Discussion»Statements»Rosie's Corner» I wonder why some "preachers" who "praise" the Lord regularly use Him as a weapon to promulgate their own prejudices? Anyone have a clue?
(Whack)! That sound was me smacking myself with an open palm upside the head! I keep forgetting DB. You know one of the first things that goes as you age is the memory! Sheesh. Thanks for setting me straight. I'll try to remember! :)
Christianity is not a cafeteria where anything goes and you get to pick whatever you want - there are teachings which some may view as "prejudices" from their point of view but are simply the way things are as revealed by God. However it is also true that often - and this goes not only for preachers but other believers as well - people use their religion to support and underlie primarily secular issues and points of view - things that ain't in The Bible. Now in some cases perhaps some scripture can be interpreted in support of these but in others it is simply shared cultural beliefs that are being made to be religious which is wrong.
This post was edited by officegirl at October 10, 2018 6:20 PM MDT
But as a practical matter, people in every religion get to pick whatever they want: whether and when to attend services and to financially support a congregation, and what to believe or not believe. For example, you believe in whatever Christian beliefs to which you subscribe because, and only because, you choose to.
And "simply the way things are revealed by God?" You should know that nothing is simple. Whose god? Jesus? Mohammed? The old testament/Jewish God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel? If such gods exist, then in what form? An old man with a long white beard sitting somewhere up in the sky? Or more abstractly, such as our personal consciences or the laws which govern nature and the universe?
What is any religion without shared cultural and social beliefs? And how do we know the bible wasn't written by human beings and passed off as coming from God - in and of itself a perfect example of a shared cultural belief?
And how do we truly know that what's in the bible actually and literally happened as described? Is it plausible that the myriad and complex universe was created only about 6,000 years ago and in only six days? And that biblical people actually lived for hundreds of years? How do we know at all that some divine entity created the universe and humanity? Perhaps it was the other way around, that god and the bible were created by people to explain how everything came about.
Pretty mind-blowing when you really think about all this, isn't it?
This post was edited by Stu Spelling Bee at October 10, 2018 10:51 AM MDT
I'm no blblical scholar, but from my limited knowledge, the only "writings" directly attributed to God are the Ten Commandments supposedly handed to Moses. Everything after that appears to be man's interpretation of what they think God intended.
The “Ten Commandments“ were plagiarized nearly verbatim from the much older Verse 125 of the Egyptian Book of the Dead. Are we to then surmise that “God” shared them with the Egyptians first? Those same Egyptians who were allegedly struck with plagues ..
Well, if that's true, maybe (s)he was trying them out on the Egyptians first to see how they went over. When they behaved so badly, they were brought into line with plagues.
There is a school of thought that hypothesizes that Moses, assuming such a person actually lived, having been brought up in the Egyptian aristocracy, would have been familiar with the sacred texts of the Egyptian religion, could have inscribed these tenets himself on the “tablets” he brought down from the mountain. But far removed as we are from actual events, it is all a matter of conjecture.
Nor am I, although I've learned a few interesting things from my brother, who is a rabbi and retired US Army chaplain. Speaking only for Judaism, it is true that other than the actual scrolls of the Torah and Prophets that we store in the ark at the front on the sanctuary, the sources (ie books) that we use for these are full of commentary by rabbis and scholars -and interpretations thereof - dating back many centuries.
What I mean by "revealed by God" is it is in The Bible. We can argue over various interpretations of what is in there but to introduce our secular beliefs and claim they are God's Word is wrong and in fact dishonors God. The notion that someone would join a congregation which holds certain Biblical doctrines and then seek to change those doctrines and introduce new ones which have no Scriptural warrant is perverse to the extreme.
Bible contains certain cultural beliefs which do reflect the people to whom it was dictated. So obviously we must examine these to determine to what extent they remain valid. To cite an instance - women wearing head coverings to meetings - some believers accept that and follow it while others take exception to it as merely a cultural relic.
We can dismiss any scripture as a "cultural relic" or by saying it was "written by people" to "explain the unknown" or because we feel we are superior to it but then well we would not be believers would we? But for those of us who accept It as Truth , God's Word, etc. It becomes vital.
But again, whose god? And how can we know that what's in the bible actually came from any of them? You haven't answered these questions, and I'm not sure that you or anyone else can.
I did not mention anything about multiple gods. L believe in only One God, One Creator and Redeemer. Not sure why you expect to get answers like that from me - I can only give my testimony. I am a sinner, beyond all human redemption so the only way I can be worthy of Eternal Fellowship with God is through the atonement of Jesus Christ. I believe in redemption . I believe in goodness, I believe in the value and equality of all human beings, I believe if eternal judgement - which without God would not exist! I have been called to believe but I cannot do so for you or anyone else.
Once again I do not believe in multiple gods. Now you may choose to believe that everyone has each his own "god" he prays to who is working for him or her alone. Which I do not believe but rather that there is only One God.
Which means that you choose to believe in the Christian god. Such belief is a self-fulfilling prophecy in that what each person believes is true for him/her. Since you believe that the Christian god is the only one, that is true for you. Since atheists believe there is no god, then that is true for them. Jews such as myself believe that Jesus was a mere mortal, a rabbi, and that the only god is the god of our forefathers and foremothers - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Sarah, Rebecca, Leah, and Rachel ("I am the Lord your God. You shall have no other gods before me"). Thus, that is true for us.
My point is that there is no objective reality in this other than that multiple gods exist, perhaps only in the minds and imaginations of those who believe in each one. In other words, different strokes for different folks!
This post was edited by Stu Spelling Bee at October 10, 2018 12:19 PM MDT
No you don't seem to understand. I do not believe in a "Christian" god but I believe in God and I am a Christian which means that I believe God gave us Jesus Christ, part of God, to atone for our sins that we may have fellowship everlasting with God since we are unable to do so by our own efforts. In other words God is in essence paying for our sins against God, the punishment for which is death, because of God's love for us. As an evangelical Christian I believe I am a Jew by engraftation. Just as you would engraft a sprout from another tree on the main tree. Same God except we believe that God gave us Jesus , who was indeed a teacher, but we believe also a part of God and to offer us God's salvation through Jesus since otherwise we would not be able to have it but it would be available to the "righteous". Once again I never claimed that "multiple gods exist" , I claimed only to believe in the One God through Jesus Christ. Which though you may not accept it as "objective reality" (whatever that means) doesn't mean it does not exist!
All I said is that belief in god is a self-fulfilling prophecy, which means that the one you choose, the Christian one (Jesus et al) exists for you. In your mind and imagination. Other gods exist for other folks who choose to believe in them. Therefore, post hoc ergo propter hoc, multiple gods exist.
Not sure what all this is about. Perhaps you don't think me worthy to believe in Yahweh for whatever reasons. I would not so restrict God. There is One God - many different interpretations giving rise to different religions.
Looks like the pot calling the kettle black once again. From what I've seen over the years, you do a pretty fair job of promulgating your own prejudices. Not that I'm defending anyone using a pulpit in the wrong manner, It's just that we Christians are tired of being bashed, blamed and brow beaten for everything under the sun by the self righteous politically correct and the intolerant with elitist attitudes. The way I see it is if anyone doesn't like what they hear when I'm in the pulpit, they can use the same door to leave that brought 'em in. That thing swings both ways.
Don Barzini 