--There is only one set of "best scriptures" and they are not denominational, nor are they the product of any man-made religion. They are in the Bible. If this were the general practice, there would be no differences in religious faiths. The only problem with religion, is the meddling of mortal men.--
then this leads to a debate about what really happened in the 4rd century a.d., when the canon was collated.
the gospel of st. thomas says some very interesting things, which in light of my own experience give me pause for consideration.
i read somewhere that at the annual baptist meetings, there is a debate every year over the infallibility of the bible as it is. if this is true, i find it highly interesting.
one thing i have noticed; in our culture today most christians seem to conveniently ignore, 'wives obey your husbands.' hey if that's going to be tossed, well everything else might as well be available for tossing.
how many christians in our society really believe that wives should obey their husbands?
that passage doesn't disturb me so much as the fact that i don't see it being applied in practice.
what does disturb me is the part where paul starts exhorting slaves to obey their masters, and masters to treat their slaves well. christianity never scripturally repudiated slavery, as far as i'm concerned, and that seems a bit backward.
the thing about governments being put in place by G-d, so you should follow all of their laws... that one also doesn't jibe with our situation today; for in this time there is no way to obey all of the laws. there are so many laws that i'm certain each and every one of us is breaking some or another law, every moment of every day.
there is a passage where women should not have short hair, and then christians today say, 'well that was because, back then the women with short hair were harlots.' well, i thought that the thing was supposed to ring true throughout time, and not be specific to certain ages and cultures.
how about if we go back to exodus 21:7, where it talks about selling one's own daughter? that one seems kind of strange.
the story of lot and his daughters in the cave also seems strange.
and from the story of babel:
--[5] And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded.
[6] And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do.
[7] Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech.
[8] So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city.
--
it appears as though G-d doesn't want humans cooperating. that is in sharp contrast to the way so many of various faiths -including christianity - seem to talk about 'unity' today.
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i will easily bow if Jesus returns and is proven Lord at the end of time. if that is too late then it is my problem and no one else's. i trust G-d in this.
i love Jesus... i simply don't trust the scriptures in their 'entirety' (the canon which was decided upon in the 4th century).
andy |
