<<Sorry Greg, this means that all of the above falls short of the mark and is forgivable. Thus it is conceivable that you could accidentally hit your head some day, lose your senses and mistakenly unbeknownst to you, in a nursing home stupor confess and be forgiven! Can you imagine the shame?>>
>>Broken sob<<, but, but, I-I-I've done my best! I have been
excommunicated by the Mormons, which means I and my family have
been "delivered over to the buffettings of Satan." Our Mormon
baptism is completely undone. I've written to the Methodists to
tell them that I don't want my Methodist baptism, but they won't
write back. I have taken the precaution of having the
Rationalist Society of St. Louis remove my baptism. I vilify and
revile religion, religious people, and religious things
continually [right, Farrell?] and I have made a formal statement
renouncing all presumed benefits of any religious acts done
either by me or for me, in the past, present or future. So if,
in a dazed state, or as the result of terminal stupidity (and
there could be no other cause) I mistakenly embraced something
religious, I have already rejected it, so it wouldn't do me any
good, anyway.
If the christians on this list would like an analogy: I am about as worried concerning the effects of your silly curses, and hell, and so on, as you must be about the problem of being reincarnated badly because you violated the commandments of Hinduism. The laws of karma hold that if you harm other creatures the pain and suffering you cause must come back on you, do you worry about this? Muslims are certain that if you eat pork, and have not accepted Mohammed as prophet and the laws of the Koran as God's truth, you will be going to hell, while they go to heaven. The Buddhists "know" that if you have not attained a state of enlightenment, you will be reincarnated again and again, until you do, do you worry about that? Basically, whatever reasons you have for rejecting the irrational beliefs of other superstitions are equally good arguments for rejecting the superstitions of christianity. I, personally, do not have to persuade you to reject religion and religious arguments, you, yourselves already have all the persuasion, and all of the arguments you need, you simply refuse to apply them to the final religion that you cling to.
It is the same with any theism: christians have perfectly good reasons for rejecting belief in all gods but one (or three), just apply those same reasons to Yahweh, and you'll be an atheist, like the sane people.
BFN.
PS: Later Gryphon wrote:
(For others on the list, I'd just like to clarify that I do NOT think that God will have you all burning in hell.)
Although I have committed no crimes that harm other human beings in any way, and in fact, have done rather a lot to make this world a better place, I have renounced my baptism, I will die unrepentant, I am not a member of a church, and actively work to convince others to leave their churches and religions, including christianity; my children are not baptised, I never (obviously) participate in any sacraments, and will never admit I am wrong unless reliable, convincing evidence is produced. Therefore, if you believe the nonsensical drivel in the bible is true and inspired, how can you conclude anything else but eternal hellfire for such as I? You can not make such a statement without renouncing the clear implications of the bible. It is one or the other, you choose. If the fall isn't really a fairy story, if Original sin is a true doctrine, and if I spend my days mocking and reviling the atonement, then the bible says I must surely burn in hell for eternity.
Big fucking deal. OOOoooooh, I'm scared!
-- "Mankind shall not be free until the last king is strangled in the entrails of the last priest." Diderot <<Dithyrambe sur la fete des rois>> Greg Erwin: ai815@freenet.Carleton.ca VP, Humanist Association of Canada godfree@magi.com "Ask me about excommunication"