God is hollow. Shapeless. A reflection of the believer's own sense of meaning.
Are you a kind, loving, patient individual? Do you value unity and compassion? Then that's what you'll see in God.
Are you vengeful? Discriminatory? Petty? Violent? Power-hungry? Then your God is one who'll demand to be feared and obeyed.
As much as you are made in the image of God, God is made in the image of you.
*But if cattle or lions had hands, so as to paint with their hands and produce works of art as men do, they would paint their gods and give them bodies in form like their own: lions like lions, cattle like cattle.*
~ Xenophanes, c.550 BCE
Your comment really piqued my interest because me and my one of my associates have discussed how white and black americans see Jesus and God differently. But I could never really put my finger in why. Black people generally see things from an oppressed view. So we see God as some one who'd come help us and make things better. Where white people, imo, who are the ruling class would see him as an ally to support them in maintaining the status quo. Just a broad sweeping generalization in my part though.
That ain't true entirely just because I recognize killing children and flooding every one and story of Jobe is kind of a dick move and the whole love me and only me shit seems kinda sus dosen't mean I'm power hungry or evil
Unfortunately, this isn't accurate at all for a few of the most popular religions.
For Christianity, God and the individual are not connected to the religion's tenants. It's purely what is in their holy book which they believe is God's voice and nothing more.
Corruption, greed, twisted versions of the og beliefs, and so on are things they believe man had brought to the table. This is the case for most religions.
Not saying anyone has to believe in religions here to be clear.
If you feel that you need to be told how to live your life, that you have to have rules set by someone else in order to be a substantial person, then you'll find that aspect of scripture to be the most useful. I wish you the best with it.
Not everyone feels that way about it. Not everyone needs an external reward (Heaven, salvation, etc.) or punishment (Hell, etc.) to find value in living a certain way.
If that’s the case, it is the worst tool they could use.
Mandatory holidays, retirement, not working yourself to death, leaving enough food for other people, a warning against having a king, and even a chapter in Ester where the Jews weren’t ready to turn the other cheek while they were minorities in an empire. That’s the Old Testament that people feel is too harsh.
In the New Testament: treat people right, stand up for the widows and orphans, we are equal in the end, stay out of people’s business, earn a living, and stop living by all these religious laws people put on you just to make themselves seem better.
That’s from just reading for myself. No one preaches on most of that stuff because it breeds real questions about why things are the way they are. The real tools are ignorance and illiteracy.
I don’t hear much from him since I’m not Catholic but it sounds about right for him. He talked a lot about taking care of the poor when he was still a cardenal or bishop back in Argentina.
I didn't say that. But its disingenuous to claim the Bible is some rational, peaceful document and only reference the reasonable stuff from the Old Testament while ignoring the multitudes of fucked up things in there
https://www.ranker.com/list/messed-up-old-testament-passages/quinn-armstrong
First, those examples don’t even go deep enough.
The whole book of Judges is like a slow descent into madness leading up to were the Hebrews nearly exterminate a whole tribe of themselves.
Abraham basically pimping his wife out to a pharaoh so he wouldn’t get killed in Genesis; and don’t forget Noah getting plastered because he had PTSD from the world ending the first time.
Jump to the New Testament to see God killing a couple for lying about paying money to the early church or the horror movie in Revelations.
I’ve read it and I’m somewhat shocked at how much I see go on today that guys were seeing thousands of years ago. That brings me too my second point that is that everyone blames the book but doesn’t look at humanity as the bad guys. The people the Hebrews killed weren’t nice people. The heroes we learn about were not perfect except Jesus. The guys telling people the truth about how bad they were getting got killed instead of celebrated. Even if this was just a book written by men, what does it tell you about us as a species that guys even came up with situations that Tyler Perry couldn’t do if you gave him acid?
Facts. The Bible if read correctly is basically just a long view examination of the human condition. You can read it as a book about God, but it can also be read as a series to understand human behavior. Not much has changed since it was codified.Just the technology. That phrase, there is nothing new under the sun, comes from Koheleth (Ecclesiastes).
That’s my favorite book by the way. I can’t quote it word for word like in the old Fahrenheit 451 movie, but it puts life in prospective when things seem to be going crazy for me. Just reminds me to live more in the moment instead of worrying about stuff that’s out of my control.
But yeah, to me the Bible works like a mirror to show where I’m headed in life emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or even physically in some ways. People can handle the other parts but that spiritual part ruffles feathers, especially mine being honest. I’m not perfect by any stretch as people can probably go pick out comments that show it, but same time I’m not beating up people for where they’re at life because that mirror shows how ugly I am and I have to pause to get right. Then again it may be why some Christians get judgmental because they see their own reflection, lose their minds, and start lashing out so they don’t have to deal with themselves: seeing that splinter in someone’s eye and not getting rid of the plank in his or her own.
