What Would Jesus Do?

[BSM1]

"He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in." (Isaiah 40:22)

No matter how you view the Earth it appears as a circle. I see this as a matter of selective interpretation, not a valid point.

 

[RedDragon94]

When you quote something, you must cite it or you are committing plagiarism. Who stated this quote? And if we are talking about current Biblical scholars, none agree that Mark wrote the gospel of mark. The book is credited as being anonymous and likely had several authors.

Hans F. Bayer in the English Standard Version Study Bible. He has a Ph.D. from The University of Aberdeen.

 

[leibowde84]

Hans F. Bayer in the English Standard Version Study Bible. He has a Ph.D. from The University of Aberdeen.

Are you seriously citing a "Study Bible" as an unbiased biblical authority? That is pretty far fetched. There are plenty of secular, unbiased sources for Gospel Authorship. You should do a quick Google Search and check them out. Always better to get information from both sides of the arugment.

 

[RedDragon94]

Are you seriously citing a "Study Bible" as an unbiased biblical authority? That is pretty far fetched. There are plenty of secular, unbiased sources for Gospel Authorship. You should do a quick Google Search and check them out. Always better to get information from both sides of the arugment.

I'm really just talking cause no one else is online. I started meditating.

 

[JoStories]

I'm really just talking cause no one else is online. I started meditating.

I use meditation regularly and find it very helpful in my spiritual journey. Have you ever looked into unity churches? They are not really affiliated with any one faith and are very accepting of everyone. I have done this before and really enjoyed the comradarie. Just my thoughts. And thank you for the citation however, as leibowde stated that is not likely the best source for understanding the historcity of Christianity.

 

[RedDragon94]

Have you ever looked into unity churches?

Well, I watched something from an online Unitarian Universalist church called Church of the Larger Fellowship. And this past either Sunday or Monday it was about healing the earth of all the man made disasters and taking responsibility for the environment. Which is something I don't ever hear. I just feel a real strong pull toward UU. I hope to be able to check it out next week as well.

 

[JoStories]

Well, I watched something from an online Unitarian Universalist church called Church of the Larger Fellowship. And this past either Sunday or Monday it was about healing the earth of all the man made disasters and taking responsibility for the environment. Which is something I don't ever hear. I just feel a real strong pull toward UU. I hope to be able to check it out next week as well.

I have quite a few friends who enjoy the UU church, many tell me it's much like Unity, with the exception that Unity accepts all faiths. Pagan, Muslim, Jewish, etc. it matters not. They use a generalized concept for God and don't hold to any mainstream tenets. Lots of great music, drumming, and meditation. I really like them but I hope you find peace and a great place in UU!

 

[RedDragon94]

I have quite a few friends who enjoy the UU church, many tell me it's much like Unity, with the exception that Unity accepts all faiths. Pagan, Muslim, Jewish, etc. it matters not. They use a generalized concept for God and don't hold to any mainstream tenets. Lots of great music, drumming, and meditation. I really like them but I hope you find peace and a great place in UU!

Yeah thanks!

 

[Servant_of_the_One1]

Well i know Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him and his mother)is staunch anti-homosexuality.
It does not befit a prophet to make lawful what Allah swt made unlawful.
The mission of prophet is to proclaim the message, to enjoin whats good and to forbid whats evil.
This(homosexuality) is the work of satan.

 

[amorphous_constellation]

You work in a cake shop. It is the family business, and has been so for two generations. Your entire family has been Christian for as long as anyone can remember and, you too, are Christian.

One day, two homosexuals walk into your cake shop to order a cake for their Civil Partnership or Marriage. You refuse them service on religious grounds: homosexuality offends your religious beliefs.

I certainly hope never to know anyone who'd actually do that. What a miserable person with no real problems they are, to refuse service to anyone on that basis.

 

[JoStories]

Well i know Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him and his mother)is staunch anti-homosexuality.
It does not befit a prophet to make lawful what Allah swt made unlawful.
The mission of prophet is to proclaim the message, to enjoin whats good and to forbid whats evil.
This(homosexuality) is the work of satan.

All of which is your opinion and largely not shared by many people. I actually feel sorry for people with such archaic opinions.

 

[Vishvavajra]

Genesis 1. The Hebrew word for sky is raqiya. It means, "a hammered-out bowl." The ancients believed the sky was a dome -- rigid (because it had been hammered out), upon which the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies were affixed. That dome separated the air from the heavens. In order for the dome to cover the earth, the earth would have to be disc-shaped.

See also "the firmament" and the way it is opened up to let the water in for the Flood. That was not a metaphor to the original authors. Ancient Mesopotamian and early Greek authors had similar cosmologies: the earth is a flat disc resting on water, and the sky is a dome, above which there may be even more water.

 

[Vishvavajra]

Christ is by no means a conservative in the modern sense, but that doesn't mean he's some hippie liberal SJW either.

True, Christ isn't a hippie liberal SJW; Christ is the godlike nature in all people that turns them into hippie liberal SJWs when they get in touch with it. In that sense, Christ is every hippie liberal SJW.

Incidentally, is it just me, or can you tell when somebody is a regressive, unloving, un-Christlike reactionary by their unironic use of "social justice warrior." It's a better dog-whistle these days than "politically correct" used to be. Social justice is in fact the entire point. Without social justice there is no earthly manifestation of love. MLK was a surer manifestation of Christ in the world than all the conservatives who ever lived and ever will. Nor is the Christian message apolitical, however much some might want it to be.

