A repost, because there is nothing new under the sun:
19 Go therefore and make patsiesI really hate seeing crap like this.disciplesof all politiciansnations, lobbyingbaptizingthem in the name of the Christian CoalitionFather and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20coercingteachingthem to enact legislation requiring all citizens, Christians or not to observe all that I have commanded you, (And some that I didn’t command, but you know I would have if I had thought about it. Use your judgment.). And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the Republic.age.(Epistle of Pat and RalphMatthew28:19-20[DRAFT])
Here is a novel idea for a "Christian Coalition" (whatever the hell that is):
Spread. The. Gospel.
Live. The. Gospel.
Live. The. Gospel.
Christianity is not politics. Politics is not Christianity. The Great Commission is not the Great Culture War. The bible is silent on the Bush tax cuts. It is silent on health care legislation. When it is not silent: you do what it tells you to do, and you refrain from doing what it tells you not to do.
Next time you stone a rebellious son to death (Deuteronomy 21:18-21), save me a ticket, OK?
ReplyDelete(I expect the usual dissembling that either (a) the Bible doesn't really tell you to do that or (b) it is an old provision that no longer holds because of some other part of the Bible. I also expect some personal insults, calling me a "pseudo-intellectual", and so forth.)
Jeffrey,
DeleteWell, your comment is apropos nothing in the OP, a bad sign for the first comment on a post, but no big surprise.
And it is covered here. Scroll down to the "Ruby Tuesday Law".
If you want more details (I'm guessing not) I have an entire 13 week Sunday School I taught on the Law.
Sure it is. Don't you even read your own posts?
ReplyDelete"The bible is silent on the Bush tax cuts ... When it is not silent: you do what it tells you to do..."
You do not do what it tells you to do. You pick and choose, like any other sensible person.
If you want more details (I'm guessing not) I have an entire 13 week Sunday School I taught on the Law.
As I said, the usual dissembling. The fact that you indoctrinate gullible youth doesn't exactly impress me.
Several thousand years ago, a small tribe of ignorant near-savages wrote various collections of myths, wild tales, lies, and gibberish. Over the centuries, these stories were embroidered, garbled, mutilated, and torn into small pieces that were then repeatedly shuffled. Finally, this material was badly translated into several languages successively. The resultant text, David feels, is the best guide to how one ought to live today.
ReplyDeleteIf what you say about the Bible (I'm guessing that's what you're referring to) is so obvious why does David trust it? Is he really that moronic? Do you think he's really that mentally deficient in comparison to a run-of-the-mill atheist?
DeleteHe has a blind spot.
DeleteI think if I have to pick between David and BI having the blind spot, I'm going to go with the guy who has been exposed as being woefully ignorant of just about everything he talks about of intellectual weight and controversy.
DeleteSorry, BI. ;) If you want to improve, you should start doing a little more reading, a little less regurgitating.
Do you think he's really that mentally deficient in comparison to a run-of-the-mill atheist?
ReplyDeleteNo, of course not. But incredibly smart people, like everyone else, can be very perspicacious in one aspect of their lives while still having blind spots in other aspects -- Newton is a prime example. Faulty worldviews can be supported in any number of ways: by hanging around more or less exclusively with people who believe like you do, by constructing more and more elaborate and intricate "explanations" of why your worldview is right, and so forth.
You realize that what you wrote applies equally to you.
DeleteSure, he probably thinks I have a big blind spot, too. But you can't get anywhere if you both retreat to your corners thinking, "The other guy has a big blind spot, I'm glad I don't".
DeleteI will note that I'm not using the tactic of calling him a "pseudo-intellectual". I'd also still like a convincing answer why he's not obeying the injunctions of the Old Testament.
Jeffery,
Delete"I'd also still like a convincing answer why he's not obeying the injunctions of the Old Testament."
No you don't. No matter what I say, no matter how convincing the argument, you'd retreat to some variation of the "cafeteria Christianity" charge. Been there, done that.
I would ask you if you think Christians, if they are faithful to the bible, should still sacrifice animals for atonement. Because after all the OT gives explicit commandments for doing so.
If you say "yes" it would reveal that you know nothing about Christianity, because every Christian knows that Christ has made atonement once-for-all and that sacrificing animals would be an abomination--even though we are instructed in the OT to do so.
If you say no (the correct answer), the I would say that you have have acknowledged the precedent that we are not supposed to do everything that the OT commands. So why do you insist that to be true we must stone disrespectful sons? Who is cherry-picking now?
I've met plenty of Christians who think we ought to stone disrespectful kids and gays and prostitutes. So it seems not every Christian "knows" the same things.
DeleteChristian number 1 knows that A is true, while Christian number 2 knows that not-A is true.
You guys need to get your epistemic house in order.
BI,
Delete"I've met plenty of Christians who think we ought to stone disrespectful kids"
No you haven't, you're a liar.
Oh, have you seen the discussion between atheists at the slyme pit v. atheists at Atheist+? Now there's an "epistemic house" that needs to get in order.
If you say "yes" it would reveal that you know nothing about Christianity, because every Christian knows that Christ has made atonement once-for-all and that sacrificing animals would be an abomination--even though we are instructed in the OT to do so.
DeleteTell that to the Armenian Church; I hear they still sacrifice animals.
No matter what I say, no matter how convincing the argument, you'd retreat to some variation of the "cafeteria Christianity" charge.
Yup, in addition to all your other powers, you have the power to read minds and characters. It must make life very easy for you.
For what it's worth, I'm glad there are cafeteria Christians. In practice, no civilized person bases their morality on their holy book. If you didn't pick and choose you'd be an evil person indeed.
http://thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/70-year-old-stoned-to-death-because-the-bible-says-to-stone-gays/news/2011/03/18/18138
Deletezip. Make sure you visit Vienna next time, theist.
ReplyDelete