is Christianity a force for good?
 

Having watched the debate results of the vote whether or not Catholicism was a force
For good and it was heavily towards no, and recently having k99 join us. I am wondering. Is Christianity a force for good? Posting a poll and hope thee votes honestly.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

no religeon is a force for good they are all a force for control

well except jedi'ism thats a force for light entertainment with really cool flashy sticks

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

You can be a Christian and have Christian values without being aligned to any church or faith.
I have stated my views in others posts, it is something that is the business of the individual, and for me, is not for lengthy discussion on the forum, so apologies Rob, I haven't voted.

And for those out there who wish to make assumptions about my motives, or for that matter my spirituality, I would say to you 'cart on, I will neither confirm nor deny your assumptions'.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Faith is the illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable. (Mencken)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Okay, that's Menckens view, but as he's not he's part of the forum he don't get no vote. :D

Rob, the question isn't encompassing enough & the options are to narrow. Obviously you posed it to late at night & no doubt after a few. :)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

There will be a lot of aid going out to those poor people in the wake of Hurricane Haiyan organised by religious organisations of all persuasion.
The victims will also be seeking succour and comfort from their god whosoever he may be in their darkest hours.
I guess even a jedi light sabre will help until the power is restored too Mr A

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I am unable to do the poll because I believe that Christianity has been , is and will be a force for both good and bad .

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Spot on JCB. Religions often start with the best of intentions, but like all things run by mankind, religions create power and power corrupts...

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

sounds more liek a reading from the book of spock :D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

True about late and after a few. But after the poll is over I'll be interested in the results compared to that video I mentioned

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I should've added the option for both

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Intelligence² Debate Results - Is the Catholic church a force for good in the world? (Hitchslap) - YouTube
interesting results for catholic church

Margaret. Wasn't after lengthy debate. Just results of the poll

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I watched the full debate a good while ago .

Good points were made by both sides .

As for the results of the polling after the debate , well they were pretty meaningless and told us very little .

A similar debate in another place and at another time could have come up with quite different results . It just depends who are in the audience .

A poll of a relatively small number of people is not proof as to whether something is a force for good or for bad .

I prefer to look at the people I meet in my every day living , seeing what motivates them and how they cope with the good and bad in life . That tells me more than any debate among a select few individuals who I do not know personally .

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Christianity is what each individual makes of it, I was brought up RC, but it doesn't mean I take everything I was force fed at school seriously, like birth control, can't say I take kindly to a guy, sat in finery in the Vatican, making rules on this when he doesn't play the game

is Christianity a force for good?
 

I cannot understand why a self proclaimed Atheist would start this thread, never mind have a poll about it.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

You might just as well ask if the internet is a force for good, or a force for evil.

Christianity is a set of beliefs, behaviours and actions that have the potential for good.
It is human beings who distort these values for their own agenda who tarnish a faith.

A knife is a fine tool.....you can use it in peace and in harmony......but it can be used for cruelty and killing......so should we ban knives when the vast majority of people use them safely and as a valuable tool.

Faith, religion and belief are individual choices. Choices which may help some people through times and events that they would struggle to get through without this faith.

I don't consider that people who have a strong religious faith to be weak, or to be ill educated, or gullible....just that they have made a choice for themselves which may have been influenced by some event in their life.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Tuttut les.You know I have never self proclaimed myself to be atheist. But I have said borderline-agnostic-atheist. And I blame the bottle of whisky

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I think if you psoe a question like that Rob, you have to be prepared for a debate....lengthy or otherwise.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I can't answer the question as posed ... and I think that the question is not quite as neutral as it appears. And there is the assumption that we all agree on what is "good" ... I don't think we do. We may come to some reasonably close consensus on the difference between right and wrong, esp. those of us who belong to the generation that had it beaten into them:D ... but right and wrong are not necessarily synonymous with good and evil ... "good" and "evil" carry too much baggage, loaded onto them by various religions.

