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In a previous thread I have argued that most Christians are immoral. I would like to develop this now and argue that the entire basis of the religion is itself immoral and wicked. Before I start it is important to realise that I am talking about Christianity as in 'following Jesus'. I take a Christian to be someone who tries to live their life according to the teachings of the character from the New Testament - Jesus of Nazareth. It is also important to realise that I am not 'having a dig' at individual Christians. Fortunately, I think, most self-professed Christians actually don't follow the teachings of the bible character. So, let me start by trying to establish what I believe jesus teaches. I am NOT going to include the usual versions of the universal ethic (do unto others.....love thy neighbour....etc) because that particular ethic far pre-dates Christianity and is common to most religions before and since. There is nothing specifically Christian about the notion of treating others as you would like to be treated. So what messages can we say are particularly Christian? I want to concentrate on four. 1. Jesus/God is the only one who can forgive sin. 2. A true follower should cast aside worldly considerations and follow Jesus. 3. Turn the other cheek to enemies/transgressors. 4. Thinking bad things is as bad as doing them (thought crime). The biblical support for these is beyond dispute, and I leave it as an exercise for the reader to find the particular references. So let's consider these individually. 1. I find the notion that anyone has the power to forgive a sin committed against me immoral. The notion that someone can injure me and then receive pardon, regardless of my wishes, is repugnant. To those who say that secular courts do the same thing, you are quite wrong. Secular courts act on behalf of society and do not forgive anything. A not guilty verdict is not forgiveness, and a person who serves a sentence in prison is not 'forgiven' for the original offence. 2. Jesus says repeatedly that a true believer should walk away from worldly responsibilities - such as family - and follow him. This is deeply immoral. All of us have people who are, to some greater or lesser extent, dependant on us. The idea that we should simply walk away and not worry about their well-being is obnoxious, yet this is the message that Jesus repeatedly preaches. 3. Forgiving enemies might seem like a noble and worthy goal but it is not. If someone strikes me, and I simply turn the other cheek, then how are they to learn that their behaviour is unacceptible? What is to stop them hitting someone else - especially since their experience teaches them that such behaviour carries no sanction? I am perfectly willing to forgive someone who has done me wrong, but I would first wish to see some evidence that they are genuinely sorry for the wrong. 4. The most repulsive part of the Christian doctrine is the notion of thought crime. God, we are told, is like the ultimate dictator. Not only does he see what you do, he sees what you think, and what you think will be counted as evidence on the day of judgement. Even the God of the Old testament, Yaweh - selfish, sadistic, genocidal maniac that he is - does not condemn people for their thoughts, only their actions. It is the supposedly new improved, user-friendly version - Jesus - that introduces this repellant notion. Thus we read in Matthew: You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment… You have heard that it was said, 'Do not commit adultery.' But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart. The notion that people's thoughts are equal to their actions is profoundly and deeply immoral. One of the things that separates us from other animals is our ability to NOT act on our instincts and impulses. Thus I may look at a pretty girl and think 'cor....I'd like to.....' (I leave the rest for the reader to imagine - and I promise that I won't convict you of sexual thought crime). To say that this is on a par with actually raping the woman is actually evil. It denies my humanity on a basic level. It also means that, having thought something bad, I may as well go right ahead and actually do it - since there is no difference as far as God sees it. So, in summary, I believe that Christianity, at the very core of the belief system, is immoral and wicked, and I am deeply thankful that most Christians are content to ignore much of the immoral twaddle that the character in the New testament insists upon.

***the views are entirely personal and there is no intention to hurt any sentiments. the post is purely out of academic interest*** Hinduism is probably one of the most confused modern religions. Beginning with the tag of 'religion' and the name 'Hinduism'. For 'Hindu' is the Persian version of the name 'Sindhu', the grand river in north India on whose bank the ancient Indus valley civilization survived. For early Persians and most of the successive invaders and travelers, Hindus were the people who stayed on the banks of river Indus and beyond it. If one studies Hinduism free from prejudices, it shows almost no signs of the existing trends of organized religion. It does not have a single prophet or saint. There is no single religious book like a Bible or Quran. Till date, no one has been able to assess the number of sects and cults that come under Hinduism. There is no way one can initiate oneself in to the Hinduism or no one can debar a person from practicing the religion. After understanding the above points, it is hard to put Hinduism under the umbrella term of 'religion'. As far as personal research guides me, the religion that we know today as Hinduism, has gone through the following stages of evolution- - The pagan religion of Indus valley people. Cult of Mother Goddess Simple rituals of nature worship -The amalgamation of the above with the Vedic religion. Introduction of fire worship from Iran worship of powerful, male Gods like Indra Excess importance to sacrifices - The Puranic religion of ancient age Writing down of epics like Ramayan and Mahabharata Deity-fication of religion. Humanizing of deities Idol worship - Influence of Islam and Christianity throughout medieval period and Bhakti Cult Need to stand out against the popularity of an organized, monotheistic religion of Islam Increasing popularity of monotheistic sects of Vaishnav and Bhagwat Redefining the idea of the tag of 'Hindu' with clear boundaries Of course, Hinduism is not the only religion that has gone through a lot of transformation. But the fact worth pondering upon is that Hinduism is not a deliberate action, or an invention out of an idea. It can be compared to the stream, that flows through endless mountain ranges for an eternity, collecting everything in its stride, and turning itself in into a mighty river and quenching the thirst of millions. And a river is not a judge of what pollutes it and what adds to its beauty. What amazes me is that the entire intellectual corpus of what is Hinduism, is based on a wafer thin assumption that it is a religion. In that way, it is much like India itself- something that survives solidly, based only on the assumption that it is actually a nation. ***Feel free to contradict me***

