Sunta

Sorry I forgot the user's name. It was "darrell".

I don't think that raising sincere questions is equal to mockery and ridicule. Just questioning Christian ideas does not mean I am mocking them. My question about the rapture is sincere. I really don't know, and don't understand, why people who believe in it are not considered to be delusional and mentally ill by today's mental health standards. I'm not being sarcastic or mean, but that is a real question.

I saw this woman on tv last night "pastor Melissa Scott." Wow. This woman was ranting on and on about "numbers" and "symbols" in the bible and how they all tie in together and relate to each other. And she was going on and on about the number 7 and the number 3 and crazily drawing on a blackboard and circling greek letters and drawing arrows all over like in football. She was making sentence diagrams and relating them to numbers and words in Greek, and running all over the stage and I could not make one bit of sense out of anything she was saying. Her thoughts were rambling all over the place. She even looked crazy and she had on this bizarre outfit from "The Matrix". My mom used to work at a hotline for mentally ill people, and let me tell you, alot of these people would call and talk about the same things! This woman Melissa Scott is doing nothing but reinfocing my stance that some of these folks have severe mental health issues.

Hi all,

I received this message in my private messages box. It's incoherant but kind of creepy. Does anyone know how to block someone from PMing?

If anyone wants to yell at me regarding a post, and include things about police beating me up and placing me in a hole in the ground, please do it on the public message board. Thanks.

Here's the PM:

you are a fool!!!

wow you know the complete history of every one of them if you dont like him move far far far away to a place that if to said that that the police would come take you away and your family and beat you and put you in a hole and not feed you this is the greatest country in the world.!!!!!dont let the door hit you on the way out.:angry

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!

I am having the exact same thing and am 10 months out. I went to the doctor and she said it was not a hernia and she saw no sign of infection. She gave me a two-week course of Celebrex and said if it doesn't resolve after that to come back in and we could do a CT scan. She said it just gets irritated sometimes.

I know it's judgmental, but Donald Trump is so ugly that I literally can't look at him. I think he might be the ugliest man alive.

If anyone wants to explain why those who believe in the rapture are not considered delusional by today's mental health standards, I'd be very interested.

I notice from your post that you PB alot. Me too! I ry to be careful but it happens frequently. What are you doing to prevent it?

As I mention above, this is what I do to prevent PBing:

1. Sticking to only liquids in the morning, such as a protein/multivitamin shake.

2. Eating a soft/easy lunch like Beans, chili, Soup, or other soft foods.

3. Always drinking one to two glasses of wine before dinner.

Since following these rules I have not PB'd in over three weeks.

Over the holiays I exchanged calories for what I wanted to eat (like the old fashioned Weight Watchers). I definitely ate Cookies, candy, chocolate, pie, cake, you name it. However I ate very small amounts and I enjoyed each and every bite. I then cut back a bit on regular food and stayed within my calorie limit. Since it's only once a year, I'm not worried about it. I lost about three pounds over the last few weeks! I'm a huge believer in calories in-calories out theory of weight loss. It's been working for me so far...

1) Do any of you use baby spoons or forks for smaller bites?

No, I use regular forks but I take small bites.

2) Do all of you NOT sip Water when eating?

I never drink while eating and wait for one hour after eating.

3) How much alcohol can get you buzzed now that you are banded?

One large glass of wine.

4) Who can still eat fast food?

Noooo way! Stuck every time! Although I can eat 1/2 of the inside of a bean burrito from Taco Bell, but probably only because that is so mushy.

5) Who can still eat bread?

No problem with any kind of bread, but often skip most of it because it fills me up too fast and prohibits me from eating enough Protein. Usually a couple of bites does the trick.

6) Do any of you do Atkins?

No way! I'm done with low-carb!

7) Do any of you do Weight Watcher's program?

No. I'm so happy I don't have to diet any more.

8) Does sex count as exercise?

Absolutely!

9) Anyone have problems with chewing/swallowing/digesting nuts?

I've been stuck on nuts more than once. They are very difficult for me. However, if I have my wine first it relaxes my system enough to have a few nuts very very slowly and in tiny tiny bites.

10) What about cheese?

Never had a problem with any kind of cheese.< /p>

11) Anyone already noticing their skin sagging?

Yes! I'm 72 pounds down and my boobs point straight to the floor. My lower abdomen is starting to look like I've had a baby.

12) Any good snack ideas out there besides veggies? I am burned out on them!!

