Parrothead

I am still trying to figure out what it is that makes you think that both of these societies have to be "right" and worshipping God in a way pleasing to Him.

I have people on this forum tell me I am a miserable sinner just for telling them they are wrong (when they ARE wrong) but I don't see anything in my Bible about compulsory agreement.

You're 39 - you should know by now that everybody with an opinion is not "right". That's why we test the spirits and hold fast to that which is true.

Parrothead

I am posting it.

Surely you can give an example...


Well, that's your opinion, one which I do not share.

RoseRed

Of course agreement is NOT a factor of likeability in my books! I have great respect for adventurous philosophic minds. But I must say, some of your postings come across as curt and insulting.

It is unfortunately that you've been lamb-basted (no pun intended) for your views... such is the stubborness and unthoughtful mind of man.

Your concept is a beautiful one... it, I believe, comes from a global singular belief in A 'Creator'. In a world of pluralism steeped in old traditions.. that would be a very difficult task, even though the basic moral principles to all solid religions are very similar. I see, however, even more and more divisions within the religious realm that seems to go in the opposite direction of your concept. Even within Christianity we have SO many sub-sets that for the unbeliever to even consider "trying God out" would be so incredibly daunting! Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican, Baptist, Methodist and on and on.. Perhaps there is a logical reason for the rise of 'non-denominational" Christian church...

nice777guy

Simple question - did the same God that created you also create everything else that we see around us? And - for that matter - all that we don't see?

PH - for what its worth I don't see you at all as a miserable sinner. Stubborn? Yes. But where you frustrate me is that I really don't understand what makes you the authority on Wrong v. Right.

nice777guy

These arguments are much like the feeling I get when I touch my tongue to both positive and negative prongs on a 9 volt battery. Its kind of painful and unpleasant - yet I just can't resist...

that_girl

Can't argue with someone when they are pompously delusional.

__________________

nice777guy

Who are you referring to??????????



Just because I lick batteries from time to time - and kind of enjoy it - doesn't make me delusional!!!

tacoma

<sigh>

I can give many but that would be far outside the OP of this thread and if you can`t see that much of Biblical scripture is allegory I certainly can`t clarify it for you.

Of course.

Forgive me if I`m mistaken but it seems to me the entre thrust of your OP is a not so subtle attempt to tell others what they believe.

It`s apparent in the majority of your posts here.

nice777guy

Tacoma - care for a battery?

Parrothead

Do you have something against accurate definitions?

I am going to tell you the same thing I tell others who respond to me this way - I am not asking you to think like me, I am just asking you to think. Self-contradictory sloganeering doesn't cut it in matters of this importance.

I personally don't believe vacuums like the one described in the article don't last long - something will fill the void, and it will most likely be something even scarier than the morality my generation knew.

And by the way, when scripture is allegory, or parable, or history, or in the case of the NT, letters, it tells you what it is.

Parrothead

She's talking about me. I challenge her to think outside the box and she is very comfortable inside her box.

Parrothead

Well, "trying on God" doesn't have to be as complicated as most people make it. In one of the Star Trek movies, engineer Scott remarked: "The more they over-think the plumbing, the easier it is to stop up the drain". People on forums like this one will often obsess over such things as whether or not the world really was created in six literal days, or whether you really could build a ship large enough to carry all the animals in the world.

While understanding Christianity in terms of it's past is helpful, the short version is "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself".

Of course, that alone takes a lifetime to master. Hells belles, many people don't even love themselves, let alone anyone else, especially God. And still others think that "love" means hanging out with the people who tell you the things you really want to hear.

Some people say "Jesus" is their "homeboy" but Jesus himself said that if all you can do is be good to those who like you back, then you are no better than non-believers. Yet, there is no shortage of Catholic bashing coming from people who call themselves "Christian". And with the rest of the world, it's open season on "evangelicals", read: "people who really believe Jesus was who he said he was".

If you take the New Testament in context with the Old Testament, the message is clear: if you want to change the world, you start with yourself. As little as 15 years ago I was part of an ecumenical movement seeking unity, and today things are more divided than ever. I believe it is because true Christianity only exists as a minority subculture, the rest is feelgood pop psychology.

I am rambling, but I guess the point is that many people who are looking for God are looking in all the wrong places. It's funny that you said you were "orthodox" - the greatest revelation of God this old formerly Baptist country boy ever had was while reading about your Eastern Catholic monastics.

And most of the churches you mentioned were liturgical churches, so they are not that different. These days Baptist church services are more like self help seminars. But even those are just worship traditions, the theology is pretty much the same, it depends on whether or not they are pushing an agenda that has nothing to do with Christianity. Politics is everywhere.

Parrothead

Yeah, thinking is hard if you are not used to it. It was hard for me, too, but soon you become acclimated to it. I read somewhere a long time ago that most of the time ordinary people don't "think" at all, they are just "remembering".

Parrothead

That's the rumor. It still doesn't make everything morally equivalent. You need some familiarity with God to understand why.

What makes you the authority on what I am or am not?

Come now, you really don't believe misquoting Emerson is going to win you any debates, do you? You apparently have the impression that just because someone has an opinion, it is automatically valid (unless it's mine, of course), without even examining it to see if it even makes sense. So you come to the conclusion that eating your neighbor is morally equivalent to loving your neighbor.

Does that even make sense?

nice777guy

Didn't misquote Emerson. And I understood what I was quoting. I COMPLETELY believe your consistencies to be foolish as your mind is a closed as a steel trap.

Go back and read some of Rose's posts to get a better idea of how to present your ideas to us "secular" folks.

Likeability is not necessary - not at all. But if you are a jerk then people will stop listening. You'll convert a lot more people to your cause with a handshake and a smile than you will an insult and a snicker.

Good luck.