jross

Wow. Talk about overcoming circumstance.

Imagine that! In a topic called "god bless usa bible" with comments that the "nation was founded on Christian values and also freedom of religion" that a forum member provides biblical education. Religion is not essential for people to naturally expect others to follow the Golden Rule and adhere to the law. These expectations arise inherently when any two+ people live in proximity to each other and care about survival and well-being. This is where my judgement of self and others come from. Multiple religions and views share expectations to follow the Golden Rule and to follow the law. Some religions substantially suppress human rights. There are religious people of the same doctrine that are the best and worst people you can know. The "Christian" people are making errors because they are human and largely not because the New Testament commands it. It is important to me for Christian critics to understand the nuance between its doctrine and human behavior. Here you seem(?) to think I am judging based my religious views (it isn't) when actually it just so happens (coincidence?) that the Christian doctrine NT is all about the golden rule... My criticisms of religions are mostly driven by logic, scientific evidence, and how close it supports following the golden rule. My criticism of people is mostly golden rule and community law adherence.

Proverbs convey practical guidance from the sands of time. A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing his opinion. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.

Yes ^^^ ...and the New Testament Christian theology is themed around love and forgiveness. People evolve slowly... and there are reasons people in the the USA have better rights than other countries... A Christian majority is one of those reasons.

Read that. So sad.

A biblical Christian loves and forgives all people. The bible does not answer whether LGBTQ+ is preference or nature. It does refer to LGBTQ+ as wrong. IMO, this is why many Cs are support personal autonomy while not wanting LGBTQ+ publically celebrated as morally acceptable to their children. It's tolerable for others but not their children... What does the selected date with respect to pagan holidays matter to the USA being a Christian Nation? There is suppossed to be separation of Church and State. Yet God is written into the government documents and there is a Federal Holiday with the word "Christ" in it that was celebrated long before Ben Franklin wrote of Christmas in 1739: "O blessed Season! Lov'd by Saints and Sinners / For long Devotions, or for longer Dinners." I don't recall where there was discussion about whether the USA is a Christian Nation or not but the vast majority of people are... so... yes it is... and that's why there is conflict when 'progress' counters Christian morals. You don't need to be Christian (I'm not). I'm just a dad that want's mentally healthy children and grandkids that hopefully choose to become badass wrestlers and ball players.

We're not discussing teapots. At the end of the scientific rainbow, where did nothing come from? Both Science and Religion require faith to answer that question.

Huh? What is twisted into a pretzel? Excuses for what? The NT doesn't support slavery. I have no idea what understanding you have but it isn't biblical.

Your biblical opinions and thoughts on Christian holds more weight if you have read it and understand the context. You have not answered directly if you have read it but your skirting responses say nope. The bible calls me a fool because I don't love god with all my heart. It calls you a fool for not listening, not understanding, and having too much pride to answer 'nope.' It says we're both fools for lacking self control in responses.

I like the questions you ask when you want real answers. You did not answer my questions about OT/NT knowledge and have ignored answers I carefully provided just for you. You are not listening. The Old Testament reflects the cultural and historical context of ancient Israel and the surrounding area, which one needs to understand to then comprehend the New Testament. To apply the Old Testament to Christian behavior is to take someone's words out of context, much like today's politics. There are plenty of books with good insights. I'm not a fan of the Old Testament overall and I have a shelves full of inspirational, philophosy, religious, business, leadership, self-help biographies, DIY, fiction, and so on. I read often! OT Proverbs, OT 10 Commandments, and NT has some of the best wisdom collected that I've ever seen. Knowledge of the Old Testament context, with application of the Golden Rule, allows me to keep the baby and drain the bath water.

Because it does not teach what they believe needs taught.

True but you say little in support of it. Rather you transition to what about some victim situation rather than plus 1 it or make it about both accountability AND social concern. You do not know my intentions and you have not asked for them. You have no idea what I do for others and you have not asked. You have criticized me for what you think I believe and what you think I don't perform without asking or knowing anything.

The bible says that Christians should obey man's law unless it conflicts with biblical (God's word) law. Christians should pay the government its taxes for example. Said differently, Christians should obey God rather than human beings. During the civil rights movement, Christians peacefully protested segregation laws and discrimination, inspired by God... even though the actions were in conflict with the governement. My criticism there is that the bible states there is divine origin of governmental authority and calls for submission to it. It is hard to fathom that Biden and Trump have divine origin of authority.