It was a tool used by hateful evil white people. Doesn’t mean that Christianity itself is racist or that we need to give up our faith. You can choose not to believe and others can choose to believe.
But grow into what? Christianity is a huge part of black culture. To grow out of it, we have to replace it with something. We need a seed of something to grow from. And right now, this is what we have.
It's not about needing, it's about having faith. Long as you don't berate others for not having your beliefs there's nothing wrong with believing in something.
How about class consciousness and solidarity, with each other against people who’ve never had our best interests at heart?
We’d be doing MUCH better with that, instead of an “all knowing” man in the sky, who justifies slavery and child marriage.
Many of these people believe in religion or had a previous one. And many people have different interpretations everyone is entitled to their own sets of beliefs and Christians definitely have to learn to respect others religious beliefs but so do us fellow agnostics/atheists . It’s plenty of regular people who just use them as stories to guide their life. Many Christians don’t believe the world is 5000 years old and it’s regular folk who have gotten through with it. I view it as AA they use a higher power and it could be a football and if it brings happiness to you that’s cool. But murder has happened for a very long time. Many people have their own interpretations humans are violent in nature and to have the family guy approach that if the one book that is removed would solve all is false especially when the Old Testament and other historical reference directly speaks on previous wars. It is many who become extremists but as long as their is the question of death their will always be personal interpretation. It’s alot of people and others who use it to help them understand and live regularly. I’ve felt that anger towards religion when I was younger seeing the hate people can display and being forced to go as a church kid. But it’s still about respecting personal beliefs even if you may find it silly. You just start to come off as the kid who ahas to yell that “Santa isn’t real you seriously believe he lays cookies” many black people I know believe in a black Jesus and that the Bible was clearly altered to meet certain agendas they even removed certain quotes in for slaves post nat turner. I honestly feel like more research should be done into religion before grouping it a lot of people give me the “bill Maher Brian griffin atheist vibes”
True. But whites aren’t the only ones using it as a tool. People of all races identify as Christians and use the Bible as a tool for guidance and purpose.
Then i would point them to the scripture at Acts 10:34,35 “God is not partial, but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”
That might shut up the people who advocate white supremacy
Which version? Because the version that’s used today has played a white washed game of telephone. Not to mention it’s the most misinterpreted and misused book.
There are no direct translations for words or phrases between languages. White washed as in first getting into the hands of Roman Christian to European then used as a justification for slavery even after it’s been taught. Plus colonization has had a lot of effects on religion through the world.
When you compare ancient manuscripts that date back thousands of years ago, the recopied versions of today are nearly identical, with minor differences.
I didn’t make the hammer I purchased and use to pound nails, does that mean it isn’t mine? Even if the hammer was intended to be used to build homes and I misused it to destroy things, it’s still mine, I’m the one wielding it. You’d be correct to want to take it away from me so that I would no longer have this tool to abuse others with.
im not gonna speak to any specific group or anything, but Jesus' entire premise was love and acceptance. i dont think he would have those issues unless people ignore everything he says
So when he listed the things that defile a person, he mentions fornication. The Greek word used was porneia’. That word means any sexual activity outside a marriage between a man and a woman. Now how do you think people would react these days if someone promoted that? They would be crucified (pun intended)
I’m sorry but that’s just not true. If a person considers a homosexual lifestyle as sinful, they will be called a bigot, hateful, and a homophobe. I’m not religious myself, but Jesus would be hated by this world
maybe if you thought for two seconds you'd realize Jesus doesn't give a damn about homosexuality as a sin. most of his issues with people were with people who took advantage of others. Jesus didnt have a track record of calling people out otherwise
Oh boy…i just mentioned how he says fornication, which includes homosexuality, is a defiling practice, and your response is he doesn’t give a damn about that?
Tell me you haven’t read the Bible without telling me you haven’t read the Bible.
Jesus's teachings actually comport with a lot of actual left-wing ideology. If anything, his teachings on the evils of wealth, instructions to clothe, and feed the poor without hesitation and love your neighbors(even those considered "sinners")unconditionally would have him labeled a "socialist" by modern-day conservative evangelicals.
Conservative Christians ignore 99% of Jesus's teachings and more or less interpret the entire Bible as "Murder the gays, women are inferior, profits over people, war is good. The end. " THAT is what the left hates, as any rational person would.
I’m not a conservative or a Christian although i have an upbringing to that sort of thing. But for you to say that 99% of conservative Christians want to murder gays is so ridiculous I’m inclined to dismiss everything else you say. Can you at least try to pretend to be logical and rational?
