[herbie]

Jeez Bart, I thought Islam was the religion of monolithic dinosaurs stuck in the 9th century. After your spew against the CoE we'll have to add your denomination to the list.

[BartSimpson]

As a follow-on to my initial post in this topic here's a story on the United Methodist Church that's also experiencing a mathematically fatal decline in membership:

http://goodnewsmag.org/2015/05/economis ... in-crisis/

(Excerpt)

$1:

“There is no question that our church is in trouble,” said the Rev. Thomas Lambrecht, vice president of Good News and an observer at the meeting. “What I fail to understand is why church leaders are not considering that the theological shift among many of our clergy in a more progressive direction could account for a significant part of the decline. The Connectional Table reveals a schizophrenic approach when it acknowledges our crisis of decline and at the same time proposes a ‘Third Way’ on marriage and homosexuality that will drive many traditionalists and evangelicals out of the UM Church. If their plan is adopted, it will only accelerate the decline of the U.S. church, as we learn from the experience of The Episcopal, Evangelical Lutheran, and Presbyterian Church (USA).”

Even a liberal UMC pastor has the ability to see the same obvious truth I see.

[Lemmy]

Declining "enrollment" in religion, of any kind, is a positive trend. One day humanity will look back on its period of delusional silliness with .

[BartSimpson]

herbie herbie:

Jeez Bart, I thought Islam was the religion of monolithic dinosaurs stuck in the 9th century. After your spew against the CoE we'll have to add your denomination to the list.

So you're a member of the NDP, right?

The NDP you support states its core beliefs here: http://xfer.ndp.ca/2013/policybook/2013 ... Book_E.pdf

Now what happens if the NDP decides to become more "inclusive" to attract Conservatives?

What if they start to embrace policies like reducing taxes, limiting abortion, tightening restrictions on pot, and what if they decide to let some of their "green" policies slide in order to favor the production of fossil fuels?

Worse, what happens if the NDP were to decide that Canadians needed to embrace solidly capitalist free-market policies in order to be more inclusive?

Would you keep supporting the NDP?

Christians who used to support the CoE and the UMC faced the same questions when their churches, in the name of being 'inclusive', decided that it was wrong to call a sin a sin. Salvation wasn't something to talk about anymore because the new universally tolerant god promises that everyone goes to Heaven just so long as they're 'good people'.

And then those Christians found themselves ostracized by their denominations for supporting traditional values.

In short, just like the NDP wouldn't be your home if it adopted Conservative values, these liberal churches are no longer home to the conservative Christians who used to belong to them.

And these churches believe they can bring people back with fancy marketing programs that celebrate diversity when it's precisely that kind of crap that caused the problem in the first place.

[N_Fiddledog]

It's why I left the United Church. You too, right Bart?

I'm thinking of becoming a Baptist. Mostly because it pisses of the right people politically to say, "I'm a Baptist." Baptists still seem to believe in God more than Marx or Gaia, or the light-bringers of Prog. I like that.

Have you picked your new religion out yet, Bart?

[Lemmy]

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

the light-bringers of Prog.

Takin' it back, Fiddly:

[stratos]

I would think that people leaving a denomination church is because they no longer agree with the doctrine and or changes happening in the church. Thus they have lost faith in their church not in God. Just because someone leaves a certain church does not mean they no long believe in God.

[Lemmy]

stratos stratos:

I would think that people leaving a denomination church is because they no longer agree with the doctrine and or changes happening in the church. Thus they have lost faith in their church not in God. Just because someone leaves a certain church does not mean they no long believe in God.

True, but it improves the chances for the next generation. Not being dragged to the site of indoctrination reduces the risk of indoctrination.

[ShepherdsDog]

The entire Trinity bullshit made me give it(Christianity) up

[N_Fiddledog]

As to Moslems and why they are growing, has 'Dawa' been mentioned yet?

Dawa is the Mohammedan collection of methods to spread and grow.

I'll avoid the details for now, but the important thing is the Muslim methods of proselytization are more successful than Christian ones within the currently weakened Western culture. Dawa is designed and has been perfected over the centuries to exploit the weak.

And come over to the Baptists with me Shep. I don't think we believe in that.

[BartSimpson]

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

It's why I left the United Church. You too, right Bart?

I left the UMC in 1995 right when they went from being loving towards gays (which I supported and still do) towards being openly hateful towards anyone not fully embracing the party line on all things lavender. I wasn't welcome anymore and I took my tithe and went elsewhere. The local church I had belonged to in South Sacramento - like many other UMC churches - ended up losing over 80% of its attendance and it defaulted on its mortgage and went into receivership.

N_Fiddledog N_Fiddledog:

I'm thinking of becoming a Baptist. Mostly because it pisses of the right people politically to say, "I'm a Baptist." Baptists still seem to believe in God more than Marx or Gaia, or the light-bringers of Prog. I like that.

Have you picked your new religion out yet, Bart?

I'm thinking of becoming a Wahhabist Muslim so I can behead liberals and make them feel guilty for oppressing me all at the same time.

[N_Fiddledog]

BartSimpson BartSimpson:

I'm thinking of becoming a Wahhabist Muslim so I can behead liberals and make them feel guilty for oppressing me all at the same time.

[Freakinoldguy]

Lemmy Lemmy:

stratos stratos:

I Not being dragged to the site of indoctrination reduces the risk of indoctrination.

Sorry but the reality is being dragged to that place of indoctrination in our youth was one of the reasons I and alot of people I know decided to lapse.

But, just because we're lapsed doesn't mean that we no longer believe in God, most of us just don't believe in the bullshit that his earthly messengers have been sowing.

[Lemmy]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Sorry but the reality is being dragged to that place of indoctrination in our youth was one of the reasons I and alot of people I know decided to lapse.

But, just because we're lapsed doesn't mean that we no longer believe in God, most of us just don't believe in the bullshit that his earthly messengers have been sowing.

That's the first step.

[stratos]

Freakinoldguy Freakinoldguy:

Lemmy Lemmy:

stratos stratos:

I Not being dragged to the site of indoctrination reduces the risk of indoctrination.

Sorry but the reality is being dragged to that place of indoctrination in our youth was one of the reasons I and alot of people I know decided to lapse.

But, just because we're lapsed doesn't mean that we no longer believe in God, most of us just don't believe in the bullshit that his earthly messengers have been sowing.

That's a quote from Lemmy not me.