Now, if I were asked: "Can Christianity be a beneficial force," I could answer. And I would probably say "yes." But so could Islam. Judaism. The WWE even. :rolleyes:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

After spilling my whisky in to my PC that cost me best part of £900. I declare that I am going to try and quit drinking alcohol. So. Then you can rest assure that I probably won't be posting such a thread again

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

For help in answering this question, read the New Testament - particularly those parts which refer to Christ. Don't expect perfect goodness.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I prefer the Dandy or Beano myself;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Well we have had the Crusades, 30 years war, Lebanese Civil war, the Northern Ireland troubles and currently the war in Afganistan.
I would say no, religion is not a force for good.

However Oxfam, Médecins Sans Frontières, Band Aid, Save the Children, Action Aid etc are all non government or have religious conections, yet save many many lives worldwide.

Less, in the other thread, said that the people of Africa were quite happy until the Missonarys came and taught them the way of the Lord.
Having seen the corruption and poverty in various parts of Africa, I even have had a AKMS (folding stock version of AK47, I think) aimed at me and my crew in Nigeria, I feel I am able to comment on this.

Graham, welcome, please be aware we have a quota for preachers of the good book and that is already taken by your brother K99wrd:D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

The trouble , BG , is that they are not preaching the good book but their own opinions .

I could take a Bible and use it to justify almost anything simply by taking things out of context .

The Bible says : " There is no God . " :eek:

People may not believe that , but it's in the Bible . ;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Don't forget "Topper" and "Eagle":D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

ya the free gifts were wizard :D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

As peoples lives got better through time they had the time to worry about death.
With the invention of heaven came greater optimism and it enabled people to look beyond their lives.
Interesting too that the peoples of the Americas came up with the self same ideas as Eurasia and Africa.
i.e. If crops failed there were the same kind of conclusions, the same kind of gods and the same kinds of people trying to please the gods.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Talking of "Wizard" ... I enjoyed that too ... and "Rover" ...

Oh ... and please don't say "free gifts," or the smoke will be coming out of Susie's ears.:s_fmad:;):D

By the way, in what sense is Christianity a "force"? Smacks a little of "Onward Christian Soldiers" ... or, come to think of it, Jedi Knights.:D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

If your a bible bashing, do gooder - Yes! - but remember "the road to hell is paved with good intentions!" :dflam::)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

There was also Hotspur - yes, I enjoyed boys' comics more than the girlie ones. Did I ever tell anyone on here that I went to college with the brother of the man who invented the Bash Street Kids ? Leo Baxendale from Preston.

Talking of free gifts, the true facts (heh heh) are that I hate another relatively modern idiom which really sets my teeth on edge - a final ending, finally we got to the end ofthe road etc. AAARRRGGHHH!!! Do I really look like that when I'm fuming...not a pretty sight!

is Christianity a force for good?
 

One of the free gifts I remember, though not sure of the name, was it the banger?
Basically a triangular piece of cardboard, with some brown paper attached when waved about it made a, well, it made a bang.
Try to give that to a kid these days.
Oh, yes we have progressed, they would never put up with that.
:)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Been there, got the T-shirt, AKs, Czech grease guns, even arrows fired at us and spears thrown because I dared to take photographs of the bush meat for sale at the roadside - yet our escorts were deeply religious. Obviously the missionaries didn't spread the word of God far enough.
However, we should remember, particularly in this month, many gave their all so that we had the freedom to practice, or not, whichever religion we choose.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Here's one for you ... At the intersection of Perth Road and Unity Road, about 15 minutes from here, there is a gas station which advertises "Frozen Ice" ... it's a minor fantasy of mine to show up there one day with a bucked and ask for some fresh ice, straight from the tap ... and I'll tell the sales clerk that, if there is any left over, I'll freeze it myself:rolleyes:

Whatever ... Christianity must still be viewed by some as being a force for, or of, good. Many prominent folks, esp. in the States, use it when they are caught (usually leterally) with their pants down. Often it goes something like this: "I know I have sinned. And I humbly apologize to all those who voted for me; but now, everything is fine because I have found Jesus. Oh, and I'll also be starting rehab next week." I also believe that "finding Jesus" is seen as a good way of getting parole.:rolleyes: (There again, America is probably one of the few places in the world where a President can convince many folks that a bj isn't sex:eek: I don't think Hilary bought it tho'.) So whether or not xianity is a force for good, that is how many people still see it.

