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Topic: If you have........
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aquaspryt69 Knowflake Posts: 1567 From: Arizona Registered: Feb 2004
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posted July 22, 2007 12:25 PM
If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the million who won't survive the week.
If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture or the pangs of starvation, you are ahead of 20 million people around the world. If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world. If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world.
If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace, you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy. If your parents are still married and alive, you are very rare, especially in the United States. If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful, you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not. If you can hold someone's hand, hug them or even touch them on the shoulder, you are blessed because you can offer God's healing touch.
If you can read this message, you are more blessed than over two billion people in the world that cannot read anything at all. You are so blessed in ways you may never even know. If you are feeling blessed, repay the blessings bestowed unto you and do something for others. A blessing cannot be kept. If it stops with you, then the blessing will disappear. The blessing will only keep working if it is continuously passed around. If you are a recipient of a blessing, keep the blessing working by being the source of blessing to other people. IP: Logged |
Mirandee Knowflake Posts: 4812 From: South of the Thumb - Taurus, Pisces, Cancer Registered: Sep 2004
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posted July 22, 2007 12:38 PM
Thank you for the reminder to count our blessings, aquaspry
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aquaspryt69 Knowflake Posts: 1567 From: Arizona Registered: Feb 2004
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posted July 22, 2007 12:53 PM
Np Mirandee We must never forget to be thankful for what we have and don't have.
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TheEvolution Knowflake Posts: 715 From: Mumbai, India Registered: Aug 2005
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posted July 22, 2007 12:57 PM
quote: If you attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death, you are more blessed than almost three billion people in the world.
there are about 7 billion on earth and most of them are not christians. IP: Logged |
Node Knowflake Posts: 1162 From: Crowded House Registered: Nov 2005
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posted July 22, 2007 12:57 PM
Spryt: Thanks for that! Did you write it? If not may we know the author? Also may I recommend a movie for you? It is a 'message' motivational film adapted from a book based on a true story called Peaceful Warrior But unlike the hugely popular Secret it is based on what we have in the Now as opposed to what we think we want and or need. IP: Logged |
aquaspryt69 Knowflake Posts: 1567 From: Arizona Registered: Feb 2004
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posted July 22, 2007 01:11 PM
Hey Node, I don't know who wrote it. It was sent to me in an email and am sharing it with everyone I know. The Evolution, It says nothing about any particular religion, so why bring up Christianity? If it's the wording you're having an issue with, then change it up to whatever is appropriate. ie synagogue, temple, the great outdoors, whatever sugars your cookies. I sure hope I don't have to get nasty on what is meant to be a nice thread. IP: Logged |
Mirandee Knowflake Posts: 4812 From: South of the Thumb - Taurus, Pisces, Cancer Registered: Sep 2004
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posted July 23, 2007 02:05 AM
I don't want to get off the topic of a nice thread about blessings either, aquaspry, but I feel I do have to correct The Evolution on her facts. As of 2005 there was a world population of 6.5 billion people. That was the last census report on the world population. The world religions break down shows that in fact, there are more Christians in the world than any other religion or non-religion. Here is the breakdown of the major religions and non-religions as of 2007: Christianity: 2.1 billion Islam: 1.3 billion Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: 1.1 billion Hinduism: 900 million Chinese traditional religion: 394 million Buddhism: 376 million primal-indigenous: 300 million African Traditional & Diasporic: 100 million Sikhism: 23 million Juche: 19 million Spiritism: 15 million Judaism: 14 million Baha'i: 7 million Jainism: 4.2 million Shinto: 4 million Cao Dai: 4 million Zoroastrianism: 2.6 million Tenrikyo: 2 million Neo-Paganism: 1 million Unitarian-Universalism: 800 thousand Rastafarianism: 600 thousand Scientology: 500 thousand
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miss_muffet Knowflake Posts: 832 From: Registered: Mar 2004
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posted July 23, 2007 07:47 PM
quote: there are about 7 billion on earth and most of them are not christians.
