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Post by sidburn on Sept 27, 2011 16:36:32 GMT -5
What do you make of that phrase? I think it may be well-intentioned in a way, but to most people, I would imagine it just comes across as "My religion is better than yours".
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Post by Vypernight on Sept 27, 2011 16:38:38 GMT -5
Relationships are taxable then. Nuff said.
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Post by Wykked Wytch on Sept 27, 2011 16:41:40 GMT -5
A Christian friend of mine tried to convince me that Christianity wasn't actually a religion, it was a "relationship with Jesus" and that this meant it wasn't covered under the separation of Church and State.
"Does it involve a super-human being?" "Yes." "Do you praise and worship it?" "Yes." "Newsflash: It's a religion."
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Post by davedan on Sept 27, 2011 16:46:33 GMT -5
Relationships are taxable then. Nuff said. Exactly, your church is a relationship not a religion? Ok then the IRS wants back taxes from the inception of your church. Also you are being prosecuted for tax fraud. You have claimed tax exemption on the basis of being in a religion when you were in a relationship not a religion. It's the big house for you. Also we need to subpoena Jesus to talk testify about this relationship. If he does not turn up we would ask for a Jones v Dunkel inference to be drawn. Further from the sounds of things it just sounds like you pestering this Jesus guy. He doesn't seem to be interested in the relationship and we are going to see if he wants to press charges for stalking and harrassment.
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Post by brendanrizzo on Sept 27, 2011 17:28:54 GMT -5
Funny how they say "it's a relationship, not a religion", but then whenever freedom of religion is brought up they say it IS a religion. Hypocrites...
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Post by carole on Sept 27, 2011 17:58:42 GMT -5
Where did you hear this at? Because it sounds like a mega-church slogan. Kind of like "we are not just playing church" and "we are not perfect - just forgive" (that last one just really gets under my skin for some reason).
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Post by The_L on Sept 27, 2011 18:21:59 GMT -5
Whenever someone pulls this card, I just say "Then Wicca isn't a religion either--it's a personal relationship with the Goddess and Horned God." There is no way to argue against that statement that doesn't also apply to the equivalent statement about Christianity.
If the person still doesn't get it, I add in Hinduism/Ganesh, Islam/Allah, Voudun/Bondye, etc., until it sinks in.
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Post by gyeonghwa on Sept 27, 2011 19:32:36 GMT -5
Where did you hear this at? Because it sounds like a mega-church slogan. Kind of like "we are not just playing church" and "we are not perfect - just forgive" (that last one just really gets under my skin for some reason). It gets in my skin too. It's like they're saying "we're better than you and we get away with more shit just because some bigger than likes us better." It's really cocky when you think about it.
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Post by Mlle Antéchrist on Sept 27, 2011 20:40:28 GMT -5
Incidentally, the people who say that Christianity is a "relationship" are usually the same ones who insist that atheism is a religion.
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Post by clockworkgirl21 on Sept 28, 2011 2:23:20 GMT -5
I worship Broadway star Idina Menzel. So, if I say instead of a religion, I have a relationship with her, it won't be creepy?
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Post by sylvana on Sept 28, 2011 2:54:18 GMT -5
Incidentally, the people who say that Christianity is a "relationship" are usually the same ones who insist that atheism is a religion. Well in the modern era religions are seen as bad. Islam is a religion, and the fundies just love to rail about how evil it is. Also religion support the determent and stunting of both societal and scientific advancement. Not to mention that people in religions mindlessly follow the dogma and perform rituals and any number of things fundies find offensive. As such fundies don't want to be flagged as bad with the religion banner, so the choose to cop out and say it is a relationship. Of course, because religion is seen as bad, and of course they see atheism as bad, they think atheism is a religion. (The fact that their 'relationship' has every single symptom and sign of religion completely misses them.)
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Post by RavynousHunter on Sept 28, 2011 3:04:30 GMT -5
That view's kinda bullshit, really. (Not calling you out or anything, Sylv, just sayin.) I mean, sure people abuse the everloving FUCK out of religion...you don't need to look very far to find examples of that: Branch Davidian, Heaven's Gate, Aum Shinrikyo, et cetera. However, there are many people out there, mostly the silent majority, who use their religion for good. They give to charities, volunteer for outreach programs, and generally do good things. Though...to change the view, one should wrest that silent, good majority from its silent slumber and get it to speak out against the liars, cheats, and frauds.
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Post by Haseen on Sept 28, 2011 3:40:00 GMT -5
If someone actually said that to me, I'd have to ask if they ever hear back from Jesus, like actual words. And if it didn't involve a lot of mushrooms, there are meds for that.
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Post by Dragon Zachski on Sept 28, 2011 6:46:06 GMT -5
I'm 65% sure that I thought this was bullshit even when I was a die-hard fundie.
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Post by QWcanary on Sept 28, 2011 7:56:16 GMT -5
When a believer uses this term, they are constructing their own definition of "relationship" because what they are talking about in no way parallels to real relationships.
A relationship is a two-way street where both parties communicate (among other things). I had a friend tell me this similar phrase and I asked him about communication. He said Jebus talked to him all the time so I asked him how the voice sounded and he got angry and defensive. I asked him what God's favorite color (for if they had a relationship, he would surely know). In summary, he was pulling shit out of his ass.
This "relationship" they refer to is nothing of the kind -it's not like a relationship between friends, lovers, family, or anything. Hence, it's not a relationship.
I think the Fundies Dictionary would definite it as such:
Relationship: Noun. Psychosexual obsession with Ancient Middle-Eastern Nomad.
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