God
Jesus
heaven/hell
afterlife
reincarnation
ghosts
aliens
Bigfoot
Loch Ness Monster
I believe in none of the above
Sorry Mbalmr. I don't always see what I see.
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
I went to an Episcopal church function once with a friend, to the church where she was a member. This was the coolest church thing i'd ever been to. They had "Vegas" night and everything was fixed up like a casino. There were prizes given away (no gambling for money) but it was all so much fun! And the wine was flowing, i'm tellin' ya.....ya never seen nuttin' like that in the Baptist church (I was raised a Southern Baptist). However, I have not been a practicing member of that religion since I was 18, which was many, many moons ago, haha
No worries, cleanskull. Any day I'm mistaken for Axl is a good day for me.
Hey, Baptists aren't on the list, are they?? I wonder whom else might have been "left out."
MbalmR........that is funny! LOL!!!
http://nl.youtube.com/watch?v=MeSSwKffj9o
George Carlin says it all............
John Trim On Face Book
On the internet you can be anything you want.
It is strange that so many people choose to be stupid.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
I've only worked one Baptist funeral during my career, and may I say, Baptists know how to put on a show!!! It was fabulous! Lots of music, talented musicians, thoughtful prayer.....it was a great send-off for the deceased, and I know everyone there felt uplifted rather than down-trodden after. God bless!
I gave up Catholicism for lent...
John Trim On Face Book
On the internet you can be anything you want.
It is strange that so many people choose to be stupid.
[SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
The closer the kin, the deeper its in.
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
I don't really believe in that crap but I do live in Oklahoma and ya just hear things ya know.
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
I am in the same boat. We also toyed with trying out the Catholic Church as I have always felt this overwhelming peace whenever I have attended Mass (one of my Catholic friends said I am feeling the call of the Eucharist) however we just don't have time to attend the necessary classes.
My whole thing with orginized religion, is that men are faulty, and if they are held to a higher degree because they are God fearing Preachers, and then fall flat on their faces, how can they tell you that you are wrong ?
The Bible says "If two or three are gathered in my name, I will visit the sprit upon them..." (Not exact quote, but 99% close...)
Why do you need to go somewhere, where there are so many people, there is no way anyone would know who you are, unless you fit into their clique ?
All orginazations have cliques.
When we moved down here to Texas, we joined a church, which seemd nice. We went every sunday, until my mother's health began to fail. When she died, I called the minister. He came over, sat with us for a while, left, and I had heard no offers of condolences, no one checked to see if we are still alive, Nothing. I still see some of these church members, from time to time. One of them had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to contribute to the Pastor's Anniversary ! I haven't seen thes people in 3 years, and the only one who talked to me, was asking for money ??!!?!?!
As you may have concluded, I have not been to church since my mother passed. I have issues with Churches right now, so when I feel like it, I talk to God myself. I don't need a man in a 700.00 suit to tell me to pray. I know how to do that myself, thank you...
P.S.- My sister and a few of her friends belong to a church in S.F. called City of Refuge, on Howard Street http://www.sfrefuge.org/ the female pastor is gay, and she was ordained by Walter Hawkins, over in Oakland..
Last edited by dovescry1999; 02-09-2008 at 05:24 PM. Reason: found some more info
My dad used to live near a Baptist Church in Mississippi, those folks sure knew how to host a covered-dish. They were actually pretty nice people, they'd bring us treats from their festivals if we were outside. Nobody ever left a good Baptist covered-dish hungry in that county.
Their pastor was hilarious. He used to tell my dad that his congregation was full of great people he just wished he could do something about the "buzzard Baptists." Dad asked what a buzzard Baptist was and the pastor said that's the folks who only come to church when there's food, usually at funerals. He'd point them out to us when he was in a joking mood. Come to think of it, he's the pastor who used to play "First Baptist Bar and Grill" at top volume.
I was raised Pentecostal Holiness (thats holy roller to the average Joe)
My friend used to call it the $money$ church.
First as I step into these waters, thank you Annie for your well written list of "shit". I know that most of you already know that I'm both a mid-40ish & still practicing Roman Catholic (we usually attend a mass for the gay & lesbian community, sponsored by the Franciscan Sisters at their nearby retreat center) and also that (as IF anyone didn't already know), I am gay.
I am a firm believer in the time-honored gay tradition of relying on song lyrics, especially from showtunes, to summarize my thoughts. For my feelings on the subject of religion & homosexuality, I rely on the lyrics as well-crafted as they were, by Crosby, Stills, & Nash... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6pphVs8bF0
I've managed to "cling" to my religious upbringing in spite of myself. 3 out of the 5 of us who were all raised by the same two great people to "follow" the same faith are still involved with the church. The other two are/were (I use the term "were" since my oldest sibling is no longer living) as Christian as anyone could ever define a person, but who didn't elect to follow any form of organized religion.
Ironically, no one in my family tree ever taught, suggested or implied that being gay was o.k., much less did ANYTHING to make me "turn out this way"...but familial love has trumped all & I'm blessed with a very compassionate family.
My final thought (or food for thought for those who might read this who have chosen to live a life that is directed solely by scripture....and I am by no means trying to suggest that is a wrong choice for anyone)....I believe that God made me just as I am, with no regret. I believe that human sexuality is a gift from God. Since I've not chosen to live a life of celibacy (as my own chosen faith suggests is in accordance) I do believe that I am not in peril of eternal damnation for embracing my sexuality or for expressing that gift from God through physical love. I am not trying to justify or force my views on anyone else here, just saying that I'm not hiding my light under a bushel...so to speak.
