Quoted: Why practice self defense and such when the afterlife is better than this one?

Christ never said "dont defend yourself."  We are his creation and the flesh body is simply a stage in that creation.  He ain't done with us yet.  We are to learn all we can NOW about his world for the next plane of existance. Thats why we have the Bible.

Christ said to enter the Kingdom of heaven you must be born again, and he meant it literally.  Those who make it to the Kingdom will live in spiritual bodies because it'll be a spiritual plane.  

The instinct of survival is too strong to overcome.


Period.


Sgtar15

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: www.churchofsatan.com/Graphics/BaphoGal/GBaph.jpg Charming.... If he had ANY clue what Satanists are about, he'd change his mind.....real fast.

actually the Church of Satan is fairly benign.  They cloak enlightened self interest in the guise of devil worship to piss of the mainstream, but they have a lot of good ideas.

Below I've pasted some of the core rules of the Church, I think all but #7 are good advice for anyone (Christian, Buddhist, whatever)

The Eleven Satanic Rules of the Earth

by Anton Szandor LaVey ©1967

   1. Do not give opinions or advice unless you are asked.

   2. Do not tell your troubles to others unless you are sure they want to hear them.

   3. When in another’s lair, show him respect or else do not go there.

   4. If a guest in your lair annoys you, treat him cruelly and without mercy.

   5. Do not make sexual advances unless you are given the mating signal.

   6. Do not take that which does not belong to you unless it is a burden to the other person and he cries out to be relieved.

   7. Acknowledge the power of magic if you have employed it successfully to obtain your desires. If you deny the power of magic after having called upon it with success, you will lose all you have obtained.

   8. Do not complain about anything to which you need not subject yourself.

   9. Do not harm little children.

   10. Do not kill non-human animals unless you are attacked or for your food.

   11. When walking in open territory, bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask him to stop. If he does not stop, destroy him.

   

God's will.  Not mine.  I will go home when He calls.

what is a free thinker?

Quoted: what is a free thinker?

Someone who gives their opinion away for free, weather you want to hear it or not.....


SGatr15