The problem, as I see it, is that you are looking at an abridged work, written by people, highly edited and whose primary documents were in the hands of what many Fundamentalists consider almost a type of infidel (the RC church). Somehow, a few hundreds of years ago, a "modern" bible was produced including some documents and rejecting others and now a "true" religion was resurrected from a "false" religion.
You may not feel that God has an obligation to me other than what he has already committed to in the person of Jesus but I DO!! If what much of the bible says is true, then I have free will and there is in me the nature of God. God knows me and what it takes to make me believe. I don't ask for really strange things to make me believe. All I need, IMO, is my wit and ability to learn from observing.
I believe I have seen the Truth and am committed to it. It is not the only Truth, but one of many. I don't feel there is only one truth no matter how many books or people say it because historically every time someone has said there is only one way to do something without exception they were wrong. This general observation has been captured in the idiom of "there is more than one way to skin a cat."
Again, I find that any truth that preaches kindness, tolerance and compassion is headed in the right direction. Truths that preach hatred and division are false truths, but again, only IMO. Are there evil, bad, negative things? Sure. People can and do succeed by embracing these negative actions and values but I argue that by doing so they taint the rest of their life.
My personal feeling is you should preach to those people. The rest of us who follow principles of light are doing just fine. |
