Exactly what it says - do this or don't do that, otherwise god will punish you. You must fear his wrath (this view comes from speaking to many (predominantly fundamentalist) christians - this is what they tell me).
Fear of supposed eternal damnation - a sad way to go through one's life.
Armymike
Good opening post. I suppose we shouldn't underestimate the capacity of the developing young brain to assimilate knowledge. I taught for a while in Finland, and some of my students (16-19 year olds) were learning 5 languages at once as part of their curriculum. 5 languages!! I still...
Octavia156
Surely not. The Lib-Con coalition was political manoeuvering at its best. I was deeply disappointed with the Liberals when they joined with Cameron - and I'm not even a Liberal supporter.
The last thing the UK needs is a predominantly Conservative government. In Scotland, they are a...
I agree with what some have said here already, namely that forgiving yourself is the first step we should take. All the placatory words to the wronged person, a deity or whoever don't mean anything until we ourselves learn to accept that we are human and make mistakes. To me, it's the lessons...
Idea
So how do you account for the differences in people's perceptions of a 'higher power'? Are you saying that fundamentally everyone believes in the same deity but chooses to worship it in different ways?
Hi Herr Heinrich
Sorry for not replying sooner - I've been away for the last 6 weeks or so.
I live on an island off the west coast of Scotland. And yes, it is beautiful! I feel incredibly priviliged to live here. Thanks for the query.
Just watched the video posted by Octavia156, featuring some mad f***er. I stopped after these words:
"Even if she did fornicate, she does not deserve to be killed. At the most, she should be flogged if she confesses four times..."
I really hope children aren't exposed to religion. Who knows...
I agree that certain ancient moral codes should still be adhered to (regarding murder, theft etc), but it's interesting that modern society is indeed beginning to decide that some of the other ancient codes are no longer relevant, such as slavery and viewing homosexuality as sinful.