I love regular Snacks like pretzels, fritos, cheese, chips. But I really don't snack very often as these foods are high calorie. I save them for about once a week.

13) Any good tips period?

I'd like to share my rules for avoiding a PB. Prior to these rules I was Pbing once a week or more. After following these rules I have gone over three weeks with no PB!

- liquids only in the morning. (I like to have a Protein shake that contains all of my daily vitamins)

- soft/easy food in tiny tiny bites for lunch (soup, Beans, chili, anything soft)

-One to two glasses of wine before dinner every night.

What a relief to be PB free for over three weeks! My goal is one month or even longer!

14) How long should it take to lose 10 pounds if you are doing everything correctly?

I've been losing about 6.5-7 pounds a month since surgery.

Here we go again blaming the "Christians" for whatever comes up. I think that we as humans have no right to judge anyone else for their actions in the name of Jesus. We all should be living our lives the best way we can and learn to accept others even if they do things that we ourselves would not. All religions deserve respect and maybe we should all try and get the true meaning of the bible instead of trying to "gather" information to attack eachothers beliefs. Just a thought.

So are you saying that no one should be bothered that many Christians are not interested in doing good works, but are instead focused solely on stripping people of their fundamental civil rights, like marriage?

Well, too bad, because that fact bothers me, alot.

Yes, these things absolutetly amaze me. When I went to Catholic school, Christmas was represented as Jesus' birthday, but now, it seems that Catholics and other Christians have jumped on the bandwagon of "oh yes, of course! We know that! Yes, we only Celebrate Christmas because the early church fathers wanted to lure people away from the pagan festival of winter solstice." And that fact of the early church fathers were purposely trying to garner attention for their new religion disturbs no one, it seems. Nor does it disturb them that so many other things were based on pagan religious myths/symbols/festivals/Gods. If the story of Christmas could change that much since I was a kid in Catholic school in the 70's, how much did all of the stories change over thousands of years? I never once heard "oh Jesus was really born in spring" when I went to Catholic school! Never! But now, it's supposed to be common knowledge? It all leaves me scratching my head!

Okay...short version...just to give you some background information: We are now talking about another Mithra cult, than we've previously been discussing. All along, we've been talking about the Roman Mithra followers that had their height of popularity around Jesus' time. The Mirtha myth we are speaking about now comes from the Iranian beliefs. Their beliefs are extremely different from each other. That's not actually important to know necessarily, I'm just letting you know since it's so easy to mix them up. Aside from the name of the "god" they worshiped (well technically the Roman god is Mithras and the Iranian god is Mithra), they had almost nothing in common.

Yes, I'm aware that in different regions and at different time periods the name and the stories morphed and changed over time. The origin of the Roman Mithra is the Persian God Mithras. The very point I am trying to make is that religions throughout history have borrowed, copied, downright stolen, themes, ideas, stories, even names, from other religions. It is very clear to see is it not?

One can review history and see the extreme similarities in certain aspects of religions. Surely you don't think the names "Mithra" and "Mithras" were a concidence, independently named by totally different peoples who never heard anything about other religions?

Sorry again to go back to this simplistic example, but it holds alot of signifigance in this argument. Whisper down the lane. Ever played it? I'm not trying to be flippant, but before the age of television and newspapers, people relied on oral storytelling. Surely you can see how stories and Gods, God's names, etc., could logically be brought over from other regions, passed down generations, and morph and change over time. One just cannot argue that the themes and ideas are identical in some cases, as well as names, dates, details of stories, and phraseology.

Let's review the things we agree on:

Mithras was born of an "Immaculate Virgin Mother"

Mithras and Mithra's names are almost identical

Mithra was a mediator between God and Man

Now, here are some things you might not agree with, but in the interpretation of most experts there are many similarities between the beliefs of Mithraists and the beliefs of Christians including:

The use of baptism

The partaking of bread and wine in rememberance of the final days of Mithra

Mithra had 12 companions

The believe in the soul, and heaven and hell

The belief in a last judgement

The belief in the resurrection of the dead

Mithra's resurrection was celebrated every year

Mithra was known as the lamb, the shepard, and the Messiah

I'm sure there are more but my memory is foggy. I'll have to read up on him again.

Now, is it possible to explain away all of these "coincidences"?

Christmas is not "based on" a Pagan festival.

Then why are the festivals very similar? (Festival of lights, gift giving, the evergreen trees, etc.)