I believe that my folks DID teach their children well.
Hugs, Dennis
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Nice link DJ, I luvs me some CSN and sometimes Y. Some of the old Viet Nam war protest songs sound relevant today. I was raised BIG TIME Southern Baptist. My Dad was a Deacon and I was a Royal Ambassador ( Its a SB Thang). I went into the military and ended up in a very non Southern Baptist country. You know who did not seem to work in southeast Asia. You know who seems to work better round folks with money and better living conditions. People doing good deeds make a bigger difference in this world. I shied away from mainstream religion and now embrace a hybrid that teaches respect for all living things and nature. Reckon if I'm hell bound I'll have plenty of friends down there.
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
Jeez, I wonder how long ago they stopped that program, it was sorta like a mini - deacon for the church. I even still have my little medal for not missing sunday school for 5 years running. It was when I was living in Millington, TN. just up from Memphis. SB ground zero.
Stay in Drugs. Eat your School. Don't do Vegetables.
Well I surprised to find I ain't banned.
BTW, MbalmR...your list...that's about the tall and short of it.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39
I Believe Ego Kills Them.
What about John Lennon 1980, age 40 years. He said early on he didn't want to be a 40 year Beatle. I don't think the devil took him. I think he was created by God, did his work and went on to his reward:
"Christ you know it any easy. You know how hard it could be. The way things are going, they're going to crucify me!"
They did.
jigsaw
Last edited by Jigsaw; 05-10-2008 at 04:43 PM. Reason: grammar
I believe that the easter bunny is going to fly out of santa clause's butt and sprinkle magic dust on the tooth fairy and then all her teeth will turn into leprechauns and they will spank us all to DEATH!!!
I doubt this phenom is as new as the 1920's that's just when it became so widely publicized less so after 1970 because the public became desensitized look at how quickly eath Ledger faded from front page.
Sorry I'm more karmically oriented than the devil made me do it.
it's random...compare the death rates of stars to regular folks and it's probably not significantly different...if there is a difference, it may be due to the occupational hazards
of stardom...too much traveling by air, too much money in combination with too much
"down time"
Heath Ledger is coming back to the front page with the release of the new "Batman" film.
He was so special to so many with his portrayal of "Ennis Del Mar" in "Brokeback Mountain".
It broke my heart to hear of his death.
He made a difference.....
While I partially agree with the statement that both the parents of a famous child, and those of a non-famous child have the same responsibilities, I believe there's a major difference...Or there should be. The lack of there being a difference is what ends up severely messing these famous kids up most of the time, in my opinion.
The parents of a famous child have the added responsibility of dealing with the ego that can come from fame and success, not to mention the vast quantities of money, the early introduction to booze, drugs, and sex, and all of the other evils hidden not-so well in the shadows of Hollywood.
I'd rather raise a "non-famous" kid anyday!
And in response to the original post...
Using the old "The Devil Made Me Do It" alibi for making wrong decisions and living unhealthy lifestyles is a total cop out. Even if one insists on taking a biblical stand-point to explain these celebrity deaths and otherwise ruined lives, it does state in the Bible that God gives us all free will. To shrug that off in favor of suggesting that these people made a pact with the devil is ridiculous, and concocted solely to take the blame for some talented people losing their lives off the people themselves.
I agree, but I'd also hate to be a famous child. A child doesn't have the emotional maturity to differentiate between someone being genuinely friendly and someone kissing up to them. The entire world loves them - as long as they are making money. As soon as the money goes, though, they get dropped by everyone, and at that age they can't handle it. They simply aren't able to brush it off.
Worse, they have this enormous pressure on them to be constantly productive. Most 35-year-olds would find it difficult to handle the responsibility of a job where calling in sick means 100 people don't get paid for that day: how can an eleven-year-old handle it?
And if that wasn't enough, then you get into the exploitation. A lot of the old-school child actors had the most rudimentary education imaginable. Studios would have a teacher on hand for inspections and the like, but the actual education was very poor, and children were cajoled or guilted into working far longer than the laws allowed. Elizabeth Taylor has talked about this many times. She was able to parlay her child stardom into adult stardom; most child stars weren't that lucky, and ended up at 18 both unwanted by the film industry and unable to get another job. (And one reason for this is that cute children don't always make handsome adults.)
Last edited by Blurgle; 05-10-2008 at 04:42 PM.
I still recall an interview in a fashion magazine. Her mother was laughing and said her daughter's refused to even get up to get themselves a Diet Coke.
If they wanted one(or even a refill) someone brought it to them each and everytime.
That alone would do something to your personality if this is all you knew growing up.
Yup I think that too but of course I don't believe in the devil. I think we do things because we want to whether we are told from the time of birth to age 50 that it's wrong we still do it. I think young movie stars lose themselves somewhere along the way. They start believing their own publicity and start identifying with parts they have played. They run with older people, get into bars and clubs when underaged and then come the drugs. I would think that after 10 yrs of being a star and then poof no parts coming your way would screw any kid up.
is poor Annisa Jones. Such a sweet little girl and such a lovely teenage girl. Lived a tough, short life. Her parents belong in the worst parenting job ever category.
mmmmmkay .....