Music from ancient times has been an essential part of human life. Music brings life into a tired soul. People from ancient times and even today have found music soothing. When you are travelling far music can be the best thing. Now a days every other person is seen listening to music. It's been such an attraction. We categorize music in various sections like Jazz, Blues, Vocal, Hip-Hop, Rap, Rock and Hard core Rock etc. But how important is it for us to choose what we are hearing. Is everything that we hear appropriate. Does the kind of music we hear make any difference in our thought pattern and our personality? And what kind of positive and negative impact can music leave on us? Kindly share your thoughts.

Do you need religious advice? How about romance, life or business? I am nonjudgemental, I am open-minded and support all people of all faiths, races, sexes, sexualities and beliefs. No matter what you need help with, I'll do my best to assist you in a friendly and open way.I am ready and willing to help anyone who asks.

Most of us are simply trying to make sense of this life, into which we are thrust without invitation and which we have to try our best to deal with. Some believe that we can best proceed by learning lessons from others who have gone before. I count myself in that category. Some take it further and believe that we should model our lives on a particular role-model. Christians would, I believe it is fair to say, be in that category.Now, when I try to learn lessons from others, the first obvious thing to do is learn about them - what did they actually say and do. If I want to learn from Kant and the categorical imperative then I need to understand what he was actually saying - otherwise I am simply projecting my own views onto a label and calling it Kant, which is fundamentally dishonest in the same way that constructing a straw-man argument is dishonest.Now, let's apply that simple standard to Christians. Do they make it a priority to learn about Jesus before adopting him as a role model?Well, the only source of information we have is the New Testament. Anyone claiming to be a Christian must surely, therefore, be familiar with this set of documents as a minimum. But is this what we observe? I would say no. Most Christians I debate are woefully ignorant of scripture. Their notion of Jesus is almost entirely fantasy, or 'received wisdom'. You can test this assertion. Ask a Christian to repeat a few things which Jesus actually said. Most will struggle to misquote a few of the more well known phrases. Then ask them what the basic message of Jesus was. You will normally get trite answers like - love thy neighbour. Ask them where this is said and I can guarantee that most of them will have no clue - they know the phrase because they have seen it repeated on the media and in church. They are prepared to believe that Jesus said it, but they are too lazy to actually find out if he actually did, and in what context. The same applies to the list of platitudes that normally pour out of apologist mouths.In truth the average Christian hasn't got a clue about Jesus. They are intellectually lazy, ignorant bigots, who profess belief in something they don't understand and, worse, are not prepared to put the effort into understanding. I have nothing but contempt for this. They are quite happy to support the bigotry found in the bible without actually reading it. Thus Christians often say that homosexuality is a sin, but ask them which part of the bible this comes from and you will be met with either blank looks or, at best, they will name the book of the old Testament. Now ask them what else, from that book, is to be considered immoral. Be prepared for a long wait because they will not know - I absolutely guarantee it. Why am I sure? Because the list of things in Deuteronomy and Leviticus that are considered 'wrong' is massive and largely ridiculous, and nobody could possibly live according to the prescriptions of these books - and I must emphasise that I mean that quite literally, they would not be able to live.But I hear people saying - why single Christians out - surely most people just struggle through life without knowing what they believe chapter and verse. Ask a supporter of evolution what Darwin actually said and they will not know. This is true, but there is a difference. Firstly, evolution (to take a specific example) does not tell you how to behave. More importantly, it does not tell you to condemn others who do not behave the same. Secondly, evolution is testable - like any scientific theory it must be capable of being proved wrong. There are, in short, good reasons to believe it is true, without appealing to faith.So, it is my contention that most Christians - particularly the evangelical variety - are fundamentally immoral. They accept a dogma on faith, discard elements of that dogma they find inconvenient, adapt the actual dogma so that it is nothing more than a reflection of their own prejudices and desires, and then judge others on the basis of this un-testable self-serving bollox.They do not deserve respect - in fact they do not even deserve benign tolerance. They deserve contempt, or at best pity.PS - I have been pulled-up on my use of 'most'. Why, the questioner asked, do you say 'most' Christians? Surely ALL Christians are equally culpable? Well, yes, in actuality that is probably true. I left room, however, for the Christian who knows the bible and genuinely tries to live his life in the way that the biblical Jesus taught. Such a person would not be a hypocrite in my evaluation. They would, however, be a dangerous sociopath who, I sincerely hope, would already be in prison for the rest of their life.If you don't understand why I say this then you haven't read the bible properly.As it happens I also believe that Christianity - as laid-out by Jesus in the New Testament - is a fundamentally immoral philosophy, but that is a different debate.

I am interested in learning about other people's beliefs. I myself am deeply religious, but am very open-minded. I want to know what you believe, why you believe it and how it has become a part of you.I am also very interested in learning about the atheist standpoint. I know that there is no set reason why atheists don't believe in deities, which is why I want to know more about them.I am not here to preach, convert or be converted. I am here to learn. I am more than happy to describe my religion if asked.Even if you see some of your beliefs explained, I'd like you to post your views. No two people's views are the same.Thank you for your time. ^^