So, uh, which parts of the Bible do people generally not follow?

[fuzzybabybunny]

OP, you just demonstrated that you don't understand the very basic belief of Christianity. Were you not raised in the US?

Christianity is about Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross as sacrificial payment to God the Father. It is the only suitable payment to absolved us from death, as the penalty for sin is assuredly death by God's law. Why do you think Christians call him (JC) the savior? Why do you think Christians believe that non-believers are condemned to hell (death)? The point is everyone sin and deserve death but only Christians (who are also sinners) are saved.

Uh, no, actually. I was raised in the US but from a Chinese immigrant family that came straight out of the atheist Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong. Religion wasn't part of our life. Studying hard and getting good grades in class was.

Do I need to apologize now for coming from another country and culture where Christianity was non-existent?

 

[PowerYoga]

This is why you don't talk about religion. Morons will froth at the mouth if you even mention that you don't know every little bit about their religion inside and out.

 

[tcsenter]

Yeah, from this:

"I have not come to abolish the law and writings of the prophets (i.e. the Old Testament) but to fulfill them." - Matt. 5:17

Contemporary Christians have interpreted as Christ saying its OK not to follow the old laws. IOW, it practically fucking forbids them "Do not use me to abolish the old law" but Christians have somehow managed even to fuck-up reading that part of the Bible, arriving at something completely fucking opposite of what Christ actually (or supposedly) said, like so many others.

I suspect they do this because even Christians DO NOT HAVE THE STOMACH for their own God's laws of morality. Its always been my belief that contemporary Christians don't believe a fucking word they're saying and are essentially a bunch of dishonest agnostics.

If they actually believed the Gospels were the word of God, they would FEAR for their own salvation, they would FEAR their God for thumbing their nose at his word. But its the opposite, they actually claim they are saved and God is OK with it all. Why? Because they don't fucking believe their own Gospels are the word of God.

 

[momeNt]

I'm beginning to understand why people don't even want to bother figuring out the Bible or the beliefs of Christians.

They're immediately met with allegations of trolling and invective.

Sheesh, 15 years ago I was minding my own business in middle school.

Forget it. People like SphinxnihpS are just pushing people to stay ignorant and take quotes from the Old Testament and posting them on Facebook as proof of how stupid all Christians are. At least I'm trying to give it a fair chance.

I'd suggest finding a christian forum and asking them. Or go to your local christian church and see for yourself. Maybe also look up keywords that correspond to the biblical laws you are questioning and search them on google to see if they are still in practice.

Adulterer stoned... poly couple stoned... murderer stoned....

You likely won't find any, you will find them in Muslim countries because they tend to still follow very literal interpretations and the press is a lot more open about it. In the USA wherever there are pockets of literal practitioners, the stories don't get out.

 

[sourceninja]

Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me; And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.

If I ever have kids, I'm going to worship a graven image, just so "god" will hate my children and their children, and their children.

 

[momeNt]

Yeah, from this:

"I have not come to abolish the law and writings of the prophets (i.e. the Old Testament) but to fulfill them." - Matt. 5:17

Contemporary Christians have interpreted as Christ saying its OK not to follow the old laws. IOW, it practically fucking forbids them "Do not use me to abolish the old law" but Christians have somehow managed even to fuck-up reading that part of the Bible, arriving at something completely fucking opposite of what Christ actually (or supposedly) said, like so many others.

I suspect they do this because even Christians DO NOT HAVE THE STOMACH for their own God's laws of morality. Its always been my belief that contemporary Christians don't believe a fucking word they're saying and are essentially a bunch of dishonest agnostics.

If they actually believed the Gospels were the word of God, they would FEAR for their own salvation, they would FEAR their God for thumbing their nose at his word. But its the opposite, they actually claim they are saved and God is OK with it all. Why? Because they don't fucking believe their own Gospels are the word of God.

Why does a man from 2,000 years ago and a book written between 10,000 and 1,700 years ago have your jimmies so rustled? Calm down bro.

 

[MotionMan]

Reminds me of this:

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp

MotionMan

 

[fuzzybabybunny]

You simply can have no meaningful grasp of history of Western Culture without it. Do they teach nothing in school anymore? Are you incapable of drawing those conclusions on your own? Do you understand anything about US History even, much less Europe? Christianity is central to all of that. Christianity, like it or not, is the dominant force that shaped all of Western culture for the past 2000 years. Your ability to speak and act freely is due to Christianity. Your ability to openly challenge Christianity is due to Christianity.

Great. Your point? No, we didn't dissect the Bible in public school. Or even learn anything specific about it.

 

[MotionMan]

Great. Your point? No, we didn't dissect the Bible in public school. Or even learn anything specific about it.

