Why I, and Others, Constantly Rail Against Religion

De21:18-21
18 If a man have a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:
19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place;
20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.
21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.

Other than making an example how do you find any value in these words. Seems to me to be a very strange place to go for inspiration."

The Jewish faith and the Christian faith as well as American social values have continued to evolve over time. No serious Jewish or Christian scholar would agree that stoning a son for being a hell raiser is the way to go today. But then we don't hang horse thieves anymore either do we?

Judge Bean's law is no longer on the books either. So how do you decide which barbaric acts, rules, or ideas to disregard in your search for inspiration?

Mesquite writes:
"Sounds ike you switched horses and jumped from Christianity to Buddhism."

I don't believe I have attached a religious
label to myself in this forum.

Deveron has the right idea, but I go one step further. The Bible has to be read through the eyes of those who wrote it. If we try to read it with 21st century understanding alone, we're going to misinterpret a whole lot of it. It is only by reading it through the eyes of those who wrote it that we can know the original intent. That requires a great deal of effort, background, and study but it is well worth it. Fascinating stuff for those interested.

Derevon,

So in smoking a joint is one using his/her free will for evil? Or does God not care about that?

You know, ILZ, i continue to be mystified in how one would construct a "misandristic patriarchy," as well as wondering why misanthropic is no longer good enough. (Referring to your sig line, once again, and well aware that you are not responsible for RC's text . . .)

Oxymorons rule . . .

I would stand up in front of all of you and tell you that I believe in God. Because I do. And you can tell me if you like, that I am pretty stupid for having such "faith" It really wouldn't matter to me because there is nothing any of you could say to change how I feel about God. And my beliefs are my own. Hopefully to be respected......just as I respect yours.

I normally don't even bother reading such debates as this. They normally end up getting pretty nasty.

One thing about believing in God and coming to know His love ....."The closer you come to know Him....the more you become aware of your own shortcomings and corruptions." Not an easy thing for anyone to face.

Seems the closer we get to Easter....the more people like to attack "believers"

To each his own.......it doesn't really matter to me what people think of me. I am the one that lives with myself everyday. I know I am not perfect. And I know I have shortcomings. But so don't we all. If you chose to NOT believe in God.....that is your free will. Just as it is mine ...to believe.

I guess we all KNOW for sure someday

~Brooke (just someone who loves God)

Awesome. Just don't vote. Or reproduce.

IronLionZion wrote:

Awesome. Just don't vote. Or reproduce.

Now what kind of thing is that to say? It was uncalled for and rude!

You are young. Hopefully you will grow in spirit and gain wisdom with maturity to realize mean-spiritedness, such as you have exhibited here, will only create negativity within you and around you.

I expect you may respond to this by saying you were joking. Regardless of your "intent", the words signify otherwise.