Mark 12:31-
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."
Believers: Any reason for the disgusting comments by some believers on this forum in regards to gay people? Are we just ignoring this?
Mark 10:21: Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
Why are we not doing this? This is being ignored by every single believer in this thread.
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 10:21: Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
Why are we not doing this? This is being ignored by every single believer in this thread. [/quote]
My understanding of that verse is that the point of Jesus telling the man to give away all his possessions wasn’t that it should be a universal command for all of us to live in poverty, more that it highlighted the young man’s love of money over God. That’s what stopped him from following Jesus and inheriting eternal life.
[quote]238 wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 10:21: Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
Why are we not doing this? This is being ignored by every single believer in this thread. [/quote]
My understanding of that verse is that the point of Jesus telling the man to give away all his possessions wasn’t that it should be a universal command for all of us to live in poverty, more that it highlighted the young man’s love of money over God. That’s what stopped him from following Jesus and inheriting eternal life.[/quote]
Perhaps. I don’t have any clue obviously. It also behooves believers to interpret the verse in the way that most rationalizes their decisions like all bible verses.
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
It is also better to believe in something magical up there than to not believe.
[/quote]
Why?
I was loosely raised Baptist. Even though I was baptized via submersion at 13, I always had niggling feelings that none of it made sense for me, even at a young age. The “story” just didn’t ring true. I am now approaching 50 and am at peace without religion. It plays no role in my life and hasn’t since my formative years. My husband and I are raising two teenagers without religious influence. They are excellent students and good people with a strong moral fabric in terms of caring for fellow humans. But none of that is rooted in religious teachings. It would seem disingenuous to me to use religion as a basis for moral teachings when I myself am not a believer.[/quote]
A non-religious life is easy.
[/quote]
Is the goal of religion to make life harder? It seems like there’s lots of ways to make life harder if that’s what you are looking for.
[/quote]
No. The goal of religion is and should be to love God and our neighbors. Sounds so simple, yet we fall so short. Looking at us, you’d think good religious people never heard of such a thing.
We do a lot of things right, but self-righteousness and passing judgement is where the religious fall short the most often. Ego is the most difficult thing to keep in check.[/quote]
That’s an intensely close-minded definition of religion. You might want to replace the word religion with Christianity, if you want to be accurate. There are plenty of religions that would disagree with your definition.
I have a question. Why are the most religious countries the poorest per capita?
[quote]AceRock wrote:
I have a question. Why are the most religious countries the poorest per capita?[/quote]
Because other countries made fundamental technical/scientific discoveries first and/or deployed them first. Ships, weapons, etc. Then, in many cases, exploited those other people for natural resources and slave labor in order to get their markets up and roaring at home and abroad. Then, when those people started to become secular in large numbers relatively recently, they said “we’re rich because we’re secular. You’re poor because your backwards and superstitious. Here’s some spare change to make some shoes on our factory line.”
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 12:31-
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."
Believers: Any reason for the disgusting comments by some believers on this forum in regards to gay people? Are we just ignoring this? [/quote]
I am only 22 so take this however you want. But from what I know and remember from my upbringing was that being gay is a sin. Now, that does not mean that I hate gays, would beat them, or mistreat them. I do believe though that sexual interaction between men is gross and not natural. I am not sure what people are saying on here about gays but most believers I know do not care either way if you are gay. I also feel the same way. Hope this helped in some way.
[quote]H factor wrote:
[quote]238 wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 10:21: Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
Why are we not doing this? This is being ignored by every single believer in this thread. [/quote]
My understanding of that verse is that the point of Jesus telling the man to give away all his possessions wasn’t that it should be a universal command for all of us to live in poverty, more that it highlighted the young man’s love of money over God. That’s what stopped him from following Jesus and inheriting eternal life.[/quote]
Perhaps. I don’t have any clue obviously. It also behooves believers to interpret the verse in the way that most rationalizes their decisions like all bible verses.[/quote]
Post the entire passage when you have the time. I’d like to try highlighting a few points, and get your interpretation first.
