This is how they roll in Texas

Just let them worship what they want to worship! They don't have to agree with it, they just have to respect it! Like how they want Christians to respect their beliefs!

well it's not a church it's a county court house- so yeah.

tear down history like ISIS- they're great at it.
https://youtu.be/SZ8TPibchso

I mean it kinda makes sense? Its supposed to be a court house. Tge Law should be neutral. By putting up a Christian symbol (Cross) the Court is showing Partisanship. I mean its not that big if a deal in my opinion and I found it funny how they circumvent it. But if they were to put an Islamic moon or a Jewish cross up there you'd kinda feel wierd about it right? So I think that was the thought behind it.

Making sense - How so. Partisan? Wait - now I got it !!!
That religious relict over the doorway might remind the judge who has been offered a bribe from a party that he's a servant to God and Country.
Bad cross bad !!!

I explained myself and Iaonsite even reiterated my point

lol somehow i missed your post.... let me rewrite mine,,,, "What the col" said!

How would you feel walking into to a courthouse with a Star of David on it? How about a Crescent Moon? thats how we feel.

I would be perfectly fine with it if I went to court in Jerusalem or Istanbul.

But you are not in Jerusalem or Istanbul, so lets repeat the question and see if we can get a straight answer or if you can get the point.

I'm not in San Jacinto either, so ....
guess it's you who miss the point.

im sure you would not care if California, NY or any other state, just banned guns all together huh?

Why should a country court house have a cross, it's not a religious institution. Would you be happy if they put the crescent moon up there?

no thx - I'm fine with the cross

F**king hell! I said the same bloody thing! Unbelievable!

Hey if you want to bring religion into it...

Thanks! I live in Texas. But we're getting a lot of Pinko Commies fleeing states devastated by progressive policies. They must be stupid because they come here and try to make Texas like the shitholes they left. This guy Beto is a P.O.S. (Puss Oozing Sore). He was floating around in my toilet. Thank you for fighting the good fight.

and the thing is:
those atheists sueing San Jacinto County for the cross removal weren't even Texans let alone from that community - they're a Wisconsin based 'remove religion from our lives' foundation.

Why would anyone make fuss in a remote community!?
kinda like those gay couple traveling 120 miles to bully a Christian baker with their wedding cake.

It is a sick, new world. Every A$$hole's got an ax to grind... where any vestige of "Live and Let Live" has been trampled like yesterday's news. Even were I am atheist I would say, "So what! Who are they hurting. Let these people alone. Let them live their lives." These psychos are worms that feed on death!

In some parts of Texas, yes. There are many areas where this wouldn't happen and they would kiss the ass of the few who are offended by seeing a cross on a doorway.

Religion, yes. Christianity and one's personal relationship with God, no.

Spurs, what you just said was kinda… self contradictory.
Christianity is a religion. And having a relationship with God is a part of that, to some people

No, Christianity is not a religion. It is a personal relationship with Christ. A true Christian understands this. The world does not. The world looks at Catholicism and says, "look, it's a bunch of Christians!" There may be individual Christians who follow Catholicism but their choice of religion is wrong and not Biblical.

Religion is man-made, Christianity is God-made.

The today's Merriam-Webster Definition of 'religion':
1.believe in / worship of God(s) 2 : a system of religious beliefs and practices.
is pretty much croocked and circular.

the English word religion, the Latin word religio, originally ment 'reverence of God'.
Catholics - particulary traditional ones - display a high amount of reverence.

the latin word 'religare' translates 'to tie', 'to bind'. so the noun 'religio' in fact means 'ties', 'bounds' or - yes - 'relationship'. With God for sure.

I'm talking about a personal belief. Many Christians do not follow a set religion. They believe it to be a relationship with Christ. Most of these Christians you'll find attend non denominational churches, meaning they aren't Baptist, Protestant, etc. My parents were among those who believed this. My mom would call Easter, Resurrection Day. She would capitalize CHRIST in the word Christmas. Things like that.

Yes. That's reverencing.
eg genuflecting (as my father did).

