While I normally don't accept anecdotal evidence of anything supernatural, the shear amount of it in this case is what gets to me. I'm not the type to automatically accept supernatural events without exhausting all rational measures first, and I certainly don't believe in demon possession. But...
Can't raise the minimum wage, it'll end up costing jobs; (same breath) damn these bums working at McDonald's, always needing food stamps or some other kind of way of stealing MY money! Gotta love the BS spouted by the rich. Sorry, I'm not buying it. I'll go with ethical over materialistic.
The exorcisms of Latoya Ammons
A Real-Life Demon Possession Is Being Reported in Indiana
This case happened about 45 miles from where I live. I don't believe in god, miracles, and demon possession, but this case is just odd. All there is as far as evidence is anecdotal, but there's...
But morality is inconsequential to their salvation. An individual can rape and kill 10 people, ask god for forgiveness, and still be "saved", at least from my understanding of it.
EDIT: especially those churches that believe in eternal security.
But what about religions like Christianity, particularly evangelical Christianity, where they are the same? Once you're "saved", that's it. Morality doesn't seem to mean much, from that perspective.
This might work for the Christian god, but not exactly for Judaism or Islam. One of the problems I have with the Christian explanation to the problem of evil is that it assumes free will even exists. Our actions seem to me to be more deterministic, rather than based entirely on some concept of...
Ethics and morality is one of the evidences given by religious people for evidence of the truthfulness of their beliefs, especially in the debate of whether god exists. Some theists believe that it's not possible to be moral without their god, to varying extents.
However, it seems like the...
It's often been said that Buddhism is a pacifist religion, but Buddhists will counter and say that it's not pacifist, it's non-violent. Is this true, and if so, what's the difference between the two?
I'm married, with kids, and a full time job. However, I'm autistic, and pretty anti-social, so I have no "real life", so that does away with anything social. As an autistic, my "obsession" is religion, so I spend a good bit of time here, from time to time, and my wife kind of understands why.
I think everyone feels this way when they first move out. I'm not sure how good my advice would be though, I live pretty far away from anyone in my family, but I cut off all ties with them about a year and a half ago, due to many problems. But you have to worry about you first, do what's right...
I've always lived in highly conservative Christian areas. I was one for a good portion of my life. Once I turned to a more liberal socio-political spectrum, and converted to Buddhism, I kept my beliefs and ideas to myself for quite awhile. Now, I could care less what people think of me, and...