[quote]H factor wrote:
[quote]238 wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 10:21: Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
Why are we not doing this? This is being ignored by every single believer in this thread. [/quote]
My understanding of that verse is that the point of Jesus telling the man to give away all his possessions wasn’t that it should be a universal command for all of us to live in poverty, more that it highlighted the young man’s love of money over God. That’s what stopped him from following Jesus and inheriting eternal life.[/quote]
Perhaps. I don’t have any clue obviously. It also behooves believers to interpret the verse in the way that most rationalizes their decisions like all bible verses.[/quote]
I can certainly see your point there, and it has happened in the past and present, however that does not make this interpretation flawed. It’s actually rather consistent with Jesus’ own teachings.
For example, in Matthew 27:57 it describes “…a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus.” From this we can say that rich people can follow Jesus without giving away all they have. It can be quite difficult though, as he goes on to say in Mark 10 after the verse you quoted.
Luke 19:2-9 provides an even more interesting example, Zacchaeus gives away only half his possessions (and pays back whoever he has cheated four fold) but Jesus nevertheless says that he’s saved. The giving away of his wealth isn’t a mandate for him or us, rather it’s a manifestation of the change in his heart.
[quote]Sloth wrote:
[quote]AceRock wrote:
I have a question. Why are the most religious countries the poorest per capita?[/quote]
Because other countries made fundamental technical/scientific discoveries first and/or deployed them first. Ships, weapons, etc. Then, in many cases, exploited those other people for natural resources and slave labor in order to get their markets up and roaring at home and abroad. Then, when those people started to become secular in large numbers relatively recently, they said “we’re rich because we’re secular. You’re poor because your backwards and superstitious. Here’s some spare change to make some shoes on our factory line.”
[/quote]
Guns, germs, and steel, basically?
[quote]stefan128 wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 12:31-
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."
Believers: Any reason for the disgusting comments by some believers on this forum in regards to gay people? Are we just ignoring this? [/quote]
I am only 22 so take this however you want. But from what I know and remember from my upbringing was that being gay is a sin. Now, that does not mean that I hate gays, would beat them, or mistreat them. I do believe though that sexual interaction between men is gross and not natural. I am not sure what people are saying on here about gays but most believers I know do not care either way if you are gay. I also feel the same way. Hope this helped in some way.
[/quote]
So if I give you the sin part why aren’t these believers having the same reactions to other sins the Bible mentions?
Hate is a strong word, but how about despise via words and emotions? That doesn’t sound like love thy neighbor as yourself.
I mean if that is honestly such a big commandment why does it seem as if a lot of believers ignore that? Also the he who is without sin may cast the first stone part. Clearly it would be hard to read some writings and not view these believers as making judgments of the sins of other men while also being sinners themselves.
Usually when you call them on it they make little excuses like “well I’m a sinful man.” That seems like a cop out to me. If this book is the basis for someone’s belief system why so cavalier with its words? It can’t all be interpretation.
I will admit that I have big respect for the Sloth’s, Trib’s, maybe you (not that familiar with your writings) that say they believe and seem to back up that with their words on here.
If I follow all the moral laws laid out in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, etc, aside from those relating to God, will I go to Hell?
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 10:21: Jesus looked at him and loved him. “One thing you lack,” he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.?
Why are we not doing this? This is being ignored by every single believer in this thread. [/quote]
Don’t cherry pick scripture, you don’t like it when it’s done. Who says it’s being ignored? You? You don’t know what we do outside of what we say. You don’t want us to judge you, and we don’t want to be judged by you. So let’s not, k?
[quote]SexMachine wrote:
Ha! Not mine.[/quote]
Me neither… How should I approach you in prayer? ‘Dear Lord, please help SexMachine…’ lol! I think it’s funny, maybe I am the only one.
[quote]AceRock wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
It is also better to believe in something magical up there than to not believe.
[/quote]
Why?
I was loosely raised Baptist. Even though I was baptized via submersion at 13, I always had niggling feelings that none of it made sense for me, even at a young age. The “story” just didn’t ring true. I am now approaching 50 and am at peace without religion. It plays no role in my life and hasn’t since my formative years. My husband and I are raising two teenagers without religious influence. They are excellent students and good people with a strong moral fabric in terms of caring for fellow humans. But none of that is rooted in religious teachings. It would seem disingenuous to me to use religion as a basis for moral teachings when I myself am not a believer.[/quote]
A non-religious life is easy.
[/quote]
Is the goal of religion to make life harder? It seems like there’s lots of ways to make life harder if that’s what you are looking for.
[/quote]
No. The goal of religion is and should be to love God and our neighbors. Sounds so simple, yet we fall so short. Looking at us, you’d think good religious people never heard of such a thing.
