I don't try to avoid sin to make God happy. I avoid it to make life better for myself and those around me, which is likely the reason most people do good things. Because it's pleasant for all involved. Converting to Christianity didn't really change my actions as a person or my motivations for them. Sin is a handy catch-all phrase for the stuff people do that they shouldn't. Yes, it means more than that to certain people, but it's a pretty extensive list in my faith (although shorter than the Don't Do This list that it was based on). For example, anger is a sin. Cursing is a sin. Drunkenness, pre-marital sex, theft, murder, eating meat on Fridays during certain parts of the year, and so on. There is not a person on this earth that is without sin according to my church. Saying that someone is a sinner is practically the same as calling them a person. It doesn't mean they're a bad person, it just means they have faults. And those faults can be overcome, not for God but for that person's own well being. So, I would appreciate it if you didn't attribute other people's definitions of sin to my own. Like all people, my standards of being a good person are based on my own beliefs. Personally, I think being a good person involves fostering understanding between people (obviously it can be tricky, and I'm not always very good at it), helping those in need (not only with one time donations, but by establishing community and infrastructure for future growth), and respect for all people. Obviously there's more to it, but since I was asked I figured I'd throw out some guidelines. I apologize to anyone who was offended by my comment about all of humanity being sinners. If you feel it doesn't apply to you because of your own beliefs, that's fine by me. Live your own life. I just ask that you don't go around saying "Christians do X because of Y." I don't like being put in a box either.
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Tychoerikson (10178)
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Registered 2009-03-20 15:25:19 Comment Karma: 0 Featured Comments: 0 Member of : |
Recent Comments from Tychoerikson
- Comment on Pay a computer to pray for you (2009-03-21 22:22:17)
I don't try to avoid sin to make God happy. I avoid it to make life better for myself and those around me, which is likely the reason most people do good things. Because it's pleasant for all involved. Converting to Christianity didn't really change my actions as a person or my motivations for them. Sin is a handy catch-all phrase for the stuff people do that they shouldn't. Yes, it means more than that to certain people, but it's a pretty extensive list in my faith (although shorter than the Don't Do This list that it was based on). For example, anger is a sin. Cursing is a sin. Drunkenness, pre-marital sex, theft, murder, eating meat on Fridays during certain parts of the year, and so on. There is not a person on this earth that is without sin according to my church. Saying that someone is a sinner is practically the same as calling them a person. It doesn't mean they're a bad person, it just means they have faults. And those faults can be overcome, not for God but for that person's own well being. So, I would appreciate it if you didn't attribute other people's definitions of sin to my own. Like all people, my standards of being a good person are based on my own beliefs. Personally, I think being a good person involves fostering understanding between people (obviously it can be tricky, and I'm not always very good at it), helping those in need (not only with one time donations, but by establishing community and infrastructure for future growth), and respect for all people. Obviously there's more to it, but since I was asked I figured I'd throw out some guidelines. I apologize to anyone who was offended by my comment about all of humanity being sinners. If you feel it doesn't apply to you because of your own beliefs, that's fine by me. Live your own life. I just ask that you don't go around saying "Christians do X because of Y." I don't like being put in a box either. - Comment on Pay a computer to pray for you (2009-03-21 21:32:43)
"Religious people like to think they’ve got the moral high ground. They don’t…and never did." I'm not exactly thrilled with your generalization there. I'm religious and I don't think I'm morally superior to anyone. We're all sinners in our own right. I try to be a good person, but it is at times a fairly difficult course of action. Which is why most religious extremists don't even seem to bother and screw things up for those of us who just want to live a nice quiet life with the God of our choice. The religious folk that people like to talk about most are the loud ones that take things out of context, preach hate and/or blow shit up. Those are not the people I go to Mass with. Those are not the people living in communes with the homeless, genuinely trying to better the lives of the marginalized. Religion is like all of man's works: it can be used for good or bad. It's up to the people involved to make the choice how they're going to use it. - Comment on Pay a computer to pray for you (2009-03-21 12:43:11)
Your basis for that being what exactly?
