Merged (edited) General thoughts about Christianity and the bible

[Rusty Tyler]

I like Protestants myself. They think the Bible is literal. It makes it so much easier, since I can bring the whole OT to bear

Not so fast.

Hebrews 8:7, 13 NIV
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant,
no place would have been sought for another.
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete;
and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Grace? That would be Slick.

 

[Helen]

Arbitrarily? - LOL

Nothing arbitrary about it.

Yet you don't seem to be able to defend it, without either quoting the bible, or give non-answera to questions no one has asked. Or move the goalposts so far that you have to start another thread for them.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

My lot were originally primitive methodists so even after the joining with the other methodist sects they retained a deep suspicion of anyone thinking they were a "priest" - they held that we all have the same access to god and need no one to intercede or mediate for god. I was bamboozled the first time I went to a CofE service - all the dressing up, all the pomp and the graven images and statues were astonishing to me.

Right.
It seems that many of the denominations that came out of the Protestant Reformation weren't much different than their Catholic predecessor.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

Yet you don't seem to be able to defend it, without either quoting the bible, or give non-answera to questions no one has asked. Or move the goalposts so far that you have to start another thread for them.

I'm not interested in convincing you (collectively) that you should "become" Christians.
If God wants you, He will come and get you.

 

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Right.
It seems that many of the denominations that came out of the Protestant Reformation weren't much different than their Catholic predecessor.

A sea change is a profound or significant transformation, often referring to a complete shift in public opinion, behavior, or perspective. [1, 2]

Where It Comes From
The idiom originates from William Shakespeare’s play The Tempest. In a song about a man seemingly drowned at the bottom of the ocean, the spirit Ariel describes his body as undergoing a "sea-change / into something rich and strange". Over centuries, it evolved from meaning a literal physical transformation brought on by the ocean into a common metaphor for any massive alteration. [1, 2, 3, 4]

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Yet you don't seem to be able to defend it, without either quoting the bible, or give non-answera to questions no one has asked. Or move the goalposts so far that you have to start another thread for them.

What @Helen said.

 

[Carrot Flower King]

There must have been a Viz cartoon at some point about a dentist obsessed with x-raying arses.

Are you going to explain Viz to Rusty?

 

[JayUtah]

Nothing arbitrary about it.

There's nothing about your belief system that isn't arbitrary. It's all just propositional information that you accept without question.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

Rusty, do you have to have x-rays every time you go to the dentist? Normal dental checkups only require a careful examination, not x-rays, which are only needed to investigate an already detected problem. Are your teeth seriously that bad?

Every analogy breaks down at some point.
I was comparing the scientists you said went to the site of Noah's ark and only looked around.

 

[JayUtah]

I'm not interested in convincing you (collectively) that you should "become" Christians.

You seem very interested in telling us that Christianity is the way to go. What's the difference?

If God wants you, He will come and get you.

True. So why do we need you?

 

[Carrot Flower King]

D'yer maker?

Now, that is one of their worst songs.

 

[Rusty Tyler]

There's nothing about your belief system that isn't arbitrary. It's all just propositional information that you accept without question.

Why do they use a Bible for swearing in? (hand on the Bible and repeat...)

 

[Rusty Tyler]

You seem very interested in telling us that Christianity is the way to go.

No. Not for you.
God will let you know when.

Like Saul on the road to Damascus.

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

Of course.

1 Timothy 2:5-6 NIV
For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all people. This has now been witnessed to at the proper time.

Ly Tin Wheedle 86:45-47
If whatsoverver you do onto these people do not utter unto them the number between seven and nine, for it shall bring a doom upon them in a greenish purple colour.

Wiser words to live by, I'm sure you'll agree.

 

[P.J. Denyer]

Every analogy breaks down at some point.
I was comparing the scientists you said went to the site of Noah's ark and only looked around.

You don't even fact check from your own side do you? You're making a fool of yourself. Again. And they didn't just "Look Around" they were trained and qualified archaeologists and they dug the site. But you don't care about the truth...

https://creation.com/en/articles/special-report-amazing-ark-expose

 

[Gulliver Foyle]

Sounds like a misquote.

Psalm 14:1 NIV
The fool says in his heart,
“There is no God.” ...

April 1st.
International atheists' day.

Tak does not expect you think of him. Tak expects you to think.

And this one isn't making fun of your nonsense.

 

[JayUtah]

Why do they use a Bible for swearing in? (hand on the Bible and repeat...)

They only use one when the candidate asks for one. The words of the oath are what matter, not where your other hand is. The Constitution strictly forbids any sort of religious litmus test for holding office, which would include being compelled to swear on a Christian Bible or any other religious object. Here in Utah we don't use books routinely as swearing-in objects. The administering officer simply faces the candidate, they both raise their right hand, and the statement is made without any other props. I've heard that some used the Book of Mormon, but I can't confirm that (and I've seen a lot of swearings-in). Zohran Mamdani, the mayor of New York, and Ilhan Omar, U.S. Representative, both took their oaths of office on a Qu'ran. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor specifically selected the Mormon edition of the KJV for her swearing in. Adam Schiff, U.S. Senator, took his oath on the Torah.

 

[Dave Rogers]

Every analogy breaks down at some point.

But some make sense at some point.

I was comparing the scientists you said went to the site of Noah's ark and only looked around.

No, I think that lie was one of yours.

Dave

 

[JayUtah]

No. Not for you.

Why are you so prolific in proselyting your religion to people you can be almost certain won't benefit from it? Are you just trying to strike nerves?

God will let you know when.

What if that never happens? Why do we need you?

Like Saul on the road to Damascus.

Asked and answered. If you believe the story, Saul was presented with overwhelming physical evidence of God's existence, power, and plan. I'm waiting for objective testable evidence that God exists. You don't have any of that, so why do I need you?

God didn't appear to you. God didn't yell at you and question your motives. God didn't strike you blind. You were never converted, it seems. You were brought up Christian and decided to jump in with both feet. Why are you so convinced from such a lackluster experience when you keep bringing up Saul's allegedly dramatic conversion?