Where did you grow up? Did your home have any religion?

I only ask because your statements about your knowledge of religion in general are very odd. The answers to my questions may help us to assist you.

MotionMan

 

[SphinxnihpS]

I'm beginning to understand why people don't even want to bother figuring out the Bible or the beliefs of Christians.

They're immediately met with allegations of trolling and invective.

Sheesh, 15 years ago I was minding my own business in middle school.

Forget it. People like SphinxnihpS are just pushing people to stay ignorant and take quotes from the Old Testament and posting them on Facebook as proof of how stupid all Christians are. At least I'm trying to give it a fair chance.

The odds of you coming here and making this thread in ignorant and blissful innocence are 1 in 983298632986. That's how about how many threads of this nature I have seen on this board alone, and they are all troll threads. That's because people use those passages from the Bible to smear Christians and Jews, ala "Look at how a bunch of fairy-tale believing retards want to run the world. Even if they don't how can they call that book sacred? Only a bunch of backassward monkeys would buy any of that garbage!""

Now if you seriously have questions about this topic, you are putting the cart before the horse. You need a history of religion class or two, or five.

Did you not study this book in school? Do they not teach the Bible in public school anymore?

 

[PowerYoga]

You simply can have no meaningful grasp of history of Western Culture without it. Do they teach nothing in school anymore? Are you incapable of drawing those conclusions on your own? Do you understand anything about US History even, much less Europe? Christianity is central to all of that. Christianity, like it or not, is the dominant force that shaped all of Western culture for the past 2000 years. Your ability to speak and act freely is due to Christianity. Your ability to openly challenge Christianity is due to Christianity.

rofl.

no.

 

[MotionMan]

Now if you seriously have questions about this topic, you are putting the cart before the horse. You need a history of religion class or two, or five.

Did you not study this book in school? Do they not teach the Bible in public school anymore?

To be fair, I did not learn a thing about religion in public school, and I am older than OP (based on his statement that he was in middle school 15 years ago).

I learned a lot in religious school, but there were plenty of other places and opportunities to learn about religion.

MotionMan

 

[Ricochet]

Uh, no, actually. I was raised in the US but from a Chinese immigrant family that came straight out of the atheist Cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong. Religion wasn't part of our life. Studying hard and getting good grades in class was.

Do I need to apologize now from coming from another country and culture where Christianity was non-existent?

I was born overseas (Cambodia). The majority of my life I was also raised by an immigrant family. My parents are Buddhist and didn't speak English. Even then I found Christianity completely unavoidable. Thank you, Jesus Freaks.

I'm just surprise anyone having even spent a bit of time in the US to not have enough exposure (by choice or not). Christianity is so in your face.

 

[momeNt]

rofl.

no.

To a certain extent he is right.

Every cathedral built in Europe had labor that was granted absolution for their work. These projects were "funded by indulgences" meaning the Church granted indulgences (absolution for some or all of your sins) if you labored in its construction or helped in some other way.

So I mean some understanding is required to understand how Europe was built and the magnificent architecture.

Then you have King Henry VIII, care to explain that saga without really touching on religion?

 

[PowerYoga]

I was born overseas (Cambodia). The majority of my life I was also raised by an immigrant family. My parents are Buddhist and didn't speak English. Even then I found Christianity completely unavoidable. Thank you, Jesus Freaks.

I'm just surprise anyone having even spent a bit of time in the US to not have enough exposure (by choice or not). Christianity is so in your face.

They also don't tell you anything about the old testament or genesis or answer any of the questions OP is asking. You don't go into a coffee shop and start a conversation with people about Jesus.

Hell, can't remember the last time I heard any sort of religious discussions outside of political debates.

 

[momeNt]

I was born overseas (Cambodia). The majority of my life I was also raised by an immigrant family. My parents are Buddhist and didn't speak English. Even then I found Christianity completely unavoidable. Thank you, Jesus Freaks.

I'm just surprise anyone having even spent a bit of time in the US to not have enough exposure (by choice or not). Christianity is so in your face.

He has a post record where even he talks about some christian principles.

I would think it would have to do with:

1. No sex before marraige.
2. No adultery.

As far as Christianity is concerned.

I think this is more about the bible specifically, he is familiar with Christianity and the popular concepts of it, but not with the bible and the plethora of rules and laws it contains, some followed today, some not.

 

[Tobolo]

Yeah, from this:

"I have not come to abolish the law and writings of the prophets (i.e. the Old Testament) but to fulfill them." - Matt. 5:17

Contemporary Christians have interpreted as Christ saying its OK not to follow the old laws. IOW, it practically fucking forbids them "Do not use me to abolish the old law" but Christians have somehow managed even to fuck-up reading that part of the Bible, arriving at something completely fucking opposite of what Christ actually (or supposedly) said, like so many others.

