Do you believe the bible?

[bblight]

I see all of this disdain by some of the posters in this string for all of those who might have Christian beliefs.
I see that it's the Bible being picked on and not the Torah or the Koran.

This observation leads me to two conclusions:
1. Liberals would persecute and marginalize all of those who don't follow their ideological beliefs.
2. Liberals fear the Christian faith and it's tenets, and are jealous of those people who have found comfort in that faith.

I find it hard to comprehend the fact that the same people who revile the tactics used by the Nazi's and Joe McCarthy use those same tactics against the people they fear.

There's a double standard at work here with the left - and a system that is rife with hypocrisy.

 

[xpanda]

Well, blight, I can't speak for everyone but the only reason I feel compelled to denonce Christianity is because it is the one with which I am familiar (I was raised Catholic.) I don't know jack about the Torah or the Qu'ran, so I bite my tongue. I do think that organised religion is an invitation to corruption, and can point to numerous states that qualify. In the US, as an example, it is the Zionist dogma -- the Leviathan complex -- that is engendering this corruption.

(Half of the neoconservatives in power are Jewish, by the way. It explains the ideology's propping up of Israel, but must make for an interesting conversation when the Rapture nutters -- Bush and Ashcroft, perhaps? -- get to chatting.)

 

[PatPatriot]

Let me tell some of you idiots something when your on your death bed or someone close to you is on their death bed or there is a real life and death situation.The comment that always comes out is not "Oh please Karl Marx help me" or "Oh please Hillary Clinton please help me" Or "illigetimate dad please help me" It always is "Please GOD help me."

Everybody finds religion eventually.

 

[xpanda]

Let me tell some of you idiots something when your on your death bed or someone close to you is on their death bed or there is a real life and death situation.The comment that always comes out is not "Oh please Karl Marx help me" or "Oh please Hillary Clinton please help me" Or "illigetimate dad please help me" It always is "Please GOD help me."

Everybody finds religion eventually.

Often true. When people are scared, they turn to god.

Guess who else understands this point very well?????

 

[PatPatriot]

????

Oh wait a minute, i think I know where your going with this but go ahead shoot.

 

[PatPatriot]

X...If your answer is non political,I got ya..( Ithink)...need not reply.

 

[xpanda]

Nope. My answer was political. Who are you thinking of?

 

[xpanda]

From the lips of the main man himself.

"it is easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven"

and my all time personal favourite.

"and the MEEK shall inherit the earth."

God must be a Liberal:

The Beatitudes:

* Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
* Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land.
* Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted.
* Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill.
* Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
* Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God.
* Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.
* Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

 

[Marco]

"I see that it's the Bible being picked on and not the Torah or the Koran."

I don't know much about other culture's religions, so I will stick to bringing up the incredible claims of the main religious book of the USA.

"Liberals would persecute and marginalize all those who don't follow their ideological beliefs."

It would appear that the liberals would be the ones persecuted, if one has faith in all the claims of the Bible that those among us who believe will be saved, and the rest of us who have legitimate skepticism in the lofty claims of the Bible will be damned to some eternal darkness. Why should I be condemned for something I have little to believe in? Why should there be all this fear based believe or you will burn mentality? Should I burn in hell because I don't believe there are 16 foot tall people roaming the earth?

Should I burn in hell because I was born and raised and schooled in what could possibly be the wrong religion? Which religion is the correct one to believe in??

If I am judged by some deity at the end of my life, and my whole fate is based on my ability to kiss some deity's a$$, and belief in a doctrine that leaves clear doubt.......if I am not judged by my individual actions on this earth, and my intent, then I will consider the whole judgement process to be a total and complete farce........

 

[bblight]

xpanda - actually, I think God is a commie - you could take those lines right out of the mainifesto - you know, "from each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs."

Of course, when it comes right down to it, most liberals are commies, so you could be right.

 

[Benassflick]

It's a crutch for the retarded people and the people who have had mental breakdowns. Talk to me when another human hits the 200th mark.

 

[angusr]

Reading your interpretation in the other thread, I can't help but wonder: do you think Jesus would endorse socialism?

Hi xpanda,

No, I don't think Jesus would endorse socialism nor do I think he would condemn it. Jesus was apolitical. He presented a very personal system of ethics, and a way of life that could bring a person into a closer relationship with God. But when it comes to the political, Jesus' advice was simply to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's.

