credoconsolans

A mish mash of interpretations, misunderstandings and outright selective following of their own bible is why you end up with murderers, rapists, genocidal lunatics, megalomaniacs and child abusers considering themselves pious and followers of the Prince of Peace and Love. Maybe having one universal church was the better solution.

renassault

Speak for yourselves, friends..

renassault

The only reason you don't know about a consensus is because you haven't bothered to read about anything outside a 5 mile radius of your Protestant-filled neighborhood. For example, try seeing Catholic countries, or something like my Eastern Orthodox country.

Yeah, I'm sure that's why you end up with murderers and such and not because of the accusative, hateful and bigoted statements you just made (since you follow the Bible right?).

Toto

That was how Al Gore made a critical campaign decision in 1998. He let the Bible fall open and read some random passage. He went on to win the primary but lose the general election. :huh:

I suppose you have examples of Christians reading the Bible, actually understanding what it says, and changing their behavior. How many have sold all their worldly possessions and given the money to the poor, and trusted the Lord to provide? Very few.

renassault

Again, why are you picking what one person (Al Gore) did and applying that to everyone, as if that's how they reason? And one does not need to sell all their possessions, this was done by the early community with Peter, and it's clear Paul didn't expect this from everybody. Not to mention that by saying "very few" means you do not know the definition of a monk, and that there are many of them.

Hillel was challenged by a pagan once that, if he was such a great rabbi, he'd be able to summarize and explain the whole Torah to him while he was hopping on one foot. Hillel simply (quoting Leviticus) told him: Love your neighbor as yourself; the rest is just commentary. Jesus was quite clear that: "Love God and love your neighbor" was a summary of the law, and Paul wrote enough in Romans 14 to explain that some differed as to the specific actions that constituted sin. Therefore, being "fully convinced in one's mind" (Rom 14:5) and "striving to keep your conscience clear before God and man" (Acts 24:16) are much closer to Jesus' commands, than the legalistic views you fellows here espouse, in trying to yet again act as if Christianity is somehow less consistent than your ridiculous presuppositions.

The man's blog quoted in the OP might as well have not bothered to live that year; he missed the entire point of it all.

ApostateAbe

Unless you have left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for the sake of Jesus, then I am pretty sure that I am speaking for you, too. Not that it isn't impossible. Some modern Christian cult members have actually done that.

WilliamFearless

Here is what I find odd- all of these Christian groups are pushing to keep homosexual marriage from becoming legal, because, after all, the sanctity of marriage must be protected.

However, you never see any of them push to make divorce illegal, even though Jesus himself said on more than one occasion that divorce is wrong. Luke 16:18, Mark 10:2-12

So I don't get it... why is there no rallying against divorce in the same way there is against homosexual marriage?

Again, what is the mechanism or method to choose which parts of the bible are to be followed, and which parts are to be ignored?

dockeen

My experience in the xtian community is that the will state that they follow the new testament, because jesus made the old one OBE FOR THEM. (Except, perhaps the ten commandments)

Now, the above rule is modified when applied to groups outside of theirs, and they will not hesitate to codemn the actions others based on the old testament. They will even use this approach to justify maiming and killing of people from other religions and with other sexual orientations.

Vivisector

Hear, hear!

And I'm waiting to meet a Christian who has the moral courage to actually follow his Savior's commandments. I'm thinking specifically about Luke 6:30. If there is such a thing as a true Christian (i.e., one who actually does what Christ told them to to), then I'm not uncomfortable with the prospect of cashing in on their faith. After all, they're going to be rewarded with mansions of gold, etc., etc., so no big deal.

Cheers,

V.

Doug Shaver

A consensus within a particular sect of Christianity (even if it is the oldest sect) does not make a consensus of Christians.