We do a lot of things right, but self-righteousness and passing judgement is where the religious fall short the most often. Ego is the most difficult thing to keep in check.[/quote]
That’s an intensely close-minded definition of religion. You might want to replace the word religion with Christianity, if you want to be accurate. There are plenty of religions that would disagree with your definition.[/quote]
Fair enough, please describe the dogma of those religions that disagree and signify what they do infact believe is the main commandment of those faiths.
[quote]AceRock wrote:
I have a question. Why are the most religious countries the poorest per capita?[/quote]
Most countries are poor, we live in a bubble a small one of great wealth. We are the minority, not poverty.
[quote]H factor wrote:
[quote]stefan128 wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
Mark 12:31-
The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these."
Believers: Any reason for the disgusting comments by some believers on this forum in regards to gay people? Are we just ignoring this? [/quote]
I am only 22 so take this however you want. But from what I know and remember from my upbringing was that being gay is a sin. Now, that does not mean that I hate gays, would beat them, or mistreat them. I do believe though that sexual interaction between men is gross and not natural. I am not sure what people are saying on here about gays but most believers I know do not care either way if you are gay. I also feel the same way. Hope this helped in some way.
[/quote]
So if I give you the sin part why aren’t these believers having the same reactions to other sins the Bible mentions?
Hate is a strong word, but how about despise via words and emotions? That doesn’t sound like love thy neighbor as yourself.
I mean if that is honestly such a big commandment why does it seem as if a lot of believers ignore that? Also the he who is without sin may cast the first stone part. Clearly it would be hard to read some writings and not view these believers as making judgments of the sins of other men while also being sinners themselves.
Usually when you call them on it they make little excuses like “well I’m a sinful man.” That seems like a cop out to me. If this book is the basis for someone’s belief system why so cavalier with its words? It can’t all be interpretation.
I will admit that I have big respect for the Sloth’s, Trib’s, maybe you (not that familiar with your writings) that say they believe and seem to back up that with their words on here. [/quote]
Where do you get your information that most believers ignore that? I know a lot of believers none of whom ignore it, but strive towards it and know they fall short, like we all do.
It seems to me you are passing judgement on the majority of 2+ billion people based on the experience of very few. Who are you to pass this judgement? Do you know these folks? What’s really in their heart?
[quote]AceRock wrote:
If I follow all the moral laws laid out in the Bible, the Ten Commandments, etc, aside from those relating to God, will I go to Hell?[/quote]
Are you asking us to pass judgement on you? That’s between you and God. If you want to know, ask him. If you don’t believe in Him, then what do you care and why would you care about following the commandments?
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]AceRock wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
[quote]pat wrote:
[quote]kpsnap wrote:
[quote]H factor wrote:
It is also better to believe in something magical up there than to not believe.
[/quote]
Why?
I was loosely raised Baptist. Even though I was baptized via submersion at 13, I always had niggling feelings that none of it made sense for me, even at a young age. The “story” just didn’t ring true. I am now approaching 50 and am at peace without religion. It plays no role in my life and hasn’t since my formative years. My husband and I are raising two teenagers without religious influence. They are excellent students and good people with a strong moral fabric in terms of caring for fellow humans. But none of that is rooted in religious teachings. It would seem disingenuous to me to use religion as a basis for moral teachings when I myself am not a believer.[/quote]
A non-religious life is easy.
[/quote]
Is the goal of religion to make life harder? It seems like there’s lots of ways to make life harder if that’s what you are looking for.
[/quote]
No. The goal of religion is and should be to love God and our neighbors. Sounds so simple, yet we fall so short. Looking at us, you’d think good religious people never heard of such a thing.
We do a lot of things right, but self-righteousness and passing judgement is where the religious fall short the most often. Ego is the most difficult thing to keep in check.[/quote]
That’s an intensely close-minded definition of religion. You might want to replace the word religion with Christianity, if you want to be accurate. There are plenty of religions that would disagree with your definition.[/quote]
Fair enough, please describe the dogma of those religions that disagree and signify what they do infact believe is the main commandment of those faiths.[/quote]
A religion is an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems, and world views that relate humanity to an order of existence. Wikipedia.
Pick a religion, and I’ll explain but we don’t have time for 4,000 explanations. Simply put, God isn’t the center of all of them, as you describe.