There's the problem....the Bible can be interpreted to mean just about anything you want it to say - even something hateful and destructive - as can the Koran and any of the other big books.
True. And many have used it for this purpose. If you knew more about the book, you could actually point out areas where you think I misinterpreting it or why. Instead, you are being emotional, and resorting to childish insults IMO.
I'm not against the basic idea of religion - just what it has been turned into. Islamic radicals believe THEY are right and God and the Koran command them to kill the infidels and other Islamic scholars say the exact opposite and think they're crazy.
The Islamic scholars are attempting to reconcile their familial religion with modern day society. And they are misinterpreting the Koran IMO, since the clear message of the ENTIRE BOOK, defines Islam as a militant religion.
Stretch believes it is his duty to save everyone he can through Christianity otherwise they are eternally damned. Guess what? I have an uncle who is an Episcopal priest who I see often and had dinner with last night...he could not disagree with Stretch more and he believes Stretch's interpretation is completely off.
I would love to know EVEN ONE verse which suggests Christians are not meant to spread his message. Jesus spoke more than twice as much about hell as he did heaven. He told people they would go to hell if they did not ask God for forgiveness. Again, the cancer analogy comes to mind IDMD.
Here's another analogy that may help: I have a sickness which causes me to see hallucinations of fire. I drive by your house and believe it is on fire, but I'm wrong. I knock on your door and inform you of my errant belief. Are you angry with me for stopping to tell you in that situation? That's all that happened here, you can believe I'm wrong, and be frustrated by my beliefs. But to be angry and insult believers just makes no sense to me. I suspected strongly that my message wouldn't be received the way I had hoped, and the last thing I wanted was an argument with you. But, try to think about it with me IDMD....
If I genuinely believe that you are on your way to hell, a place of ETERNAL burning where you will never die. ETERNAL BURNING.
If I genuinely believe that is your fate...how worthless of a human would I be to not tell you that because I am afraid you will make fun of me and call me a sheeple? I knew what was coming when I came into this thread. And that fear is what kept other CHICKEN POOP believers who are members from posting, and they should be ashamed of themselves.
Who is right and who is wrong? What good is something like the bible if it can be manipulated and interpreted any way you want? What good is it if you can twist the meaning to suit your ideas - how can that be the word of God?
Man will corrupt anything IDMD. Give us a wonder-drug, and there are 7000 vulture pharm companies wondering how to make money off of it....EVERYTHING we see is like that. The depravity of man is nearly boundless. Which is why I always suggest that no one change anything about thier lifestyle or religion because some preacher told them to. And don't wait for God to whisper in your ear either. Everything we NEED to know, is reinforced...OVER and OVER and OVER again throughout His Word. If someone can't show you repeated verses, from many different parts of the Bible, I would reject their message.
Speaking of which...I would love to see some verses from your preacher friend/uncle...I forget which he was.
Religion in and of itself is not destructive but people's use of it is.....
Couldn't agree more. Hence my response to your question about which "flavor" I am. My definition of religion is a set of beliefs which are designed by MAN. I don't want a "mans" way of doing things. I want Gods way. Which is the reason for my rejection of any, non-reinforced Biblical principles.
It's all too sloppy....too fallible....too human to be true IMO.
If that makes me childish then so be it
No. That doesn't make you childish not to believe. It's a hard thing to open yourself up to. I really wish you would read, "Case for Christ".
I was still fighting hard after reading that book. But it nagged me over the next few years, and combined with some other factors, led me to Christ. I am far from perfect, as I often demonstrate on this forum with many of my actions. To my shame. But life is a Journey, and I genuinely want to please God, I believe he sees the desires of my heart, remains patient with me.
BTW....my tone in this thread became less civil when it became clear Stretch is using the Bible to justify his own little brand of hateful Christianity. Join me or burn for eternity is his message and his message is hateful in my opinion - no matter how justified he feels because he can find some ambiguous words here or there in the bible that he can use to convince himself he's right.
My uncle who is a scholar of the Bible says it is ambiguous, contradictory, open to interpretation and misinterpretation and if you want to get to the meaning of it it's NOT done word by word but in the summation of all the words.
YES! Something I've stated over and over again in this thread...echo echo echo.
BTW I would love to see this scholars verses for not proselytizing. Its a ridiculous statement.
Your accusations of my being hateful are absolutely LUDICROUS. There isn't ONE WAY to heaven BECAUSE I found it. I don't believe my selection of it makes it the best. It was the best before it was revealed to me. I love and feel for those who haven't yet found it, and I pray and hope that they do find the way.
Did I come here on my own? Yes. Did I start this discussion civilly? Yes. Did I take offense to Stretch's take on Christianity and his misuse of it to judge and sentence me to eternal damnation? Yes. Does the way Stretch uses Christianity to fulfill his own agenda tweak me just a little? YES!
Really? Is that really what happened?? I "tweaked" you?
No. You were religiously jaded long before I made my beliefs known. You requested to know my beliefs then ridiculed me for them. The only person who would believe your last quoted section above, is someone too lazy to go back and read the discourse for themselves.
Here is how you entered this conversation sir. Nothing "civil" about it.
Oh Christ! If there is a Supreme being he most certainly is not the Christian or Jewish or Muslim god and he doesn't give a shit if you go to church.
Religion is man-made. Books with stories rationalized by men who didn't know anything about science...these books attempted to explain the unknown. Nothing more....man has bastardized these religions into what they are today....big business, a reason to kill others, a system of control.
If you look to the bible as your answer for how things came to be I think you're a moron. If you think evolution is all inclusive and capable of explaining everything I think you're equally misguided.
Those men who didn't know anything about science, also stated that the Earth was suspended by nothing over 4000 years ago it was written.
Long before the Greek "super-minds" created Atlas. Or the Asians thought the Earth sat on the back of Giant Spider.
They also spoke about the Earth being a circle...
Go figure
Pretty good for some goat herders who wrote it down a few millenia before some man of science would confirm what God already told us.
There are many scientific principles which the Bible spoke of LONG BEFORE science accepted them. You repeatedly show that you are regurgitating the statements of others..."the bible is full of contradictions" "the Bible's authors were uneducated Goat-herders" bla bla...
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