If God Is Love, Then Explain These Scriptures Away

[Franko47]

 

I suppose if someone was really god, he could actually enable someone to understand what he was saying and keep that person from misunderstanding. Instead of doing this, he just calls out another nation to go murder their men, women and children for misunderstanding what he said.

 

You are obsessed with the logic that God is a killer, aren't you?

 

 

 

 

Isn't he entitled ? He owns you, all of us, body and soul, to be disposed in whatever way he has decided, according to rules-maybe.....or whether through some mysterious process you have been "chosen". Whatever the case, complete submission is required, and whatever God has decided will happen to you during your life and after is totally his province; you and I get no say in the matter, because we are dirty, worthless sinners.

 

Eternal Universal Dictator.

 

Or were you planning to "negotiate" ????

[Michael]

(...)

Many people have noted that the specifics about exactly who is going to heaven seem to be imprecise.

(...)

You would think that, if this is the single most important reason for existing, it would have been clear what one must do to achieve this goal. It would have been truly apparent to every human, and should not exclude any human or proto-human that ever lived.

 

You would also think that there wouldn't be so much evidence that there is no God at all, prophecy is fantasy, and Christianity is inanity.

 

1 Timothy 2:3-4 (New International Version)

 

3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

 

He wants us to come to a knowledge of the truth. But he makes it quiet difficult for us and for some impossible. "Faith is a miracle", "Faith can not be explained", "The mystery of faith"......

When I read the bible I get the impression, that salvation is for a special interest group only.

[Shyone]

(...)

Many people have noted that the specifics about exactly who is going to heaven seem to be imprecise.

(...)

You would think that, if this is the single most important reason for existing, it would have been clear what one must do to achieve this goal. It would have been truly apparent to every human, and should not exclude any human or proto-human that ever lived.

 

You would also think that there wouldn't be so much evidence that there is no God at all, prophecy is fantasy, and Christianity is inanity.

 

1 Timothy 2:3-4 (New International Version)

 

3This is good, and pleases God our Savior, 4who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.

 

He wants us to come to a knowledge of the truth. But he makes it quiet difficult for us and for some impossible. "Faith is a miracle", "Faith can not be explained", "The mystery of faith"......

When I read the bible I get the impression, that salvation is for a special interest group only.

I'm sure there were good people that helped to write the scriptures, and there were xenophobes and obsessive-compulsive people who liked rules, and maybe even Machiavellian power hungry zealots.

 

The practical outcome of introducing and promoting a religion in primative times with poor communication is that many people don't get informed. Just as problematic, if the message is not enormously persuasive (irrefutable), then many will not believe. And, IMO, worst of all is that this plan ignores the ancestors.

 

But Christianity fails on all accounts. It is not persuasive to those not raised with it (without the military and legal might of an official imprimatur from a government). There is no intrinsic well specified mechanism for Christians or ancestors to achieve the stated goal of getting to heaven. It was spread slowly, usually at the point of a sword.

 

I'm going to start another thread about this some time later, but the Christian religion also fails to have a consistent message that makes life purposeful. Of course, part of the problem is that there is no god, but I could design a better religion/meme that would make life worth living and not incite suicide, reckless behavior, infanticide and deliberate avoidance of medical care.

 

Christianity is like the Democratic Health Care Bill. I am like a Republican. I see the bill/religion as 1) overly complex, 2) too expensive, 3) confusing, 4) providing for special interests more than people. I would say that Christianity should "start over" from scratch, but what I really mean is that it should be dumped and abandoned.

[Guest Net Eng]

The words are still the same. So you are claiming that punctuation influenced the early translations of the followers of Christ to kill, murder, form government religion instaed of mistranslations of phrase, quotes, paragraphs misinterpreted?

 

Careful there Abi. Translation from one language to another is more art than science and can lead to gross misunderstandings.

 

Punctuation matters. Take this example:

 

An English professor wrote the words, “Woman without her man is nothing” on the blackboard and directed his students to punctuate it correctly.

 

The men wrote: “Woman, without her man, is nothing.”

 

The women wrote: “Woman: Without her, man is nothing.”

 

 

Makes you wonder how any of the old bible texts are even remotely close to the the intent of the authors...

[Ouroboros]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think punctuation even existed in ancient Greek.

[chefranden]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think punctuation even existed in ancient Greek.

 

In actual Greek texts from the era when Koine Greek was used as a day-to-day language, Greek was written with no punctuation. The words ran together completely, with no spacing or markup. Accents, breathing marks, spaces, and other punctuation are added at a much later time, making texts easier to read.

*

[★ Citsonga ★]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think punctuation even existed in ancient Greek.

 

In actual Greek texts from the era when Koine Greek was used as a day-to-day language, Greek was written with no punctuation. The words ran together completely, with no spacing or markup. Accents, breathing marks, spaces, and other punctuation are added at a much later time, making texts easier to read.

*

 

inotherwordsitlookedsomethinglikethisright

 

[Ouroboros]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think punctuation even existed in ancient Greek.

 

In actual Greek texts from the era when Koine Greek was used as a day-to-day language, Greek was written with no punctuation. The words ran together completely, with no spacing or markup. Accents, breathing marks, spaces, and other punctuation are added at a much later time, making texts easier to read.

*

As I thought then.

 

Even the system of punctuation we have today is quite modern. My new grammar book is ten times thicker than the Strunk & White from the fifties (or whenever it was printed).

[Ouroboros]

 

inotherwordsitlookedsomethinglikethisright

 

I think they had spacing between words still. But there wouldn't be anything denoting end of sentence or change of thought.

[★ Citsonga ★]

 

inotherwordsitlookedsomethinglikethisright

 

I think they had spacing between words still. But there wouldn't be anything denoting end of sentence or change of thought.

 

Not according to the Wiki article linked in chefranden's quote that I was responding to:

 

In actual Greek texts from the era when Koine Greek was used as a day-to-day language, Greek was written with no punctuation. The words ran together completely, with no spacing or markup. Accents, breathing marks, spaces, and other punctuation are added at a much later time, making texts easier to read.

*

 

Click the asterisk.

[Ouroboros]

Not according to the Wiki article linked in chefranden's quote that I was responding to:

Sorry. You're right. It was even in the quote. It didn't record in my brain.

[Discordia]

What you are saying, then, is that the infallible, perfect word of god in the old testament is actually wrong. So if Moses and all of that lot were getting it all wrong, then all of the books that Moses wrote are wrong. Genesis is wrong and the entire idea of humanity being sinful and needing redemption is wrong so the entire basis for your faith is a lie. Or, since god creates evil, then god was just lying to Moses to jerk him around. Which still makes the first five books of the old testament a lie from god.

 

And, for your information, sir, I have posted here before but didn't feel like digging up old passwords. I posted as Godless Vagabond and I escaped the Monkey Trap of your faith, so don't perch on your know-it-all behind and tell me what I have and have not done here. Apparently GOD didn't bother to clue you in on that fact before you posted. Or maybe you weren't listening to the holy ghost? Hmmmm?

 

You certainly fit the bill as a typical Christian. You argue with the posters but don't explain how I am "mistaken" in my understanding of those scriptures. Try some original thinking and answer the questions. If you can't explain those verses in your own words then you don't need to be here arguing with us. I say they are evil. Prove me wrong. And don't post some silly link and expect me to use it. If you can't argue on your own, go away.