What IS good, and how do we determine it?

[Thumpalumpacus]

If you think Jesus condoned slavery, then what do you make of His commandment to love everyone, even our enemies, to love our neighbor as ourselves, and to treat others how we want to be treated?

Seems to me your boy has some moral relativity happening inside his own heart there. Would you treat others in the manner of chattel? Does loving your neighbor entail forcing them to work from sunup to sundown without compensation outside of food and shelter, lacking the freedom to come and go as they please, even lacking the freedom to refuse your offer? Well, Jesus apparently thought that was a good deal, because as we've seen already, he counseled slaves to "chillax, brotha, love your master and obey him as you would me".

You're looking at the paragraph in the bible where Jesus addresses slaves and forming the conclusion that, because He didn't tell them to try to run away or to fight, He must have condoned it.

Yo're goddamned straight I am saying exactly that. Silence in the face of evil is inexcusable on the part of a moral being. Either Jesus knew slavery was evil, and kept his trap shut, or Jesus thought slavery was A-okay. Which is it?

Objectively speaking, don't you think that you can form a much more accurate conclusion about what He meant and where He stands on the issue by looking at the entirety of what He taught, and His character?

I judge a man by his actions, or inactions. Words are cheap ... anyone can talk.

Also, I just wanted to point something out: there's no way in the world such a vigorous debate as this one would be supported on a religious website.

Kudos to AF.

I don't know what site you are referring to, but the site I was a member of had debates just as heated (if not more so) than this one.

I'm not referring to one website. I've been a member on a few religious websites of varying bents and have invariably been silenced in one form or another once my atheism was made plain. I certainly wasn't permitted to argue 60-page threads of my opinions versus the membership there.

Perhaps you could drop a link to this allegedly permissive site you belonged to, and we can see in a real-world experiment exactly how tolerant they are of non-approved beliefs?

Only difference it people didn't use foul language and resort to personal attacks. But it got just as passionate.

Randy can attest to this.

I look forward to evidence of Christians willing and able to tolerate a continued atheist presence on their forums. I'll believe it when I see it.