I mostly agree. It just irks me that soooo many have hijacked the Christian faith.
How about this? We need more Jesus and less rigid, stern, judgmental religion.
More light. Less cruelty.
More love. Less hatred.
@stanrmitchell @lolgop Have they hijacked it? Which one is the right one? Any christian I ask will tell me that their version is the correct interpretation. There are of course groups that we can all agree do things that are morally questionable but I'm not clear that anyone has hijacked anything. Is it not all down to personal interpretation of an ancient anachronistic text?
Not trying to start a flame war - asking genuinely as an atheist wanting to build bridges with other viewpoints.
Thank you for your civility. ❤️🙏
I’m much more open on which religion, having had a complicated past with Christianity (and a ten-year dive into Chan Buddhism), before returning to my Christian roots.
I think you can ultimately judge a person by their fruit, as the Bible says. And I would quickly add that the Bible says that many “who drove out demons” in God’s name and were religious will be told at the end, “I never knew you.”
@Pappy @lolgop It’s very hard to. And I’m still working on that.
But Jesus often cited the Old Testament and many prophecies from it are borne out in the New Testament.
So, it is something you must struggle with.
I guess I would say it reflects a world and period of time that most people have never lived — of war and desperation, of victory and subjugation, of atrocities and harshness that none of us can comprehend. But even there, God was still present.
"it reflects a world and period of time that most people have never lived — of war and desperation, of victory and subjugation, of atrocities and harshness that none of us can comprehend. But even there, God was still present."
Sounds pretty modern to me...
This is part of the problem: there's no NT w\o the OT. Further, Jesus said he didn't come to overturn but to fulfill the law, and not one jot or tittle of the law is to be ignored so long as earth remains.
That strongly supports the OT's hate & bigotry.
But why would a wise & loving God give us a book that's so awful?
@stanrmitchell @Pappy @lolgop yeah, not a fan of a god that will just sit there and watch his own children murder each other by the thousands and millions for stupid selfish reasons, and demolish the world he created for them to live in, while doing nothing. I’ve heard enough about your god’s “mysterious” will and ways of working.
I have great sympathy for how your own cognitive dissonance over this must immobilize you. Good luck.
Not by definition. But 'completely fucking ass-backwards' would describe that position well.
I would say its more a problem of 'ism!
If a matter becomes an 'ism soon after there will be someone who will kill for his/her 'ism!
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