I am aware of what it means, I'm saying this is what many Christians do and those that believe Christianity is not a religion. You can quote Webster's dictionary or Wikipedia or Google all day long, but in the end a good majority of Christians don't believe in religion, but follow Christ without a religious sect.

Webster is BS I quoted that only to show how the meaning&definiton of the word 'religion' has been altered through the ages.

Catholics are not a sect - St. Peter was appointed by Jesus "You are the rock that I will build my church upon." Math 16:18

The actual translation goes like this;

“And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter [Petros] and on this rock [petra] I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Although "Peter" (pronounced "kee phar" in Aramaic - Kephas in Greek) means "stone", his name was really Simon. The rock [petra] in which Jesus was referring to was not Peter (Jesus called him "Petros" - a fragment of stone, not Kephas in Matthew 16) but what Peter said - "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God."

It is upon this truth, the truth that Jesus is the Christ/Messiah, that Jesus built His church. Jesus is the chief cornerstone in the foundation. He is the "Petra".

Even Peter taught this...

I agree with SpursFan - Religion in man's attempt to reach God... Nothing we can do will never be good enough. Religion is the "bells and smells" and praying to saints and/or Mary etc

Jesus is God's attempt to reach man. A relationship with Jesus is all that is required. To have a relationship with Jesus we simply need to confess our sins and put our faith in Jesus. (read Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Romans 10:9)

And, if you look at the Roman Catholic church, it is religious.It is based on the merging of pagan beliefs and Christ's teachings. Research Easter and Christmas. Although today they celebrate the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus, the origins and dates are pagan.

@NerdwalsRock

this 313hi8.jpg [image not found]

Christmas is a stolen pagan holiday.

few things re your smear comment

'Easter and Christmas = pagan feasts'
they're not.
Christmas is the celebration of the Birth of Jesus Christ.
Easter is dedicated to the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

religion = "bells and smells"
that quote you feel so smart about using originates in the early revolutionary 1900s. It is a catchphrase which was minted by freemasons in order to disparage traditional Christianity. It was then used by communists in Spain and Russia during the 1930s Christian persecutions.

twisting the Scripture
'cornerstone' ἀκρογωνιαῖον is the initial stone of a building
(refers to Jesus in Isaiah 28 16).
'rock' Πέτρος is the base, the fundament, the solid not sandy ground to build the Church upon.
you're ironing that out by leveling both words into 'stone' in order to conclude '...Jesus is Petra...' but that is not what is written.

Jesus appoints Simon Kephas
'And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church'
(Matth 16 18)
St. Peter then went to Rome, built up the Church and became the first Bishop of Rome.
this is what St. Peter taught:
'you, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.' (1 Pet 2 5)

'...Religion is a man's attempt to reach God... Nothing we can do will never be good enough...'
No - it is not. that's masonic false teaching.
The Saints prove it wrong. They devoted their lives to Jesus and give us a beaconing example of devoutness. That's why they deserve our reverence. No more. And no less.
Holy Mary was Sinless. Else She would not have become Vessel.

As I cant reply to your last comment, I'll reply here...

You must be Catholic and I appear to have offended you, which wasn't my intention. However, I would implore you to have a critical look at your religion and turn and focus on Jesus as He is the only way to the Father. Not Mary, not the "saints", not the rosary...

My comment wasn't a smear comment, I was pointing out the difference between the Aramaic text and the English translation.

Religion is man's attempt to get to God. Our Heavenly Father is not interested in the religious aspects ie ringing bells, burning incense, pomp and ceremony etc (Ps 51:16, Hosea 6:6). He is interested in our heart and in a relationship with us. We don't need a "vicar of Jesus" or a priest/pastor to mediate for us, we have one that advocates on our behalf - Jesus (1John2:1-2)

Scripture has not been twisted either. Jesus IS the cornerstone, Jesus IS the rock that the church is built on, hence why we followers of Christ and are called CHRISTians and not PETERians.

In regards to Peter building the church in Rome, there is no Biblical or archaeological evidence to support this. In the Book of Acts, Paul talks about meeting Peter in the eastern Mediterranean. After Jesus’ death, Paul says that Jesus’ brother, James, and Peter are the co-leaders of the “church” of Jesus-followers in "Jerusalem".

