Spirit Branded

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Originally posted by Spirit Branded:
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As the son of an atheist father and Christian mother I know what it is like to be torn between two possibilites .. and let no one deny that both possibilities are entirely real to those faced with a choice and willing to consider both, though only one can be true.


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Yes, more or less.

SB - so we agree here?

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If we walk past all the failures of Christians and return to Christ I believe there is nothing to compare with the value system that Christ taught. Though other fine religions have much to offer, none are to me as pure.
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The main problem with this is interpreting just what "the value system that Christ taught" actually was.

SB - most children can understand the basics and the rest is clear to me ... where is the difficulty?

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.... most of us who are Christians fit uncomfortably somewhere in between, trying fitfully and irregularly to have our lives match the purity of the beliefs, and failing more often than we succeed.
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well, in Australia and elsewhere; I've known great people who were Moslems in Africa, Hindus in India and vague, vague Shintoists or Buddhists in Japan. Oh, and great people who were atheists.

SB - so, could none have been greater?


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These to me are certainties based on scripture which scripture I hold, with the Church, to be absolutely authoritative concerning the life and teachings of Christ.
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Which interpretation?
Even the CofE, Australia, seems rather divided these days - or so in the bishoprics of Sydney and that covering Kiama , I believe.

SB - temporary confusion - will soon be resolved :--)

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To all who are truly searching for truth, regardless of any label they currently apply to themselves, I wish only the assurance that comes from holiness and purity.
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um, thanks, but I usually wish simply luck, empathy with other people and commitmant to honesty and overall general lack of bastardliness.

SB - isn't that what I said?

Spirit Branded,
it's my own stance that with the right value system, then it really doesn't matter what one believes , muchly; I've known incredibly 'good' atheists, nominal Christians, Buddhists etc.
The wrong value system can be incredibly productive of evil - i.e. Calvin's burning of Servetus, the Inquisition, fatwas, Stalinism etc.

i.e. I'm suggesting pay heed to the practical values /ethics system, and let the putative afterlife look after itself.

SB - I agree entirely - and as Christ said, consider the birds ... they don't worry about tomorrow.

As to evils done in the name of religion ... it has always been a handy tool for politicians and assorted power seekers.

So when are Alexandrians free for coffee with those who ignore their messages?

Cheers

Spirit Branded

Gurdur

Gosh, a thread all to me!
And it isn't even a flame!

You're being a mite disingenuous here, no?
I've alluded to the conflicts in interpretation -do we really need to stress the boringly obvious and the tediously endlessly rehashed?

As for children understanding the basics - why does religion show no signs of being an innate developmental facility in children in, say, the same way language is (morphology and syntax)?

tsk tsk tsk, what would one example out of my life prove?
it wouldn't be universally valid.
The best I've known - and the greatest - say 5 people include:
2 atheists
1 Christian (muchly nominal)
1 Moslem (somewhat nominal)
1 vaguely Buddhist

Care to make something of that? Simply asserting Chistianity is the best is not a good answer, especially when I can talk for hours and hours on tiny details of the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), and I know my way around theology too, BTW.


Yes, I believe they say much the same thing about the CofE and the Roman Catholic church split, or the Catholic/Orthodox split too.

No. "Holiness and purity" have rather strong and different connotations.

You agree?
This can't be that easy (said suspiciously).
If you agree, why do you make a small fuss about someone leaving Christianity then?

Oh, agreed, but it has also been a tool for those more "holy".
John Calvin had Michael Servatus burnt.
Holy Inquisition, witch-burning, 30 Years' War, English Civil War, the burning of John Huss, etc. etc. etc. etc.

I am always happy to have a coffee.
You have received my answering email.

Possibly you can look me up on <a href="http://iidb.org/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=43&t=000012" target="_blank">my self-introduction thread</a> ?

And many thanks for the reply!
Makes a change from the usual flames.

[ February 12, 2002: Message edited by: Gurdur ]</p>