Symph

That's what youtube does to me. I used to think my music was just unbelievable and I was this really cool awesome dude to be around. Then I started youtubing all the time and like... I don't know if it's good to actually SEE yourself over and over again that much, especially when people's reactions to you are mixed. I went from trusting everything I did and just going with whatever I felt like doing, to questioning my every motive, questioning if I was real, questioning if I was good, wondering if I was just an idiot. I've learned alot sense then though. I don't really have any advice for you, in a way we're in the same boat, but I think the biggest thing you have to do is DONT ANALYZE. Just don't dwell on your behavior, and don't assume things like... I'll get this feeling, I'll think people secretly are making fun of me, or secretly think I'm a loser, or just.. stuff like that. If you don't have evidence to back it up, don't assume it, but it's... way easier said than done, and I am still struggling to fix this as well.

hahahahaha I wasn't really gonna do it, but since you don't care... ok Captain. I'll just shorten it to Captain though, and know deep inside what that's short for

I'm just gonna call you Captain Sparkle Boots if that's alright with you.

Yep. Pagans were fighting wars over who the best God was long before Islam or Christianity even existed. In all faiths of any kind you have the good ones, and the crazies, sadly the good ones don't get noticed much, cause well, THEY AREN'T FUCKING SHIT UP.

That's debateable. I do know what you're talking about, but alot of people think the Christian thing was a facade he put up and in reality he was an atheist it's meehhhhhhh you could be right, you could be wrong, does it really matter though, if he was a christian, he was a lunatic christian who in no way got the point of his religion, if he was an atheist, he was an insane atheist who went WAY BEYOND "I don't believe" lol

I made a song about ya'lls faces. It's totally not creepy or anything, just really really unsettling. http://vocaroo.com/i/s00DRwAiSmkQ

bwahahahahahahaha I couldn't ask for a better reaction. Thank you my friend You IZ A SMART COOKIE WHOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA (last part was just to fill space hahaha)

That is fair enough my friend. I think my experience with atheists is tainted because I experienced alot of atheists that weren't actually atheists, they were "anti theists" calling themselves atheists. When atheism is as simple as "sorry I'm just not convinced" I'm all for it. That's just honesty, that's just reality, and I can support that. But I've met far too many "atheists" who are constantly trying to debunk and disprove christianity and act like it's the cause of all evil in the world, and it just makes me... cautious when it comes to talking to people who claim to be atheists. I don't wanna get in one of those circular annoying arguments again, I got into so many I was ready to tear my hair out before.

What I meant by rebuttal, is that atheism IS a belief, and it CAN cause discord. Most atheists will stand behind the idea that atheism has never caused any kind of problems, and that it is always just an admittance of not being convinced, but in my experience this is not the case. But seriously? I don't wanna have that debate.. I've had it before like.. so many times... it never EVER EVER went well. I just, don't wanna go there man. So please, lets not

I guess once again I'm going by youtube, on YOUTUBE, christianity is the most hated religion. In the rest of life/the world? I really don't know.. probably islam, because of Al Queida. Hell I used to think Islam was evil! Then I made some islamic friends on the internet and learned alot about it. For the record, for anyone who's like I used to be, Al Queida isn't Islam, it's an offshoot that most of Islam rejects. I've heard this rebuttal before, and have a rebuttal to this rebuttal, however I don't want to have this conversation, out of fear it will wind up the way it did the last time I had this conversation. Therefore I give you bro hugs instead.

hahaha I just don't know you well enough yet, totally seemed like a jab at christianity to me. I made a joke to a guy on twitter earlier today and he took me WAY too seriously, in text we're just that, text, just words. Once we get used to each other we start to grasp what kind of person is making the text

You mean islam? Or maybe you mean atheism. (Stalin, Hitler) Or could it be rastafarianism! (the bloodshed in jamaica over that is still going) Sorry I can't figure out what religion you mean, it could apply to so many...

