@min, but..but.. that's only the modified portion.. sorry I must have gotten possessed by my fundie side :S very true min, some people just want to believe what they want and don't care about the truth.
@Dotard -If the creation of those small sects were intentional, I would agree with that. It's not though I believe. I think it's more human nature and it's divisiveness, and self-serving natures that cause the things you're talking about. At that point I would say that individual accountability is a must. I disagree that a belief (whatever definition you use) that God is real requires 100% "obsessive devotion". I can be completely devoted to my ideals, principles and belief and still not automatically reject all other opinions.. Everything we interact with is assimilated into our consciousness. I can (and do )believe wholely that God is real and that there is an afterlife and that he created mankind 100% (based off faith, let's not get off topic). I don't obssesively force my opinions on others. I am also not "frantic" trying to save myself and others. I am very interested in universal truths and defining God. I act on the teachings of my faith every day multiple times. I keep them in check with sound reason and intuition. If my church suddenly said we believe we should do blood libel, It would lessen my belief in that interpretation of what God wants, but it wouldn't lessen my feelings in God at all.
@Dotard -If the creation of those small sects were intentional, I would agree with that. It's not though I believe. I think it's more human nature and it's divisiveness, and self-serving natures that cause the things you're talking about. At that point I would say that individual accountability is a must. I disagree that a belief (whatever definition you use) that God is real requires 100% "obsessive devotion". I can be completely devoted to my ideals, principles and belief and still not automatically reject all other opinions.. Everything we interact with is assimilated into our consciousness. I can (and do )believe wholely that God is real and that there is an afterlife and that he created mankind 100% (based off faith, let's not get off topic). I don't obssesively force my opinions on others. I am also not "frantic" trying to save myself and others. I am very interested in universal truths and defining God. I act on the teachings of my faith every day multiple times. I keep them in check with sound reason and intuition. If my church suddenly said we believe we should do blood libel, It would lessen my belief in that interpretation of what God wants, but it wouldn't lessen my feelings in God at all.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