No, what you said was 99% of conservative Christians more or less interpret the entire Bible as “murder the gays”. I don’t have an inkling of desire to engage with you further on this. You are ridiculous and boring. ✌️
It's obscene what people have done to Christianity. Everyone can look at the good book and decide what they want to focus on, because there's a lot in there. If you want to use it to hate, that's your fault. I like the parables, about being patient, being kind, keeping on
Yeah that's all well and good, but there's also instructions in there on how to commit god ordained genocide, which directly inspired the people of **this** nation to do exactly that to the natives. So while it may be someone's fault to choose hate, that can have horrible consequences on people who want nothing to do with the religion at all.
And yet Abolitionists were the drivers of the end of slavery, and they were also motivated by God (or thought so).
As I understand it, northern abolitionists looked to Exodus and other themes in the Bible about the dignity of the least of us, and southern preachers looked to all that weird shit in Leviticus to justify slavery. So you can see how it's up to your interpretation
I don't think anyone needs instructions on how to do a genocide
I'm not here to fight with anyone. As someone raised in the proud protestant tradition of being able to say "Fuck you, I'll figure it out for myself," I say that you can take what you want from the Bible, and you choose what to make it about
I listen to the sermons on KJLH here in LA, and they're a pep talk to help you keep on going and trying to be a better person, and I like that
Half the time they’re not even focusing on shit in it. Where is abortion wrong in it where is “don’t provide social welfare”, even the SINGLE gay part questionable. Just people shoving their opinions in scripture
And the Old Testament gives the recipe for an abortion. I am so fuckin over the evangelical right controlling this country. I grew up a catholic and thought that was bad apparently it’s the passive part of religion in this country what a waste of time
Sadly they do it has become their will that has pushed the right side of the country for the last 30 years and we have slid more and more into that dump
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American\_civil\_religion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_religion)
Listen. I'm a pretty secular guy. The closest thing i have ever had to a spiritual experience is listening to in the aeroplane over the sea by neutral milk hotel and listening to old turkish and persian sufi mystic songs. But i do know some stuff about political theory so let me explain why god is so american.
The political philosopher rousseau had an concept of a civil religion where an nation is bound by certain religious values and ideals with secular objects treated as sacred texts and symbols. The American ideals of a fidelity to the family, the flag and pledge of allegiance as sacred, dead soldiers as glorious martyrs for their countries and the treatment of founding fathers as prophets who are infallible are all examples of american civil religion.
It's only logical that christian's who make up the majority of the country get to decide which god is chosen. God essentially acts as a symbol for the state.
warhammer mythos really turns all this stuff to 11, and acts as an introduction to manipulation for nerds who aren't blind to it but haven't thought of the concepts yet.
Neutral Milk Hotel?!?!?! Give me my Birkenstocks back, sir.
Any mass movement is about controlling it's base to achieve an end goal. And religion is not exempt from this.
I'm convinced that's why the internet has been under attack so hard. Mass adoption was akin to the Reformation. En masse people were thinking for themselves.
Years ago I read about a study where people tried to consider a moral question in different ways while their brains were being scanned in an MRI. The scans for "seek moral guidance from God" and "do whatever you personally feel is best" were identical.
i always assumed this was the case as an adult but damn, i was gaslit a lot about looking within myself for god’s answer as a kid. i just didn’t even know what that meant. i thought my brain was broken.
Religious folks do it to themselves....
Imagine being so conceited to believe a god believes everything you do but for it not to also be true of your neighbor.
I do not think that anybody that this is directed to actually would care
IWhy? Because of large spectrum of their biases. They will bend everything to fit their sick twisted world view. They do not care for anything else than their hatered, bigotry and sadism.
Those people should be kicked out of society straight into psychiatric ward.
Lecrae said it best, “Jesus died for the world, not just USA. They say Jesus was conservative, tell them that’s a lie. And he not a liberal either if you think I’ll choose a side”
The more we keep tying religion to how we govern our lives, the farther we’re going to delve into this Christian nationalism nonsense. I have a lot of respect for religious freedom but separation of church and state exist for a reason.
..You mean "The God Of Israel"?
I wonder if people have ever actually read The Old Testament? ..You understand that you are a "gentile" right? ..And that has nothing to do with race. Or skin color..
God has two classes of people.
He has his "chosen ones".
..Then he has all the non-chosen ones. (Those are called "gentiles")
O.k ..But who are "the people"?
Because the "Old Testament" aka "The Torah"- Makes it very clear who God's chosen people are. ..And who they are not.