By the by, my local corner store displays a sign informing customers that they must be 19 in order to buy smokes.:)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Darned right there, Barrie. Something we can all agree on.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

No, she most definitely wasn't swallowing that! Come to think about it, I don't think Ms Lewinsky did either! :eek: :D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

The 'gift' is free will. But like almost anything that is free it comes with terms and conditions

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I've known this for a long time but just reading the October 13 - Issue of Wonderpedia. There is an article that says; under the Vatican City headquarters of the Roman Catholic Christian faith they have stored away documents from over 1,200 years ago and very few, until recently when a small amount of documents are being looked at by schollars who apply under very strict criteria, are allowed to access them and read them!

They have about 2 underground bunkers full of historic documents taken out of circulation. One area - if all the shelves were laid out in a straight line would reach 52 miles; that is from London to Brighton.

This is basically censorship of spirituality and human thinking and who knows what ideas that alternative thinkers had over the years that the catholics have censored out so that we all blindly follow them and the pope! :rolleyes:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

And of course the shelving is made from the bones of sacrificed virgins

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Who were dedicated nuns:)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Cor! They must be pretty rare then? :D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

What a terrible waste.
Be difficult to build a 52 mile shelf with those these days.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Religion like anything else in this world can be corrupted by those who want to use its influence for other reasons than it was intended for.
Power, greed and possesions are not the things that christianity is about...and the wars and the bad things which are laid at the door of religion, are made by MEN and their quest for supremacy.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Think the same goes for Mohamed too.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Absolutely Eric. :da:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

As they say, the most difficult thing to believe about Christianity is Christians.
But then again, Christians are no different to non Christians, they are 'fallen/sinful/do and desire to do wrong', live in a fallen world and are tempted by the same desires and pitfalls of the flesh and the world around them.
From my understanding, becoming a Christian never exempted you from these things, far from it.
Your priorities change.

Of course, not all Christians are the same.
IMO its a fair analysis to say the current mainstream Christianity of Catholicism and the CofE in the UK is NOT easily identifiable of the early Christians in the new testament portion of the bible.
Jesus had no time for rituals, robes and pomp - he had nothing but distain for it. He talks far more of the poor and the spiritual health of individuals and nations.
Of course there are some streams of Christians who are more alike to the early church in the Bible, but as usual they care not for political influence or social recognition thus the image of Christianity expressed in he UK is far from the original church.

Christianity is a radical belief, that changes peoples entire lives that they are prepared to risk them to sacrifice them to share the good news with others.
It is fully transforming, demanding everything, with believers willing to lose their own lives and identity to gain it in God.
It is not for pew fillers, sermon samplers, part timers, sunday attendee's who pick up God on a Sunday morning and put him back in a box the second they leave church until next Sunday comes around.


Its a big debate.

IS Christianity a force for Good.
Yes, when its not diluted.

I could go on...

is Christianity a force for good?
 

