"The Bible is my Authority"....so shut up

[mopaul]

I've heard hundreds of people cite the Bible as their authority on any subject and use it like a reference book for living. That in itself is not so bad, as there are many attributes and moral lessons and guidelines in it which are viable, and useful.

However certain Bible literalists and thickheaded types use it as a sledgehammer to drive home their particular talking points.

Like the other day when black televangelist Creflo Dollar was spouting off Jerry Falwellisms about homosexuals. Rev. Dollar insists that homosexuality is an abomination unto the Lord based on Biblical authority. He ignores the entire civil rights movmement which helped get him to where he is today, and all that the movement stood for, if it's applied to homosexuals.

Way back when, certain zealots took the biblical passage, 'thou shalt not suffer a witch to live' literally, and began a holocaust that saw the murders of over 10 million men women and children.

If indeed the Bible is one's only authority, ignoring all others, then perhaps you need a new authority.

[blm]

1. Then they should be MORE concerned with fighting poverty and intolerance

the way the Bible says Jesus did throughout his life, giving homosexuality only the most minimal attention.

[TWiley]

22. Evidently, you are unfamiliar with the modern Christian.

Mainstream Christians support the bushtapo and his agenda. Therefore, they are not concerned with fighting poverty and intolerance. They are more interested in watching homosexuals burn in hell while masturbating to the screams of Iraqi children being blown to bits.

Your concept of Christianity needs to be updated to reflect modern American usage.

[Generic Other]

2. Ha! I thought you were gonna say you'd seen the light MoPaul

Haven't seen a good old rabblerousing MoPaul pic in sooooo long.

Glad to see you are still around!

[Nimrod]

3. Sometimes I think it would be nice

...to not have to worry about any of my evils. I could just hold up whichever version of the bible I like best and go "neener neener, I win!"

[thinkingwoman]

4. answer: try reading it

I use that one a lot. It's so simple.

Try reading it.

So many Bible thumpers have never read it cover to cover even once. They rely on preachers who take things out of context and spin them to suit their agendas.

Re: the homosexuality thing. I always ask bible thumpers "If God hates homosexuality so much, why isn't it part of the Ten Commandments? Why didn't Jesus talk about it?"

Seems to me homosexuality ranks a bit lower than hypocrisy (Jesus' pet peeve) and lying (Ten Commandments).

Leaves them speechless every time...which means peace and quiet (albeit temporary) for me.

[GeorgeBushytail]

5. Is there any ethical position the Bible doesn't support

The bible is such a hodgepodge that almost anyone doing anything horrible or nice can cherry-pick quotes to support their positions.

It's been used to justify slavery, wars galore, the divine right of kings, keeping divorced people from becoming priests (remember that?), helping the poor, giving all your money to a televangelist.

Parts of the bible are pure hate literature. Leviticus says, in more flowery language, "kill queers".

Maybe the only things you can't find in the bible are passages acknowledging or extolling the virtues of democracy. (Although I'm sure someone can point out a passage where some male leaders vote on whether to sacrifice a goat or a bullock or some such).

Whenever I stay at a motel I steal the Gideon bible. It's too dangerous to leave laying around where kids might get their hands on it.

[Liberal Veteran]

7. Happy shall he be that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against..

...the stones!- Psalms 137: 9

See? The bible says killing your children will make you happy!

:P

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

6. Ironic

that a black minister would quote Paul about homosexuality (which I'm sure he did), when that same Paul also was the basis for Southerners to justify slavery?

I like the folks at Sojourners-these Christians say that followers of that faith should concentrate on helping the poor and in working for justice.

[ldf]

9. paul also admonished

the men of the time to only turn to marriage as a last resort, when they could no longer handle the burning lust of their body.

one of things that sort of makes you go hmmmmmmmm.

[ldf]

8. would reverend do$$ar

appreciate the bible passage that basically tells slaves to "don't worry, be happy", essentially telling them to be content with their lot in life?

i hate to say it but many times i have felt less empathy than i should, due to stances by those who should be on our side, but aren't.

i also have no "tolerance" for gay republicans.

you know, it's just one of those things that i just can not get past.

:think:

[Reverend_Smitty]

10. My interpretation of Leviticus

The biblical writers were not speaking out against homosexuals in general but rather the sacred male prostitutes used in Canaanite religious practices. Anyone familiar with that religion knows that it basically revolved around sex and food (yes I'm over-simplifying)but to an early Jew it must have been really tempting to join. A great way to keep members of your church is to make rules that outlaw the practices of your rival religion. Calling sacred Canaanite rituals (like homosexuality) an abomination (which is a very strong word, and is often used in the bible to describe sacrilegious practices) makes sense. Of course they would never discuss this aspect of history in Sunday school class, only the over simplified version of "queers are bad". Hell I didn't learn about the Canaanites until I got into college

[ladjf]

11. You had better hope that the next time you are making an

instrument landing in bad weather that your pilot has more information than a Bible. I know, it's an absurd point. However, that is my point. It's absurd to claim that one rather convoluted, contradictory and mostly generalized collection of writings such as is the Bible case, is ones "authority".