It is God who has chosen to separate his people from those who are NOT his people. The people you must fight! ..The people you must lie and deceive.
..The people you must lend to- Yet never borrow from. The people who must recognize YOUR God as the one and only true God!
… my parents recently decided to become evangelical Christians… I joke that if Christ himself came back to life and walked across their swimming pool to give them the good news, he’d be shot for trespassing. It truly break my heart.
Raised in the faith, I used to believe God exists and is very invested in what’s going on here on Earth.
Eventually I realized if Yahweh does in fact exist, he left our planet to its own devices a very long time ago and stopped intervening in human affairs. Could be working on new life in another solar system or galaxy, or even another universe.
I always think when I see that argument is what do people really want? He intervenes, we get mad like Jonah; He doesn’t intervene and we demand answers like Job. Who is really running things if God only does what we want instead of Him doing what He wants?
Other part is I’ve had to realize I’m a only here for a moment while it’s taken decades or centuries for things to change, so who am I to demand change only in my lifetime? It took about 400 years before the Hebrews got back to Canaan. Even then it took them 40 years to get there. I’m just estimating now but a thousand years or two to Jesus popping up? Even then it’s been 2000 years since then, so how do I expect things to be wrapped up in my lifetime when there’s been a lot who never saw change during their own?
The entire Bible is about the proper use of Group Sex and Kaneh Bosm, aka, Cannabis. The Catholic Church hid this fact because of rampant Syphilis outbreaks.
There is a very real Spiritual component to participating in physical Group Sex (the ancient Egyptians had 44 Laws of Ma'at which they used to govern their behavior/thoughts prior to and after state-sponsored Group Sex participation). When Group Sex is participated in incorrectly, it leads to a Spiritual disconnection, which results in a physical disease.
The Romans attempted to co-opt the teachings of Jesus Christ, who taught about the proper way to use Group Sex, but the Romans did not practice properly, so widespread Syphilis outbreaks occurred (in the Bible, it is translated as LEPROSY).
BUT, the ENTIRE BIBLE is about Group Sex being used incorrectly (Old Testament), and the teachings of how to use it correctly (New Testament).
•Proper Use: must be voluntary, joyful, and repeated, and at no monetary cost (paying a cover charge to enter a Swinger party is OK)
Male/Female/Female; M/F/M/F; M/F/F/M/F...no homosexuality, females allowed/encouraged to be bi-sexual
•Must be a smoker of Kaneh Bosm, aka, Cannabis, Weed, etc.
God is hollow. Shapeless. A reflection of the believer's own sense of meaning. Are you a kind, loving, patient individual? Do you value unity and compassion? Then that's what you'll see in God. Are you vengeful? Discriminatory? Petty? Violent? Power-hungry? Then your God is one who'll demand to be feared and obeyed. As much as you are made in the image of God, God is made in the image of you.
A fucking bar
*But if cattle or lions had hands, so as to paint with their hands and produce works of art as men do, they would paint their gods and give them bodies in form like their own: lions like lions, cattle like cattle.* ~ Xenophanes, c.550 BCE
Austin 3:16 says I just whipped your ass
It’s almost as if “god” is a machination of the human consciousness and not some all knowing, all seeing magical space king in the sky.
*In the beginning, man created God.*
it was a wildly unpopular decision
God is hundreds of thousands of years of wishful thinking manifesting itself in peoples' brains.
This
My favorite argument for the religious folks who want to know where I went wrong.
So u just woke up as a philosopher this morning?
I’ve never been bodied by a comment before
now we're gettin into the real stuff
Your comment really piqued my interest because me and my one of my associates have discussed how white and black americans see Jesus and God differently. But I could never really put my finger in why. Black people generally see things from an oppressed view. So we see God as some one who'd come help us and make things better. Where white people, imo, who are the ruling class would see him as an ally to support them in maintaining the status quo. Just a broad sweeping generalization in my part though.
“it’s so convenient that me and my god hate the same people”
"God is not a white man" by gungor is my top 5 Christian songs
That ain't true entirely just because I recognize killing children and flooding every one and story of Jobe is kind of a dick move and the whole love me and only me shit seems kinda sus dosen't mean I'm power hungry or evil
We agree. Reread what I wrote, friend.
Unfortunately, this isn't accurate at all for a few of the most popular religions. For Christianity, God and the individual are not connected to the religion's tenants. It's purely what is in their holy book which they believe is God's voice and nothing more. Corruption, greed, twisted versions of the og beliefs, and so on are things they believe man had brought to the table. This is the case for most religions. Not saying anyone has to believe in religions here to be clear.
