God is a sexist, homophobic, proslavery, sadistic, murderer

[Kwistalline]

You know, I know very little about Australia!! Isn't it still relatively warm there? I mean, seriously, our winters are rather a bit chilly. My ideal climate would be 75 degrees all year round, not humid, not too dry, rain for no more than four hours at a time . . . frequency doesn't matter as long as it's at night . . .

 

[Shai Gar]

It's freezing in the mornings, around 17 degrees. After about 0700 it comes back to an acceptable 29-31 degrees

 

[Kwistalline]

Eww. I think I'll just have to move to New mexico, scorpions and all . . . We're having a grand old storm up here right now. Wish I had a deck with which to view it . . . (wrong thread!! Though I'd probably get zapped with lightning, anyhow!)

 

[Satya]

Satya, do we want to finish this discussion here, or on another thread? I think we've all been busy, this being the first month of summer and all, but I'd like to continue this discussion.

Nah, that is alright. I think it has become clear. The next time someone argues that homosexuality is a sin, I've got more than enough understanding of the kind of God that person chooses to worship. All this picking and choosing out of the Bible that people do is funny as hell, and I now know better than to ever take them seriously.

 

[Kwistalline]

Satya, do we want to finish this discussion here, or on another thread? I think we've all been busy, this being the first month of summer and all, but I'd like to continue this discussion.

Nah, that is alright. I think it has become clear. The next time someone argues that homosexuality is a sin, I've got more than enough understanding of the kind of God that person chooses to worship. All this picking and choosing out of the Bible that people do is funny as hell, and I now know better than to ever take them seriously.

Lovely. You'll never take me seriously again!

 

[Satya]

Satya, do we want to finish this discussion here, or on another thread? I think we've all been busy, this being the first month of summer and all, but I'd like to continue this discussion.

Nah, that is alright. I think it has become clear. The next time someone argues that homosexuality is a sin, I've got more than enough understanding of the kind of God that person chooses to worship. All this picking and choosing out of the Bible that people do is funny as hell, and I now know better than to ever take them seriously.

Lovely. You'll never take me seriously again!

If you were to tell me that homosexuality is a sin and I need to repent or go to hell, then I probably wouldn't. If this thread proves anything, it is that everybody is a sinner and God gave us reason to know which sins are truly self destructive and separate us from him, and which ones are suggestions of how we should live our lives. People who wish to judge others for their sins demonstrate the lowest level of understanding in Christianity.

 

[Kwistalline]

Satya, I think we've finally found something on which we agree! I think . . .

If anything, I'm more aware now than ever before of how very far I still have to go by way of perfection. Meaning that I am not, and that's ok. "He who is without sin cast the first stone . . . "

 

[gokartride]

God is love. You can take the stories however you want but this is the final belief (distilled over and over for millenia), and you can go with this...it'll get you much farther. Now, trying to unravel the paradoxes within this perfect love is darn near impossible, but this premise is a truly safe one to start from. This is love that will outrun your logic, too...so be ready for a befuddling!!!

 

[Satya]

God is love. You can take the stories however you want but this is the final belief (distilled over and over for millenia), and you can go with this...it'll get you much farther. Now, trying to unravel the paradoxes within this perfect love is darn near impossible, but this premise is a truly safe one to start from. This is love that will outrun your logic, too...so be ready for a befuddling!!!

Ah, but some would say you are not a Christian for holding those beliefs. For example...

A Christian is someone who follows the bible, and the bible alone. Someone who believes that the bible is the infallible word of God, containing commandments we are meant to follow. Someone who, in fact, actually follows those commandments. To be a Christians also means that you believe JC is the son of God but also God himself (and through whom the world was created), being a part of the trinity, and that JC was born to a virgin, in a physical human body. That JC lived performed various miracles, knew he was going to die, and died in the literal sense as a sacrifice for sinful mankind, the "exchange" for our lives. A Christian is someone who believes JC resurrected according to the prophecies of the old testament and is in heaven right now. Christians believe in the holy spirit and his works. And finally, to be a Christian, you must be believe that JC died for your sins, accept his sacrifice as your own, and make him Lord over your life.

