(November 13, 2017 at 12:22 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: Adding to what Neo said about the bible... There are thousands of different denominations of Christianity across the world, but with the exception of small frindge groups, their differences are mostly small nuances. The fundamental Christian principles themselves are almost universally the same, despite the claim that interpretation of scripture is supposedly extremely subjective, and that the bible, in its entirety, doesn't provide an overall testimony. It very much does.

Majority unfortunately are not reliable means to digest what is in a book as majority tend to follow a minority in charge. So really the minority that thinks for themselves and derives things differently then the majority are on equal grounds as far as numbers. That is because it becomes a few opinion vs a few opinion, because majority follow few, and don't think for themselves. The advantage of a minority who doesn't follow "authority" figures is they have better chances of being less biased and derive things from their proper context. 

I agree with Jehova witnesses analysis of Oneness of God and if I was Christian, I would interpret "only son" as "first born creation" like them.

The problem of course is if minority begin to interpret the book according to their whims and desires, and quote of it when it suits them.  This will make them on equal ground with all those who follow blindly, because, they are blindly following their desires even if they trick themselves it is true.

There is no way to truth but to decisively not rely on anyone but God and the light with us and the spirit from God with us, and to search traces of knowledge from sources of knowledge that God himself appointed.

Equating the church with the authority of the Prophets put an end to God's hand on earth,   rather, the searchers for God are to look for that leader from God, and not equate people without proofs as having the authority of God and the leadership of the Prophets.

Leadership as far as guidance of humanity goes, belongs to God, he is the Guide and Master of the Authority, the True King, the Guardian, the Great helper, and anoints who he pleases for that leadership and to represent his authority and channel his light.

The book of God is never alone, and a leader from God is never alone, they go together, and they come in groups, with predecessors and successors (except the first of the group who has only successors and last who has only predecessors).

You know a little about physics?

Yea well see the great thing about any science class is that it can be taught and understood without a bible, Koran, Torah or Talmud or Hindu Vedas or the writings of the alleged Buddha.

If your religion were a requirement to understand physics Christianity would be taught in every science class in every school and university in the world. 

Don't feel bad, Buddhism and Hinduism and Islam and Jewish books are not a requirement for a science class either.

I see that Alpha is in full on denial mode now and deliberately misrepresenting what I said.

(November 13, 2017 at 1:26 pm)Mathilda Wrote: I see that Alpha is in full on denial mode now and deliberately misrepresenting what I said.

Kinda how you misrepresented so many of us on your OP.

(November 13, 2017 at 1:39 pm)Brian37 Wrote:

(November 13, 2017 at 1:23 pm)Catholic_Lady Wrote: Yes, people fight over small differences. Always have, always will. 

I addressed the fact that there are fringe groups and exceptions, and was careful to use words like "almost", mostly", rather than absolutes. Taking Genesis as literal vs allegory is a small difference (so small that the Church actually allows a belief in either interpretation), because the underlying belief, the important part, is the same - that God is the Father of creation, that human beings have a tendency to sin. I've never met or ever even heard of a Christian denomination who doesn't believe in free will, but the fact that they may exist doesn't negate my point.

Um no, if religious differences were that small our species would not have the deep divisions, even under the same umbrella labels we do.

The problem is even with one label and it's competing sub sects, OF ANY GIVEN UMBRELLA LABEL, humans get stuck on those details instead of accepting that our morality isn't in a old book, but in our evolution.

Taking Genesis literally WAS the norm in antiquity, just as much to them real and literal the Ancient Egyptians believed in Ra and as literal as the Greeks believed in Zeus.

You not wanting to take parts of the bible literally now is a result of humans cherry picking. Instead maybe you need to consider the humans who wrote that BACK THEN literally believed the magic they were writing because all of antiquity both polytheism and monotheism were gap filling with wishful fantasy BACK THEN, because nobody knew any better.

To call the divisions minor is bologna. Even in the west, even today. To say Judge Roy Moore and Barack Obama have "minor differences believing in the same Christian God is patently absurd. 

They have the same core heros sure, but not the same interpretations which there is a huge gap.

There ARE individuals that still believe in a 6 day earth, and even outside America the less educated that country is the more literally they take that holy book.

People fight over small differences all the time. Whether that be religious or otherwise.

Don't you think skin color is a small difference? People have fought and killed over that.