It's a cop out. Things in the bible, like the age of the Earth, people walking on water, massive floods and arks, plagues, etc etc etc simply didn't happen despite the Bible claiming they happened. Why wouldn't God show up physically? He does so time and time and time and time again in the Bible. Do you think it's about time he pull off a new miracle? Seems he's been slacking in that department for a few thousand years...
As someone who went to private Catholic school up until college and took theology courses in college related to studying the Old and New Testament, you don't know jack ****. You do a huge disservice to the books, the authors that wrote those books and the religions which arose in conjunction to the books being written by cherry picking your favorite lines from them, and then applying a modern take to fit your own personal narrative that aligns with your preferred lifestyle.
Is that the fault of the person making that Venn diagram or the fault of how conservative Christians practice their faith?
We are way past the point of "mature responses" with what is at stake with individual freedoms for women. Her rightous indignation is justified here. Like imagine a women 100 years ago saying a dude's views are crap because he believes women can't vote and the dude calling her immature. No, they are crap and it's justified to call them crap.
God appeared mostly in the Old Testament, after the New Testament and the New Covenant, physical appearances were not required to believe in God. Mark Chapter 8: "“Why does this generation seek for a sign? Truly I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation.”
Instead of saying I don't know jacks***, why don't you point me in the right direction since you have better knowledge of the Bible than I do, and tell me why my Bible verses are misplaced?
I think you go against your own stated philosophy. Science shouldn't be be the basis of the bible because the bible isn't a science book. Science books do a better job of explaining science and things like the age of the earth, creation of the earth, laws of physics. Even the biblical stories that discuss things like how long it took to create the earth weren't done with the purpose of explaining how the earth was formed, there is a deeper message. The bible isn't intended to be a science book. Let science teach science, and don't try and use the religious text to argue against it. Use the religious text to study and learn religion. The bible isn't meant to be a history book. Using it as a history book will mean that you get history incorrect. There are things in it that may be historical or reference historical events, places, and people. But it isn't a history book.
Harvard Old Testament lectures Harvard New Testament lectures In short, there wasn't one unified form of Christianity when it first sprung. There was a variety of Christianities that placed different emphasis on their religious practices. Early religions of Christianity was more like an acid blot than a single unified chain of religion that follows one continuous line that can be traced up to present day. Much of the New Testament letters is one aspect of early Christianity trying to come up with a unified form of religious practice while snuffing out other Christianities it competed with at the time that it found disagreement with. By cherry picking quotes and applying a modern context, you take out the actual context when those letters and books were written. You take away the value it had on the people alive at the time and the context intended for them. You take away the author's intent and they're the ones who should know best what they intended when they wrote the damn books.
I only treat the Bible as a religious book, nothing else. I never treated it as a science book or history book. You are misinterpreting my earlier statements, I said people that read the Bible through a scientific lens will doubt its words and meaning. Read it through the faith based lens, and it will make more sense.
"This course approaches the New Testament not as scripture, or a piece of authoritative holy writing, but as a collection of historical documents" I think you and @FranchiseBlade have some discussing to do.
So you agree that we shouldn't legislate laws based on it it such as laws that are based in the concept that conscious human life with a "soul" begins at conception.
Be a bad Christian. **** on the actual history of early Christianities. That's your prerogative bro. Cherry pick more quotes.
Sorry you feel that way. I think you can understand why I am confused, you cited your private catholic school upbringing and theological studies as a qualifier for you to say my faith applied Bible quotes were misguided. When I asked you why, you sent me a lecture series from a secular university where the opening line is to not treat the Bible as a holy book, which is all I know how to treat it.
Yeah, I'd say the same thing if I were running a scam too. "Trust me, it works! It really does! Why would you need proof when this book has all the proof I need?" You still didn't address that the bible makes scientific claims that turn out not to be true.
I don't like that this thread has become a thread to discuss Christianity and the difference between the type of believer @SuraGotMadHops is (which is more in line with your conservative Christian that many people really dislike in this county, hence comparison to "American Taliban") versus the type of believer that isn't a conservative Christian, has their faith, however, they understand how not to apply their beliefs onto others by not legislating or believing that legislating should be done in that manner. I totally get the frustration, but I think IDIOT, seriously (or bump one of the other countless ones that have been created for that).
I dont give a flying fck. Keep your prayers away from me! Calling simply crap a belief that a 9 year old rape victim of incest must be forced to continue a pregnancy is an insult to all excrements. And dont you dare put all christians in the same bucket as your kind of pathetic mammalian ilk. Because with such beliefs you lose your right to be called even human. You and your misogynistic medieval beliefs dont deserve any ounce of respect. Get lost!