Right. That's what religion does for them. A community of kinda kind people. An hour to set aside and think about love and sacrifice. Some people just aren't into dissecting it all that much. It works for them, and helps them feel grounded and connected to other good people.
Catastrophic if Jesus erred in predicting his second coming.
Not at all - of course it's been know about for a long time and Lew[s's essay is from 1960 as I stated.
How many would-be Christians may have walked away after reading the passage in question do you think? Sure, it's not the only issue in scripture - but it Jesus himself speaking about future events. It's pretty stark.
It's obvious that Christianity has suffered no such catastrophe. Therefore you must conclude that Jesus did not err in his prediction.
There's 2.6 billion Christians in the world today. It's the world's largest religion.
I'm telling you this gotcha and others have been around for centuries, and most Christians are adept at keeping their belief system well-raveled anyway.
If he didn't err then it should be easy to explain his prophecy.
It is.
As I said, the OP invites a response. It's a reasonable question to ask of those that claim Jesus was God's son...or indeed anyone who's interested.
We are going round in circles. But let’s try again: for Roman Catholics the verses do not mean that the 2nd coming will be in the lifetime of the people listening to Jesus. There is no problem with those verses for the by far the largest of the Christian religions. That you find them somehow to be problematic is your issue, over a billion people follow a religion that does not have a problem with those verses.
I'm saying. If my surveyor came out with a yellow stick (I would hope at least a Stabila) and says "check it out man... I'm just gonna pace off the eastern seaboard with this bad boy", then I'm making sure my title insurance is paid up.
Non sequitur. You said either he erred, or it's a catastrophe for the faith. It obviously hasn't been a catastrophe, so you're left with your other option.
So, clearly not a catastrophe.
I agree, it's a reasonable question. I just think your expectations about what it means or how it should be answered are unreasonable.
I would too. I understand very well the benefits of community. And from that perspective, I miss Church and my friends.
Aren’t these verses normally taken to be paraphrases over what happens when some convert, and others do not? And the sword is the Sword of Truth (or something)
(Sword of the Holy Spirit)
Ok, but remember what you said about knowing more about the Bible than a lot of members packing the pews? They never hear those verses. They are not a part of their religious life. Those people can go their whole religious lives never once being told to hate or behead anyone, literally just taking in the good, and having a barren field of ◊◊◊◊◊ about thr dicey stuff. That's been my experience with virtually every Christian I've met. No one is telling them.or teaching them the things you are reading.
It doesn't say that. Go ahead and read Matthew 10 from the beginning. It doesn't say sword of truth anywhere In the Bible that I'm aware of. Seems to be a bit of a stretch interpreting it that way.
