I don't know if the Bible is wrong is the truth of this. I think it was a product of its time. And in that time, since we know that Rome had a quite a number of sexually promiscuous people and eunuchs as well, it might have been a reactionary note to that. Particularly since its only Paul who makes this kind of assertion. However, regarding the rest, I agree with you.
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The bible and gays
- Thread starter Leo613
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chessplayer
Member
You are right in as much that it`s your choice and God will not control you to do otherwise . Be happy my friend
chessplayer
Member
Dear JoStories , you give this poor man Paul such a hard time , most people think he was a brilliant scholar.
chessplayer
Member
According to the Bible the main problem that mankind has to deal with is separation from God , how that separation expresses itself is almost irrelevant, if society says you have violated it`s rules then you pay the price, if it`s God`s laws you break then you are on your own in this life and for eternity.
Doesn't that make God seem kind of...........well petty?
I mean here you have this omnipresent, omnipotent all powerful being, creating life (which is supposed to be predetermined since He knows what's going to happen before it happens) and then He makes these rules. He knows who is going to break these rules and His reaction to people not doing what He wants is to basically throw them away for all eternity?
I can understand maybe having rules as something to strive for by your little ant like creations. I can even understand having God himself/herself breaking these rules as a sort of symbolic "fall and just get back up again" lesson. But I'm always a little baffled by the cruel and even petty nature of the NT God in Christianity that Christians present Him having. He just comes across as a petulant child throwing a tantrum because no one wants to play. At least the Torah actively admits God is jealous and petty. (I also take issue with other tales of God in Hinduism but that's another topic altogether.)
Don't judge God by how flawed and ignorant humans describe Him. When it comes to Christianity, you look at Christ, since He's God in the flesh.
He wasn't a scholar. He was a murderer who God essentially slapped in the face and this caused Paul to do a 180 in his life. He wasn't perfect but he was the first prominent theologian of Christianity.
I try to. But Christians are supposed to be human emulations of His teachings. Granted I don't expect perfection from any human, Christian or otherwise, but they are essentially supposed to be the ambassadors for Christ on earth (unless you're Catholic in which case that's the Pope's job?)
Yeah, that's what we're supposed to be. But we don't do a very good job of it.
Well..........yeah.
chessplayer
Member
Morning, SomeRandom
I don`t see that . Sin is the main problem , If we trust in Christ for our redemption from sin then God the Father looks on us and sees the sacrifice that Christ has made.
Sin to God is like manure to us . It would be like someone coming into your living room and dumping a pile of horse / pig excrement on your carpet.
You say He sees everything , does He predetermine everything , no, because we still have our free will which can rise to sinful expression or obedient /trusting expression . We can jump off a cliff or jump in front of a train or create the Sistine chapel , or express our sexuality as we feel .
Every thought we have or every action we have does not necessarily come from the Spirit of God.
chessplayer
Member
That`s right we often don`t make a good job of it , even though the world expects us to be perfect., Christianity is a very loose association of individuals who can interpret the Bible as they see fit. Somehow amazingly it works even though there is no pressure , or coercion , just a freely expressed fellowship of like minded people who can kind of recognise each other and understand each other in any society in the world, the main bond is a close relationship with Jesus.
Their stories are remarkably similar as well , Jesus came , set them free from things they didn`t like doing ( sin ) and blesses their lives every day.
The Spirit of God is the bond we all share , but we still have our humanity and failings .
The Fred Phelps chap that JoStories mentions quite often is obviously a nutcase who the non Christian media love to exploit , but he is not a legitimate example, amongst about a million Christian believers in the US.
If you speak of Paul, the alleged writer of some of the Bible, few scholars give him any credit for any writings and fewer still think he was a scholar. Those who follow your faith might think that but they are believers and not credible scholars Chess Player.
Alleged theologian. There is no proof that is accepted that he wrote any of the things attributed to him.
Nobody expects you to be perfect. However, when you judge others based on a book that no one can prove was written by God then you are trying to show that you hold yourself to a higher standard and others who disagree with you to a lower one. And there is plenty of coercion in your faith. If I were to become Christian, I would be expected to deny my sexuality as somehow wrong and admit that I am 'sinful'. Sorry but first you need to prove that God didn't make me this way and then prove there is such as thing as sin. And as for Phelps, he states he is the spokes person of God and a fine example of a Christian. Why should I say he is not and look to others when there are plenty of other people like him? For example, the alleged pastor in Florida who made the claim that he and his followers were going to burn as many Qu'rans as they could get hold of. Or the Jimmy Swaggarts of the faith or a hundred others I can mention.
chessplayer
Member
Morning JoStories
Hey.
Ehh, this is starting to sound very Jack Chick-esque.
If God created literally everything, didn't he also create sin? And if he is omnipotent doesn't that mean he already knows what's going to happen before it happens?
And if his creating power was all that, why then did he create humans as these imperfect things? And if not everything comes from God, where then does it come from? (And don't say the Devil/Lucifer/Satan, God created him, so it's still from God.)
Yeah, I'm Catholic so I don't agree with your idea that Christianity is some hodge-podge of individuals who interpret things as we see fit. I believe in doctrine, dogma, Authority and Sacred Tradition. I believe in unity. We're supposed to be a community, the Body of Christ, the Church. We're not supposed to be just a bunch of strangers who wave to each other from afar and that's it. That's a very American idea, with all its selfish individualism. That's a very anti-Christ idea.
Where in the world do you get the idea that there's only 1 million Christians in America?
There's about 70 million Catholics alone in the US. Let me guess, only people who are a part of whatever obscure, recent sect you're a part of are "true" Christians, right?
Whatever. That's a dead-end argument.
Sometimes...