"The largest temple with a Mithraic connection is the Seleucid temple at Kangavar in western Iran (c. 200 BC), which is dedicated to "Anahita, the Immaculate Virgin Mother of the Lord Mithras".

Pam, try to look at things from a wider angle. I am trying to explain that basic themes, ideas, and stories were borrowed from earlier religions, not that point-by-point every detail was identical.

So Mithra may have been born out of rock indeed, but that does not negate the fact that at some point, an Immaculate Virgin Mother was connected to his birth. Seleucid was a Goddess and she was eternally immaculate whether or not she had sexual encounters, but it's the theme and the terminology that I'm interested in. Religions during that time grew and changed over time and regions. As stories were handed down orally, they spread from one locale to another and morphed as time went by. The fact remains that Mithra was tied to his Immaculate Virgin Mother by 200 BC.

When you compare the themes and ideas in both of the stories, there is just no way you can deny the extreme similarities between them.

Don't you think that early church founders could have borrowed heavily from alot of Mithraism (and other religions)? I just don't understand how learned people like yourself do not question the story of Jesus when you know the extreme similarities between Jesus and other, much earlier Gods. You also know that Christmas is based on a Pagan festival. Do you think other things, like Jesus' characteristics could also be based on the Pagan gods? Or just Christmas. You think that's the only thing that was copied from Paganism? Really?

Thank you, Jack.

How I wish politically active Christians would ever be willing to actually do something that helps people instead of working to make laws that strip people of their basic civil rights...

Carlene, a few quick (and very sincre) questions before I really head out the door to the mall. With all of your knowledge, do you ever have trouble reconciling what you know with your complete faith in Jesus as the "one true Lord and Savior"? If not, could you explain how you do reconcile the facts with your belief?

Does it trouble you or make you question things when you know as fact that the early church founders purposely sought to replace other religions with their own? Do the similarities to other religions bother you at all?

Does it ever make you question the validity of Jesus when you really think about what Christianity asks you to believe? The ability to raise people from the dead had always been something only "mythological" figures could do, as well as changing Water into wine. We know that it is impossible to really do these things. It's what we know to be true fact.

Why do Christians believe that all of these other "myths" are just that- myths, but yet Jesus, who bears so many similarities to these other mythological Gods, is not a myth? I truly do not understand that and have been wondering about it.

Ok, off to the mall.

You do not have to agree with anyone else's idea of when, where, or how to worship, but recorded history is seldom open to interpretation.

Carlene, herein lies the problem. Each church believes that their doctrine, viewpoints, interpretation of the scriptures, etc etc., are the "right" interpretation. Each church is working from a similar document (the bible), but there are many different versions of the bible, and many different interpretations of the scriptures.

I am not trying to be patronizing when I refer you to the game of whisper down the lane, but I do think the comparison is a logical one here.

To go back to the amulet depicting the crucifixion of Dionysus for a moment, Pam asserts that it's a fake, a forgery the is "copying" Christianity. If that were true, it's just another example of one religious tradition borrowing from another. When speaking of one religion being "the right one", the very fact that religions have often borrowed certain images and stories from each other becomes troubling. Throughout history, in oral and written accounts, we can very clearly see the same themes of Gods, miracles, heroes, saviors, virgin births, feats of superhuman power. Pam states that she's not impressed by the example of both Dionysus and Jesus changing Water into wine at a wedding. In her interpretation, that is nothing more than a coincidence, a fact able to be blown off easily as nothing more than serendipity. In my interpretation, it's pretty eye-opening, evidence of some sort that Christianity was borrowed from other traditions and stories.

So with just the people on this thread, we have vastly different interpretations of the same fact.

To me, that is a problem in terms of ever "proving" that any religion is "the right one".

Someone else brought up the excellent question of how do we reconcile the idea that Muslims believe in Allah as feverently (if not more feverently) as Christians believe in Jesus? Who is "right"? They think they are right, Christians think they are right. It's becomes an example of a micro version of "eternal return". It then becomes an impossibility to prove who is right and who is not.

Going back to Paganism for a moment, it is recorded that there are many, many similarities between Paganism and Christianity. Easter is a perfect example of that. Sometimes I wonder if Christians ever stop and think about the question "what do bunnies and eggs have to do with Jesus?" The answer is they don't, but could very probably be a holdover from the days of the Goddess Ostara, who turned a bird into a rabbit who would then lay colored eggs to amuse children. Bunnies were also the Pagan symbol of fertility. This goddess was the goddess of fertility and is linked to goddesses Ishtar,Astarte, and Eostre. Now of course this story also grew and changed over time, and were finally adopted by Christianity. It's just one example out of so many that point to Christianity being a religion that borrowed many traditions and stories from older religions. And isn't it a fascinating coincidence that Mithra was also born on December 25th?