I agree. Based on Mirandee's chart, 67% are non-christians. Evolution did not say what their religions are. Just that most of them are not christians. This statement is absolutely correct. MM IP: Logged |
Mirandee Knowflake Posts: 4812 From: South of the Thumb - Taurus, Pisces, Cancer Registered: Sep 2004
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posted July 24, 2007 01:39 AM
As of 2007 there is an estimated 6.7 billion people on the planet. It is estimated that with the present birth and death rate there will not be 7 billion people in the world until around the year 2030. As for Christianity being the largest religion in the world you can check out this chart along with the explanation of the figures and the total breakdown of the percentages and stats at the following site: http://www.adherents.com/Religions_By_Adherents.html#Classical There you will find these statements as well: Christianity: David B. Barrett's World Christian Encyclopedia (1994 update) gives an oft-cited figure of 1.9 billion Christians (or about 33% of the world population), and projected that by the year 2000 there will be 2.1 billion Christians in the world. The 2001 edition of the World Christian Encyclopedia stated there were 2.1 billion Christians in the world, or 33% of the total population. Regardless of the degree of accuracy of this figure, Christianity, if taken as a whole, is unarguably the largest world religion - the largest religion in the world. (Keep in mind that although Christianity is the world's largest religion, it is an umbrella term that comprises many different branches and denominations.) My note: Of the various Christian denominations Roman Catholicism is by far the largest Christian group. With more than one billion adherents worldwide. Islam: Contemporary figures for Islam are usually between 900 million and 1.4 billion, with 1 billion being a figure frequently given in comparative religion texts, probably because it's such a nice, round number. The largest and best known branches of Islam are Sunni and Shi'ite. Many Muslims (and some non-Muslim) observers claim that there are more practicing Muslims than practicing Christians in the world. Adherents.com has no reason to dispute this. It seems likely, but we would point out that there are different opinions on the matter, and a Muslim may define "practicing" differently than a Christian. In any case, the primary criterion for the rankings on this page is self-identification, which has nothing to do with practice.
Smaller groups within Islam include Sufis (although some Sufis regard their practice of Sufism as pan-denominational or non-denominational), Druze, the U.S.-based Nation of Islam (previously known as "Black Muslims"), and Ahmadiyya. As is true with all major religions, there are adherents within all branches of Islam who consider some of or all of the other branches heterodox or not actually part of their religion. But these classifications are based primarily on historical lineage and self-identification. Protestations and disagreements based on exclusivistic internal concepts of belief or practice are normal, but are largely immaterial with regards to historical, taxonomic and statistical classification. Secular/Nonreligious/Agnostic/Atheist: This is a highly disparate group and not a single religion. Although atheists are a small subset of this grouping, this category is not synonymous with atheism. People who specify atheism as their religious preference actually make up less than one-half of one percent of the population in many countries where much large numbers claim no religious preference, such as the United States (13.2% nonreligious according to ARIS study of 2001) and Australia (15% nonreligious). You can check out other sites as well and you will find the same thing. Christianity and Islam are the two largest religions in the world. Although if you break those two religions down to just practicing then there are probably more practicing Islamics in the world than Christians. Not all Christians go to church regularly yet still consider themselves Christians in their beliefs.
I am not arguing this issue based on the fact that I am a professed Christian but because they are the true facts. As a Christian it doesn't really matter much to me because I would still be a Christian even if they were the least majority on the planet. I just feel that one should counter misinformation with the true facts. Like it or not, the facts speak for themselves.
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aquaspryt69 Knowflake Posts: 1567 From: Arizona Registered: Feb 2004
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posted July 31, 2007 07:26 PM
Thanks Mirandee. I don't mind statistics being updated, I just didn't want this to turn into some ugly debate about religions.
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Bluemoon Knowflake Posts: 4456 From: Stafford, VA USA Registered: Feb 2005
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posted July 31, 2007 07:31 PM
I agree with Spry! This is not a topic for religous debate! Be at peace, be good to each other, feel blessed, love this world. My religion is not even listed. IP: Logged |
fayte.m Knowflake Posts: 9809 From: Still out looking for Schrödinger's cat. fayte1954@hotmail.com Registered: Mar 2005
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posted July 31, 2007 10:28 PM
aquaspryt69 quote: We must never forget to be thankful for what we have and don't have.
BTW... I see Spiritism (Spiritist) listed but not Spiritualist which is the larger group. There is a Big difference! These are not the same thing. ------------------ "Heaven doesn't want me and Hell is afraid I'll take over and start a rehab for the damned!" ~Judgement Must Be Balanced With Compassion~ ~Do Not Seek Wealth From The Suffering, Or The Dire Needs Of Others~ ~Assumption Is The Bane Of Understanding~ ~ if you keep doing what you did, you'll keep getting what you got.~ }><}}}(*> <*){{{><{ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~ ~~~ ~~ ~~~~~ ~~~ ~~~~ ~~~ IP: Logged |
maklhouf Knowflake Posts: 1392 From: Registered: Nov 2003
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posted August 01, 2007 01:40 AM
I'm slightly turned off by the implied threat: pass on your blessings or else. It makes blessings into one of those chain letters we know and hate------------------ The stone which the builders rejected, The same was made the head of the corner; Matthew 21:42 IP: Logged |
Solane Star Knowflake Posts: 5378 From: Ontario, Canada Registered: Jun 2005
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posted August 01, 2007 06:47 AM
SO BLESSED!!!!THANKS AQUASPRYT69!!!!!!!!! IP: Logged |