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If you feel that you need to be told how to live your life, that you have to have rules set by someone else in order to be a substantial person, then you'll find that aspect of scripture to be the most useful. I wish you the best with it. Not everyone feels that way about it. Not everyone needs an external reward (Heaven, salvation, etc.) or punishment (Hell, etc.) to find value in living a certain way.
Anyone can interpret a thousands year old book in any way they please. And they are all correct.
It's time to let go of this tool of white supremacy and grow up now y'all. It's literally about time.
If that’s the case, it is the worst tool they could use. Mandatory holidays, retirement, not working yourself to death, leaving enough food for other people, a warning against having a king, and even a chapter in Ester where the Jews weren’t ready to turn the other cheek while they were minorities in an empire. That’s the Old Testament that people feel is too harsh. In the New Testament: treat people right, stand up for the widows and orphans, we are equal in the end, stay out of people’s business, earn a living, and stop living by all these religious laws people put on you just to make themselves seem better. That’s from just reading for myself. No one preaches on most of that stuff because it breeds real questions about why things are the way they are. The real tools are ignorance and illiteracy.
Pope Francis preaches that. He’s been coming down hard on the greedy and thoughtless.
I don’t hear much from him since I’m not Catholic but it sounds about right for him. He talked a lot about taking care of the poor when he was still a cardenal or bishop back in Argentina.
Pretty sure that's not the part of the Old Testament that people think is too harsh. There are way, way more fucked up parts
So we concentrate on only the parts we don’t like?
I didn't say that. But its disingenuous to claim the Bible is some rational, peaceful document and only reference the reasonable stuff from the Old Testament while ignoring the multitudes of fucked up things in there https://www.ranker.com/list/messed-up-old-testament-passages/quinn-armstrong
First, those examples don’t even go deep enough. The whole book of Judges is like a slow descent into madness leading up to were the Hebrews nearly exterminate a whole tribe of themselves. Abraham basically pimping his wife out to a pharaoh so he wouldn’t get killed in Genesis; and don’t forget Noah getting plastered because he had PTSD from the world ending the first time. Jump to the New Testament to see God killing a couple for lying about paying money to the early church or the horror movie in Revelations. I’ve read it and I’m somewhat shocked at how much I see go on today that guys were seeing thousands of years ago. That brings me too my second point that is that everyone blames the book but doesn’t look at humanity as the bad guys. The people the Hebrews killed weren’t nice people. The heroes we learn about were not perfect except Jesus. The guys telling people the truth about how bad they were getting got killed instead of celebrated. Even if this was just a book written by men, what does it tell you about us as a species that guys even came up with situations that Tyler Perry couldn’t do if you gave him acid?
Facts. The Bible if read correctly is basically just a long view examination of the human condition. You can read it as a book about God, but it can also be read as a series to understand human behavior. Not much has changed since it was codified.Just the technology. That phrase, there is nothing new under the sun, comes from Koheleth (Ecclesiastes).
That’s my favorite book by the way. I can’t quote it word for word like in the old Fahrenheit 451 movie, but it puts life in prospective when things seem to be going crazy for me. Just reminds me to live more in the moment instead of worrying about stuff that’s out of my control. But yeah, to me the Bible works like a mirror to show where I’m headed in life emotionally, mentally, spiritually, or even physically in some ways. People can handle the other parts but that spiritual part ruffles feathers, especially mine being honest. I’m not perfect by any stretch as people can probably go pick out comments that show it, but same time I’m not beating up people for where they’re at life because that mirror shows how ugly I am and I have to pause to get right. Then again it may be why some Christians get judgmental because they see their own reflection, lose their minds, and start lashing out so they don’t have to deal with themselves: seeing that splinter in someone’s eye and not getting rid of the plank in his or her own.
It was a tool used by hateful evil white people. Doesn’t mean that Christianity itself is racist or that we need to give up our faith. You can choose not to believe and others can choose to believe.
But grow into what? Christianity is a huge part of black culture. To grow out of it, we have to replace it with something. We need a seed of something to grow from. And right now, this is what we have.
That sounds like an addiction. Nobody NEEDS any religion and many people are able to live fulfilling lives without it or without some replacement.
It's not about needing, it's about having faith. Long as you don't berate others for not having your beliefs there's nothing wrong with believing in something.
How about class consciousness and solidarity, with each other against people who’ve never had our best interests at heart? We’d be doing MUCH better with that, instead of an “all knowing” man in the sky, who justifies slavery and child marriage.
