion as long as it remains rational.

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