MattofVA

I have more respect for fundies than liberalized, cafeteria, mainstream christians. Fundies actually have their own beliefs rather than reading modern values into the nicer 10 percent of the bible while casting off the rest. See, it's not the values behind liberal xtianity that I find troublesome, it's the historical revisionism. Liberal religious folk really seem to think their take on the whole thing is closer to the beginnings of xtianity than the fundy version, when in fact the nice, liberal version of xtianity, with the exception of some obscure minority sects which appeared rather sporadically, is largely an invention of the past century or two. And, even to say it is an invention is an overestimation, since it consisted simply of the hijacking and relabeling of progressive philosophy/science. All in all, liberal xtians are nicer, smarter people than fundies maybe, but why do they bother calling themselves christians? They are just erroneously self-labeled individuals who are really quasi-new age humanists , deists, or even agnostics. Liberal christians who have occasionally heard this observation from me for some reason get confused, like I'm suddenly a fundie(rather than an agnostic ) pronouncing a brimstone judgement on them. Of course, the reason they think this is they miss the point that thi sort of judgement is a semantic or philosophical on e rather than a spiritual/moral one. Why, also have so few secularr intellectuals
caught on to these facts? One secular type who is an exception is Edmund D. Cohen, author of the masterpiece Mind of the Bible-Believer. He slipped into obscurity after authoring it, and contends that liberal christians set modern people up to be brainwashed by fundies by putting up the perception that xtianity is benign--and I would have to agree somewhat. Again, why do so few people catch on to this stuff?

happyboy

true. most christians today have no idea what's in their bible, and seem to practice a religion i call "salad bar-ism." in salad bar-ism, a believer picks and chooses what parts of the bible to believe in.

let's face it: the holy bible is a book about a monstrous God who kills and pillages at whim. He tortures those who dare to disobey Him for all eternity, He sends plagues and earthquakes at whim, and He's perpetually angry at those He calls His beloved. He's a psychotic, pure and simple.

happyboy

HelenM

It's still a judgment. Maybe they equate 'judgmental' with 'fundamentalist Christian' and that's why they assume you're a fundamentalist Christian when they read your comments.

On what basis do you consider the claim of liberal Christians less valid than the claims of more conservative Christians?

How do you know what the definition of a 'Christian' is, anyway?

Helen

happyboy

helen, if they truly read their bibles, they'd be hateful, vindictive people that seek to burn and kill the heretic.

happyboy

emotional

I suppose you also have more respect for a true fundy Muslim such as Osama bin Laden than for a wishy-washy liberal Muslim who picks and chooses in the Qur'an and throws the jihad verses away?

I respect the tolerant liberals, even if they're choosy in their religions, and I totally disrespect fundy religions who are true to every scripture-mandated wrongdoing.

happyboy

i have no respect for religion at all, be it liberal religion or fundamentalist religion. it's all the same heaping pile of shit to me.

happyboy

Spaz

I think I know what you're talking about. It kind of pisses me off too the way people pick and choose what they want from almost everything. With christianity the liberals usually take some of the bible as being metaphorical and some as being literal, I just wonder where they draw the line.

happyboy

which raises the question: how DO liberal christians choose that which is metaphor, and that which is literal? is the bible metaphorical whenever science takes a big steaming poop over a cherished doctrine like a flat earth or a geocentric solar system?

happyboy

emotional

Why does it piss you off? Do you really like consistent Christians and Muslims who stick to their scriptures' verses about killing infidels?

You may be wishing a fundy would abandon his religion altogether, but I'd settle for his turning into a liberal. Anything but staying a fundy.

happyboy

religion in ANY form damages the world, even if only by encouraging people to turn off their brains.

a very irate happyboy