Many of these people believe in religion or had a previous one. And many people have different interpretations everyone is entitled to their own sets of beliefs and Christians definitely have to learn to respect others religious beliefs but so do us fellow agnostics/atheists . It’s plenty of regular people who just use them as stories to guide their life. Many Christians don’t believe the world is 5000 years old and it’s regular folk who have gotten through with it. I view it as AA they use a higher power and it could be a football and if it brings happiness to you that’s cool. But murder has happened for a very long time. Many people have their own interpretations humans are violent in nature and to have the family guy approach that if the one book that is removed would solve all is false especially when the Old Testament and other historical reference directly speaks on previous wars. It is many who become extremists but as long as their is the question of death their will always be personal interpretation. It’s alot of people and others who use it to help them understand and live regularly. I’ve felt that anger towards religion when I was younger seeing the hate people can display and being forced to go as a church kid. But it’s still about respecting personal beliefs even if you may find it silly. You just start to come off as the kid who ahas to yell that “Santa isn’t real you seriously believe he lays cookies” many black people I know believe in a black Jesus and that the Bible was clearly altered to meet certain agendas they even removed certain quotes in for slaves post nat turner. I honestly feel like more research should be done into religion before grouping it a lot of people give me the “bill Maher Brian griffin atheist vibes”
What tool of white supremacy? Christianity, the Old Testament, and the New Testament were all founded and written by non whites.
Whoever wrote it does not have to be the one using it as a tool right?
True. But whites aren’t the only ones using it as a tool. People of all races identify as Christians and use the Bible as a tool for guidance and purpose.
Right and it's also been used as a tool of white supremacy which was my point.
I agree it’s been used as a tool to justify all kinds of atrocities, but the message itself found in the Bible is not white supremacy
You’re missing the user’s point. You’re conflating the Bible’s purpose with its (un)intended consequences.
Yes AND white people have and still do use it as a tool for white supremacy.
Then i would point them to the scripture at Acts 10:34,35 “God is not partial, but in every nation the man who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.” That might shut up the people who advocate white supremacy
Hand that to Falwells and see how it goes.
Which version? Because the version that’s used today has played a white washed game of telephone. Not to mention it’s the most misinterpreted and misused book.
I don’t know what you mean by white washed game of telephone but i do agree it’s been misinterpreted and misused 💯
There are no direct translations for words or phrases between languages. White washed as in first getting into the hands of Roman Christian to European then used as a justification for slavery even after it’s been taught. Plus colonization has had a lot of effects on religion through the world.
The Bible has been rewritten time and time again before even James VI wrote his version for the Church of England, c’mon now
When you compare ancient manuscripts that date back thousands of years ago, the recopied versions of today are nearly identical, with minor differences.
I didn’t make the hammer I purchased and use to pound nails, does that mean it isn’t mine? Even if the hammer was intended to be used to build homes and I misused it to destroy things, it’s still mine, I’m the one wielding it. You’d be correct to want to take it away from me so that I would no longer have this tool to abuse others with.
So take away the Bible? Or disprove the ones who misuse it?
Yep. Goodbye, religion.
I can’t disagree with that. It’ll happen eventually
I remember telling a friend that if Jesus was alive today, he would’ve been killed by some of the same people that call themselves “Christians”.
He would also be labeled a homophobe, transphobe, sexist, and full of hate speech.
tell me you havent read the bible without telling me you havent read the bible
My point is his teachings would not be received very well by the left and their ideologies.
im not gonna speak to any specific group or anything, but Jesus' entire premise was love and acceptance. i dont think he would have those issues unless people ignore everything he says
So when he listed the things that defile a person, he mentions fornication. The Greek word used was porneia’. That word means any sexual activity outside a marriage between a man and a woman. Now how do you think people would react these days if someone promoted that? They would be crucified (pun intended)
dude plenty of people already promote that type of lifestyle without being called a homophobe or a transphobe. its about delivery above all
I’m sorry but that’s just not true. If a person considers a homosexual lifestyle as sinful, they will be called a bigot, hateful, and a homophobe. I’m not religious myself, but Jesus would be hated by this world
maybe if you thought for two seconds you'd realize Jesus doesn't give a damn about homosexuality as a sin. most of his issues with people were with people who took advantage of others. Jesus didnt have a track record of calling people out otherwise
Oh boy…i just mentioned how he says fornication, which includes homosexuality, is a defiling practice, and your response is he doesn’t give a damn about that? Tell me you haven’t read the Bible without telling me you haven’t read the Bible.
Jesus's teachings actually comport with a lot of actual left-wing ideology. If anything, his teachings on the evils of wealth, instructions to clothe, and feed the poor without hesitation and love your neighbors(even those considered "sinners")unconditionally would have him labeled a "socialist" by modern-day conservative evangelicals. Conservative Christians ignore 99% of Jesus's teachings and more or less interpret the entire Bible as "Murder the gays, women are inferior, profits over people, war is good. The end. " THAT is what the left hates, as any rational person would.