The Roman winter solstice festival Saturnalia is also fun to look up and read about.

Oh but really there are just so, so many parrallel myths/festivals/stories/holidays/characteristics that I once again find myself out of time!

I have the day off and must now go and be roped into the commercialism that is Christmas, lest my mother be disappointed with a lack of presents.

Pam, the Pagans copied Christianity? Now, wait, I know for someone who reads and researches as much as you, there is no way you could possibly believe that.

Regarding the amulet, I don't think that all scholars dismiss it as "fake", though I will grant that if several experts think it is, it's authenticity could be questioned.

However, there are plenty of Pagan symbols that pre-date Christ (Paganism being a much much older religion as I'm sure you're aware). Do you believe all of them to be fake as well?

They made no claims about Dionysus being cruxified

Pam, let me refer you to this link:

http://www.stormfront.org/whitehistory/hwr17a.htm

It has some great pictures of early pagan and/or Greek symbols, one of which is a picture of the crucifixion of Dionysus.

Finally, what are you thoughts on Mithra? He was born of a virgin mother and lots of other similarities...

My only question, Pam, is why are the Greek and/or Egyptian Gods "myths" and Jesus is not? They are all "Gods" and most perform miracles and fight "evil" and etc.

I'm not saying that every single action these other Gods took exactly is the mirror of Jesus's actions, I'm saying that there are plenty of similarities between Jesus and many, many other Gods. The writers of bible most certainly picked and chose which stories to keep, tweak, discard, change, and borrow from.

Yes, of course there are differences, but overall, the themes are very similar, and in some cases, the stories parrallel exactly.

The unpardonable sin is the deliberate refusal to acknowledge God's power in Christ. It indicates a deliberate and irreversible hardness of the heart.

I believe with my whole heart and soul, not by any hardness of heart and not by defiance, but I just truly, deeply believe, that Jesus as we know him in the bible, is mythology, the same as Greek mythology, Indian mythology, or any other religious mythology.

After thinking for myself and carefully examining the evidence, I've decided that Jesus may or may not have lived in history, but that the lore that grew up around him was hand-picked by kings, based on other ancient God's stories, revised by hundreds of people over hundreds of years, and is totally implausable, and therefore, is not true.

I know that other gospels and texts have been purposely suppressed by the church, and that the bible was written with a direct agenda which included keeping women from holding positions of power (priest, etc) in the church.

I know that other texts have surfaced which have just as much historical validity as the scriptures, and that they are dismissed by Christians as "false." Now, what makes these documents "false" and the scriptures "true"? Is it simply because your pastor/priest says so?

I see alot of people not thinking critically, but just believing whatever they are told without questioning the validity of what they are being told, or thinking about what they really believe. The things that they really believe are impossible according to the laws of science and nature, and they are impossible according to everything we know to be true.

The story has been told many times, and long before Christ's arrival on the scene: The child who will be the savior of his people is born surrounded by miracles. His mother became pregnant under mysterious circumstances and/or godly intervention. His birth was lowly, not fit for a king or a god. The birth was foretold and announced by miracles and cosmic signs. He performs miracles unlike any other person, feats of superhuman ability. This is Jesus's stroy, but it is also the story of Adonis, Dionysus, Mithras, Arthur, and hundreds of other god and heroes of myth, legend and religion. If you want to read texts very similar to the bible but written long before, check out Egyptians Orisis and Horus and the Greek God Dionysis. There you can read stories about feeding a multitude, raising people from the dead, battling temptation from Satan (or "Set" as in the case of Horus), changing Water into wine (Dionysis did this at a wedding), riding into town on a donkey with the crowd waving foliage, trial before a ruler, crucifixion and resurrection (also Dionysis, only a Pegasus took him to heaven instead of being magically ascended). These are just two Gods out of hundreds where identical situations/characterizations to Jesus occured in the text. Most likely the bible was gleaned from many Gods over time, and compiled into one just monotheistic figure, who is Jesus. If I went and gathered all of the myths from lots and lots of Gods, I could give so many more examples, but I don't have time.

Just as we do not believe in ancient Greek and/or Egyptian mythology, because it is too fantastical, so I do not believe in Jesus.

