V
Vanguard
Guest
I'd like to take a moment to explain why I think/feel the way that I do. If you notice over my posts, I am an advocate for free will, human error, breaking down verses within their context, etc. I may seem brash or anti-Christian at times, but I am not. I enjoy semantics, philosophy and ancient history. When talking about any particular culture, especially an ancient one, you have to look at the political situation as well as the religious, financial, and what wars/conflicts were going on at the time.
Compound the above with the fact that I am a police officer, as a CSI with the crime scene unit in a major city in the southeast (USA), and you might start getting an idea as to why I take an "investigative" approach to my posts. I have seen more evil and ungodliness to last three lifetimes. It leaves you asking questions. Because of these things, and my love of history, theology, philosophy, linguistics, archaeology and astronomy, I have developed my own "free thinker" theories. It is not for everyone, but it does answer the tough questions that others can't (vague, cop-out answers aren't true answers).
1. Free Will: a gift to humans (not angels or demons) that allows us to make our own choices and governs the consequences thereof. Bad things happen not because God allowed it, but because someone chose to do something bad. It is a far better explanation as to why these things happen other than the vague answers of, "it's God's will, he works in mysterious ways," etc.
2. The Bible does indeed contain errors. The Bible was written by human beings, not God (he did not sit at a desk and physically write). Yes those people claimed divine inspiration when writing the "Word of God," but you have to wonder if they were sincere or if they did it so no one would try and refute it (this dives into psychology and philosophy). For most of those cases they were always alone when they were divinely inspired (how convenient, no witnesses). In any event, they got names, dates, places and circumstances wrong, and after careful cross referencing, modern day scholars work to revise and correct those errors. The important thing here is that the message of God and Jesus is unchanged. True Christianity does not rise and fall over some early "type-o's."
3. The Old Testament does not apply to Christians (except maybe Messianic Jews). The OT is the law and history of the Jewish people. Keep in mind that Orthodox Judaism does not believe that Jesus was the messiah as foretold by prophecy. They reject the claim as well as the NT. Christianity is governed by the NT, under the new covenant of Jesus. Churches and clergymen, who are Christian, that use the OT to dictate how we should live do so erroneously. No the Ten Commandments do not apply to Christians. You won't find that anywhere in the NT.
4. It is important to understand religious/biblical history. Most denominations/religions form because one sect within a church does not like or agree with what is going on. They break away under some unified "leader" and the split grows under a new name. Catholics (the first Christians) broke away from Judaism. Protestants broke away from the Roman Catholics. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, non-denominationals, etc. broke away from their respective Protestant parent churches, so on and so forth.
The reasons for the splits are numerous but are not limited to envy, financial considerations, desire for power, different beliefs, animosity, and every other emotion human beings are subject to.
5. To understand scripture you must be willing to go beyond listening to a pastor/priest, reciting verses from memory, and going through the motions on Sunday. You need to look at history and how it affected the people at the time. Cultural beliefs will most definitely govern how a literary work is written.
You need to break verses down, compare them to every source text available that you can comprehend, and rationally decipher their nature and meaning. Don't blindly accept what a clergyman tells you...what if his interpretation is wrong? Think for yourself, do careful study and research, and think outside of the box. Nothing is ever completely clear, black and white, this or that. If something is not validated and supported by a viable source, it should throw up a cautionary red flag. Never assume anything.
Every story has 3 versions (my side, your side, the truth in the middle), and every coin has a flip side. Be open minded.
This is the gist of why I am the way I am. I often play the devil's advocate in debates and discussions because so many don't like to think outside of mainstream religious views. I feel that looking at the bigger picture and considering alternatives is just as important for spiritual growth.
Compound the above with the fact that I am a police officer, as a CSI with the crime scene unit in a major city in the southeast (USA), and you might start getting an idea as to why I take an "investigative" approach to my posts. I have seen more evil and ungodliness to last three lifetimes. It leaves you asking questions. Because of these things, and my love of history, theology, philosophy, linguistics, archaeology and astronomy, I have developed my own "free thinker" theories. It is not for everyone, but it does answer the tough questions that others can't (vague, cop-out answers aren't true answers).
1. Free Will: a gift to humans (not angels or demons) that allows us to make our own choices and governs the consequences thereof. Bad things happen not because God allowed it, but because someone chose to do something bad. It is a far better explanation as to why these things happen other than the vague answers of, "it's God's will, he works in mysterious ways," etc.
2. The Bible does indeed contain errors. The Bible was written by human beings, not God (he did not sit at a desk and physically write). Yes those people claimed divine inspiration when writing the "Word of God," but you have to wonder if they were sincere or if they did it so no one would try and refute it (this dives into psychology and philosophy). For most of those cases they were always alone when they were divinely inspired (how convenient, no witnesses). In any event, they got names, dates, places and circumstances wrong, and after careful cross referencing, modern day scholars work to revise and correct those errors. The important thing here is that the message of God and Jesus is unchanged. True Christianity does not rise and fall over some early "type-o's."
3. The Old Testament does not apply to Christians (except maybe Messianic Jews). The OT is the law and history of the Jewish people. Keep in mind that Orthodox Judaism does not believe that Jesus was the messiah as foretold by prophecy. They reject the claim as well as the NT. Christianity is governed by the NT, under the new covenant of Jesus. Churches and clergymen, who are Christian, that use the OT to dictate how we should live do so erroneously. No the Ten Commandments do not apply to Christians. You won't find that anywhere in the NT.
4. It is important to understand religious/biblical history. Most denominations/religions form because one sect within a church does not like or agree with what is going on. They break away under some unified "leader" and the split grows under a new name. Catholics (the first Christians) broke away from Judaism. Protestants broke away from the Roman Catholics. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, non-denominationals, etc. broke away from their respective Protestant parent churches, so on and so forth.
The reasons for the splits are numerous but are not limited to envy, financial considerations, desire for power, different beliefs, animosity, and every other emotion human beings are subject to.
5. To understand scripture you must be willing to go beyond listening to a pastor/priest, reciting verses from memory, and going through the motions on Sunday. You need to look at history and how it affected the people at the time. Cultural beliefs will most definitely govern how a literary work is written.
You need to break verses down, compare them to every source text available that you can comprehend, and rationally decipher their nature and meaning. Don't blindly accept what a clergyman tells you...what if his interpretation is wrong? Think for yourself, do careful study and research, and think outside of the box. Nothing is ever completely clear, black and white, this or that. If something is not validated and supported by a viable source, it should throw up a cautionary red flag. Never assume anything.
Every story has 3 versions (my side, your side, the truth in the middle), and every coin has a flip side. Be open minded.
This is the gist of why I am the way I am. I often play the devil's advocate in debates and discussions because so many don't like to think outside of mainstream religious views. I feel that looking at the bigger picture and considering alternatives is just as important for spiritual growth.
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