A plea to Christians

Hi guys.

For the past few months, I've been hearing more and more (or maybe just noticing more and more) talk of a prophecy among Christians: that Christ is returning, within our lifetime, and that the final judgement is soon to be upon us.

It has come to my attention that not only is this idea popular, but rampant among the Christian culture these days. What's more, it seems like the majority of these people don't just hope for this; they are absolutely convinced that this is going to happen.

Now, usually I'm of the frame of mind, "Live and let live." when it comes to religion. Believe what you want, as long as you're not pushing it on someone else or hurting anyone by doing it. But now I really honestly think that this belief in this prophecy is hurting us. Many (but not all) people with this attitude that Christ is coming back have no interest in conserving the planet and its resources, because they are so convinced that we won't be on the planet much longer anyway.

I know that Christians are the majority on earth right now, but if you expect other people to respect your beliefs, you should show respect towards others, too! Including those who DON'T believe that Christ is coming back. Preserving our planet doesn't have to mean you're doubting God's word or the prophecy. Please, I implore those of you who believe in this stuff to show respect to the rest of us THROUGH YOUR ACTIONS.

Reduce, reuse, recycle. Support cleaner energy policy in whatever way you can. Buy energy-efficient lightbulbs, try using public transportation or carpooling to work instead of commuting once in a while, whatever you can manage. There are so many simple things that are extremely easy to do, and every effort to saving our planet is essential.

Thank you for reading this, I appreciate it.

GOD gave man dominion over the planet, it is ours to use as we see fit ... most agree we need to take good care of it, and conserve, etc ... this said, the Bible also tells us exactly how it will end, and it is NOT going to be from plastic cups that don't degrade in the soil ... it is also TRUE that Jesus Christ IS coming back ... when HE comes back, it will be with a Sword, and the Earth will be wiped clean ... as the bumper sticker reads: "Jesus is coming ... and, Boy, is He pissed !" ... (that is not meant disrespectfully, technically, it is a true statement) ... :smokin:

But again, these are beliefs, not fact. You may be certain that Jesus is coming back, but the ancient greeks were also certain that Zeus was up on Mt. Olympus slinging lightening bolts.

There are some of us that DON'T believe that that is how the world will end. All I'm asking is that those who do show some respect to those who don't.

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Originally Posted by the image reaper

GOD gave man dominion over the planet, it is ours to use as we see fit ... most agree we need to take good care of it, and conserve, etc ... this said, the Bible also tells us exactly how it will end, and it is NOT going to be from plastic cups that don't degrade in the soil ... it is also TRUE that Jesus Christ IS coming back ... when HE comes back, it will be with a Sword, and the Earth will be wiped clean ... as the bumper sticker reads: "Jesus is coming ... and, Boy, is He pissed !" ... (that is not meant disrespectfully, technically, it is a true statement) ... :smokin:

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ya thats kinda the attitude he was talking about:confused:

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Originally Posted by the image reaper

GOD gave man dominion over the planet, it is ours to use as we see fit ... most agree we need to take good care of it, and conserve, etc ... this said, the Bible also tells us exactly how it will end, and it is NOT going to be from plastic cups that don't degrade in the soil ... it is also TRUE that Jesus Christ IS coming back ... when HE comes back, it will be with a Sword, and the Earth will be wiped clean ... as the bumper sticker reads: "Jesus is coming ... and, Boy, is He pissed !" ... (that is not meant disrespectfully, technically, it is a true statement) ... :smokin:

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When the coasts of all of the continents are flooding, when hurricanes occur deeper inland, when storms and blizzards plague your home every day, and Jesus doesn't come, will you be happy about destroying the earth?

The problem is that they WANT global warming, war, etc. According to their beliefs, Jesus will come save us when we try to kill ourselves. I say we just keep our planet alive so we don't need Jesus to save us.

The belief that humans are the only thing that matter on this earth is blatant arrogance. In many ways, humans are by far the greatest failure of the earth.

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Originally Posted by UnitedWeFall

I suggest you have a good look at this site http://www.askrealjesus.com/

I once believed exactly what you do. Now I know better - as Jesus is not coming back in the flesh, but rather spiritually when enough Christ-like consciousnesses come to be.

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Thank you sir. You are the type of Christian that I like. Even though I am not a Christian myself, I am glad to see that you take it more spiritually than literally.

Back to the original post

I believe all the Christians you are talking about are just trying to rationalize there behaviour. They love to consume, just like the rest of us, but cant bring themselves to show a little self restraint. You know like not buying a big ass SUV. And so they use some little comment in the bible to their advantage and to make themselves feel better.
To me it is the same as the people who choose not to believe in global warming based on the advertisements that Exxon runs, as they drive say a land rover which gets 12 MPG.

I'm sorry, but I have to call this post on political hackary. Not religious.

Not without mentioning, our annual recyling rate in America is up. We're recycling more paper than ever before. The issue of polution and and consumption have nothing to do with Christianity. I'm sorry but that's a really shameful scapegoat to plant political anger towards.

You yourself are using technology developed by corporations and consuming product and energy in ways that are very wasteful. I'm not saying Christians who believe the eminant coming of christ is at hand arent' generally bat-shit crazy. I'm saying these issues are political, not religious. This has little to do with the culture war.

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Originally Posted by Nylo

I'm sorry, but I have to call this post on political hackary. Not religious.