I know the appeal and the strong lure of hoping, wishing, and praying that these things are/were true, but unfortunately, they are not. Everything that we know to be true, every principal of what we know to be fact, runs contrary to belief in these things.

That, combined with the examples cited above of pre-Jesus myths that tell the exact same story, I can deduct that Jesus was a mythological figure compiled from other mythology.

And that is the reason I become so angry when belief in this mythological figure shapes our laws.

The pupose of this post is not to inflame, but to explain and inform regarding my beliefs, and I hope no one is offended. This is simply what I believe. I think people should be free to believe whatever they want to, I really do, I just don't want laws made based on their religious beliefs.

I feel like the religious view of it blames the addict. Am I wrong? It concerns me that people keep saying you're "making bad choices" when really, your brain chemistry is working against you and at this point, it is not your fault. People who go to rehab get medicine, counseling, and real help. It concerns me that a church wouldn't be tolerant of "repeat sinners". That is rediculous. Find a church that is more than tolerant and embraces you with open arms. It sounds like all the guilt religion throws out there just isn't working. It's time to try something different. It's so great that you contacted a counselor and you should feel really proud about that. Even though it would be difficult to admit a problem to others, do consider rehab as an option.

I got the impression he was talking about Conservative Christians.

I love, love, love this article by the son of Jim and Tammie Faye Baker! It perfectly expresses how I feel!

Editor's note: Jay Bakker, son of former Praise The Lord leaders Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Messner, is minister of Revolution Church and subject of a new documentary series, "One Punk Under God," on Sundance Channel. Marc Brown is a Revolution staff member.

NEW YORK (CNN) -- What the hell happened? Where did we go wrong? How was Christianity co-opted by a political party? Why are Christians supporting laws that force others to live by their standards? The answers to these questions are integral to the survival of Christianity.

While the current state of Christianity might seem normal and business-as-usual to some, most see through the judgment and hypocrisy that has permeated the church for so long. People witness this and say to themselves, "Why would I want to be a part of that?" They are turned off by Christians and eventually, to Christianity altogether. We can't even count the number of times someone has given us a weird stare or completely brushed us off when they discover we work for a church.

So when did the focus of Christianity shift from the unconditional love and acceptance preached by Christ to the hate and condemnation spewed forth by certain groups today? Some say it was during the rise of Conservative Christianity in the early 1980s with political action groups like the Moral Majority. Others say it goes way back to the 300s, when Rome's Christian Emperor Constantine initiated a set of laws limiting the rights of Roman non-Christians. Regardless of the origin, one thing is crystal clear: It's not what Jesus stood for.

His parables and lessons were focused on love and forgiveness, a message of "come as you are, not as you should be." The bulk of his time was spent preaching about helping the poor and those who are unable to help themselves. At the very least, Christians should be counted on to lend a helping hand to the poor and others in need.

This brings us to the big issues of American Christianity: Abortion and gay marriage. These two highly debatable topics will not be going away anytime soon. Obviously, the discussion centers around whether they are right or wrong, but is the screaming really necessary? After years of witnessing the dark side of religion, Marc and I think not.

Christians should be able to look past their differences and agree to disagree. This allows people to discuss issues with respect for one another. Christians are called to love others just as they are, without an agenda. Only then will Christianity see a return to its roots: Loving God with all of your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.

The Apostle Paul describes this idea of love beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13:4-7: "Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."

But don't take our word for it; look at what Jesus and his followers stood for in his time and what Christianity stands for today. Then come to your own conclusion.

I am only 10 months out, but I figure that's close enough to answer, right? I eat about a cup (but normally don't finish everything on my plate) of whatever I want. Totally normal food.

For lunch I just finished about 3/4 cup of tofu with brocolli leftover from my Chinese dinner last night.

Thanksgiving I ate turkey, mac and cheese, butternut squash/carrot casserole, mashed potatoes, and two tiny pieces of pie. Since I took about a spoonful of each thing, my plate totalled about a cup of food, and boy did I enjoy it!

I have been having a problem with PBing every week, but recently started following some different rules, and today I am 9 days out from my last PB. I drink wine every night with dinner and it greatly alleviates the PBing. For breakfast I stick with a Protein shake because I'm tight, and for lunch I take teeny tiny bites and chew forever. My goal is to reach one month with no PB's.

I probably enjoy food more now than before surgery, because I don't feel guilty about eating now!