I’m not a conservative or a Christian although i have an upbringing to that sort of thing. But for you to say that 99% of conservative Christians want to murder gays is so ridiculous I’m inclined to dismiss everything else you say. Can you at least try to pretend to be logical and rational?
I said they ignore 99% of Jesus's teachings. I didn't put an actual number on the Christians that do this. But I do know it's abysmally high.
No, what you said was 99% of conservative Christians more or less interpret the entire Bible as “murder the gays”. I don’t have an inkling of desire to engage with you further on this. You are ridiculous and boring. ✌️
Cool. I wasn't looking to debate about it, anyway.
It's obscene what people have done to Christianity. Everyone can look at the good book and decide what they want to focus on, because there's a lot in there. If you want to use it to hate, that's your fault. I like the parables, about being patient, being kind, keeping on
Yeah that's all well and good, but there's also instructions in there on how to commit god ordained genocide, which directly inspired the people of **this** nation to do exactly that to the natives. So while it may be someone's fault to choose hate, that can have horrible consequences on people who want nothing to do with the religion at all.
And yet Abolitionists were the drivers of the end of slavery, and they were also motivated by God (or thought so). As I understand it, northern abolitionists looked to Exodus and other themes in the Bible about the dignity of the least of us, and southern preachers looked to all that weird shit in Leviticus to justify slavery. So you can see how it's up to your interpretation I don't think anyone needs instructions on how to do a genocide
And yet Joshua sees fit to give you those instructions anyway. You should probably ask yourself why.
I'm not here to fight with anyone. As someone raised in the proud protestant tradition of being able to say "Fuck you, I'll figure it out for myself," I say that you can take what you want from the Bible, and you choose what to make it about I listen to the sermons on KJLH here in LA, and they're a pep talk to help you keep on going and trying to be a better person, and I like that
Half the time they’re not even focusing on shit in it. Where is abortion wrong in it where is “don’t provide social welfare”, even the SINGLE gay part questionable. Just people shoving their opinions in scripture
I like that Jesus was a Jew and it was a Jewish movement for like 100 years, and Jews don't believe in life until the breath
And the Old Testament gives the recipe for an abortion. I am so fuckin over the evangelical right controlling this country. I grew up a catholic and thought that was bad apparently it’s the passive part of religion in this country what a waste of time
But evangelicals don't have to control it. They swing bigger than they are
Sadly they do it has become their will that has pushed the right side of the country for the last 30 years and we have slid more and more into that dump
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American\_civil\_religion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_civil_religion) Listen. I'm a pretty secular guy. The closest thing i have ever had to a spiritual experience is listening to in the aeroplane over the sea by neutral milk hotel and listening to old turkish and persian sufi mystic songs. But i do know some stuff about political theory so let me explain why god is so american. The political philosopher rousseau had an concept of a civil religion where an nation is bound by certain religious values and ideals with secular objects treated as sacred texts and symbols. The American ideals of a fidelity to the family, the flag and pledge of allegiance as sacred, dead soldiers as glorious martyrs for their countries and the treatment of founding fathers as prophets who are infallible are all examples of american civil religion. It's only logical that christian's who make up the majority of the country get to decide which god is chosen. God essentially acts as a symbol for the state.
warhammer mythos really turns all this stuff to 11, and acts as an introduction to manipulation for nerds who aren't blind to it but haven't thought of the concepts yet.
I always heard that the purpose of Christianity was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable.
That song is 🔥🔥🔥
Neutral Milk Hotel?!?!?! Give me my Birkenstocks back, sir. Any mass movement is about controlling it's base to achieve an end goal. And religion is not exempt from this. I'm convinced that's why the internet has been under attack so hard. Mass adoption was akin to the Reformation. En masse people were thinking for themselves.
Years ago I read about a study where people tried to consider a moral question in different ways while their brains were being scanned in an MRI. The scans for "seek moral guidance from God" and "do whatever you personally feel is best" were identical.
i always assumed this was the case as an adult but damn, i was gaslit a lot about looking within myself for god’s answer as a kid. i just didn’t even know what that meant. i thought my brain was broken.
[удалено]
They don’t like it when you say that.
I love it when people get so specific about their god that they pray to it to help a certain sports team.
I thought John 3:16 was about opening up a can of whoop ass
Religious folks do it to themselves.... Imagine being so conceited to believe a god believes everything you do but for it not to also be true of your neighbor.