[Thtwudbeme]

12. I am in personal Hell with Christians right now

Junior level classes at a state funded Liberal Arts College (UNC) and I thought the Religion Department would have managed to dump the fundies by now--iow--I really believed in my heart that the Old Testament class would have just driven them to major in Accounting, or something that doesn't require much introspection. But, no! Oh, hell no...second week of class, and I am dealing with morons that call people who have the audacity to question the Bible "sad."

THEN to make matters worse...I think, well...hey...in Divinity School...I won't have to deal with these fruitloops anymore...oh no! RevCheesehead (I think--a DUer) writes of his experiences with some at Duke.

God help me.

[merh]

19. Whenever "christians" throw out Old Testament quotes to me in

an attempt to justify their moronic positions or their hatred, I ask them if they know where the term "christian" came from. Of course they say "sure, we follow Christ and he is our Lord and Savior" and then I ask them why they refuse to follow his teachings and make the choice to ignore his words and his examples.

I then give them quotes from the New Testament that support the simple premise that as Christians, we are to love our neighbors and not hate people just because they are different from us and we are not supposed to making public displays of our prayers like the hypocrits. I ask them why it is so hard for them to follow Jesus' example and to obey his teachings. My favorite gospel is Matthew and I do love Corinthians. "Love is patient, love is kind . . . "

[nostamj]

20. if people want tp discuss 'christianity' I tell them to leave the OT

OUT of the discussion. did Jesus ever refer to Leviticus?

[TWiley]

21. Not only do the fundies live in the O.T. around here,

but they quote constitutional law, and bizzare theories about natural law along with their religious viewpoints.

[merh]

24. Closest thing to Jesus' discussing the old testament that I am

aware of is

Matthew 5:17 (King James Version)

Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I have not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Love thy neighbor as thyself.

[nostamj]

28. "I have not come to destroy"

so sad our current crop of hypocritical 'christians' don't lead with that line....

<sigh>

[merh]

29. Amen!

:cry:

[nostamj]

13. mo, i think you'll appreciate my new shop...

fundamentally WRONG!

how is your shop doing? haven't heard from you in a while....

[Tamyrlin79]

14. They are breaking the "No Idols" commandment.

To treat the bible this way, or any religious text, is to make an idol, not of stone, but of words, and is a violation of one of the Ten Commandments.

[immoderate]

25. There's the catch

Should the Ten Commandments (part of the Bible) be idolitized?

--IMM

[seabeyond]

15. he didnt mention bibles authority on slavery.....n/t

[TWiley]

16. How about the "Literal" interpretation of the story of Abraham?

<<A man who is hallucinating and hearing voices decides that God is telling him to murder his son. He obey's and takes his son to a secluded spot on a mountain and builds a religious alter upon which the boy is to be murdered.>>

Now HOLD it right here. If this were a "literal" headline in today's news, the holy ones would be calling for the death sentence.

OK, on with the story.

<<The hallucinating man decides that God did not want him to murder the boy after all, and comes out of the wilderness with the child>>

No matter which way the story turned out (dead boy vs live boy} the hallucinating man would still be holy.

It seems to me that there is a whole bunch of extra meaning being applied by the religious to the literal sense of any bible story.

I do not think the religious will seek out a different authority than the bible so it is up to us to change.

Our conception of Christianity is dead wrong, and it needs to be updated to reflect common usage. More emphasis needs to be placed on the greedy and bloodthirsty ones who truly represent this religions majority.

[catmandu57]

17. Which version?

Maybe the king james?, maybe the way?, maybe the original greek? or that simplified one the fundies love so much. The version that other men have wrote, editted, revised, opinionated, hell in a thousand years or less homosexuality may be looked on as gods blessing.
Reverend creflo is upfront about it, his name speaks vollums.

[Cuban_Liberal]

18. Very little discourse about 'abomination' vs. 'sin'.

The two are not mutually inclusive, and anyone who has actually bothered to study (as opposed to memorize & regurgiate) the O.T. realizes this.

[Dark]

23. Someone should remind Dollar that the Bible endorses slavery. n/t

[Art_from_Ark]

30. It didn't endorse slavery when the Israelites were on the receiving end

in Egypt. I seem to recall a story about God telling Moses to lead the "Children of Israel" out of their bondage (but considering how much gold they had accumulated while in Egypt, had they really been slaves?).

[immoderate]

26. Dollar didn't need the civil rights movement.

Weasels find work.

--IMM

[antigone382]

27. Creflo "Dollar" is aptly named.

His big shiny church is just down the street from my grandparents' house. He's a shameless huckster and a complete scam artist. Somebody ought to point out to him that, while the Bible mentions homosexuality twice, it mentions GREED over 200 times. In fact, Jesus never mentioned homosexuality, but he did say that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

Money is Mr. Dollar's authority, not the Bible. I'm an atheist, but I'm a far better follower of Christ's words than he is.

[Art_from_Ark]

31. He sounds a lot like the "Reverend" James L. White,

the Richard Pryor character who uttered those immortal words:

"Reach deeeeeeeeeeep into those pockets!"