Why is the US so much more religous as a country than majority of developed countries

No - Just those people trying to get to heaven by their own means or ways.

 

I fully expect to suffer the post-mortem plunge into some subterranean Hieronymous Bosch theme park where I will then spend the remainder of eternity sizzling on a massive George Foreman Grill®.


....but I have no fear, for I will be lean and DELICIOUS.



FUNDYMENTALISM SANDWICH.

 

People should stop trying to "get" to heaven. Instead we should practice to make ourselves ready for the kingdom so that it can manifest in the here and the now. You don't need to die in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, you have to be truly alive. There is nothing supernatural about it.

 

Just stop believing in an eternal soul, live for true happiness for you and all, and you will be fine.

http://www.buddhanet.net/nutshell07.htm

 

Morals have nothing to do with getting to heaven. Morals are like works - you need a law to tell you what is right and what is wrong. Youd don't need to read the bible to know right from wrong, though He did put a very though collection of laws in there. But the law is like a test for cancer - it will tell you if you have a problem but it will never cure you. If you've ever failed the test, and we all have, you have a deadly disease. No matter how many apples you've eaten (good works), no matter how good you feel, the disease is still there. There is only 1 cure and it cost God his only Son to cure us - a free gift - only you have to accept the gift and believe. If you've ever seen The Passion, ask yourself, if that is God's Son, why would he allow that? Only if there was no other way. If He was only a prophet, why did he claim to be equal to God? If He was a lunatic, how could he heal so many people and do things only God could do?

The question is - Is Jesus Lord, Liar or Lunatic?

These aren't my rules, they're His and if there could have been another way, Jesus would have never had to been put through that. My salvation lies in Him and Him alone.

 

People have a hard time letting go of their suffering. Out of a fear of the unknown, they prefer suffering that is familiar.

--Thich Nhat Hanh

 

Good for you. Just take note that others lie on different paths.

Sorry pal, but your religion does not have a monopoly on salvation or heaven.

He talked in metaphors. Your question is irrelevant.

 

I didn't realize God was so vain and that His love was conditional.

 

"Just remember there's a big difference between kneeling down and bending over."

Frank Zappa

Dumb All Over

 

is it that obvious?

i think that you do not have to have a religion to be a good human. I think that if there is a god he cares for all people(al religion) other wise he isn't the perfect good.
But i'm not religious so what do i know

 

It's called sovereignty... and the fact He sent a way out of sin when we didn't deserve it is the definition of "unconditional."

Salvation is the way in... then He changes us one moment at a time if we make Him our Lord - that is when it gets conditional.

Why would God set the rules for those who already believe, then expect the non-believer to follow them? Believers can only prove their belief by acting on it which = faith. Without faith it is impoosible to please God... in other words, once you've accepted Him, then live by His conditions as best you can... knowing that, should you stumble, He is faithful and just to forgive us of sin.

Any believer that tells you they live a faultless life, has just lied...

Remember, Christianity is to strive to be "Christ-like." It means to always try to better oneself by applying the Bible to your own life...

It's not a monopoly on salvation or heaven, we don't view it as such... it's just that we feel strongly that we've found the only way to reach either.

btw-Science is proving creationist views, and Biblical history all the time... so belief in God can only serve to increase intellect by enlightening a person by it's writings about things yet to be proven, discovered and yet to come to fruition.

Also, "God Bless America" is a humble prayer request, not an ignorant expectancy. Anyone who dares try and tell God what to do has forgotten my first point.

He's sovereign. Creation & creature should be in AWE of the Creator. And to claim that God "has to love all unconditionally" is true... but He also, while loving the souls of all mankind, has hatred for sin- introduced at the rise of Lucifer's pride=original sin.

If we'd admit it, it's really pride that makes us say "I don't need a savior, I can do it my way."

Self is MUCH more dangerous than Satan.

To answer the thread title: It is (was ) one of the country's main reasons for existence... the freedom to practice Christianity without the Anglican church setting all the rules/making church out to be vain kingdom worship.

It's just part of America's fiber.

 

Freedom to worship was the motivation. Ancient republics were the model.

The writings of our founding fathers are riddled with Biblical, Judeo-Christian tenets. Our public buildings are adorned with images from The Bible-- not Caligula's Court!

 

more of the ridicious claims that creationism is science and the fable that we're a Xian-based nation...no wonder Bush won, people will believe what they want to in face of overwelming evidence to the contrary

 

The motivation was taxation from the British, Quartering British soldiers in Colonists homes, living under the tyrranical rule of the Brits, and not having any say in how they were goverened.

Like most people of the time, including Monarchs that our country was rebelling against, the founding fathers did have religious references in their writings.

 

Sorry, but you don't know the first thing about self.

This is exactly why people call Christians close minded.

Heaven is here and now. Don't look into the distance. The kingdom of God is really available in the here and now. If we truly understood that we're living in the kingdom of God right now, we would act like it. The problem is we don't.

 

That is almost exactly what Jesus said. He said that the Kingdom of God is within us.

 

I wouldn't call The Goddess of Justice a Biblical image. Anyway most of our major institutions are housed in neo-classical buildings that are based on ancient Rome with imagery directly from their and Greece. Many of them have statuary and sculpture of founding fathers that are done in ancient Roman style.