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Yes, read it....and the quote below is not taken out of context.
"But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them--bring them here and kill them in front of me." -Luke 19:27
it's just an example of you cherry picking and not abiding by 'some' of the INSTRUCTIONS in the bible....(and rightfully so might i add....because they're INSANE!)
Quote:
Originally Posted by justtitans
It is not talking about murdering nonbelievers, which is what you suggested, it's talking about judgment of nonfollowers. It's talking about God judging people at it's appointed time. If you don't believe in God and believe in judgment then that's your opinion. However, if you do believe in God, the point is you will be punished for you not honoring God. Again it's a parable, meaning a simple story used to illustrate a moral or spiritual lesson, as told by Jesus in the Gospels. It's not a literal commandment for anyone to kill. The person that is slaying is a representative of what God does to those who choose not to obey him.
'god' KILLS and TORTURES them if they don't obey. Yes, that's much better!
Quote:
Originally Posted by PedroMartinez
I never said it was a surprise.
I simply said that we can't understand why God does the things God does.
I completely agree....some of the things your 'god' does are pretty wacky and insane! (like a teenager throwing a fit )
That wasn't the point. Again, you need to re-read the whole chapter to understand the context.
And we have to oh-so-conveniently interpret every part of it just the way you interpret it, in this context (and perhaps interpret it different when considered in some other context). Thanks for modeling the typical Christian dogmatic conduct.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justtitans
One thing people who read the Bible do not understand, it is not one singular book, it is a collection of books.
And indeed there were books written that Councils decided to bury because they conflicted what those in power wanted the mythology to be.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justtitans
Some books give historical accounts, some are written as letters to churches and other groups of people, and some are written as songs.
And of course you reserve the right to determine which part of the Bible is which. How convenient. Well, let me be the first person to tell you: You assessment is wrong. There are indeed historical accounts spread throughout, but most of the Bible is fiction. Given the fact that it isn't a work of non-fiction, it should be considered that every part of it is parable. However that still doesn't get you out of the mess you've created, because the lessons from the parables are themselves subject to subjective assessment. Reasonable people disagree about what those lessons are and should be. What you want them to be is nothing more than your personal preference, and to assert that your way is the only right way to understand the Bible is thoroughly nonsensical.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justtitans
The problem isn't the way the Bible is written, it's the mindset of individuals like yourself who go into reading the Bible already drawing an conclusion about what you are reading.
You are the pot calling the kettle black.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justtitans
Anything that goes against what was laid forth during that time is heretical.
Or so you wish. You're wrong. Get over it. You aren't God. God gave revelation to more than just your Christian clerics. That which you consider heretical is actually not heretical, but rather someone else's beliefs and values, just as valid as your own. The real question for Christians is whether they're ready to mature spiritually enough to recognize that God has given them, each one individually, the power of revelation, and that in using one's own God-given reason can come to assess the hypocrisy and inconsistency of the religious institutions that have tried to control them.
Quote:
Originally Posted by justtitans
Many atheists feel validated by what they believe by denouncing Christianity, but my questions is, what would they do if Christianity didn't even exist?
The Atheists I know don't denounce Christianity for the reasons you imply, but rather because Christianity attempts to impose its beliefs and values as the only valid ones. It is the hubris of dogmatic Christians that most Atheists I know denounce.
The point missed (and, BTW, grasped by those making previous rulings on this), is that this isn't a matter of including every religion in a display, but displaying an artifact found, as part of an historical exhibit.
Found, or fabricated? With a little judicious pruning, half the trees in my neighborhood could be made to resemble a cross. Should I invite Frank Silecchia over to perform some additional miracles?
I see the Ground Zero cross as an artifact all right -- a man-made artifact showing how some Christians can twist anything into being all about them, whether it's using a cutting torch to convert fallen cross beams into a crucifix, or converting the Ground Zero museum into a symbol of Christian supremacy over all other faiths.