And on, and on, and on, and...
:)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

You can be Christian without being evangelical.....without putting your belief in other peoples faces. Being Christian can be a private thing between you and your God....you do not need vast buildings or special places to carry out your devotions......you can pray anywhere......and on any day!
Some people are offensive in their trumpeting of their faith(and these are not just Christians)......they make me wonder if the trumpeting of their faith is more important than the faith itself.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

You do:rolleyes:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Matthew 18:20.;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

When considering how the "Church" distorts Christianity, I sometimes consider the ironies. This one in particular, given the current Pope:

Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is what the Church considers a fitting memorial for a man who gave up wealth, embraced poverty, and preached in the streets.:rolleyes:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Thank's for the results, so, Matthew lost by two points to ;),
did the match have any send off's? Did it go into extra time? No use just giving us the final score, we need to know the action.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

It's a sign of the times ... short forms ... and I'm getting with it:alright: ... If you are interested in more details jfgi.;) :D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

It's OK to joke - but doesn't it bother you that millions of pages of ancient texts are sitting below the Vatican and we probably will never know what they contain, in our life time!? :confused:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Why should it bother anyone?:confused: won't make a blind bit of difference to my life.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Course it should - as we have all been brainwashed by the Christians; for a start if there was a Jesus he wasn't born on Christmas day, the fact we are all celebrating this festival is a form of conditioning. So it is directly making a difference to your life - because of Christmas.

Some of these documents may have information that completely proves Jesus was not born on this day. Or in fact did not exist at all.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

It's OK to believe conspiracy theories - but its not OK to expect everybody to believe them.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

So what fact or fiction, couldn't care less.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

As you're obviously not a Christian what does it matter?

Celebrate it as the pagan festival for the Winter Solstice-paint your woad on, set your mother-in-law on fire and dance round her.

Probably more fun than a traditional Christmas. She always drank all the sherry.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Its probably the norm in cloud cuckoo land where he hails from Restless, conspiracy theorist are us;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

.....and also of course 28:19 which explains why Christians feel the need to share their beliefs with others.

The thing is that Christians are just people, like anyone else be they Jew, Muslim, Sikh, Buddhist or even atheist. We're all human. We're probably all trying to live our lives the best we can but we all also make mistakes and mess up. We lose our temper at times, we get frustrated, we are sometimes sad, sometimes deleriously happy. We laugh, we cry, we love, we mourn. As Christians we acknowledge our imperfections and express our gratitude to Jesus Christ our Saviour for his unconditional love and atoning sacrifice on our behalf

I wouldn't go so far as to say it bothers me. I am curious about what is there though and why the powers that be seem to think we need to be protected from the knowledge contained in these documents. It doesn't worry me though because one day all truth will be known and I believe we do have enough information if we are willing to search it.

I personally don't go a bundle on all the trappings and paraphernalia of many churches. I prefer simplicity and believe it is closer to what Christ himself was trying to get across to people. However, others do like to praise God with beautiful creations. We should all be free to choose our preference whatever that is, and whatever we believe.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

You just had to bring this up didn't you ... next thing you know, it will be the subject of another third-rate novel by Dan Brown ... followed by the inevitable fourth-rate movie starring Tom Hanks:rolleyes:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Just crossed my mind (short trip, eh;)) that Christianity can be seen as a force for "great": great art, great music, great architecture, great literature (one doesn't have to think beyond the King James Bible), great rap music;) ... a truly inspirational movement. I do realize that there are downsides ... Christianity and science don't seem to get along all that well, altho' they did until about the middle of the thirteenth century ... but there are definite positives ... not least of which was the half day holiday on All Saints Day:D Guess where I went to school.:)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

My daughter went to All Saints, and her children go to All saints too.
There is nothing at all wrong in giving children a schooling that is based on the foundations of religion......after all, it was through religion that children were educated in the dim dark past.....ok, it was only the children of the rich who were taught back then.
It is only brainwashing when all other aspects of life are air brushed out in favour of religious fervour.
Children are exposed to many other more malign influences in their lives, they need to have some sort of moral compass instilled into them so that they can make the best choices.

