(October 27, 2015 at 5:04 pm)TheRocketSurgeon Wrote: Nice dig, with the "easy to read" version. Personally, I prefer the NASB, though I've been known to dip into the New King James Version for certain poetic elements (like Ecclesiastes or Psalms), because I love the prose of the KJV but not so much the thees and thous.
Now that we have that out of the way, I have a serious issue with your citation of the final verses of Romans 1, which I consider among the most despicable parts of the New Testament.
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
You see, we know this is why so many of your kind come here with all their preformed misconceptions about atheists, and all the horrible things they say to us here. But are you really suggesting that we are (unlike Christians, or at least significantly more than them)
murderers?
deceitful?
slanderers?
gossips?
wicked?
greedy?
untrustworthy?
unloving?
unmerciful?
Considering that god looks to the mind, and not just actions, yes, we're all guilty of all of those things. Remember that the world was flooded because people's thoughts were full of evil; the law prohibits coveting; and Jesus equated insults with murder and lust with adultery.
Considering actions, we probably see all but murder on this board.
Deceitful, untrustworthy - people make assertions they know they can't support, and withhold information that might benefit an opponent
Gossips - any time a Christian does something bad in the news, it's posted here
Greedy - people spend time and money on pleasures that could go to those who are less fortunate
Unloving, unmerciful - Christians are frequently treated without love and mercy
Wicked - see all of the above
So, yes, we're all of those things. We just lower the bar to a point that most of us can get over, and then pretend that we're good people.