The difference in this case is that it's outdoors and on public display. Besides that, considering how large it is why is it significant enough to merit placement in a museum? If it were, for example, a big letter L instead of a cross, would anyone still want it to be in the museum? It's the religious significance that gives it its supposed value, and the reason that it should not be put on public display through a tax-funded museum.
You're just as bad as the idiot who claimed he felt sick every time he walked past it on the Memorial. Of course, he was lying through his teeth to get people riled up, because it was never ON the Memorial (which was under construction and not even accessible at the time he said that, lol.)
Do any of you remember exactly when the boohooing over this cross in he museum began? C'mon, now, children, let's think back here...YES, you've got it, Susie. IT'S WHEN THE NEWS COVERED THE LOWERING OF THE CROSS 70 FEET DOWN BY CRANE INTO THE SUBTERRANEAN MUSEUM BEFORE THEY CLOSED UP THE MEMORIAL PLAZA. You remember, the same day they also lowered down the damaged fire trucks and other large pieces that they wouldn't be able to get DOWN there once the roof was closed up. If you don't know this very elementary, basic fact, then you have no interest in the WTC museum in the first place, do you.
70 feet below ground is not "outdoors". It's on public display in a museum, the same as many other religious artifacts are on public display in museums all over the country that also receive tax dollars.
There's also a Star of David cut out of the steel that was actually created, not just "found", that's going in the museum. Don't hear any of you complaining about that, and other religious items, yes, including Muslim items because--get this--MUSLIMS died in and ran out of those buildings, too.
It's not as if this cross is going to be set up in a chapel or something and the museum made into a house of worship. It's an artifact, a part of the story. That's all.
Now stop whining over two cross beams of steel and worry about what they are going to charge you to get into the museum in the first place.
Last edited by Mightyqueen801; 03-14-2014 at 12:43 PM..
The cross is stupid. Its inclusion in the memorial was a patently inane placating of the majority religion and its vacuous superstition. However, Christians, collectively, acting as a mob, are a bullying, often priggish, majority, and it is simply not worth the strife that opposing the inclusion of the cross in this memorial would generate.
That cross is part of history, it belongs in a museum. Just as a swastika belongs in a holocaust museum.
Symbols of all beliefs should be allowed in public places, even on state and federal land.
Things would be easier if atheists had some symbol that represented their belief that they are in control of their lives. Atheists don't lack faith, they just have faith in themselves. They have that right.
A very small minority of atheist extremist are just as radical the religious right.
That cross is part of history, it belongs in a museum.
As others pointed out, the cross is tainted - fabricated history. Regardless, read up above where I outlined my indifference about the cross's inclusion in the museum. What I wrote there, that which you replied to, was pointing out its stupidity. How about responding to what I actually wrote?
That cross is part of history, it belongs in a museum. Just as a swastika belongs in a holocaust museum.
Symbols of all beliefs should be allowed in public places, even on state and federal land.
Things would be easier if atheists had some symbol that represented their belief that they are in control of their lives. Atheists don't lack faith, they just have faith in themselves. They have that right.
A very small minority of atheist extremist are just as radical the religious right.
hmmm....what an incredibly ignorant post!
Atheists DO lack faith....because we rely on 'evidence' before believing in things (including the nonsense of religion); and faith is the polar opposite of this position.
oh, and we DO have a symbol that represents our belief....the symbol is....ready?.....'no religious symbols' being displayed on state/federal land!
Atheists DO lack faith....because we rely on 'evidence' before believing in things (including the nonsense of religion); and faith is the polar opposite of this position.
Sorry but mixed in with the nonsense that MissNM posted were a few bits of truth, and the truth is that many, perhaps all, Atheist do have faith. Saying that they have faith "in themselves" is not completely on-target, but also not complete off-kilter. Some of the Atheists I know have faith in many things, in nature, in the principles of logic and rationality, in scientific method, etc.
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Yes, that's much better! 
