Bible Club

[BluffTHIS!]

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All bibles I have read have been very wicked indeed.

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Which thus shows your insincerity in wishing to participate in this book club and your intention to use it as a vehicle to bash christianity as was your intention in countless threads you started on religious issues. You're just a SMP troll and nothing else.

[BluffTHIS!]

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But, how do I walk the fine line between that and suffering fools?

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Walk with God and you can walk behind Him on a tightrope without fear of falling. He'll let you know who the fools are although you will see many for yourself who have fallen off and are a stain on the floor below.

[vhawk01]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
But, how do I walk the fine line between that and suffering fools?

[/ QUOTE ]

Walk with God and you can walk behind Him on a tightrope without fear of falling. He'll let you know who the fools are although you will see many for yourself who have fallen off and are a stain on the floor below.

[/ QUOTE ]

My point was really just that because the Bible is such a long book, Bible quotes are like cliches and idioms, you can always find one to support whatever point you are making. "He who hesistates is lost" is countered by "Look before you leap" quite nicely. Your quote helps us as long as what you want us to do is not criticize, but I'm fairly certain I can find a quote from the Bible that tells me explicitly TO scoff, or something to that effect.

Like cliches, it comes down to our wisdom to decide which are appropriate and when, which basically invalidates their usefulness.

But, while you might not believe me (although perhaps I have a little more credibility than Midge?) I really do intend to read this book and contribute to this club in an honest fashion. I won't say I don't think "MAN is that not how Christians usually act" from time to time, but I am not reading this solely to fuel my anti-Christian crusade.

I put the chances of my 'hard heart' being won by the Lord at a small percent, but not zero.

[MidGe]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
All bibles I have read have been very wicked indeed.

[/ QUOTE ]


Which thus shows your insincerity in wishing to participate in this book club and your intention to use it as a vehicle to bash christianity as was your intention in countless threads you started on religious issues. You're just a SMP troll and nothing else.

[/ QUOTE ]

??? You don't like facts?

[BluffTHIS!]

I like the fact that I can't be proved wrong in my 100% certain belief that you are a troll.

[Prodigy54321]

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I probably won't contribute much to this thread or anything past this post necessarily, as I don't wish to just end up arguing with non-catholics over interpretation issues especially when it could involve differences in translation with different bibles. And I can see how atheists/agnostics could sincerely be interested in reading this in a book club format. However if such a non-believer is only doing so with an intent to bash, then I suggest starting with the first two lines of Psalm 1 (RSV-CE):

[1] Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
[2] but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

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any theory can seem true if you are not critical of it...

the mark of real truth is when the theory holds up to criticism.

I really hope you are not suggesting that we accept everything that we read as true, rather than being skeptical.

[vhawk01]

*tapping my foot impatiently* Madnak....

[madnak]

Hey, hey, hold your horses. I've still got a few hours.

[John21]

Madnak,

I'm not a literalist or fundandamentalist. I consider myself a Gnostic Christian, which probably puts me in the Unitarian camp, but the particular gospel you chose to start with and more particularly, the Beatitudes (Sermon on the Mount) is what I consider to be the summary of the whole Christian teaching. However, I consider it as a spiritual, more than literary synopsis, summarizing the spirit of the message rather than the letter.

The Beatitudes is pretty much the only part of the Bible I read anymore, and at least from a spiritual standpoint, I feel I have a pretty good understanding of it - line by line. I don't feel it would be right to jump in uninvited, but if you want a slightly mystic, highly spiritual perspective or commentary, let me know.

[madnak]

Would be appreciated, I'm about to start the thread and as you'll see I didn't quite "get it."