The funny thing is that in Catholic tradition there are 2 burial sites for Peter in Rome... :-) There are many traditions that have no Biblical basis in Catholicism unfortunately.

In regards to Mary being sinless, that is utter nonsense. Are you telling me that Paul was lying when he wrote in Romans 5:12 "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that 'all have sinned' " and when he wrote in Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God".... So maybe Paul was misquoted and scripture should read "ALL have sinned (except Mary)"..?? Mary was blessed but NOT sinless - this is another Catholic "tradition" this is not Biblical. She was a sinner in need of a Savior just like me and you.

I don't have enough room to discuss Easter and Christmas but they are again pagan in origin, a tradition from Emperor Constantine. It would be closer to the dates if we followed the Jewish festivals (that the Bible says to observe) - Passover and Sukkot (First Fruits)

thx I'm fine

I understand that you're mixing up words, confuse translations and meanings
eg rock (Πέτρος) and cornerstone (ἀκρογωνιαῖον) which is not the same word.

equally you're confusing two concepts of sin
sinfulness (αμαρτωλότητα) and original sin (προπατορική αμαρτία)
the first refers to bad things we did and must confess, the latter is a concept of born into sin or of sin inherited from ancestors (or Adam, what Paul refers to)

The believe of Holy Mary being sinless is NOT "utter nonsense" as you disrespectfully boast. Holy Mary is immaculate not because such is written but because it is inconceivable that GOD would choose kinda Jezebel or MariaAbramovich as HIS vessel. So it perfectly makes sense which the Church Fathers were absolutely clear about.

You would implore me to have a critical look at my religion.
I would implore you to have a closer look at Matth 7 1-5

St. Peter was appointed by Jesus "you are the rock" - it is written.
St Peter carried out his apostleship, became Bishop of Rome (aka the first Pope) and he died there.

There's multiple letters&testimonies of the Early Fathers from the Didache to John Damascene, Ignatius of Antioch, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria...
There's cites of converted Romans (Gaius, Tetullian).
No ancient writer claimed Peter ended his life anywhere other than in Rome and it is inconceivable that an Apostle of such impact would have died unnoticed.

And there is the archeological evidence of the tomb. Which is in the basement of St Peters Cathedral. Covered with early inscriptions attesting to the fact that Peter’s remains were inside, signifying early Christians knew that the Apostle of Jesus was there. The story of how all this was determined, with scientific accuracy, is too long to recount here. It is discussed in detail in John Evangelist Walsh’s book 'The Bones of St. Peter'.

You don't have to be a Catholic or even a Christian to acknowledge that Peter was in Rome. Historical and scientific evidence is such that no one willing to look at the facts objectively can doubt that Peter was in Rome.

My intention wasn't to offend you and it appears that I have. For that I apologise. I have no interest in arguing with you or accidentally offending you so I will agree to disagree with you. May God bless you and your family.

same

Thats why we have dictionaries, so there is no confusion as to what words mean. So I guess we can say Islam is not a religion. Since its about their 'relationship' with Mohammad

If you were anything remotely Christian instead of a Christian mocking atheist, I'd have a decent argument with you about this.

I'll give you that.

Make no mistake.
God is not mocked.

But how we worship is man made. Sure, there are sacraments, but what we do to worship God has very human methods to it, like singing. Heck, some cultures who worship God dance. And all are ways to worship God.
And, though I too have a... grudge regarding Catholicism, since I am an Anglican, I think they're worshipping God in their own, unified way. I wouldn't go out of my way, telling everyone that your way is the only way.

I didn't say my way is the only way. How you worship God doesn't matter, as long as you worship God biblically. Singing and dancing is all part of it.

Oh, okay. I guess I didn't get that.

God is a fake construct made by minds which can not accept the fact that they aren't as important as they think they are.

craving for importance is a fake construct made by egos that cannot accept the fact that humbleness is dignity.
You call it 'pride'; it is known as one of the seven deadly sins and is labeled as the 'father of all sins'.

And yet you pride yourself on "shutting down" an atheist.