Atheist professor had a brush of hell and change of heart...

[Sean88gt]

Are we still talking about pre-Christ writings or are we injecting something completely different into the discourse? After all that I wrote the response is, "yeah, but manipulative people still manipulate and want money" ???

Should we just change the subject to "false and lazy Christians are the biggest enemy of Christianity in the modern world" (which I don't disagree with) so you can vent everything in one shot?

Pulling scriptures from google doesn't lend itself to biblical knowledge so it would be difficult for him to effectively argue your points, other than with vitriol for a believe he doesn't have.

[jdgregory84]

Are we still talking about pre-Christ writings or are we injecting something completely different into the discourse? After all that I wrote the response is, "yeah, but manipulative people still manipulate and want money" ???

Should we just change the subject to "false and lazy Christians are the biggest enemy of Christianity in the modern world" (which I don't disagree with) so you can vent everything in one shot?

Your defense of Old Testament passages is that Jesus was born later then died for all of mans previous sins. How does that nullify the wars that the Christian God commanded before Jesus was born? I think that I was asked to find any passages in The Bible that tell men to kill in the name of God. So I found some and was quickly informed that those don't count.

[jdgregory84]

Think of it as having been transcribed by men, and find any verses in the Bible that advocate Christians to wage war on anyone or "force Christianity on countless civilizations."

This is the one. "any verses in the Bible."

[Strychnine]

Your defense of Old Testament passages is that Jesus was born later then died for all of mans previous sins. How does that nullify the wars that the Christian God commanded before Jesus was born? I think that I was asked to find any passages in The Bible that tell men to kill in the name of God. So I found some and was quickly informed that those don't count.

Really? (I feel like maybe you meant to quote The King instead of me here) Because I thought I very clearly stated that "God is not changing, but His people are" with the proposition that God presents His message and vision to us piecemeal so that we have any hope of comprehending.

Not once did I try to "nullify." I said the opposite - that those events and parts of the OT very very critical to the progression and growth of God's people and in their trust and following of Him.





Think of it this way. You are the smartest motherf'er the world has ever known and you have a time machine. You need the people of the world to understand dark matter and dark energy.

Do you go back to 1200 AD and say, "Hey, people who think the world is flat and there be monsters over yonder, you're not gonna believe this!" and lay it all on their feeble minds?

Would it not be more practical to let them grow a bit on their own, and then when they are ready introduce Newtonian Physics to them and let it simmer for a few centuries. Then hundreds of years later give them some knowledge of Quantum Mechanics... and after that has had some time to marinate maybe then help them with the idea of particle colliders, more and more subatomic particles, etc.

We found the Higgs Boson - pretty damn far removed from that apple falling on Newton's head, but I don't think you'll ever meet a physicist that will tell you it should be nullified or forgotten.

[jdgregory84]

The Higgs Boson is the "god particle" correct? The one found all across the universe theoretically proving that the universe originated from a single source billions of years ago?

[Strychnine]

The Higgs Boson is the "god particle" correct? The one found all across the universe theoretically proving that the universe originated from a single source billions of years ago?

Its existence is believed to be able to help us explain why matter has mass. It might, by default, also conclude that everything had a single source of creation, but that is not the driver behind the search for it. I did not use it in my allegory because of its name either. I do realize that even the man who first proposed its existence (Higgs) dislikes the "god particle" name because that's not the point of it.

I chose that as an example because it is the newest subatomic particle to be discovered, representing the height of man's subatomic (invisible world) physics achievement and knowledge base expansion and it is an example of something not even imaginable 150 years ago, much less centuries ago.

[The King]

This is the one. "any verses in the Bible."

That's "any verses in the Bible" with respect to Christianity. You still have not posted any, so your google search presumably has failed you.

If you are going to qoute me, I request that you use my entire quote as opposed to cherry picking and editing to suit your purposes. Granted OT vs. NT is often considered the same by those who have not yet attempted to understand both. Understanding both is not easy, nor should it necessarily be, and it's not something that should be memorized or repeated and called understanding.

[jdgregory84]

That's "any verses in the Bible" with respect to Christianity. You still have not posted any, so your google search presumably has failed you.

If you are going to qoute me, I request that you use my entire quote as opposed to cherry picking and editing to suit your purposes. Granted OT vs. NT is often considered the same by those who have not yet attempted to understand both. Understanding both is not easy, nor should it necessarily be, and it's not something that should be memorized or repeated and called understanding.

So christianity didn't exist before Jesus?

[The King]

So christianity didn't exist before Jesus?

That is correct.

[The King]

Because the men who thought up Christianity and this God who is known to smite needed a way to get more members. What better way to do so than come up with a martyr and say "Hey, look how easy it is to be a Christian now. Now give us your money."

Actually, being a Christian could easily get you killed or imprisoned during the time immediately following Jesus death, and still can today in some countries, e.g. Pakistan.

[jdgregory84]

That is correct.

I'm never gonna get it. I can't fathom a belief that which over 2000 years ago, God was a prick. Then after Jesus, son of God, God himself dies...God's all forgiving and stuff. It baffles the mind that one can grow up believing in The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and whatever other nonsense, then over the years the person learns the truth of these icons...yet still believes in Jesus and God who were most likely introduced by the same people that introduced the other things into the childs life. I know that point has been argued before over and over again, but still...the only answer I get is, well...The Bible. Faith is a funny thing.

[The King]

As Strychnine posted, God Himself did not change from the OT to the NT. Jesus fulfilled the OT laws on our behalf, along with fulfilling OT prophecy. Jesus death was also fulfilled on our behalf, and reconciled us to God in spite of our sins.

[Sean88gt]

I'm never gonna get it. I can't fathom a belief that which over 2000 years ago, God was a prick. Then after Jesus, son of God, God himself dies...God's all forgiving and stuff. It baffles the mind that one can grow up believing in The Easter Bunny, Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy, and whatever other nonsense, then over the years the person learns the truth of these icons...yet still believes in Jesus and God who were most likely introduced by the same people that introduced the other things into the childs life. I know that point has been argued before over and over again, but still...the only answer I get is, well...The Bible. Faith is a funny thing.

Are you suggesting that Jesus is a fictional character?

[jdgregory84]

Are you suggesting that Jesus is a fictional character?

I'm suggesting Jesus, the son of God, is.

[CJ]

Blah blah blah nonconformity, blah blah serfdom, blah blah wiki blah nonconformist, blah blah.