If you believe God is love then things are indeed much simpler, but the stories of the Bible and the commandments (even the contradictory ones) are seen by some as irrefutable (even if they don't practice them as such). And to be a Christian you have to embrace an awful lot of dogma, some of which is not at all stated in the Bible.

 

[gokartride]

^^^^
Your perceptions are very understandable. Based on everything I've seen, the actual the rules boil down to only two or three things....period. If you take those few principles/rules/madates to heart, Christianity (and most religions I suspect) is immensely liberating and the horizon stretches as far as the eye can see...in all directions, too!!

Now, over time layer upon layer of reflection, analysis, and dialogue can enrich the discussion....or it can make it awfully murky, too. It's like peeling an onion...there are various layers (biblical reference being one) at which truch can be accessed, but always at the core it is simple, pure, unalloyed.

Your comments are very good as is your inquiry....it is very interesting stuff and can greatly impact how we view all things. It has become frightfully confusing for folks, though, and I do truly lament this.

 

[Satya]

^^^^
Your perceptions are very understandable. Based on everything I've seen, the actual the rules boil down to only two or three things....period. If you take those few principles/rules/madates to heart, Christianity (and most religions I suspect) is immensely liberating and the horizon stretches as far as the eye can see...in all directions, too!!

Now, over time layer upon layer of reflection, analysis, and dialogue can enrich the discussion....or it can make it awfully murky, too. It's like peeling an onion...there are various layers (biblical reference being one) at which truch can be accessed, but always at the core it is simple, pure, unalloyed.

Your comments are very good as is your inquiry....it is very interesting stuff and can greatly impact how we view all things. It has become frightfully confusing for folks, though, and I do truly lament this.

I once had a professor who had studied numerous religions and philosophies and he argued that there were three highly repetitive maxims found throughout pretty much all of them.

The Golden Rule: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" (Alternative: "Judge not ye be judged")

The Golden Mean: "Everything in moderation" (Alternative: "If the string is too tight it will break, if the string is too loose it will not play, but if the string is just right, it will invoke beautiful harmony.")

The Golden Scale: "Man is the measure of all things" (Alternative: "To thine own self be true" or "I think therefore I am")

Do those correspond with yours?

 

[gokartride]

Do those correspond with yours?

Those are quite good really...I like them!!!

I confess, I haven't precisely formulated mine. They are hinted at from various directions and times, and from a variety of sources...most originating in antiquity and reaffirmed throughout time. This adds to their weight and trust-worthiness, imo. The main thing is that often what appears to be dogma really isn't....and the essence is quite simple, yet profound beyond words.

 

[Satya]

Do those correspond with yours?

Those are quite good really...I like them!!!

In mathematics it is said the only three tools one needs is a scale, mean, and rule and through practice one can derive an infinite number of truths from the universe. That is why I like the Golden Maxims. In theory, they are all the tools man needs to comprehend morality.

I confess, I haven't precisely formulated mine. They are hinted at from various directions and times, and from a variety of sources...most originating in antiquity and reaffirmed throughout time. This adds to their weight and trust-worthiness, imo. The main thing is that often what appears to be dogma really isn't....and the essence is quite simple, yet profound beyond words.

Ni inspired. You should develop your Ti to discern. Profound realizations are nice, but if you can't put them into words, then they may be quickly forgotten.

 

[gokartride]

Profound realizations are nice, but if you can't put them into words, then they may be quickly forgotten.

You know, this is funny, but inasmuch as I am highly visual, I can almost see them, but words themselves would be too limiting....almost over condensed. I do confess this is a problem when trying to explain things, though. Not so much an issue with remembering though...I see them imprinted on everything that is!!!

