The Flat Earth Society
Other Discussion Boards => Philosophy, Religion & Society => Topic started by: QuietResonance on September 14, 2009, 07:57:23 AM
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I am quite fascinated by the duality of Christians who claim to be enlightened by their belief in the one true god who is gracious and forgiving. Take Christianrocker90 for example. He continually states that he is against the prejudices of others and yet his posts imply that he himself is quite prejudice against those who are not like him. Take note, however, that I am not claiming all Christians behave in such a manner. I know quite a few Christians who are kind and open to others regardless of their beliefs and opinions.
I will begin with this:
Luke 6:31
31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Would it not seem that if you intend to be accepted in society without the judgement of others that you would grant them the same kindness? If not, then why do you claim to live by the words of the Bible?
There is also this:
John 7:53-8:11 in the King James Version:
7:53 And every man went unto his own house. 8:1 Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then wouldn't you strive to be as he is?
Overall, I'm trying to understand the breakdown between the words of the Bible and those who do not actually follow them while claiming to live by them.
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Well I'm guessing the majority of Christians don't follow the teachings of Christ, but instead prefer to follow the rules of their various church teachings and what their preachers tell them etc etc.
It seems to me that a true Christian would follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and ignore all other religious teachings as the Sermon on the Mount was Christ's interpretation of the Law and obviously to be a Christian would be to follow Christ, not to follow Biblical Law.
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Well I'm guessing the majority of Christians don't follow the teachings of Christ, but instead prefer to follow the rules of their various church teachings and what their preachers tell them etc etc.
It seems to me that a true Christian would follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and ignore all other religious teachings as the Sermon on the Mount was Christ's interpretation of the Law and obviously to be a Christian would be to follow Christ, not to follow Biblical Law.
I agree. It doesn't look as though most of the churches' actually "practice what they preach". Every church I have ever entered preached heavily on the teachings of Jesus Christ and yet as the people would leave there were many who acted as though the rules were only meant to protect them, not be an example to them of how to behave.
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Actually, I have met Christians who do unto others and follow the teachings of the bible. There are varying degrees; some live their whole lives by it and are always making an effort to help one person or another, while others just try to be a nice person in general by avoiding doing mean things. Some do neither and just call themselves Christian.
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Humans are not perfect, and will not follow Jesus's teachings perfectly. We will stray. What makes a good Christian is honestly trying to follow the teachings.
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Well I'm guessing the majority of Christians don't follow the teachings of Christ, but instead prefer to follow the rules of their various church teachings and what their preachers tell them etc etc.
It seems to me that a true Christian would follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and ignore all other religious teachings as the Sermon on the Mount was Christ's interpretation of the Law and obviously to be a Christian would be to follow Christ, not to follow Biblical Law.
This is what irritates me about the Bible. It seems at times that the teachings of Paul often directly contradict the teachings of Jesus. If Christianity had stuck with Jesus' words Christians would be better people. But for some reason, in most denominations, Paul's interpretation seems to be given a lot of weight. Half of the New Testament was (supposedly) written by him. It's been a while since I've read the Bible, and I probably never will again, unless I make a decision to reevaluate my opinion about this, but my impression was that Paul often twisted Jesus' words, and that his books are considered canon only for the rhetorical power they possessed to benefit the early Church's agenda. Sometimes I wonder if hardcore Christians even ever bother to read the damn thing.
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Christian's don't even know what the sermon on the mount is. Eat, drink, and be merry! It's the path to hell!!! Also, if America were truly a christian nation, why is the penal system based on punishment rather than forgiveness and rehabilitation as taught in the sermon on the mount? Oh, that's right, I keep forgetting, that's how Christians roll. Say you follow the teachings of Christ but in actuality follow the eye for an eye teachings of Exodus. When Christian's try to play the victim and ask why people attack them, it's for hypocritical things like this. When you say one thing, do another, and then still have the gall to chastise others all the while having your fragile feelings hurt when someone questions you. It's enough to make me post a rant on a message board.
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Well I'm guessing the majority of Christians don't follow the teachings of Christ, but instead prefer to follow the rules of their various church teachings and what their preachers tell them etc etc.
It seems to me that a true Christian would follow the teachings of the Sermon on the Mount and ignore all other religious teachings as the Sermon on the Mount was Christ's interpretation of the Law and obviously to be a Christian would be to follow Christ, not to follow Biblical Law.
This is what irritates me about the Bible. It seems at times that the teachings of Paul often directly contradict the teachings of Jesus. If Christianity had stuck with Jesus' words Christians would be better people. But for some reason, in most denominations, Paul's interpretation seems to be given a lot of weight. Half of the New Testament was (supposedly) written by him. It's been a while since I've read the Bible, and I probably never will again, unless I make a decision to reevaluate my opinion about this, but my impression was that Paul often twisted Jesus' words, and that his books are considered canon only for the rhetorical power they possessed to benefit the early Church's agenda. Sometimes I wonder if hardcore Christians even ever bother to read the damn thing.