I'm not aware of the religious affiliations of forum members... but I do perceive hostility when the 'bigot' label is thrown around. Christians are people just like you and me concerning the errors they make... You are misinformed to pin their behaviors on Christian doctine. My personal understanding of neighborliness extends beyond geographical boundaries. The definition implied in the bible is not narrow either. My precendence is self, family, friends, neighbors in close proximity, and then neighbors further out. A local kid in need of school lunch is more important to me than a school lunch for a kid in Mexico. Sure some outcomes are beyond control. While empathy is valuable, personal accountability is worth more. The USA isn't taking care of itself and has no plan to... thus the help outside of it is a problem.

You are correct. What I said is not 100% across all the followers but it is almost there. Can you use the bible and your knowledge of its followers to inform me. I am open and like to learn. I am speaking from experience, exploration, and research. What are you speaking from?

TPTD's criticism indicates little knowledge of how much his social justice advocacy resonates with Christian theology. It is foolish to dismiss everything, even the good, because of one(few) thing(s) they don't agree with.

Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues. If my content annoys you, there is an ignore feature. If the topic annoys you, there is an ignore for it also. If you want to silence or change my mind, logic and data are your tools. I do not attend church, I do not pray, and I am not religious.

Comms Hold your nose when visiting this site to watch the video. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/biden-says-he-didnt-do-that-when-asked-about-proclaiming-easter-as-trans-day-of-visibility

Have you heard of the false consensus effect? Where is your evidence that the majority agrees with the holiday to begin with, let alone highlighing it on Easter? That would be peculiar. 8 in 10 US identify as religious and 7 of those as Christian - https://news.gallup.com/poll/200186/five-key-findings-religion.aspx I'm in the 2 of 10 that do not. Biden is doing everything he can to get railroaded in a few months.

I'm 100% certain that I did not create the laws and it seems 100% reasonable to expect them to be enforced.

I am asking you to research because Christians are not Jewish. The Old Testament contains (Moses/Mosiac) laws for Jewish people. The New Testament acknowledges the Old Testament laws but teaches that through Jesus Christ, a new covenant has been established that supersedes. Besides the parts on the after life, the New Testament is about love and forgiveness. Jews do not follow the New Testament. Outside the 10 commandments, Christian's don't bother with laws from the Old Testament. The NT says the OT law is fullfilled! Christians really focus on two commandments (love god, love your neighbor). The NT says that governing authorities (ack!) are established by God and should be obeyed, as long as their commands do not contradict God's commands. You are correct that the NT mentions slaves. It says slaves should obey their masters with sincerity and wholeheartedness, just as masters should treat slaves fairly, knowing that they themselves have a master in heaven. You specifically would really like what the NT has to say about helping people and justice. You might not like what it has to say about diligence and personal accountability. You might also like the guidance in the Old Testament in the book of proverbs. We argue left and right over wisdom more than 2000 years old. Timeless. I do not want to serve a God that had the Old Testament laws. Jesus is great but its the same God and that gives me pause. The people who do not act as the NT commands gives me pause. Traveling to other countries, reading other religion books, and getting to know people from different culures has me wondering what religion I would be if born somewhere else. I also wonder if people in other cultures meet their religious God in their near death experiences. Big questions that I cannot get satisfactory answers too. None of this changes the facts I'm sharing that the NT is all about the golden rule. Its the damn people that give Christianity a bad name. I'd have an easier time believing if a Muslim NDE, Budha NDE, Hindu NDE, etc. all met Jesus when they saw the light and returned.

I don't like consumerism or social pressure holidays. I don't like that my parents, sisters, and in-laws are non-compromising that holidays fall on certain days and are unwilling to choose conventiant days for everyone. I don't like our president announcing sex days for edge cases that fall on religious holidays when it stirs the pot for so many people. You know... bitter... unpleasant... frustrated. A wellness day is a good idea... people can choose how to spend their wellness day. Thanksgiving is good. Christmas literally says "Christ" in the name and is a Federal holiday. I'm not the biggest fan because of the consumer side of it.. but this holiday is the full-stop on whether the US is a Christian nation. End of rambling.

Biden's move wasn't worth the squeeze. What was he thinking?

I should be able to travel anywhere in the community and expect everyone to follow the laws agreed to by all who choose to live or vist the community. If the community allows naked bike riders, than yes... agreed... and FWIW I wouldn't live there.

Is the 'holy bible' a book, or a collection of books divided into two categories? What is the oldest version of any biblical book and what major discrepancies are found in print from that original compared to today? What is the difference between a Jew and Christian with respect to the Old and New testament? For the books applicable to Christians, where is it condoned to hold slaves and stone people? Bonus points if you can tie Islam to the Old Testament with respect to stoning.