granted. so what does the fact that most have "heard" mean? someone "hears" john 3:16 while channel surfing at 2am but clearly has no idea what it means nor put any effort into deciphering it is ____________? majically responsible for their soul while before that 20 seconds they werent?
Well, it's the same monodiety, the God of Abraham--the One God of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. But he is surely portrayed differently in the Jewish Bible, the Koran, and the Christian Testament. The God of Abraham is an imperious and vengeful God, even demanding of sacrifices in worship (human on at least one occasion) and commanding obedience. The God of Mohammed is merciful and compassionate, yet also dispensing stern retribution and sometimes cruel punishment. The Heavenly Father of Jesus is a loving and forgiving God who only asks us to follow his shepherd. Oooh, good one! Explain why the multiple personalities are needed and you might sell me on this concept.
I'm not claiming any special knowledge, other than what is logical and can be perceived by the senses. If my rejection of the supernatural sounds arrogant, then so be it. Christians are the ones claiming to have the answers for everything. As far as you being a simpleton, I have no evidence of that. I think you are kind of out there, to be honest, not because you are a Christian, but because you are an Inquisition apologist. To me, that shows that you are accepting any actions of the church as justified. I understand fully well the context and meanings of the verses I listed, and I guarantee that I am just as knowledgable of scripture and context as you are. Again, this was addressed to FUNDAMENTALISTs who do not use context in their interpretations of the bible. What the bible says is what it says. There is no room for human interpretation: god means what he says. The main problem of the church today is that it doesn't follow what is written; it tries to temper the uncomfortable parts of the bible by putting it into a different contexts that make more sense to our modern minds. No, the god of the NT is forgiving. The god of the OT is not. Actions against nations are also actions against individuals. How is wiping out the entire population of the earth indicative to his relations with nations?
I do understand, but I don't agree with the comparison. If you were truly to compare god of the OT to the actions of your father, then your father wouldn't have punished you, he would have killed you for almost any slight transgression, and then cursed your children, and their children, and so on... Don't worry about overuse of a word, we know TheDude understands :wink:
I can see how the comparison is a stretch but it's all relative. What was God supposed to do to people that oppressed the Jews? Ground them from tv for a week? In the context of both situations, I see continuity even if you don't. My punishments were devastating to me, as I am sure Jews felt about the whole wandering in the desert for 40 years thing. As to how my father would or did treat anyone that might have abused me? I have no doubt my father would have been merciless. It's all about context.