Yeah I always thought Paul was a bit of a penguin really but I think almost all denominations follow Pauline Christianity. There was an older man in my dad's church who actually stood up in the service once, after a woman had just prayed or something, and quoted what Paul had said about how women shouldn't talk in Church and instead should just wait til they get home and ask their husbands to explain to them what they didn't understand. That made me laugh but I bet some of the women got pissed off.
But pretty much the preference of Paul's teachings over Jesus' and the whole typical hypocritical 'Christian' were what made me stop going to Church (though in my opinion the people weren't that bad in my dad's church)
Also, Pongo is an angry young man.
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Actually, I have met Christians who do unto others and follow the teachings of the bible. There are varying degrees; some live their whole lives by it and are always making an effort to help one person or another, while others just try to be a nice person in general by avoiding doing mean things. Some do neither and just call themselves Christian.
Take note, however, that I am not claiming all Christians behave in such a manner. I know quite a few Christians who are kind and open to others regardless of their beliefs and opinions.
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Also, Pongo is an angry young man.
You'd be angry too if you had to live in the Bible Belt. FYI, the Bible Belt isn't for holding up pants, it's for beating retardation into children.
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This is what irritates me about the Bible. It seems at times that the teachings of Paul often directly contradict the teachings of Jesus. If Christianity had stuck with Jesus' words Christians would be better people. But for some reason, in most denominations, Paul's interpretation seems to be given a lot of weight. Half of the New Testament was (supposedly) written by him. It's been a while since I've read the Bible, and I probably never will again, unless I make a decision to reevaluate my opinion about this, but my impression was that Paul often twisted Jesus' words, and that his books are considered canon only for the rhetorical power they possessed to benefit the early Church's agenda. Sometimes I wonder if hardcore Christians even ever bother to read the damn thing.
If Christianity had not followed along with Pauline doctrine, they would have remained a small schismatic Jewish sect. I agree with your opinion of him but eh, he was a man of his time as we all are. Great little organizer though.
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Christian's don't even know what the sermon on the mount is. Eat, drink, and be merry! It's the path to hell!!! Also, if America were truly a christian nation, why is the penal system based on punishment rather than forgiveness and rehabilitation as taught in the sermon on the mount? Oh, that's right, I keep forgetting, that's how Christians roll. Say you follow the teachings of Christ but in actuality follow the eye for an eye teachings of Exodus. When Christian's try to play the victim and ask why people attack them, it's for hypocritical things like this. When you say one thing, do another, and then still have the gall to chastise others all the while having your fragile feelings hurt when someone questions you. It's enough to make me post a rant on a message board.
I really cannot stand it when Christians make this claim. Usually to justify absurd regulations like having official prayer in public school, or the ten commandments in a court house. The colonists originally came to this country to escape religious persecution, only to become the persecutors. Our founders however, were mostly deists, who realized the importance for the freedom of religion, but were also intelligent enough to know that there can be no freedom of religion, unless there was also freedom from religion. Therefore they outlawed the establishment of religion in the federal government. We were not founded as a christian nation.
History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden people maintaining a free civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance of which their civil as well as religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes.
-Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von Humboldt, Dec. 6, 1813.
It was the belief of all sects at one time that the establishment of Religion by law, was right & necessary; that the true religion ought to be established in exclusion of every other; and that the only question to be decided was which was the true religion. The example of Holland proved that a toleration of sects, dissenting from the established sect, was safe & even useful. The example of the Colonies, now States, which rejected religious establishments altogether, proved that all Sects might be safely & advantageously put on a footing of equal & entire freedom.... We are teaching the world the great truth that Govts do better without Kings & Nobles than with them. The merit will be doubled by the other lesson that Religion flourishes in greater purity, without than with the aid of Gov. [James Madison, Letter to Edward Livingston, July 10, 1822, The Writings of James Madison, Gaillard Hunt]
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Actually, I have met Christians who do unto others and follow the teachings of the bible. There are varying degrees; some live their whole lives by it and are always making an effort to help one person or another, while others just try to be a nice person in general by avoiding doing mean things. Some do neither and just call themselves Christian.
Take note, however, that I am not claiming all Christians behave in such a manner. I know quite a few Christians who are kind and open to others regardless of their beliefs and opinions.
I wasn't saying that you had said otherwise; sorry if it came across that way. I was just sharing my experiences.
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Actually, I have met Christians who do unto others and follow the teachings of the bible. There are varying degrees; some live their whole lives by it and are always making an effort to help one person or another, while others just try to be a nice person in general by avoiding doing mean things. Some do neither and just call themselves Christian.
Take note, however, that I am not claiming all Christians behave in such a manner. I know quite a few Christians who are kind and open to others regardless of their beliefs and opinions.
