The Reasons why "Just Following Jesus" Doesn't work

[Chad32]

A level of control doesn't have much to do with studying it. As long as you can observe something in a testable way, and show others, you can study it. People have been trying to study the bible, and the only result has been thousands of different denominations of the same religion. Some of which have killed over those interpretations.

I came as far as I could. I think you said he was patiently waiting for me to submit to him, but I have to know he's real before I can submit to him. I need to know he's real in a way that I can show other people indisputably, and we need to have some talks before I can willingly start worshiping him. If I would ever do that at all.

We test everything through science. Like I said, it's the best method we have. We study the universe, and the results we've found doesn't aree with the bible.

I mean that I was a Christian. I was raised that way, though we were liberal to moderate. not Fundies.

One sign that a system is corrupt is when the few are willing to let the majority suffer I the process of making themselves powerful. The whole reason people call Yahweh evil is that people who act like him are typically horrible people. They are not good for society at large.

If you come at the bible as if it were just words in a book then you can study it all day and not be changed. If you believe it is the word of God and that you need to submit your life to God then your life will change. See a Christian is not one by just word or works but there must be and understanding of your sin/disobedience to God then you must turn from your ways and accept that Jesus died for your sins and accept the new life that is available to you. Once you do that you enter into a relationship with Him. A Christian  personally knows God and His ways give us peace. Our lives are no longer centered on ourselves and what we think to be right but on the Truth.

By your world view we are just a bunch of atoms and some chemical reactions so how can you say that it is wrong for a few people to have power how can you make any moral statements?

Yahweh does a really bad job of convincing unbelievers to join his circle. Outside of violence. Hence all the violence in the old testament. So unless you're lucky enough to be born in it, you're unlikely to join, and unless you were threatened enough growing up, you're probably going to leave after giving it a skeptical read. You can use god to give you all the peace you want. That's not the side of christianity I have a problem with. It's the pastors who talk about killing all gay people, or the parents who want to avoid unwanted pregnancies and premarital sex, yet don't use the proven solutions that reduce such things, because it isn't abstinence only. Also can't forget the parents who let their children die of neglect because they believe in just faith healing.

We know these things are wrong because of objective data. This is why history is so important. We can look at societies and policies over the course of a century or more, and tell which countries have the best when it comes to stability, healthcare, and equality. Unbridled capitalism and theocracy isn't it.