[donb9006]

Originally Posted by Golfingnut View Post
I am referring to those that take the lords name in vain. Is that practicing Christianity?
Is adultery practicing Christianity?
Is berating individuals practicing Christianity?

It seems to me to be presumptuous for some folks to think they know what is in the mind of others or anything else that personal.

I agree...the world is full of hypocrites...we ourselves fell prey occasionally. They call it relativism when you pick and choose which parts you're going to live by and follow. It's why there are 5000 sects of Christianity. It's a shame Jesus didn't write a book. Not even a note. It sure created confusion. Most of what is found in a particular sect is guesswork, much isn't found in the Bible one way or the other. It's conjecture.

Originally Posted by billethkid

I am amazed at how some seem to know all about the "other" persons faith and how they practice and their intents.
Followed closely by the measuring of what constitutes "practicing" one's faith (or not).

Life really, truly must be much simpler and enjoyable for those who do not have a set of pre-determined yard sticks or pigeon holes to measure friends and aquaintences manner or methods of practicing politics, religion, or whatever.

It seems to me to be very presumtuous for some folks to think they know how others "practice" their faith or anything else that personal.

Personal opinions are not authentications.

btk

It IS easier to live "your" life, your way, instead of having to live how someone else tells you that you need to live. One is free, the other is not. Most of religion are personal opinions. Someone elses personal opinion.

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

This thread has great possibilities if not turned into a personal rant. I am looking for answers I have found some already in this thread. If I have offended anyone with my questions and concerns, I apologize.

What are you looking for answers to? The Why of it all? There are no answers...that's why there are 5000 different sects of Christianity alone. Add all the other religions of the world, each different...significantly different...and you should begin to realize that nobody has the answers. Find the happiest, most successful, most loved person you can...ask them the secret.

Originally Posted by rubicon

A despicable atheist was M O'Hair and exuded such hate that one of her son's would have nothing to do with her. As a general statement I found more atheist I encountered to be less engaging than people of faith.

But that is my interpretation and it could be simply a confirmation bias on my part.

I guess with this topic we perhaps should say no more than a Christian believes that Jesus was the son of god, etc and that atheist are people who deny the existence of God because the number in each reaches thousands and thousands and we cannot justify reducing their behavior to certain sets.

It is bias...we naturally seek similar people. "Christians" all have (should anyway), the same basic take on things...how is that engaging? There are bitter "Christians" too...

Christians are former Jews who believe the messiah came...and followed him...creating Christians. It's why you have the Jewish Old Testament and the Christian NT.

Most atheists I know vehemently deny the existence of YOUR God. "The God of Abraham". Most are really agnostic and will admit...they just don't know either way, so won't just "go along" with the believers.

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

Good idea.

I guess I am looking for the perfect minister preaching the perfect religion and that may not exist. I should look for a small group of like minds that meet to have fellowship without the problems that comes with large organized religious organizations.

Good luck with that. There are at least 5000 groups all looking for the same thing. Picking and choosing what, and how to interpret things written decades to centuries after Jesus died. Remember, Jesus wrote nothing. His 12 wrote nothing. Any honest Biblical scholar will admit this. Almost half the NT is the work of Paul. And he never met Jesus.

Originally Posted by zcaveman

Why do you have to be labeled a "Christian" to be a kind and living person and do good deed for your fellow person?

Is it your opinion that if you are not a Christian, you are a Hun or a savage or something like that?

I don't think that it takes a Christian belief to be a good person. I think it is in the heart and the upbringing.

Z

You'd think that sometimes by how some act. All high and mighty. The golden rule isn't only a Christian thing. And it's pretty much the only rule we need. An entire society could run on that alone. Make altruism the national motto and you'd have quite a place to live.

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

OBXNana and Zcaveman, you both are what I am looking for in theory. I bring this up a lot that I really love Sermon on the Mount, even better than the Ten Commandments (for me). Wonderful teaching, but I also dislike so much of the other confusing mumbo jumbo in the bible. Get outta her with the Old Testament rambling.

Jesus didn't leave his speech nor any notes behind. Nobody took notes. How do you know what he said? It was written LONG after Jesus was gone.

You don't believe in God then? The OT is the God of Abraham. That's the original God that the Jews and Christians still worship. Be careful what you call mumbo jumbo! Some will take umbrage with that.

Originally Posted by Golfingnut

As I keep trying to say with no success is: People who talk the talk but do not walk the walk are the cause of so many fleeing from the church with no direction of where to go next.

Welcome to the real world, full of hypocrites. The church is full of dogma, that's what drives people away. I've noticed more contemporary churches are moving away from the OT.

Originally Posted by rubicon

As I stated above your post a Christian is a person who believes that Jesus was the son og God....Period Anything beyond that description is the interpretation of a holy man because it evolves from dogma to politics...meaning she says he says. I ain't going down that road too personal

You are correct. EVERYTHING read in the NT was written long after Jesus was gone. There are other books you've never heard of because they "didn't fit in". They were removed. The texts have been rewritten, "interpreted". How many Bibles are there now?

While there are a number of versions to the Bible. There are 8 primary versions found in history:

Septuagint - 250 C.E. Written in Greek

Vulgate- 400 C.E. First version of the Bible which is canonized at the Council of Carthage in 400 C.E. Written in Latin

Luther's German Bible- 1534 C.E.

King James Version- 1611 C.E. This is the most widely used versions however it has large number of errors given that none of the writers had a decent understanding of Hebrew.

Revised Standard Version- 1952 C.E. Liberal translation into American English which used the earliest possible text

New International Version- 1960's & 70's C.E. This is a conservative, contemporary English version

Jerusalem Bible- 1966 C.E. This is the first version of the Bible to be commisioned by the Catholic Church since the 400's.

New Revised Standard Version- 1990 C.E. This is the most academic and scholarly version with the most accuartely possible translations of the orginal text.