I was brought up in a family that had both Catholic and Methodist influences.
I went to mass with my mother on a Sunday morning, and Methodist Sunday school in the afternoon....no wonder I have confused ideas about religion....that aside, it gave me a strong ethical background. It gave me a conscience.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Not to mention growing up in Lancashire in the late forties and in the fifties ... ;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Yes, I guess that had something to do with it too.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Whenever I see kestrel has been on the site I just wonder what crap he'll have posted, he never disappoints:rolleyes:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

The remark is indeed taken out of context. The full verse reads, "The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God'." Psalm 14 verse 1.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

But what does it mean? It's obviously metaphor ... I don't say things in my heart ... I use it for pumping blood. One can understand this in many ways. And what is a "fool"? A stupid person ... or an intelligent person who assesses evidence and comes to the wrong conclustion. Seems like (or "as if") understanding the Bible is a monumental challenge ... and until one understands it personally, not with the "help" of a licensed intermediary, it doesn't seem possible to assess it's "goodness".

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Understanding the bible is a monumental challenge.
Of that, there is no doubt.
All language is subjective(though Eric you may not agree with that)......what makes it subjective is our own experiences of life and experiences of how language is used.
Also the fact that this book has been translated from the original language many times must cloud the issues.
In the original transcripts of the bible there may have been words which had no real translatable equivalent, so the translator may have put in a word that he thought roughly matched the meaning inferred.
So it goes.
The Bible may be an interesting book to read(?) but the text cannot be taken literally because of what I have mentioned before.
A recent bible basher on here was adept at quoting stuff from the bible. He told us that he lived his life according to the bible....he doesn't. He lives his life according to his understanding, his experience of what he thinks this book means. There is a subtle difference

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

And since he's not been seen of late, one can only assume he's taken heed of the most oft inferred quotation from the denizens of AW ...... "Go forth & multiply!" Or in laymans terms "4'koff!" Only assuming mind. :idunno: :s_aim1:

is Christianity a force for good?
 

You never know, he may just make a comeback over Christmas and give us his version of the Nativity?
PTL!

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

And understanding language is even more of a challenge ... even more so, because folks don't give it much thought. They take it for granted. Most believe that we have ideas, which we put into words. But, if you think about it, this can't be.;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

yes, we do put ideas into words....but whether the person who is listening to those words hears the message that is being conveyed is another matter......and it is precisely because words are subjective. We know what we mean, but what the hearer/reader makes of our words could be something entirely different.Another reason is that words morph from their dictionary meaning...and the thread posted by MargaretR recently shows this(was it about envy?)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I have no religion but admire bhuddist principles as a way of life. Bhuddist practice isn't practical in western society, although some people succeed with it.

I attended a methodist sunday school so I am familiar with bible 'stories'.

I am also interested in ancient history, and can see that the bible stories many claim to be myths can in fact be identified as historical facts, presented in a 'storytale' way for them to be better understood by the uneducated masses.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

But are not your ideas already in words when they pop into your head? If not ... what form are they in? And if words generate more "ideas" are not those ideas also in words? There are no ideas independent of language. If there isn't a word for it, you can't "think" it.;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

yes, of course my ideas are in words when they pop into my head....but my point was that when we need to convey our ideas to another person how they perceive the words may be different to what we actually meant.
I think you are just toying with me...the way a cat toys with a mouse before it bites the head off :)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

No ... not toying with you at all, hon. The question of what people understand when they read or hear something is a whole new ball game, independent of intended meaning. In terms of the written word .... (this gets us back to the Bible;)) .... A literary critic .... Terry Eagleton, from Cambridge .... wrote that every reading is a re-writing. So ... everyone's Bible is different from every other Bible. Maybe Jesus' use of parables was an attempt to convey complex ideas;) in simple terms. But, if you are at the back of the crowd you might hear, "Blessed are the cheese makers":D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I think I have heard of Terry Eagleton......I just can't think of why I would know that name.
And yes, I agree with what you say about every person seeing a different perspective in the Bible......well, it applies to any written work.
Some people will pick up on sub plots, some won't see them at all.
I think that how we interpret something will depend on our experiences.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

We have strayed quite a way from the original question in our search for the answer.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

We can never know what the question is ... but the answer is always "42".;):D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

So if someone asks my age......I can tell them 42?
But I'm only 14 in my head! :)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Works for me:D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I'd be more inclined to put odds on for Easter, well it's more Biblical, innit? :D

You mean like this? :s_aim1:


Life of Brian sermon on the mount - YouTube

is Christianity a force for good?
 