There's a side to this you don't see though, I... I don't agree with everything John says I really don't, but I do GET where he's coming from. Christianity IS the most popular religion, but it's also the most hated religion. People talk about having to be "closet atheists". Believe me, there are people who feel they need to be closet christians too. While you do have those people who are just cool with you if you're cool with them, there are a TON of people out there who think that if I'm a christian I'm going to judge them and think they're going to hell and think I must be a bigot and an idiot. Though you made a good point about youtube, it was my big introduction into all that, and maybe it's just a terrible example of how people really are. As far as the experiences with other beliefs, yes! I was raised to think all other religions were wrong, but in my personal studies found that buddhism lines up with christianity very well with the exception of the "nirvana" "nihilist" aspect. And I believe rastafarians are learning much from God too! I believe God is working in people who love, plain and simple. They can call him whatever they like, hell I will admit that maybe even my bible that brought me to God isn't the ultimate truth, I DO think it is, but I will allow for the possibility that it isn't. What seems undeniable, is that love, acceptance, forgiveness, harmony, humility, these things are universal and good. And whatever name you call God/Love/Good by, is pretty irrelevant. If it's truly love you live by, you will find truth, and that truth will set you free. When we get to the end of this experiment, I think EVERYONE will find they had a mixture of wrong and right beliefs. We dont need to agree on everything, we need to agree on LOVE.

Ok this is probably gonna offend some and resonate with others. But what if we could change it all to a nation under LOVE. Change those words to "One nation, under love" Or "In love we trust" I personally would think that was freaking awesome hahahaha

I never thought of it like that. I would throw a bloody fit if I had to say "Under hare krishna" or it was even just, the default and I could get out of it. You have definitely made me see this in a new light.

I don't think this is true... I think that you're talking about the fanatical religious right. And they're the ones with megaphones so they're probably the ones that are being the loudest and most obnoxious, and I DO find them annoying and just... insufferable. I don't just get flack from atheists I get it from those types of christians too. But at the same time you can't just ignore that atheists do the same thing. There are sensible atheists, and sensible christians, and then there are radical insane atheists, and radical insane christians. I mean, if you want to spin it this way, I could spin it the other way. Just like you see news stories about christians trying to impose their beliefs into the laws wrongfully by making gay marriage illegal or requiring their beliefs to be written in places they don't belong, you have atheists trying to make it illegal for us to display our beliefs on our own property or our children to pray before meals at schools I mean... it's not "christians" or "atheists" that are the problem, it's FANATICISM that's the problem. Ultimately I'm with you in the belief that christianity doesn't reflect the beliefs of america as a whole and should not be put into the laws, but on the flip side we ARE being oppressed in ways you don't pay attention to because it doesn't affect your belief system. I just hate militant mindsets from any belief system on any level, and don't play favorites to which belief it comes from. Why fight to get a sentence taken off the dollar or a phrase removed from the pledge? Just give people the right to not say the pledge or any part of the pledge, and as far as the dollar... come on man it spends the same what's the big deal. I don't know why or how it's there but does it REALLY affect you? I'm all for preventing further intrusions upon your beliefs or lack thereof, but fighting to make the change over something so inconsequential would be time consuming, fight creating, and discord inducing, and for what? So you don't see "in God we trust" on the dollar you're putting in a vending machine? Just seems.. needlessly time consuming and a catalyst for unnecessary fights.

Oh ok then! Yeah I get what you mean. It's hard for me when debates arise. Most of my belief is off personal experience, not things I read/heard. I began believing when I read matthew and it just.. it like.. MADE SENSE OF EVERYTHING to me. So then I decided I would take every principle in that book, and try my best to apply it to my life. I rid myself of as much of what Jesus called "sin" as I could. When I did this... stuff started happening. I began feeling like I'd find myself at the right place at the right time, I began to feel this peace everywhere I went. I've just.. had some crazy experiences and seen the power of living that way work and I dont' just mean like in a non supernatural way no I've experienced some "coincidences" that were just too crazy for words. All this is why I believe. It wasn't until later that I realized the questions from non believers would come, and I should do some research to be able to back up my lifestyle. But ultimately, the historical evidence/archaeological proof all that stuff? I just do that to be prepared for the questions. my belief is based on my life experiences and my inner emotions and feelings and how the bible makes me feel toward life and humanity and what I believe it's done in my life. That's why I hate REAL debates. Though I have to say, so far you guys are allowing me to express my beliefs more than I expected, I'm not used to this. On youtube atheists wouldn't be this kind and open minded, they would try to corner me and disprove me and tell me I contradicted myself and even when I'd say "Look I'm not trying to convert you ok? I just believe what I believe let it go" They would say "that's not good enough because you're furthering a harmful belief that is taking away freedoms and harming the world if you can't explain this this and this you have no right to call yourself a christian now answer my questions" etc. It... it really reeeally was a messed up time for me. I was full of anxiety and just.. man I hated that period of my life. That's why I USUALLY don't talk about this stuff in depth, but the more this thread goes on the more I'm feeling ok with sharing, you guys are really.. open minded

