(October 29, 2015 at 9:59 am)Drich Wrote: Context. Paul did not do any of those things. Paul's beliefs/Zeal were supported by the works and miracals he performed in God's name per acts 19. He did these things/'good deeds' in the face of torture and death, the only one you've pictured here that comes close is the monk. but, monks don't set themselves on fire because their belief demands it, it is generally in protest to a cause or social stance. Matter of fact none who have died were beaten tortured and were killed/tested for what they believe. The wacco and jones town people laid down and died rather than be tested as Paul was by soceity.
The monks, indeed, have political motivations as well. If you think Paul's work was not motivated in part by politics, regarding the confluence of the Greek, Roman, and Hebrew worlds of which he was equally a part, you're fooling yourself. And Buddhists are tortured and killed for their refusal to stop pronouncing their faith all the time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Persecutio...ists#Tibet
A Christian told me: if you were saved you cant lose your salvation. you're sealed with the Holy Ghost
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
I replied: Can I refuse? Because I find the entire concept of vicarious blood sacrifice atonement to be morally abhorrent, the concept of holding flawed creatures permanently accountable for social misbehaviors and thought crimes to be morally abhorrent, and the concept of calling something "free" when it comes with the strings of subjugation and obedience perhaps the most morally abhorrent of all... and that's without even going into the history of justifying genocide, slavery, rape, misogyny, religious intolerance, and suppression of free speech which has been attributed by your own scriptures to your deity. I want a refund. I would burn happily rather than serve the monster you profess to love.
