(October 16, 2018 at 10:50 am)SteveII Wrote: I'm sure you are wrestling with all this and I hope you find a way through it. However, I do want to point out that Young Earth Creationism (YEC) is a rather recent trend. Most Christian thinkers do not take the first chapters of Genesis literally. If that is what brought down your "house of cards", you are not well versed in broader Christian doctrine. Just saying.
Genesis is clearly a story (2, actually), but it provides the theological foundation for the gospels, and of revelation.
If it is false, then we are not fallen creatures doomed to hell, that required a demigod to shed his own magic blood to fix. If the Earth is old, then we Jesus isn't going to be "coming soon" to whisk away the faithful, and let the rest die in some sort of Ragnarok destruction of the Earth.
I applaud liberal Christians for throwing away things that no longer make sense to them. However, I believe that fundamentalist Christians are more honest about the bible. The bible does not allow liberal interpretation without becoming a shadow of itself, without meaning, purpose, or value.
I greatly dislike "holy books" of all kinds. They attempt to codify the myths, culture, and power structure of a society. Why should we try to be like the writers? Why should we believe their myths? Why should we even care about the heavens and hells they imagine for themselves?
It is interesting to read up on Buddhist hell. I believe it was invented by the Buddhist priests, and has nothing to do with the teaching of Buddha. If anyone is worried about the Christian hell for not believing in Jesus, why shouldn't they also be worried about the Buddhist hell? It is much more specific about the torments, and you can't get out of it by believing in Jesus.
All hell ideas are stupid.