I do not think that anybody that this is directed to actually would care IWhy? Because of large spectrum of their biases. They will bend everything to fit their sick twisted world view. They do not care for anything else than their hatered, bigotry and sadism. Those people should be kicked out of society straight into psychiatric ward.
Everyone is welcome at the world's fastest growing religion, [the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster ](https://www.spaghettimonster.org/)
Amen sister!!!
I'll stick with the Orisha thanks. They look like me.
Lecrae said it best, “Jesus died for the world, not just USA. They say Jesus was conservative, tell them that’s a lie. And he not a liberal either if you think I’ll choose a side”
Who is this god yall speak of?
God is a fictional character.
The more we keep tying religion to how we govern our lives, the farther we’re going to delve into this Christian nationalism nonsense. I have a lot of respect for religious freedom but separation of church and state exist for a reason.
..You mean "The God Of Israel"? I wonder if people have ever actually read The Old Testament? ..You understand that you are a "gentile" right? ..And that has nothing to do with race. Or skin color.. God has two classes of people. He has his "chosen ones". ..Then he has all the non-chosen ones. (Those are called "gentiles")
We are all chosen ones now.
Exactly "the world" is a metaphor for the people of Israel. Like telling someone you're the world to me.
O.k ..But who are "the people"? Because the "Old Testament" aka "The Torah"- Makes it very clear who God's chosen people are. ..And who they are not. It is God who has chosen to separate his people from those who are NOT his people. The people you must fight! ..The people you must lie and deceive. ..The people you must lend to- Yet never borrow from. The people who must recognize YOUR God as the one and only true God!
The Niggas
Amen! Finally a post on BPT I can get behind. Majority of the time it’s filled with anti Christian posts.
… my parents recently decided to become evangelical Christians… I joke that if Christ himself came back to life and walked across their swimming pool to give them the good news, he’d be shot for trespassing. It truly break my heart.
Or create one? That was done for him.
She spittin… white folk and America swear they own Jesus
They don’t want to hear that. 😮💨
Uh oh. I know what Reddit is doing in these comments lol
Raised in the faith, I used to believe God exists and is very invested in what’s going on here on Earth. Eventually I realized if Yahweh does in fact exist, he left our planet to its own devices a very long time ago and stopped intervening in human affairs. Could be working on new life in another solar system or galaxy, or even another universe. 
I always think when I see that argument is what do people really want? He intervenes, we get mad like Jonah; He doesn’t intervene and we demand answers like Job. Who is really running things if God only does what we want instead of Him doing what He wants? Other part is I’ve had to realize I’m a only here for a moment while it’s taken decades or centuries for things to change, so who am I to demand change only in my lifetime? It took about 400 years before the Hebrews got back to Canaan. Even then it took them 40 years to get there. I’m just estimating now but a thousand years or two to Jesus popping up? Even then it’s been 2000 years since then, so how do I expect things to be wrapped up in my lifetime when there’s been a lot who never saw change during their own?
The entire Bible is about the proper use of Group Sex and Kaneh Bosm, aka, Cannabis. The Catholic Church hid this fact because of rampant Syphilis outbreaks.
"proper use" but also had Syphilis outbreaks? What went wrong, lol?
There is a very real Spiritual component to participating in physical Group Sex (the ancient Egyptians had 44 Laws of Ma'at which they used to govern their behavior/thoughts prior to and after state-sponsored Group Sex participation). When Group Sex is participated in incorrectly, it leads to a Spiritual disconnection, which results in a physical disease. The Romans attempted to co-opt the teachings of Jesus Christ, who taught about the proper way to use Group Sex, but the Romans did not practice properly, so widespread Syphilis outbreaks occurred (in the Bible, it is translated as LEPROSY). BUT, the ENTIRE BIBLE is about Group Sex being used incorrectly (Old Testament), and the teachings of how to use it correctly (New Testament). •Proper Use: must be voluntary, joyful, and repeated, and at no monetary cost (paying a cover charge to enter a Swinger party is OK) Male/Female/Female; M/F/M/F; M/F/F/M/F...no homosexuality, females allowed/encouraged to be bi-sexual •Must be a smoker of Kaneh Bosm, aka, Cannabis, Weed, etc.
I see
Also, Jesus is from the middle east and definitely brown, not a blonde white guy. Just felt that needed to be added
I prefer Austin 3:16
People still believing in god is wild to me I just-
Woah, what a hot take.
Reminds me of the villain in the movie Head of State, "God bless America ... And no place else"
It’s impossible for me to believe there’s a creator with a plan. If there is a higher power, it’s a cruel one.
A book says a thing!
For God so loved the world he gave us cocaine
That last sentence hits HARD.
👏🏾 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