nick wrote:fsupenguin wrote:nick wrote:hey religious folks. which god is the real god? like which religion?
Your not asking questions Nick, you are trying to pick a fight.
I am sorry if anyone was offended by anything I said, but I do stand by my beliefs and I do my best with Gods help to live them out every day. My purpose is to never thump a Bible to beat something down someones though, but to serve others and do whatever I can to tell them about how much God does love them no matter who they are or what they have done and how He wants to have a personal relationship with you.
you're right
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you know more wars have begun over religion than anything else?
religion, yes. religion is a man-made concept. you have to separate religion and true faith which are not always the same. many claim to be christian because they know they're not buddhist or muslim and they believe in some form of God. that doesn't make them a true follower of Christ. there is a distinction there. when man begins to muddle up the simple message that is the gospel of Christ, problems arise. the imperfect cannot impose itself upon the perfect. what you end up with is imperfection. now, some would carry that over to the bible itself and say that since man was involved in its writing, it cannot be perfect nor inerrant. however, that's the beauty of the bible. trace the history of the codices and you will see that doctrinally speaking, the bible we have today is in line with the originals, despite years and years separating authors, the number of authors, the assaults against it, etc. it has withstood the test of time if you do the research to see it. the more we find, the more it is confirmed. as for picking things out of it to parse, understand that when you read/study the bible, you have to understand the audience to which it was written originally, who was being spoken to, the culture of the time, etc. you can't just pull things out willy-nilly and try to make some grand point about it.
back to your statement, you could also make the argument that those of faith have done more good in the world than any others as far as starting schools, hospitals, charities, etc. goes both ways.
interesting thread. it's always intriguing to see different ideas that people have about the bible and things of faith, whether for or against. i've ran across many people of differing beliefs on the internet, and it's always good to get a look at the points-of-view of others, even if i disagree, sometimes vehemently.
as for gay marriage, i think it is the term marriage that is the sticking point for many people because of the religious implications of it. some worry that if gay marriage is legalized, people could theoretically impose upon a religious institution to perform a marriage that they do not agree with. personally, any church that is performing a gay marriage should seriously look at the bible they are reading. in no way can that argument be made. the same would be said for appointing gay priests. it baffles my mind.
my solution for the gay marriage issue. take the government out of marriage altogether. have the government issue a civil union license. have churches perform marriages and use that term.
also, some oppose gay marriage for fear that it can open a slippery slope to other things. if i am a polygamist and i see gay marriage legalized, i'd have to wonder why i can't marry four women. we're consenting adults. why is it not legal? you can carry that argument to other things as well.
good to see that, for the most part, people have been respectful in this thread. i always find it amusing to see that christians are often thought of as being the bigoted, close-minded crowd, when in reality, you'll find that many are just as bigoted and close-minded about those of faith. and sadly, some believers can be overly righteous and pious about things at times. we should all remember who it was Jesus spent most of his time condemning while he was on earth: the religious