I wasn't saying that you had said otherwise; sorry if it came across that way. I was just sharing my experiences.
It's quite alright. Misunderstandings are bound to occur on the internet. ;)
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It's quite alright. Misunderstandings are bound to occur on the internet. ;)
No kidding. :)
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I am quite fascinated by the duality of Christians who claim to be enlightened by their belief in the one true god who is gracious and forgiving. Take Christianrocker90 for example. He continually states that he is against the prejudices of others and yet his posts imply that he himself is quite prejudice against those who are not like him. Take note, however, that I am not claiming all Christians behave in such a manner. I know quite a few Christians who are kind and open to others regardless of their beliefs and opinions.
I will begin with this:
Luke 6:31
31And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
Would it not seem that if you intend to be accepted in society without the judgement of others that you would grant them the same kindness? If not, then why do you claim to live by the words of the Bible?
There is also this:
John 7:53-8:11 in the King James Version:
7:53 And every man went unto his own house. 8:1 Jesus went unto the Mount of Olives. 2 And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. 3 And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, 4 They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. 5 Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? 6 This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. 7 So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. 8 And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. 9 And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. 10 When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? 11 She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.
If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then wouldn't you strive to be as he is?
Overall, I'm trying to understand the breakdown between the words of the Bible and those who do not actually follow them while claiming to live by them.
Here's a simple, serious hint for you: Use a different version of the bible, like the New Living Translation (NLT). Easier to understand.
Second, don't ever use me as the standard for Christians as I am no where near the best Christian, I have troubles in my life right now and have backslid in my faith. So I'm not to be used as a standard. At least for now anyway...
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Here's a simple, serious hint for you: Use a different version of the bible, like the New Living Translation (NLT). Easier to understand.
Second, don't ever use me as the standard for Christians as I am no where near the best Christian, I have troubles in my life right now and have backslid in my faith. So I'm not to be used as a standard. At least for now anyway...
Aw, ChristianRocker. What's got you down? :(
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Here's a simple, serious hint for you: Use a different version of the bible, like the New Living Translation (NLT). Easier to understand.
Where do you disagree with my interpretation? I do not believe I have any trouble understanding the King James Version.
Second, don't ever use me as the standard for Christians as I am no where near the best Christian, I have troubles in my life right now and have backslid in my faith. So I'm not to be used as a standard. At least for now anyway...
I did not use you as a standard. You were an example. I find you to be highly hypocritical like many other Christians I have come across.
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Here's a simple, serious hint for you: Use a different version of the bible, like the New Living Translation (NLT). Easier to understand.
Second, don't ever use me as the standard for Christians as I am no where near the best Christian, I have troubles in my life right now and have backslid in my faith. So I'm not to be used as a standard. At least for now anyway...
Aw, ChristianRocker. What's got you down? :(
The reality that me and my sicknesses have royally screwed up my life in some places...
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Sickness?
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He's gay.
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Sickness?
A combination of physical and mental ones...
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Sickness?
A combination of physical and mental ones...
:(
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Sickness?
A combination of physical and mental ones...
I'm sorry to hear that.
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Only to certain Christians.
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Only to certain Christians.
Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Only to certain Christians.
Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
Why go to science if you're just gonna spit on it?
Although I do feel bad, you also need to work on being less rude.
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Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
Sure I do, I just don't know you. I was just kidding, but judging by your reaction, I think I hit pretty close to home. You need to learn to stop taking things so srsly on teh internetz.
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Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
It's as though you are blind to your own hypocrisy.
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Only to certain Christians.
Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
Why go to science if you're just gonna spit on it?
Although I do feel bad, you also need to work on being less rude.
I'll give you that...I agree...
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Only to certain Christians.
Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
Irony.
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I wouldn't class CR as a Christian anyway. Lets just use him as a good example of a hypocritical religious nut.
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He's gay.
I was unaware that being gay was a sickness.
Only to certain Christians.
Shut up. You have no respect...no compassion either...
I BEG to differ.
They're extremist and can't be reasoned with...
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I'm sorry things are hard for you right now ChristianRocker.
But, I should tell you now, so you don't waste thousands of dollars, that Exodus is a total scam. I know that because, um, I had a...friend...who...signed up...with them.....
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And plus, everyone knows Rock music is sin. Jesus doesn't approve of guitar riffs. ChristianRocker is contradicting himself.
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And plus, everyone knows Rock music is sin. Jesus doesn't approve of guitar riffs. ChristianRocker is contradicting himself.
That's a baptist belief that incorrect...
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Who are you to say what is correct and what is incorrect? Are you God?
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And plus, everyone knows Rock music is sin. Jesus doesn't approve of guitar riffs. ChristianRocker is contradicting himself.
That's a baptist belief that incorrect...
Baptists are incorrect now?
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Apparantly... just because ChristianRocker does not share their beliefs.