 

[wolfie_cr]

It's a crutch for the retarded people and the people who have had mental breakdowns. Talk to me when another human hits the 200th mark.

Harsh but true, let's imagine for a moment that there are NO religions

1) instantly all religious wars disappear and are shown for what they really are, mere power struggles without all the bs.......
2) no more people under the believers "payroll" that gets them nice cars/luxury life styles
3) fewer boring channels on tv

list goes on and on

 

[blueedwards]

Hi xpanda,

No, I don't think Jesus would endorse socialism nor do I think he would condemn it. Jesus was apolitical. He presented a very personal system of ethics, and a way of life that could bring a person into a closer relationship with God. But when it comes to the political, Jesus' advice was simply to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's.

best post in this thread...by far.

 

[lander]

I doubt it's as simple as saying "Jesus is apolitical." Does that mean He would be indifferent to nazism? I couldn't say, but I suspect not.

Capitalism is driven by greed -- I'm not sure how Jesus would see it, but it's something to think about. Just because we like it - doesn't it make it right (assuming that there exists such things as universal right and wrong).

 

[bzbwoy]

Do you believe the bible or do you think they are made up stories?

in my opinion, the bible is not the word of god like so many believers claim. if one were to read it from cover to cover, he or she would find some absolutely ridiculous stuff in there.

don't get me wrong. there are many valuable lessons to be learned from a number of passages in the bible. but it is not the word of god.

it is simply a compilations of stories and lessons, some based on true events, and hand selected by a few early church individuals.

 

[Doug]

Hell No, The bible is complete BS. I never bought it as a kid, called myself an agnostic for 20 years.


An agnostic is an atheist that wants insurance. I now call myself an atheist, I grew some balls. I never bought any of that crap.

In fact I find a correlation between how religious one is, and their level of intelligence. It works like this... The more religious you are. the more likely you are to have a low IQ, or at least a lower educational level.

The most religious folks seem to be the least likely to be able to understand the difficult language in the bible. Call them square, if you will. I'll stop now, take my lumps, and defend after some tell me I'm going to Hell ( I like it warm), turn me into salt,be lost in limbo, or whatever. When you die, that's it, you're done, case closed. That's why species reproduce. Your sons and daughters are your replacements, until homo sapiens die out, like any other animal.

Fry me with posts, this is controversial stuff, bless me , pray for my soul, whatever pleases you.

I regret this post before making it, for the time I'll have to spend responding to it. It's what I believe.

God is dead,

DJ

 

[xpanda]

Hi xpanda,

No, I don't think Jesus would endorse socialism nor do I think he would condemn it. Jesus was apolitical. He presented a very personal system of ethics, and a way of life that could bring a person into a closer relationship with God. But when it comes to the political, Jesus' advice was simply to render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and unto God what is God's.

So what is your take on "The Religious Right"? It would seem that right-wing politics (at least in the US) embrace Christianity/Jesus/Bible as though it endorses the usual republican talking points -- personal responsibility, an eye for an eye, etc. Do you suspect that there is a widespread strategy on the right to interpret the bible to suit their political agenda, rather than simply leave it safe from politicalisation altogether?

(PBS ran a piece on Frontline called The Jesus Factor profiling Bush's evangelical beliefs. One of the ministers interviewed said it perfectly: "The separation of church and state was not just to protect the state from religious persecution, but also to protect the church from being assaulted by politics.")

 

[angusr]

So what is your take on "The Religious Right"?

I think you bring up an interesting point. The religious right, and many fundamentalist groups for that matter, are often guilty of politicizing religion. There seems to be a tendency to cherry pick the biblical details that fit within their ideological framework and to ignore others that don't. Christ kept company with the prostitutes and tax collectors.... something most on the religious right would condemn today (at least in public). Show me a sane and reasonable Christian, and I'll show you someone who sees the big picture in the New Testament (i.e. compassion, sacrifice, and the Golden Rule) and doesn't get bogged down in the details and inevitable inconsistencies.

Angus

 

[blueedwards]

right on brother.

if a guy comes to your door in the middle of the night, he hasn't eaten for days and he has a gunshot wound in the belly, do you feed him or take him to the hospital?

if you have half a brain in your head, you take him to the hospital because that is the pressing need. its not that his hunger is unimportant, its that the gunshot wound, if not dealt with quickly, is fatal.

like someone more eloquent than i once said, "the main thing is that you keep the main thing the main thing". that's what Jesus was all about.