Switching Religions, like switching toothpastes

spirituality is on the rise.

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I just had some bean tacos for lunch. They were topped with lettuce, medium cheddar, and salsa. However, the salsa soaked the tortillas so I had to wolf'em down before they fell apart. For a quick and cheap lunch, I would rate them a 8. Next time, I'll ask for the salsa on the side.
 
ahhh... the young angry atheist. i was once a version of you.

btw. switching denominations is not the same as swtching religions. a lot of religious people i know have a pretty good idea of what life is about and how to be happy in this world. while i don't agree with the doctrine they embrace, it is hard to argue against the results many of these people get in their lives.
 
This is interesting, because Paul wrote about this very thing in Ephesians 4:14! People will always be swayed by different teachings until they learn to grow up in their faith.
 
it is funny how young angry atheists usually deride religious people as being indoctinrated into the same religion as their parents and following it unquestioningly, yet when this is now shown to be false they complain about religious people making their own decisions.
 
I wouldn't call a move from Protestant to Catholic a religion change. I wouldn't call a move from Protestant to unaffiliated Christian or vice versa a change either. In this poll, there are very few actual religious changes from one religion to another. Christian to Buddhist seems to be an exception, but even there, the number of converts is tiny.
 
I am not sure why...

1) I have the view as a Young Angry Atheist.
I am young, I am an atheist, but I am far from angry. Just because I don't choose to believe in a man in the sky that watches my every move doesn't make me angry. Unless you feel that everyone who disagrees with you is angry.

2) My stand on churches is that they should not be receiving tax breaks from our government. They are fiscal institutions and should not be treated any differently than a company that sells fantasy books.
 
Churches are a great source of charitable work. They are also a great source of religious teaching.

If I run a business and spend ALL my profits on charitable works, guess what, I still owe property taxes. I still owe income tax. I still have to play ball.

The only difference is that they are a house of religion and I am not. Why, exactly, should that part matter?

Remember, they aren't getting the tax breaks because they are doing charitable works...they are getting them for being CHURCHES. Don't confuse the two.
 
I think the argument against "tax breaks" is a bit over blown. Why don't you make the same argument about the farmers that get tax breaks to NOT farm on their land? People get tax breaks all the time for seemingly unfair reasons.
 
I wouldn't call a move from Protestant to Catholic a religion change. I wouldn't call a move from Protestant to unaffiliated Christian or vice versa a change either. In this poll, there are very few actual religious changes from one religion to another. Christian to Buddhist seems to be an exception, but even there, the number of converts is tiny.

I third this.

Moving from one Christian sect to another Christian sect isn't really changing religions.
 
I’m with Bill Maher: “If churches don’t have to pay taxes, they also can’t call the fire department when they catch fire. Sorry, Reverend, that’s one of those services that goes along with paying in. I’ll use the fire department I pay for; you can pray for rain.”
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Holy cow! I'm a 36-year-old man with two degrees, a mortgage, two kids, and a beagle, and I just realized that I cannot think for myself! This is evidence by my faith and membership in a church congregation. I shall now abandon my faith and move to the desert, where I will beat myself with a cactus and eat beetles.

Why is it that atheists feel so threatened by people of faith, whereas one hears far fewer anecdotes of the opposite? It's been my experience, and is evidenced by Ryan, that atheists cannot resist ad homineim (sp?) attacks on Christians (e.g., the fantasy book reference). Incidentally, I would suggest that switching denominations, or even going from Catholicism to a Protestant faith or vice versa isn't changing religions. A Jew becoming a Christian, Christian to Jew, Hindu to Buddhist would qualify. And speaking from personal experience, changing denominations oftentimes has as much to do with individuals associated with a particular church (e.g., members of the congregation, the minister) than any profound difference in ideology or doctrine.

To be fair to Ryan, one of my favorite authors (Ayn Rand) was an atheist, so there are good qualities in most folks regardless of faith (or lack thereof).
 
I'm trying to decide whether to classify Ryan as an evangelical atheist, or a Maherian. Whether or not he chooses to admit it, he has certain beliefs and has been more proactive in voicing them than most Christians on this board.

Maybe he should get a tax break for it?
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Well, when you're getting benefits from the federal government....yeah, it does kinda matter.

If they want to have an office that does all their charitable work and have that tax-free, fine.

If they want to have a sprawling complex on acres of prime real-estate with the MAIN goal of spreading their religion....well then no, that doesn't pass the tax-free smell test to me.
 
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