(August 1, 2015 at 7:51 pm)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote: When did the biblical God character ever appear to be loving in any of the biblical stories?  He's always a maniacal prick.

Baptists, like most protestant faiths, focus on the loving aspects of Jesus Christ (God the Son) and use this as an aspect of God the Father. The Holy Trinity. Three parts of the whole. It's a form of cherry picking. But it makes followers of the faith have the belief that god is benevolent and a loving father figure. Most religions like this do not encourage over analyzing stories that exhibit angry, vengeful aspects of the god you are following.

(August 1, 2015 at 8:21 pm)Rahul Wrote:

(August 1, 2015 at 7:51 pm)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote: When did the biblical God character ever appear to be loving in any of the biblical stories?  He's always a maniacal prick.

Baptists, like most protestant faiths, focus on the loving aspects of Jesus Christ (God the Son) and use this as an aspect of God the Father.  The Holy Trinity.  Three parts of the whole.   It's a form of cherry picking.  But it makes followers of the faith have the belief that god is benevolent and a loving father figure.  Most religions like this do not encourage over analyzing stories that exhibit angry, vengeful aspects of the god you are following.

It always pays to remember that the biblical God character was simply a series of ordinary men who ruled the dominant Middle Eastern empire at various times during the Bronze and Iron Ages. So it's only natural that the God character is depicted as a crazy homicidal maniac because that's what those guys were.  

BTW, the Jesus character was a loony racist and religious bigot who was as loving as a rattlesnake.

He was a racist? Based on what?

(August 1, 2015 at 8:33 pm)Rahul Wrote: He was a racist?  Based on what?

How about Matthew 10:5    https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%2010:5

or Matthew 15:24  https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%2015:24

(August 1, 2015 at 2:58 am)Shuffle Wrote: Does a single unrepented/unforgiven sin = Eternal torture?

In a word, yes.  "Unrepented" being the operative word.  "You be dissin' the man."

When I was raised a catholic, we had purgatory to wash away the little sins, but since then, I understand they have discarded that notion.

(BTW.  There is no hell.)

(August 1, 2015 at 9:03 pm)Wyrd of Gawd Wrote: How about Matthew 10:5    https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%2010:5

or Matthew 15:24  https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%2015:24

The Gentile thing? Aren't both the British and the Nigerians "Gentile"? Doesn't it just mean anyone that isn't Jewish?

(August 1, 2015 at 8:33 pm)Rahul Wrote: He was a racist?  Based on what?

Uhm - how about the fact that up to about 50 years ago, or so, pretty much everyone on Earth was a racist.

If you need further proof - the "Good Samaritan" story. Jesus talks about a member of a different ethno-religious group behaving humanely, as if it was somehow shocking, or at least surprising. "Look - sometimes even an unclean, low-life scumbag, like a Samaritan can be a decent human being. That's why he's the 'good' one, as opposed to all those regular, crappy Samaritans."

Uhm, how about the fact that there is no proof that Jesus was a real person? He was a literary invention, like Jiminy Cricket. He didn't have real beliefs. The only thing that matters is what morals the fictional character was putting forth. I don't remember any obvious signs that the literary invention of Jesus talked smack about a specific ethnic group.

God forever blotted out any remembrance of the Amelekites, therefore Jesus was unable to secure their redemption.

(August 1, 2015 at 11:19 pm)vorlon13 Wrote: God forever blotted out any remembrance of the Amelekites, therefore Jesus was unable to secure their redemption.

But... how do we know... I mean, if he... the Amelekites... never mind...