What an amusingly linear concept of time you have.

You have a very simplistic conception of time, you really do.

[...] please tell me how simplistic is my conception of time???

God trancends time.

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My question is, are we fear mongering? These posts up here are from people that believe they know God and what Christianity is and these are people that surround me.

True. But I think it important to establish that those who disbelieve in Christ are probably wrong.

But how many christians have ever held the belief? Nobody in the early church- though some denyed his divinity(i.e. the aryan heresy) and it was not until the late nineteenth century that any debate on the matter really occured. And it was mostly concluded that those who posited Christs non-existance were wrong and were not recognised by the church.

You are entirely right that people can read the scripture and gain vast moral and spirtual benefit from it and not believe in Christ. These people are very moral people who are not christians. If you read the bible in this way then you can read eastern texts, the qua'ran, indeed texts from any spirtual background in this way. But you are not entering into the faith, just gaining benefit from it's writings. I have read Norse myhtology and I love it, it has a lot of valuable lessons and it's very compelling. But I am not a scandanavian pagan. Also you still haven't explained your view on the matter of redemption and the ressurection.

I think that the words were truely recorded as were christs words because I believe that the diciples would not have allowed his words to go forgotten and unrecorded. I believe the events are reported honestly. I believ this because I do not think that faced with God incarnate that they could have failed to record his life honestly. That is a belief of course, but that is my view of the matter.

This is the part I really object to. I will admit that you can argue that you can read the bible unhistorically and still be a christian, I would diagree but that is simply my view. However to say that there is no difference spirtually between the two is ridiculous. It is utterly not the case.

still nobody has answered the question of how the concept of redemption is meangiful without the event of the ressurection.

Are we fear mongering? I guess it depends on what you mean as we? We the Christians, we the people, etc. I won't try and be so analytical and I am just going to assume that you are talking about Christians. The only reason I brought this up was because I thought I read in another post that you were not Christian. It may have been another person. Therefore I am sorry if I am thinking of you as being someone else.

Anyways, I actually got in a heated "discussion" about this with my parents. The answer in my opinion is very simple. Yes, Christians (I don't consider myself a Christian by what today's standards) are fear mongering and using fear as a tool. This was never God or Jesus intent. The debate I got in with my elders was whether or not the book of Revelation should exist. I say it should have never been written and not be preached because as any Christian will admit, fear is a tool of Satan, and using the book to instill fear is simply not Christian which I come across a lot. My Mom always says, "See this is exactly what has to happen before the rapture occurs" whenever a bad thing happens. It angers me and she says it likes she is more knowledgeable (another problem with mainstream Christians, I am right, your wrong, etc) and in a tone that tries to convey fear.

Christian I use as a person who believes in both books (Old and New Testament) and is one who accepts Jesus as his lord and savior, etc.

"The CreationWiki is a free internet encyclopedia of creation science that was inaugurated during the summer of 2004 by the Northwest Creation Network, and is the product of an international team of creationists."

"No other book in history is as popular, or as revered, nor as diverse in context as the lives of those who wrote it...creationists agree that the Bible is history, not mythology or allegory, because the text itself is so obviously historical in style and content unless otherwise implied within the text through a historical-grammatical exegesis...Due to its being prized as the coveted word of God, the Bible has been better preserved, and translated into more languages, than any other book in history...There is simply no other book in existence that offers a better chronological record of the early history of the Earth."

To be an agnostic is to acknowledge one's ignorance and surrender to it. To be a Christian is to acknowledge one's ignorance but then say, as did Paul that, "Now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I will know fully, even as I was also fully known." 1Corinthians 13:12

Intrestingly a number of Nazis actually practiced a form of revived paganism.

Intrestingly a number of Nazis actually practiced a form of revived paganism.

Dont denigrate us pagans we have served mankind for thousands of years...

merely an obsevation. There have been hideous Pagan societies such as the Carthaginians, and magnificent ones such as Greek and Roman societys. Paganism has ever been by it's very nature, a mixed bag.

If christianity survives as long in its purity as paganism did it will need another six thousand years...

I would like to point out that one of the most fear driven societys in the world- The communist USSR- was atheist. I do not suggest that this makes atheism a view inherently fearful and fear causeing, but in the same way, just becasue some christians and christian groups use fear as a tool, this does not make Christianity a faith based on dolling out fear.