Not without mentioning, our annual recyling rate in America is up. We're recycling more paper than ever before. The issue of polution and and consumption have nothing to do with Christianity. I'm sorry but that's a really shameful scapegoat to plant political anger towards.

You yourself are using technology developed by corporations and consuming product and energy in ways that are very wasteful. I'm not saying Christians who believe the eminant coming of christ is at hand arent' generally bat-shit crazy. I'm saying these issues are political, not religious. This has little to do with the culture war.

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Well you clearly havenâ??t met people like who he is talking about. Unfortunately I am related to some. Some people literally believe that the entire universe was created like 5000 years ago. And shit like carbon dating and the dinosaur bones were created by the Devil to fool us into sin. Seriously. And yes, there are people (probably only in America) who rationalize, in the psychological context, burning all the fuel they can get there hands on and consuming all they want because god gave the earth to humans.

I also agree that north America does consume way too much, this is without question.

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Originally Posted by afghooey

Hi guys.

For the past few months, I've been hearing more and more (or maybe just noticing more and more) talk of a prophecy among Christians: that Christ is returning, within our lifetime, and that the final judgement is soon to be upon us.

It has come to my attention that not only is this idea popular, but rampant among the Christian culture these days. What's more, it seems like the majority of these people don't just hope for this; they are absolutely convinced that this is going to happen.

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I call it brain washing

Also does anyone know of a christian betting shop cos i will lay a £10,000 he wont return in my life time............and my son will be rich


Anyone know the odds 10/1 will do

see if only the bible had a date or something you know. then it could acctualy be proved wrong.

The Bible isn't about proving anything; that's not what it's about. It chronicles the human condition and dictates how to lead a fulfilling life, and what the roots of evil in mankind are. It's like me looking in a Micro-biology text book and looking for theology. Apples and Oranges.

If your looking in the bible for proof of God, you're looking in the wrong place.

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Originally Posted by Nylo

The Bible isn't about proving anything; that's not what it's about. It chronicles the human condition and dictates how to lead a fulfilling life, and what the roots of evil in mankind are. It's like me looking in a Micro-biology text book and looking for theology. Apples and Oranges.

If your looking in the bible for proof of God, you're looking in the wrong place.

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I never questioned that the bible has good things in it. Iâ??m pretty sure killing is bad, so yea me and the bible agree. And yes many people find it fulfilling and thatâ??s great.

I also donâ??t think the bible has any proof of god, this is because there is no proof of god existence. I think you agree more with us atheists than the believers because that seems to be the root of there argument. That the bible is gods word. Other than that were would you find proof of godâ?¦

If you cannot answer that, then you really shouldnâ??t believe in god. Because your belief rests on nothing. Just like racism.

Fuck the world and it's fortune and fames
cause when we come, we're gonna torch it in flames

What do Christians and global worming have to do with each other? It seems to me that in this culture weather your Christian or heathen, and wealthy it doesn't matter you are driving a SUV. Look at Hollywood and MTV, how many of them are Christians and how many destroy the earth? Movie makers, 20 cars in the garage and a limo for every show. Come on now, get a little real life on this stuff, the people, sports stars, movie stars and singers are not predominately Christian, but they waist the most, destroy the most and consume the most, so where are you even coming from? I bet you sit there watching some sports, listening to their music, watching movies/vidios, laughing and giggling or snapping your fingers to the latest radio toon when they are wasting all of these precious resources your talking about, come on now, put your thinking cap on.
You can make accusations against people who call their self's Christian, but if you look at the life of Jesus and if He is the definition of a Christian then the others may fall into the line of counterfeits, or extremely confused, and aren't we all?
No offense , but "A plea to Christians" seems so dramatic in this case IMO.
Adieu

In no way did I mean to imply that I think that Christians are the only ones destroying the earth. Many, many people have an 'I just don't give a fuck' mindset, Christian and non-Christians alike.

However, I do think that the philosophy of 'go forth and subdue the earth and conquer it and use it however the hell you please with no fear of consequences of doing so' which is taught by the bible is a huge contributing factor to this mindset in Christians, and I think a great many people use it to justify their actions. It's easier to burn the planet's resources with a clean conscience when you think that's what god wants.

bluebear, i think you think that we think....

that all christians over consume (above average, cuz we all over consuem)
that all over consumers are christians

we do not think this

in my life ive never found a direct correlation between prophecy beliefs and recycling. but yes, all those swearing that the world will end in our lifetime are all OVER the place. its my understanding that this is nothing new, every christian generation has believed there's is the time described in Revelations. the only difference these days is all the stuff outside of the bible contributing : I read some books about the bible codes, and even Nostradamus. there are a lot of "prophecies" discussed in those books with dates in the upcoming years. personally i dont see the world ending in the near future, but if it does well shit guess i'll be wrong:)

i myself am a damn wasteful person but it has absolutely NOTHING to do with religion. i consider myself a nice, moral person but when it comes to taking care of nature for some reason i just never cared. i will litter, throw away plastics and such, and fill up my tank without a second thought. maybe once i grow up i will care about it more (only 19), but right now i dont really care since non of it is directly affecting my life.

the thing about religions is that the religion of the time is believed as doctrine, and religions of the past laughed at -polytheist romans, greeks, aztecs, olmecs. so then what happens when this present becomes the past and the religions of now are regarded as humorous and mystical, having no root in fact or evidence? they will be laughed at