Human Reason and Christian Denominations

[Jenny A]

Both Jesus and Paul were predicting imminent  heaven on earth in the form of socialist equality.  Jesus preached that to be part of that, one should give everything away and begin to act like that kingdom where already there. You have to twist pretty hard to avoid believing Jesus was wrong about the timing, if nothing else.  But how you can reconcile the Gospels with capitalism is beyond me.  As I understand it, the line is Jesus was preaching what you had to have done to survive the kingdom of God  if he didn't die for their sins.  Oddly, he failed to mention that last bit.  Nor did he say some of you standing here won't taste death before the coming of the kingdom of God, unless I'm  crucified in which case the kingdom of God will just mean that believers will be resurrected. He said the former but not the later.

When Paul said, better to marry than burn it was not an endorcement.  If you can read The Gospels and Paul's letters and argue heterosexual marriage is the bed rock of Christian society, you have already done so much rationalizing that a little more here and there is hardly surprising.

Here's a fine example of misinterpretation of the scriptures what denomination do you belong to. You accuse Christians of misrepresenting god's word and to date you haven't gotten any of of right. 

GC

What I haven't gotten right is Christian theology.

The denomination I was raised in is irrelevant. No denomination I know of grapples with the fact that Jesus preached socialism and an immediate new order on earth. Unless you twist his words to hell, that is what he was, an apocalyptic rabbi speaking to the Jews about a kingdom earth to be ruled by the 12 disciples (apparently Judas' betrayal had yet to occur to him at time he made that promise).

Christians should call themselves Paulites, because they sure don't follow Jesus. Christian theology is based on Paul, at the expense of the Gospels. But if you choose Paul, just remember that marriage is just barely more honorable than adultery. Better to marry than burn.