Merry christmas all!! :)

1) Not having to waste my time at church
2) Laughing at people going to church on xmas
3) Its all about the *cough* prezzies *cough*, family and love
4) Boosting the countrys economy ;)
5) errrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmm hmmm, I get to gourge without fear of going to hell 4 being gready :P

Anyone else wana put theres down

1.) Not having to waste my time at church.
2.) Laughing at those that have to wait until after church to open gifts.
3.) Gifts gifts gifts gifts, family and love -without guilt.
4.) Boosting the economy.
5.) Not having to wait until the prayer is over before diving into the good food.


Funny (for us) thread.

1) struggling with sin and salvation in the pew
2) facing the horror of loving my enemies
3) asking a god i have never seen in the flesh for forgiveness
4) facing the fact my physical body really does resemble that of primates
5) wondering if james brown will be in heaven

I <3 jojo

Of course, the most annoying thing about being an athiest on Xmas is ...

Wondering "Why is EVERYTHING closed today ?"

Of course, the most annoying thing about being an athiest on Xmas is ...

Wondering "Why is EVERYTHING closed today ?"

Because that's the way God wants it :nice:

Merry christmas all!! :)

Thanks. :)

Anyone else wana put theres down

Naw, just some quick rebuttals...

1) Not having to waste my time at church
For those of us who choose to go to church (and not just once or twice a year) do not consider it a waste of time but find value in it. A waste of time would be sitting in front of the idiot box watching football and eating cheetos all day long.

2) Laughing at people going to church on xmas
see above rebuttal.

3) Its all about the *cough* prezzies *cough*, family and love

It's those who don't value the reason for the season are the ones who push the prezzies more. Materialism over God's gift to mankind.

4) Boosting the countrys economy ;)

By sitting in front of the idiot box all day watching football and eating cheetos?

5) errrrrmmmmmmmmmmmmm hmmm, I get to gourge without fear of going to hell 4 being gready :P

No fear is no exemption for not going to hell.

1. Getting Monday off
2. Not having to clean the dead firtree all over the house
3. Not having to face the depression after taking all the ornaments off once Christmass is over
4. If one decided to work on Monday, they get paid double
5. Taking advantage of the huge sales prior to Christmas

not having to work, and instead having a nice meal?

Every year I go to church with my mom on Christmas eve just to make her happy. And every year it makes me even more un-Christian, because I sit there and just laugh inside my head at how ridiculous all the chanting and the hymn reading and the scripture really is.

Every year I go to church with my mom on Christmas eve just to make her happy. And every year it makes me even more un-Christian, because I sit there and just laugh inside my head at how ridiculous all the chanting and the hymn reading and the scripture really is.

I'm not surprised, considering it's a Methodist church. (Yawn) I wish you could go into a church that's alive, most definitely not boring or ridiculous, and where they don't sing hymns but awesome music from the 21st century. Heck, I'd probably still be an unbeliever if I was still stuck in a boring, religiosity-type church.

Every year I go to church with my mom on Christmas eve just to make her happy. And every year it makes me even more un-Christian, because I sit there and just laugh inside my head at how ridiculous all the chanting and the hymn reading and the scripture really is.

Personally I don't see the point in going to church. If the day comes when I am to be judged (if such a thing will even happen), I don't think the criteria will include whether or not I went to a building to participate in mass prayer, nor do I believe in doing that "just in case." I just try to live a good life and be kind of to my fellow man. I have to think that would be good enough for god if he is to judge me. I went to a Catholic church PLENTY was I was a kid and I think they are a bunch of nutjobs.

(for the record, I am not atheist...I'm more agnostic than anything)

Personally I don't see the point in going to church. If the day comes when I am to be judged (if such a thing will even happen), I don't think the criteria will include whether or not I went to a building to participate in mass prayer, nor do I believe in doing that "just in case."

Would you agree that humans are, for the most part, social creatures? Doesn't it make sense for people to get together in a place where there is a common bond or interest, whether it be a ballpark, a concert, a convention, a club, or, yes, a church?

The Bible is a tough read for one person to decipher by his/herself, so it makes sense to get together and listen to people who are more knowledgable about the Bible, or listen to what people have gotten out of the Bible or been touched by a passage.

The church is an obvious good place for a Christian to meet Christian friends. If one isn't making friends at a particular church, then perhaps it's time to move onto a different church. But often it's a good community to make friends and share experiences and have people to lean on during troubled times. And sometimes you just need to recharge your batteries after a hellish week (and that's why often you'll have midweek services too)

There's value to people who seek it.

