tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post1889837566672237919..comments2024-01-04T15:56:19.156-05:00Comments on Commandments of Men: Wildly Random Rambles and BlurbsLewishttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05596138376570543467noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-3709854950828768582012-08-25T20:45:10.820-04:002012-08-25T20:45:10.820-04:00That statement is so clearly out of sync with the ...That statement is so clearly out of sync with the life and character of Jesus that I toss it on those terms alone. (Matt 5:18) No way I would ascribe those words to Jesus!shadowspringhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15172112981244682382noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-67563605739233756102012-08-18T19:00:01.814-04:002012-08-18T19:00:01.814-04:00My own response is to let the Bible be what it is ...My own response is to let the Bible be what it is rather than trying to read it as if it were something else. The difficulties about David's "cursing" Psalms, for instance, are resolved by seeing the Psalms as personal self-expressive poems; people pouring out their hearts to God. They are not and never were intended to be doctrinal or positional statements! The Psalms encourage me that when I'm feeling like David felt (attacked by enemies, for instance), it's ok to pray exactly what I feel and not try to clean it all up to make it look "Christian" for God.<br /><br />Peter Enns, in his book "Inspiration and Incarnation" (I think that's the title) talks about how the Bible is both human and divine, and how it's ok to let it be as human as it so clearly is. I still maintain that God did have a hand in the very human process of bringing together the canon, but that the Bible is meant to point us to God-- not the other way around. Kristenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08252374623355509404noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-7066103530481809352012-08-18T11:52:40.233-04:002012-08-18T11:52:40.233-04:00right on ... so very right onright on ... so very right onAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11783347965796920587noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-55115273029302843562012-08-18T03:11:11.049-04:002012-08-18T03:11:11.049-04:00Hi, hope I won't be seen as an intruder here b...Hi, hope I won't be seen as an intruder here being an agnostic, but I have to say, I have been reading this blog for several weeks, and realy enjoy it.<br /><br />Posts like this keep me reading, as a former Christian, it's refreshing to see that there are people out there that are fed up with the fundamentalists, and I applaud you for taking on one of their sacred cows, the belief in the innerancy of the Bible.<br /><br />During my doubting stage before leaving Christianity, I noticed so many inconsistencies in the Bible. I read the Old Testament, and compared it to the the new, and it was almost as if I was reading about 2 different gods entirely. I kept thinking if God is a god of love as the New Testament and modern Christianity says he is, then why would he ever give the Jews the Levitical law? Why would he command them to kill the enitre population of many cities, or endorse slavery?<br /><br />Then I look at the life of Jesus, (and mind you, I still admire many of his teachings even now),in some ways, he rejects the law, such as saving a woman from a Pharisee lynch mob that wanted to kill her for having an affair. However, also take a look at Matthew 5:18 (KJV) : "For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass , one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled ." <br /><br />So the law will not end until the end of the earth?<br /><br />Which is it, Jesus? Do you accept or reject the law? Is it still in force or not?<br /><br />Those are the very reasons that led me to leave Christianity althogether, never mind the fact of some of the disgusting hate being taught to me by family, and by many Christian leaders towards gays, people of other religions, etc. Looking back at the hate and the lies taught to me about outsiders, I know now it was a deliberate attempt to keep me from knowing the real truth about the people around me, an attempt to shut me off from the rest of the world so I would keep believing what they taught me. That's similiar to the tactics that many cults use to control their members!<br /><br />Thank you so much for speaking out against the fundamentalism, it really is toxic and needs to end. Thankfully, I have turned my back on it, but unfortunately, I still have family who are fundamentalists....Sheldon Cooperhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17660822618786253558noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-38432071762455853042012-08-17T23:07:10.252-04:002012-08-17T23:07:10.252-04:00Oh wow, it's great to hear that his ideas reso...Oh wow, it's great to hear that his ideas resonated with you too. I definitely felt like I was constantly slapping my forehead and exclaiming "I can't believe I never noticed that!!" while I was reading his books. It's crazy.Latebloomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18261932798380141520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-1350052409662126322012-08-17T17:37:59.330-04:002012-08-17T17:37:59.330-04:00Latebloomer, it was actually this post of yours th...Latebloomer, it was actually this post of yours that turned me onto Ehrman and I can't thank you enough...I cannot praise highly enough the books of his I've read. I quote him now to my much more conservative friends when explaining why I no longer subsribe to the Bible's inerrancy.Rebecca Newmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03935383254039552080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-76275594260732488372012-08-17T17:28:50.397-04:002012-08-17T17:28:50.397-04:00Bart Ehrman is my new intellectual crush and I'...Bart Ehrman is my new intellectual crush and I've been tearing through his books, and the more I read of his calm, rational views of the Bible's imperfection, the more I find myself incredulous that even so many Christians take it so seriously. Applying the flawed Bible written to an entirely different culture literally to ourselves today - what are we thinking? And when I think of how much of my life I devoted myself to that text, how much the parents read it to us and required us to memorize every little detail, every person within it and their repsective role. What a waste!Rebecca Newmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03935383254039552080noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-42394390251278895732012-08-17T15:11:39.190-04:002012-08-17T15:11:39.190-04:00Good stuff.
The rest of you guys should check out...Good stuff.<br /><br />The rest of you guys should check out Latebloomer's article.Lewishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05596138376570543467noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-14264045791389584102012-08-17T14:05:48.725-04:002012-08-17T14:05:48.725-04:00As an ex-fundamentalist ex-Republican, I whole-hea...As an ex-fundamentalist ex-Republican, I whole-heartedly agree with your assessment of the situation. Now from the outside, I can see how it's all based on worshipping a book, not for what it is, but for what you imagine it to be. I've written about my own journey of realizing the reality of the Bible for the first time; it's linked below if you're interested. <br /><br />http://pasttensepresentprogressive.blogspot.com/2012/05/bible-irony.htmlLatebloomerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18261932798380141520noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6879552692521649812.post-26225732663878775082012-08-17T07:14:33.415-04:002012-08-17T07:14:33.415-04:00A group of us have been talking about these same t...A group of us have been talking about these same things recently. As I just told a friend the other days, it amazes me that so many Christians are rallying behind a Mormon candidate but if it weren't for the fact that he was a Republican and going against an African-American Democrat (because I truly believe that for a good number of them, they DO take issue with Obama being black and not just Democrat), they wouldn't touch him with a ten foot pole. The fundies and ultra conservative right are always talking smack about the Mormons. When it comes to the election, they want nothing to do with Obama even though he claims to be a Christian, but would give their vote to someone they normally wouldn't socialize with and even talk about in a judgmental manner. <br /><br />The hypocrisy, it burns.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com