A place for thread-hijacks RE 'The Christian God'

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Hahaha, thanks for the well-thought out reply DG.

I posited it because that's what I've been told by other Christians when pointing out contradictions between the two.

Must say I've never noticed people standing or sitting depending on which testament was being read, but then it's been over 20 years since I attended a church service, and those were Catholic ones.

Interesting reconciliation between evangelism and the pre-destination of the "elect" there too.

Seems that, in essence, nobody can really agree on what god said or wants or intends or means and how we should deal with it. For some sects the NT does supersede the OT, for others it doesn't. Some people think you're saved only by doing one thing, others by something else. None of y'all agree with each other.

This is an interesting thing that Christians may not realise about atheists...we tend to lump all Christianity in together. We don't pay much attention to the fine points of doctrine. It's more like, "all those people believe in god."

--A

[Cybrweez]

Human nature right? No one agrees about what the US Constitution says, and that was written much more recently, in the same language as most people speak, and w/a plethora of other contemporary sources commenting on it. And maybe the rest of the world just thinks, those Americans, they all believe in what the US Constitution says.

Probably b/c you don't really care what it says, so you don't care if there's crazy debates over it in the states. Or, to the degree that you care about it, you'll care about the debates.

[deer of the dawn]

One difficulty with discussing a subject like this, is that often, humans don't actually study the subject, but rather pick highlights and run with their own assumptions. Virtually every major and minor sect within Christendom has done this.

Absolutely... and it's not only Christians that do this. I think this trait carries into all religion, politics, ethics, and so on. Even cooking, painting, clothing choices...

[Vraith]

One difficulty with discussing a subject like this, is that often, humans don't actually study the subject, but rather pick highlights and run with their own assumptions. Virtually every major and minor sect within Christendom has done this.

Absolutely... and it's not only Christians that do this. I think this trait carries into all religion, politics, ethics, and so on. Even cooking, painting, clothing choices...

Heh...that last line cracked me up. But it's true...Islamic sects slaughter each other all the time. In certain parts of the world christian sects are still killing each other instead of just arguing like we do generally in the west nowadays.
Ten years or so ago, a bunch of one buddhist sect killed off most of the dalai lamas guards to warn him he was misinterpreting buddhism [in their view], and buddhism isn't supposed to even BE a religion, and it IS supposed to be peaceful.

[Avatar]

Hahaha, 500 years ago, armies of Buddhist fanatics raged across Asia, slaughtering everybody who opposed them.

--A

[Linna Heartbooger]

On the "Drink from Clearish Streams?" thread,

I wouldn't dream of denying anyone their path...right up to the point where someone wants to tell me that mine is not valid for me and that if I do not do it their way, I am not doing what is necessary to infuse and align myself with what is holy.

In a sense, that makes us even, then.

I mean, really, what is a follower of Jesus to do with words like these?
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few."
(Matthew 7:13-14, ESV translation)

I mean, if I'm just watching people repeatedly plunging off cliffs... or even if I'm not quite sure whether I can hear screams among the bagpiping...
I'm not very willing to honor the fact that they've achieved a state of "Itsubishi Kyoko McSayonara."
Though apparently it's pretty hard to get them out of it if they've gotten as far as that... I believe that's the 5th state?

[Savor Dam]

The "plunging off cliffs" metaphor may be a bit overstated. I hear the money's good...and there's water skiing!

Kudos on the Python reference, by the way.

Remember that what we were discussing back in "Clearish Streams" was forms of worship. If your (generic “you”, not you specifically) belief is that not adhering to a specific form of worship is a wide gate that leads to destruction, by all means follow that narrow-gate ritual exactingly. If your tradition calls for proselytizing/witnessing those practices, so be it…as long as you are prepared to gracefully accept that not everyone will embrace your heartfelt beliefs.

What is Holy to you will not always resonate that way with everyone, and to expect others to respect your belief carries the concomitant expectation of respect for theirs. "My truth is better than your truth" may be the internal view, but it is not the best of form to actually say so.

Really, most of the differences are not going to be nearly so dire as your metaphor suggests. Based on my experience after a couple years of having in the household someone from a more observant tradition than Dam-sel and I follow, people of good faith can accept these differences and give each other the space to each practice their faith in their own way. There are lots of discussions that lead to greater mutual understanding and a few new perspectives...and there are few actual disagreements.