And to address your comments, no, I don't think God is too concerned over Mary being at church 80 times a year vs Martha being at church 20 times a year. What's really important is the heart of each individual. If Mary's there out of love 80 times a year, then that's the true value. If Mary's there going through the motions and Martha's 20 times a year has the greater passion, then Martha has the true value. But I believe God would rather us not be isolated and struggling on our own, and there is the value in church. And church is more than just a mere building; the church is the people who make up the church body.

I'm still culturally Jewish, although not religiously (translation: I "celebrate" the holidays by having big meals with my family, and we eat Jewish cuisine). This year, however, I spent x-mas with my g/f's family (which was pretty much the same situation, but with a tree) because she spent last year with my family, so she said I owed her :p.

I got two really nice bottles of wine out of it. :D

Would you agree that humans are, for the most part, social creatures? Doesn't it make sense for people to get together in a place where there is a common bond or interest, whether it be a ballpark, a concert, a convention, a club, or, yes, a church?


I think socialization is the primary reason people go to church in the first place.

There's value to people who seek it.



I guess that's the bottom line. I was raised to believe that chruch was a place you went to pray. I didn't see too much socializing taking place when people sat around listening to a priest drone on about how you should live your life. Maybe my church just sucked. Even if one's primary focus in going to church is for socializing and a sense of belonging, the church's primary purpose is organized religion, which I am completely turned off by.

I guess that's the bottom line. I was raised to believe that chruch was a place you went to pray. I didn't see too much socializing taking place when people sat around listening to a priest drone on about how you should live your life. Maybe my church just sucked. Even if one's primary focus in going to church is for socializing and a sense of belonging, the church's primary purpose is organized religion, which I am completely turned off by.

If Lily returns to this thread, she could tell you in greater detail how she was nominally raised in the Catholic faith and it didn't do very much for her spiritually, and she didn't become "born again" until later in life. You have to find a church that's alive, not acting in religious rituals, which the Catholic faith seems to be too much into (I don't want to turn this into a Catholic vs Protestant thread, some protestant churches can get ritualistic too).

Your church likely did suck. Feel free to seek and visit different churches as your spiritual quench compels you. The church's purpose should not be existing for existance sake, nor being a mere branch of a larger group, nor a fund-raising machine. Check out a church's mission statement. And see if they live up to that statement. There are a number of "protestant" churches I wouldn't attend for a number of reasons.

I think socialization is the primary reason people go to church in the first place.

I wholeheartedly disagree 100%.

One on one sir. One on one.

That's Gods house and you are the one kneeling.

If socialization is the primary reason people go to church they might as well join a sewing club or play bingo.

I ain't saying fellowship is not important. It is. But it ain't the primary reason, at least in my humble opinion.

Would you agree that humans are, for the most part, social creatures? Doesn't it make sense for people to get together in a place where there is a common bond or interest, whether it be a ballpark, a concert, a convention, a club, or, yes, a church?

The Bible is a tough read for one person to decipher by his/herself, so it makes sense to get together and listen to people who are more knowledgable about the Bible, or listen to what people have gotten out of the Bible or been touched by a passage.

The church is an obvious good place for a Christian to meet Christian friends. If one isn't making friends at a particular church, then perhaps it's time to move onto a different church. But often it's a good community to make friends and share experiences and have people to lean on during troubled times. And sometimes you just need to recharge your batteries after a hellish week (and that's why often you'll have midweek services too)

There's value to people who seek it.

And to address your comments, no, I don't think God is too concerned over Mary being at church 80 times a year vs Martha being at church 20 times a year. What's really important is the heart of each individual. If Mary's there out of love 80 times a year, then that's the true value. If Mary's there going through the motions and Martha's 20 times a year has the greater passion, then Martha has the true value. But I believe God would rather us not be isolated and struggling on our own, and there is the value in church. And church is more than just a mere building; the church is the people who make up the church body.

you dont need to go to church to acheive that, if thats what u were trying to say

you dont need to go to church to acheive that, if thats what u were trying to say

You don't need to go to church to acheive what? Could you be more specific? I touched on a number of things.

Okay, this thread started off well but now its turning a bit serious. If you want to have a joke with a few atheists then you can put some jokes aimed at us here also in your list. But please dont turn this into a religious debate when it was suppose to be a small joke for us.

Also, hope you all had a great New years! :nice: