(August 25, 2018 at 12:50 pm)Cecelia Wrote: Followup question for CL, since she's actually being a pretty good sport about all of this rather than giving a non-answer:
Do you understand how others have a problem believing in this God given what the bible states about him? (For example, God says "Gay people are an abomination" and some people have trouble seeing this god as 'good' because of it. Whereas for you it might take "God says kill your children", it takes others less)
Yeah, I can understand.
I think when it comes to understanding the bible, two things need to be kept in mind, 1. Context and 2. Entirety.
Context: While the bible was inspired by God, it was not written by Him. It was written by men. Men of thousands of years ago. I think the OT represents a time of God working through people to bring about a moral awakening. I also believe it was written allegorically. So while some of the stuff we read on there is unacceptable today, it was still a step up in morality for that time. We did evolve from monkeys, after all, and learning to act with morals and dignity rather than animalistic instincts was a process.
Entirety: You really have to think about the bible as a whole and its entire message. We can look through the pages and pick out lines that sound absurd (such as the "gays are an abomination"), but when you step back and consider the entire take away of the bible, I find it hard not to see a message of love. Particularly the life and teachings of Jesus, which is, after all, the main focal point for Christianity. Jesus, whom we believe actually IS God Himself, taught us to love everyone, even our enemies. He taught us not to judge. He spoke of forgiveness and mercy. He cured sick people and spoke out against the stoning of adulterers. He showed compassion to prostitutes and tax collectors and treated them like people.
When I think of God, I think of Jesus more than anything. Hopefully that all explains a little bit why I think God is good.
"Of course, everyone will claim they respect someone who tries to speak the truth, but in reality, this is a rare quality. Most respect those who speak truths they agree with, and their respect for the speaking only extends as far as their realm of personal agreement. It is less common, almost to the point of becoming a saintly virtue, that someone truly respects and loves the truth seeker, even when their conclusions differ wildly."
-walsh
-walsh
