Only the true believers find their rest under the gaze of his great noodleness in the land of the beer volcano and hooker factory.

Cellomama, you're supposed to provide the mood music for the Hug Room! I'll be in and out next week myself (mostly out) - vacation!!! I'll leave some tea, though.

I recognize that people's religious belief, even if that belief is in no religion at all, is dear and personal to them. So unless people ask me about it, I leave it alone. I live my life to please God, and in doing so people might notice I do some things differently and might ask why I do or don't do certain things, and that's how the conversation starts. I'm not the pushy, preachy type - people don't like that and honestly, neither do I.

The thing is, sometimes I have found that the hostility and judgment "non-believers" accuse Christians of having toward them is the same hostility and judgment "non-believers" exhibit toward every Christian they meet. It doesn't have to be that way. It's entirely possible to disagree with the belief but not with the person, as a few of my friends do. They're not Christians and one doesn't like organized religion at all, hates it, in fact, but we get on fabulously. We're all going on vacation together next week!

The effort to respect has to be made both ways, and that includes respecting how people choose to express their beliefs, even if you completely disagree with it.

So, the subway ads, previous bus ads, billboard ads by atheist organizations isn't troubling or bothersome or disturbing to me as a Christian. I may not agree with it for MY life, but I don't look negatively upon or belittle someone else if it works for them.

"rAmen"...I'm still laughing at that!

The problem is billions of dollars are spent on religion by the government. Look at all the tax-free tithes or the uncollected property tax. What about the money we waste on military chaplains or that idiot who opens Congress with an invocation. Believe what you want just don't ask me to pay for it. Reasonable
http://blackboyinkimchiland.blogspot.com/

Y'all are too cute ;-)

Now see? A couple of GOOD Christians (a damn shame we feel the need to preface the word Christian these days!) and a couple of good agnostics and we all get along more than dandily.

CG; perfect post.

student_teacher, you took the words right outta my mouth... maybe cuz we're whiteys, LOL (joke, folks). Nah, in my case, come from an Irish-Catholic family... man, I got stories... can't nobody tell me nuthin' 'bout no religion, lol. I'm a freakin' professional.

I'm cool with anyone's beliefs as long as they're not in my face/space about it.

Uh, yeah PaulT, we'll come get "cash advance loans." (WTF??)

RobO.. no worries... won't NObody come crying to you for nuthin'.

Lemme not leave viva Gay out... Lawd no, please don't say more!

Jacquiem... save a spot in the Hug Room for me while I'm gone for another week! Cuz I know some stuff'll pop off about SOMEthin'. And I KNOW you'll still be standing. ;-)

Peace

rAmen???

LOL!!!!!!

I have my pirate costume ready! All hail his great noodleness, rAmen.

Whatever! People have their own beliefs and faiths. Whatever or whoever they follow you cannot change that unless their faith is not strong enough or they do have doubts and uneducated about what they believe in. God’s presence is not something to be looked for. But it is something that is felt and believed even when you do not see it with your naked eyes. It is something that lies beneath our consciousness and conscience. It is the fundamental source of what is right and wrong and the good and the bad. If people are still confused why not get cash advance loans and have some retreat with yourself.

When the Spaghetti god comes and renders you limb from limb for being saucy and unbeliveing, don't come crying to me.

than anybody else. You have to BELIEVE there is no god, there's no proof one way or the other. Now us agnostics, we admit we don't know and leave it at that. Sure the idea of god makes me feel warm and fuzzy, but I'll wait until I see some proof either way. And if god punishes me for that, then he's a jerk anyways.

it doesn't bother me. I believe in God and I feel that if you are an adult and you don't want to believe...that is on you (I don't like smoking but I'm not going to go around snatching cigarettes out of anyone's mouth either).

I do see where the Rabbi is coming from...as if people who believe in God can't be reasonable. However, as he also points out...I think alot of the right wing holier than thou folks started the whole thing with the "decency" and "American values" buzz words. I think you can find bad Christians and bad atheists. I think what is wrong is for people to assume that they are soooo much more right (in other words reasonable, moral, etc.) for having whatever beliefs they have (or don't have) and looking down on others who don't believe (or in the case of atheists no belief) the same things. People who are going to believe in God will and people who are going to be atheists will be atheists. No posters are going to change that.