 

[Satya]

Profound realizations are nice, but if you can't put them into words, then they may be quickly forgotten.

You know, this is funny, but inasmuch as I am highly visual, I can almost see them, but words themselves would be too limiting....almost over condensed. I do confess this is a problem when trying to explain things, though. Not so much an issue with remembering though...I see them imprinted on everything that is!!!

Trust me. Refining such realizations is a necessity. Otherwise you will always be speaking high mindedly and only you will be able to percieve your realizations. INFJs who have not developed their Ti sound like prophesiers. They don't get much respect form realists.

 

[gokartride]

They don't get much respect form realists.

I can live with that.

 

[Satya]

They don't get much respect form realists.

I can live with that.

I knew that was gonna be your answer. :lol:

 

[gokartride]

I knew that was gonna be your answer. :lol:

Yes, condensing it all is difficult, especially when I'm so distracted by work here at the office.

 

[HenRick]

This has been a good long read.

As I read I thought of the movie space oddessy. (I'll explain how this relates)

This is a theory I have.

#Edit#------------------------------This part is very confusing I summarized it down there--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Old testiment
When man began in Eden..
The were like animals (monkey). (Maybe extremely IST)
They did not sin since they don't know
the difference between write or wrong.
The were probably like disciplined animals.
Once the found out what was right or wrong
They "God" kick them out of Eden (which could be a state of mind and location)
Once out of Eden man might of had difficult hard ships.(Like the Ice age that dried up the land, like the Sahara,and Middle East, which is north of the sea of eden)
These hardships might of caused man to have to work together (developing extravert trait)
and increase there reasoning skills( developing intuition) in order to survive.
Then they were barbaric and impulsive.
Then maybe out of all the human one human had a muniplated gene in the favor of develping Feeling.
"God" flooded all they barbarics so the new world would have more feeling. (end of Ice age).
But it didn't succed. Many genetic genes of bad people still remain (not as much as befor though)
So he set up the ten commandments to control and/or threaten the bad people(since he couldn't kill them off again).
God probably made it so that people with a bad genetics would die of in wars, stonings, and other things.
He set conditions so that a certain type of people were most likely to succed.

New testiment
finally after killing of the obsolite type of people (like natrual selection).
People finally started to gain more intuition (Greek philosophy, Roman Architect, and other examples)
The people then needed an espiritual guidence.
The fact that there were more intuitive people might of lead to many
"awakened" people like Budda, Christ, and maybe Mohhammed?
This was an essental step for people to develop more Feeling and more Preceving(my be the renonsance brought on the Preceving part).
#Edit#------------------------------This part is very confusing I summarized it down there--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------



In Space Odessy 2001 it shows how aliens use a monolith to evolve the monkey into humans, to find out when humans get to the moon, and to evolve them to some star child (some highly evolved being).

What I'm tying to say is that maybe each obsticals that God created was created so that humanity in the end can involve into a Highly
Intuitive, Feeling being of some sort.

Sorry If I typed incorrectly and that is seems confusing, but I sort of confused myself writing this (it was so clear when I first thought of it).

I saw it on Youtube in parts, but I can't find any of the parts.
I also saw a video on decifering the movie (since there are hidden messeges in the movie).

 

[Entyqua]

I am going to admit I didnt read this all the way through I dont have the attention span for this but I come from a different school of thought...

I myself am not religious I have read both new and old testaments several times(younger days in search of answers to my....differences) The more I read it The more I found them to just be stories...a book like any other...Written by man.....and man is flawed....as the book states...So I fail to understand how people base their lives off of this (SORRY PLEASE this is not in ANY way meant to offend some people just have that unwavering faith and some of us cannot grasp it!) perhaps this is why sometimes i feel a void...but thinking about turning to God is like thinking about turning to the fairy godmother to grant all my wishes...Its a fairy tale (TO ME!!)

and yes I agree with the OP