I'm getting a bit worried, my ideas don't come in words, they come in voices, multiple, haunting, slurred and commanding voices!

Am I becoming a George Bush think alike?
;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Not a problem ... unless your local Walmart has a sale on assault rifles, and you have a bitch with your boss.:cool:

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Put it this way, if there were higher intelligences or Aliens and they witnessed what we get up to at Christmas they would think us insane!

Adults buying presents for their children in the name of some Fantasy character called Santa Claus - who comes down chimney's to give the gifts. "Oh but don't tell the kids he doesn't really exist!" Lol Then men in frocks giving sermons about another fantasy chracter called Jesus Christ - who died on a cross for our sins and wasn't really born on this day that this funny fat geezer with a beard brings prezzies on a sledge pulled by Reindeer and puts em down chimney's! Now think again - are the human race really intelligent? Is lying to Children about some fantasy character - a force for good? :confused: ;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Like the concepts of faith, commercialism has hijacked the spirit of Christmas.....and that fantasy figure you talk about is just an icon on which to pin the spirit of Christmas.
The spirit of Christmas is about generosity(and I am not referring to material generosity - though that is what it has now become) I am talking about spiritual generosity, kindness.

Don't tell me, that as a child, you were not excited about Christmas.....or that having been 'lied to' has damaged you in some way.
The spirit of Christmas is having faith, and a belief that things can be better.

If you, yourself have no faith....then that is sad, ( but your choice) do not deride those who do have faith because that is their choice.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

It aint the story of Christmas thats damaged yon mon.:D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

The lack of any kind of spirituality(and this isn't the same as organised religion) leaves a vacuum that, if we are not careful, could be an opportunity for other beliefs to take hold.
This is still a predominantly christian country.....and derisory comments are an affront to those who do hold firm beliefs.
This doesn't mean that comments are not allowed, but they should be in terms that accept anothers point of view.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Higher intelligences would no doubt understand the concept of 'innocence', higher intelligences on this planet can also embrace this concept. However I really doubt they would understand the concept of a post-innocent that puts himself and other 'innocents' at risk by driving through the lake district under the influence of mind altering substances and publicly boasting about it, because the higher intelligences on this planet can't quite figure it out either!

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

This deviates a little from the original concept of the thread, but I have to pick up on a comment made by kestrelx re children and that fat old gentleman.
What is wrong with children living in a fantasy world for as long as they can? Do you have a problem with this? Did you yourself not enjoy a happy childhood full of imagination and wonder? Children grow up quickly enough and too soon have to enter the real world – and what sort of real world is there out there for them? Not that great at times.
Let them be children for their childhood years. Let them believe in magic and fairytales. Watch the joyful anticipation on their faces on Christmas morning as they ask ‘has he been?’ Then tell me again that this is wrong.
Bless all the millions of children who, through circumstances that are quite often man-made, are not able to share this joy, be thankful that ours can.

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Ah but you only think that way,cos yer a normal person dotti,;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

ya also have to remember that Kessy is a clown too cashy;)

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

Thanks, Cashman, for those kind words - though some folks I know think that's debatable...

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

at 36 years old- I still live in a fantasy world. :D:D:D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

So do I and I'm 67:D

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

I'm back in it!!! Think it's called being in my second childhood - or maybe, in my case, a third......

Re: is Christianity a force for good?
 

So do I and I'm 68 ... :alright:

is Christianity a force for good?
 

So do I and I'm a tribble.