"Why the need for all of these different religions? "

Some philosophers have suggested that there is such a strong drive in most people toward identifying with a higher power - that it could be considered evidence that we were created this way. The Bible also has many references to people being created with a natural desire to seek out God. I'm sure you'll dismiss this notion - but you can't throw out the premise easily if you are really being open minded...

"I'll tell you why. Because each religion , originally societies (think Sunni, Shiite, etc in the Muslim faith, or the different factions within the Jewish religion, or the different factions in Christianity), needed to prove how they were superior to others."

Thanks for sharing your opinion on this, but I don't agree.

" It continues today. Religion is constantly used as a means to divide people."

Religion does divide. But it can also draw together. Just because there is divisiveness, it does not mean that was the original purpose - but simply an outcome or side effect (often because of the people who misuse or misunderstand it).

Switching this up a little, most Christians feel that Christianity is essentially an 'anti-religion'. Jesus came to shake up the established Jewish religion, with all of it's corruption, hierarchy, religion for the sake of religion, religion for the use of dividing, etc. Religion was (and still is for many) a way for men to 'prove their worthiness' to God... Jesus revealed that attitude as hogwash - as all men are sinners, and no matter how hard we work and try to be all 'religious', we are just putting up smoke and mirrors.

The Old Testament is used by Christians in part as a case study of how 'religion' is a failure when it comes to gaining a relationship with God. Christians feel that Jesus is the answer\solution to 'religion'.

One of my favorite parts of the Bible is the story of Stephan the Martyr in the beginning of the book of Luke. He provides and great summary to the 'religious leaders' of the time of how far off they are and how they are\were so blinded by 'religion' that they didn't even realize when they killed their own Messiah... He was immediately stoned to death for this 'outrage' as the (soon to be) apostle Paul (Saul) looked on in approval (he was a prominent Jewish leader who lead the bloody charge against early Christians before God changed his heart and he became one of the very people he was earlier persecuting)...

Of course from the outside looking in - we are all lumped together as the 'religious', but I'm hoping you are open minded enough to try to understand my perspective.

Religion is great! Please enjoy yours and keep it to yourself.

Thank you.

OK, I'll keep it to myself if you'll keep your opinion to yourself... :p

Not an opinion this time but a request.... thank you for your consideration.

YAWN!!!!

2 Timothy, chapter 2

23...Again I say, don't get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights.

24 The Lord's servants must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone. They must be able to teach effectively and be patient with difficult people.

25 They should gently teach those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people's hearts, and they will believe the truth.

I'd think that christians that bring topics up like this would have something better to do with their time.

Most of them that I've seen haven't looked in the mirror and should be spending this time trying to improve themselves and taking their own advice.


It's amazing how many adults believe in fairy tales that have been rewritten who knows how many times.
Cracks me up when it's always an "interpretation" of the bible.

"No it doesn't say that, you aren't reading it right!!"

"rewritten who knows how many times"

Something that has been translated many times is quite different than something that has been "re-written many times".

There are many sources on the internet where you can compare, side by side, the different translations. With the discovery of the 'dead sea scrolls' and such, they have been able to compare various prior translations and have found them to be very reliable.

Thanks for a timely seasonal demonstration of Christian brotherly love.

"Something that has been translated many times is quite different than something that has been "re-written many times"."


And things that are translated are never the same. Some words don't exist, some have totally different meanings.

All this over a book of fairy tales...........................

That's why they call it 'Bible study'. It isn't just about picking up the good book and reading a few verses. You always check the context, find other supporting passages, compare the various translations (some focus on getting the exact wording, others strive for the exact meaning, etc), have Greek and Hebrew dictionaries available, concordances, etc.

You can call the Bible a fairy tale all you want, but every year they find archeological evidence of the historical accuracy surrounding many aspects of the Old Testament - cities scientist\archeologist didn't believe existed are found, etc. The New Testament is also regarded as being a valid historical document - people and places discussed actually did exist. So the disputes are really just surrounding the accounts of miracles and such - and as most things, just comes down to faith. But dismissing the entire Bible as a 'fairy tale' is pure ignorance.

Would that be the "discovery" of John's ossuary or the cheese sandwich with the likeness of Mary as examples?

Many others can easily argue that accepting the entire Bible as fact is naive and ignorant.

Happy Winter Solstice everyone!

I hope you have decorated your homes with lots of evergreens and are burning your yule logs to welcome the upcoming warming of the sun and the rebirth of the earth.

------------------------------------------------------------


Goharley,

What are you?

Care to share?


I've heard you mock Christians in one post and talk about the importance of remembering the 'reason for the season' in another.

I thought maybe you were a Catholic, then I thought maybe Unatarian, or do you have any denomintion you identify and agree with?

Do you have any firm beliefs with regard to God, Jesus and the Holy Bible?

I'm not trying to start a big debate or internet cage match, it's just that I'd be interested in learning how you arrive at some of the conclusions you do.

I'm a human, Krusty, that's really all that's important. Any other label attached simply divides.

"Many others can easily argue that accepting the entire Bible as fact is naive and ignorant."

They could offer their opinion - but it is not a good comparison.

That the Bible has historical accuracy among other things is not really debateable.

That parts of the Bible require the same leap of faith to beleive for children, adults, the uneducated, the scholars and scientists - is not by definition 'ignorance', but a combination of simple faith and personal experience.

Most Christians understand this requirement of faith to be a corner store of our relationship with God\Jesus. Would it be right if to understand the Bible and attain a solid 'faith' in God, you had to have years of formal eductation? The beauty of the Bible and understanding God\Jesus is that a small child can have that personal relationship with Him through the simplest faith, and a Dr with many Phd's can study every translation, research the historical contexts, examine the archeological evidence, and yet in the end they must take the same step of faith. Why? Because time and again in the Bible God\Jesus demonstrates that it is not by OUR efforts (studying\being smart\intelligent, 'being good', doing all the 'right things', being very 'religious', being a 'good person', etc), but the perfect work of Jesus that gives people the opportunity\gift of salvation.


Of course there are some very confused, ignorant, dillusional, mislead individuals and even entire congregations of "Christians" who cast a bad light on all Christians and religious people. But that is simply a matter of the diversity of mankind. Pick any large group of people and you can quickly find the deviants, ignorant, dillusional, etc...

GH:

My favorite author, Mark Twain once said something like, "I care not what race a man may be. Bieng human is condemnation enough."

Thanks for your opinion, Phreak, but that doesn't make it all fact. Some say the Bible is absolute fact, while others say it is absolute fiction. I say you're both wrong.

Homer's work has historical accuracy, but I don't believe everything from the Illiad or the Odyssey.

Because the Bible said Jesus used Tupperware® when He turned water to wine, and two-thousand years later archeologists find shards of Tupperware® at a site, does not alone give absolute credence to the story, given that Tupperware® was the predominantly used vessel for carrying both water and wine at that time.

What I do attribute the teachings and complexities of the Bible to is, as you put it, "a matter of the diversity of mankind."

Hello??? What are you talking about?

The guy said that the bible was a fairy tale. I said it is far from that for the reasons mentioned above. Nowhere in THIS thread did I make any claims about the Bible being 100 percent verifiable 'fact'.

If it could simply be 'proven', there would be no need for faith.

"That the Bible has historical accuracy among other things is not really debateable. "

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That the bible has historical INaccuracy among other things is not really debatable

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