yeah I've read alot of things talking about the archealogical and historical proofs of quite a bit of the bible. I'm also amazed by the dead sea scrolls, that's a pretty huge piece of evidence in and of itself. Along with the fact that so much of the bible is still preserved in it's original manuscripts and was written by different authors in different places at different times but it still reads chronologically and congruently like a story with the same tone and inflection as if it was written by one author. All those things amaze me and proved it to ME. If they don't prove it to someone else that's fine by me, I just don't want people thinking I believe in my faith blindly or something. I have done alot of research and come to the conclusion that even if I can't explain everything in the bible, it's a compelling, fascinating, inspiring, and amazing book that has changed my life personally.

We seem to have read/heard totally different things. I have read so many books that cited the other historical accounts of the things that happened in the bible, along with letters written at the time of christ by non christians who still acknowledged not only his existence but his miracles. Not to mention how many ancient religious and historical writings talk about the flood and Isreal being freed from egyptian slavery. And just like you I'm not trying to convert you, I'm just wondering what has lead you to believe there are no other historical accounts of the records in the bible. The main historians that attest to Jesus are Flavius Josephus, and Tacitus. As far as I know they were not christians, just historians who also confirmed he existed. But yeah I mean, I don't know how much of it is true not true, and I don't care if anyone believes it did/didn't happen. I'm more interested in us agreeing to let each other believe what we believe if these beliefs are centered in respect and love for each other. I find history and details to be irrelevant to how we live, which I think is the part you agree with too

She sounds like my ex man. I'm not sure you should even bother with her in the first place. What's your friendship based on? How deep does it go. I spent alot of time holding onto my ex because there were things we experienced that meant alot to ME. Only to finally realize none of it meant anything to HER, and she only enjoyed me because I gave her lots of compliments and attention. That's nothing but an arrogant user and those people will drain you and leave you at the drop of a hat. Unless you're fudging the story or exaggerating, she sounds like a total user man...

I think you're misunderstand me. I was fearing things that happened in the past, I don't know you very well, so I was kind of expecting the onslaught I used to experience when running my channel where I talked about my beliefs but not sure if it was coming or not. I merely quoted your post to say "Yeah, I used to have the guts to do what you just did, I just don't anymore man" It was a "right on I respect you for that" quote more than anything with a bit of "I hope you don't end up trying to "correct me" caused by past experiences.

thats why I uploaded mine as a file, it was soooo freaking distorted BLECK.

It's obvious you don't sing often, it's obvious you have some anxiety in you or kind of a "oh garsh I'm such a weirdo" thing going on, but yet hear you are, singing to this forum, talking to us anyway, pushing outside of your comfort zone, and doing it to the best of your ability. The song was adorable, your discomfort while choosing to do it anyway was charming and inspiring, and because of this, I think you rock

I don't do this anymore. It was too much of a headache. Too many circles. When you actually DO shut down a point that some of the atheists debating me would make, they would simply go on to another perceived biblical fallacy in the bible and ignore my tiny victory. Now granted, I've had plenty of debates with christians that gave me JUST as much frustration. But that's why ultimately, I don't think it really matters. If God is love, and love is God, and God is good, and in control, then it's not MY job, to convert the whole world. And yes I DO know the verse about when a soul is lost that being on your hands if you could have saved them but didn't, but I don't think it's as simple as people want to make it. And who's to say I could have done anything? I've found the more I push, the less I accomplish, and the more negativity is birthed. Therefore, I choose to just love others like Jesus did, and tell them what I believe IF THEY ASK. If they don't ask? I just keep on loving, and don't worry about their soul's destination, as time is a funny thing, and every christian was once not a christian, and who can truly say what happens when we die, we don't know. Once again I'm anticipating verses catholics have quoted me before to disprove me LOL, maybe you won't do that, but I'm just saying, I don't think everything in the bible is as literal as it may appear. Anyway, Im delving too deep into this, don't wanna get sucked into anything, but ultimately, I admire your willpower to get into these kinds of discussions and defend your beliefs, I just don't have it anymore man.

I think you totally rock.