People on both sides have made the mistake of making Christ into something he is not- and in doing so are inventing a new Christ of sorts that is nothing more than a justification of their own sins and viewpoints. Christ said, "go and sin no more" I think what is he would say in the hypothetical situation you pose.

You think that image of yours is clever and like dragging it out, but it's just one more example of "conservative Christians" trying desperately to justify how that's not an oxymoron. We're not buying it. As for "go and sin no more," tell me, what does the Greek word that is translated here as "sin" actually mean? I'll give you a hint: it does not denote the transgression of a law.

Also, note that Jesus's admonition to "sin no more" suggests that it is possible for people to do so. Interesting.

(Plus homosexuality is spoken about very clearly in the Bible)

People who can actually read the original-language texts and aren't ignorant of the cultural context disagree with you.

 

[sojourner]

I disagree on these points.. But they're irrelevant. We can agree to disagree.

Disagree all you want to, but the scholarly evidence is well-documented.

 

[sojourner]

I have quite a few friends who enjoy the UU church, many tell me it's much like Unity, with the exception that Unity accepts all faiths. Pagan, Muslim, Jewish, etc. it matters not. They use a generalized concept for God and don't hold to any mainstream tenets. Lots of great music, drumming, and meditation. I really like them but I hope you find peace and a great place in UU!

Sounds like you've got them confused. The UUs adhere to no particular faith, while Unity adheres quite a bit more strongly to Xy. I've had several colleagues and friends involved with both. In fact, I used to be somewhat involved with Unity, myself.

 

[Sleeppy]

Disagree all you want to, but the scholarly evidence is well-documented.

Scholarly evidence in support of your claims? I doubt that. I'm sure there's plenty of scholarly speculation, but I'd definitely be interested in seeing the evidence you're referring to.

 

[leibowde84]

Well i know Jesus son of Mary (peace be upon him and his mother)is staunch anti-homosexuality.
It does not befit a prophet to make lawful what Allah swt made unlawful.
The mission of prophet is to proclaim the message, to enjoin whats good and to forbid whats evil.
This(homosexuality) is the work of satan.

Can you point me to the quote where Jesus spoke ill of homosexuality? Or are you basing your OPINION on mere SPECULATION with nothing but circular logic?

Your premise = Jesus was against homosexuality
Your reasoning = I believe that Jesus was sent by Allah, and Allah is against homosexuality. Thus, Jesus must have been against homosexuality.

See how this is a logical fallacy?

 

[JoStories]

Sounds like you've got them confused. The UUs adhere to no particular faith, while Unity adheres quite a bit more strongly to Xy. I've had several colleagues and friends involved with both. In fact, I used to be somewhat involved with Unity, myself.

It's possible and if so, mea culpa.

 

[xkatz]

Incidentally, is it just me, or can you tell when somebody is a regressive, unloving, un-Christlike reactionary by their unironic use of "social justice warrior." It's a better dog-whistle these days than "politically correct" used to be. Social justice is in fact the entire point. Without social justice there is no earthly manifestation of love.

If you think social justice is the entirety of Christianity and Christ, you are missing the point and read up some theology.

MLK was a surer manifestation of Christ in the world than all the conservatives who ever lived and ever will.

While I admire MLK and believe he was truly a man of professed faith, this is a clearly unsubstantiated statement with no evidence to back it up. Especially from someone who (hypocritically) says people with reactionary views are "unloving, un-Christlike". That's quite a sweeping generalization.

You think that image of yours is clever and like dragging it out, but it's just one more example of "conservative Christians" trying desperately to justify how that's not an oxymoron. We're not buying it. As for "go and sin no more," tell me, what does the Greek word that is translated here as "sin" actually mean? I'll give you a hint: it does not denote the transgression of a law.

Sin means missing the mark.

Also, note that Jesus's admonition to "sin no more" suggests that it is possible for people to do so. Interesting.

Yes, people will always sin- voluntarily or involuntarily. However, people should always strive to try to not to deliberately sin. Just because it is not possible (for 99.9% of people) to escape from sinning doesn't mean we should whatever we want because its "relatively ok". Rather we should avoid it, and for the involuntarily sin accrued, one should (SINCERELY) atone and confess their sins.

 

[Levite]

You work in a cake shop. It is the family business, and has been so for two generations. Your entire family has been Christian for as long as anyone can remember and, you too, are Christian.

One day, two homosexuals walk into your cake shop to order a cake for their Civil Partnership or Marriage. You refuse them service on religious grounds: homosexuality offends your religious beliefs.

But let's look at it another way: What Would Jesus Do?

Jesus was not a Christian. Nor had he ever read the Bible. Neither concepts existed as they do now when he was giving the Sermon on the Mount, or healing the Leper, or speaking with the Prostitute.

But the office of a Christian should not only be to believe in Jesus Christ, but also to aspire to be as much like him as it's possible to be (short of being able to turn water into wine).

This being the case, what would Jesus have done in that same situation?

WWJD? It used to be a popular Christian Meme set out as a poignant and relevant reminder of what the job of a Christian is.

Why did so many Christians forget? And is it about time they remembered?

Jesus had almost certainly studied Torah, which did exist, and likely most of the rest of the Tanach as well. Which would have qualified as "the Bible" for him, as it does for all Jews.

However, in any case, I would assume that Jesus would probably try to treat everyone with courtesy and respect and love, regardless of race, creed, color, or sexual preference; because while it seems clear that Jesus was, Jewishly speaking, a teacher of heretical doctrines, he was also apparently a decent enough guy to know not to act like a giant *********.