Originally Posted By Mr X Kar2oonMan, if you don't send me your phone number by email, how the heck can I call you to chat!? (hint) As for the rest of the commentary, this is really going nowhere and we all know it. Believers believe, others fight against it...Bla, Bla, Bla... It's the way the world turns, is it not? As long as nobody is bothering anybody else, what does it really matter? BUT, there in lies the rub. As old a story as been ever told.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip <<God requires full, sinless blood sacrifice to have mercy against those who sin (unholy). Christ provided the sinless blood sacrifice that you or I are not able to provide.>> I was taught (in a Baptist Church yet) that God was Love. That doesn't sound much like love to me. Neither does a God that would tell Abraham to kill his kid. I think all of that reflects the thoughts of those who wrote the Bible more than the thoughts of God. Was the Bible inspired by God? I'll accept that it was. But you have to remember that God's word was interpreted by human beings with all their faults and who believed at the time that the earth was flat and was the center of the universe. That doesn't mean (to me) that the Bible has no value. It DOES mean (to me) that no one should accept a literal interpretation.
Originally Posted By Mr X ***That doesn't mean (to me) that the Bible has no value. It DOES mean (to me) that no one should accept a literal interpretation*** Very cool.
Originally Posted By mele I honestly do not understand how someone can believe every word in the Bible is true and that everything described literally happened. I just cannot grasp it and I don't understand why people need it to be so literally true instead of just viewing it as inspirational and containing many important life lessons.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan I find very often that those who view many of the parables as literal truths seem to miss the larger point of it all (respect for those with the least, loving our neighbor as ourselves, etc.). It's puzzling.
Originally Posted By velo maybe because it's easier? Inferences and "larger picture" types of thinking are hard for some.
Originally Posted By Princessjenn5795 <<I find very often that those who view many of the parables as literal truths seem to miss the larger point of it all (respect for those with the least, loving our neighbor as ourselves, etc.). It's puzzling.>> I think for some it is because: a) it is far easier to believe that there is a hard and fast rule for everything. It takes away the ambiguity and subtlety and says "this is how it is." They no longer have to interpret things for themselves. and b) It takes away the personal responsibility for bad actions and feelings. They engage in bad behavior, directly contrary to the message of Jesus, and then point to a Bible passage taken out of context to validate that bad behavior. It is the easy way out. I am a Christian, though as I have said before, I believe the Bible to be allegorical. It does bother me greatly when people, like the OP, use it, or my religion in general, as an excuse to be divisive, prejudiced, bigoted, judgmental, or hypocritical. As Kar2oonMan said, perfectly I may add, they miss the entire point of what Jesus taught.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 <I don't have a "my religion". It's not religion. It's truth. > Ladies and gentlemen, I present you the trouble with religion in a nutshell!
Originally Posted By Kevin Flynn "" If you want non-believers to take your religion seriously, then present it seriously."" One of the best things I've read on this site. I am a Christian, but I couldn't agree MORE with this single statement. ecdc that is a home run!