I suspect they do this because even Christians DO NOT HAVE THE STOMACH for their own God's laws of morality. Its always been my belief that contemporary Christians don't believe a fucking word they're saying and are essentially a bunch of dishonest agnostics.

If they actually believed the Gospels were the word of God, they would FEAR for their own salvation, they would FEAR their God for thumbing their nose at his word. But its the opposite, they actually claim they are saved and God is OK with it all. Why? Because they don't fucking believe their own Gospels are the word of God.

As someone who grew up in a very Christ centered home and attend private christian school I am going to disagree with you. It's not that they don't believe/understand the scripture. It's that they just don't know it. Most are spoon fed outrageous exaggerations by unlearned teachers (sunday school, youth pastors, etc.) while the educated leaders (pastors) do nothing to correct them.

I cannot begin to tell you the lies and hypocrisy that I have experienced in my life just because of plain ignorance. Just remember this about Christian faith, the way it is mostly defended is by circular logic. (Why do you believe this? Because God said so, because it's in the bible, because god wrote the bible, REPEAT)

 

[mnewsham]

You simply can have no meaningful grasp of history of Western Culture without it. Do they teach nothing in school anymore? Are you incapable of drawing those conclusions on your own? Do you understand anything about US History even, much less Europe? Christianity is central to all of that. Christianity, like it or not, is the dominant force that shaped all of Western culture for the past 2000 years. Your ability to speak and act freely is due to Christianity. Your ability to openly challenge Christianity is due to Christianity.

Fairly sure the only reason the bolded is true is because without Christianity we wouldn't need to challenge it...

 

[SphinxnihpS]

Great. Your point? No, we didn't dissect the Bible in public school. Or even learn anything specific about it.

You came from China. Wonderful. Well you live in Western society now. To understand it, you have to understand it's history. Most of it's history revolves around that book.

Sorry if I jumped on you, but like I said, your thread verbatim is the single biggest troll of the religious in message boards since message boards existed.

Even most people who identify themselves as Christians are ill-equipped to deal with it.

 

[momeNt]

Fairly sure the only reason the bolded is true is because without Christianity we wouldn't need to challenge it...

Without Christianity anything you challenged, like a royal edict for example, would have been met with death.

Without christianity emperors were granted their powers by the gods themselves, no common person had any "god given" rights or natural rights. That concept is thanks to christianity. Obviously even during christianity there was still the fact that women were viewed as property, and kings pronouncing a divine right, but it progressed much further than before it.

Can the argument be made that this would have happened without christianity, sure, but that's in an alternate universe.

 

[AstroManLuca]

OP, you just demonstrated that you don't understand the very basic belief of Christianity. Were you not raised in the US?

Christianity is about Jesus Christ. Jesus died on the cross as sacrificial payment to God the Father. It is the only suitable payment to absolved us from death, as the penalty for sin is assuredly death by God's law. Why do you think Christians call him (JC) the savior? Why do you think Christians believe that non-believers are condemned to hell (death)? The point is everyone sin and deserve death but only Christians (who are also sinners) are saved.

I was born and raised in the US my entire life (full disclosure - in a non-religious family and I never went to church). I had heard a few vague things about how God killed lots of people in some parts of the Bible. I did not really understand how the more ruthless passages of the Old Testament were reconciled with the more loving, understanding New Testament until maybe a couple years ago. I didn't really look into it, but it's not something I was ever taught or ever encountered on my own.

You simply can have no meaningful grasp of history of Western Culture without it. Do they teach nothing in school anymore? Are you incapable of drawing those conclusions on your own? Do you understand anything about US History even, much less Europe? Christianity is central to all of that. Christianity, like it or not, is the dominant force that shaped all of Western culture for the past 2000 years. Your ability to speak and act freely is due to Christianity. Your ability to openly challenge Christianity is due to Christianity.

The odds of you coming here and making this thread in ignorant and blissful innocence are 1 in 983298632986. That's how about how many threads of this nature I have seen on this board alone, and they are all troll threads. That's because people use those passages from the Bible to smear Christians and Jews, ala "Look at how a bunch of fairy-tale believing retards want to run the world. Even if they don't how can they call that book sacred? Only a bunch of backassward monkeys would buy any of that garbage!""

Now if you seriously have questions about this topic, you are putting the cart before the horse. You need a history of religion class or two, or five.

Did you not study this book in school? Do they not teach the Bible in public school anymore?

OP's question touched a nerve and I can see why... those particular books of the OT are used so much by militant atheists as a smear against Christianity. And it's true, in most cases, when someone cites a Leviticus passage saying you are supposed to stone people for this or that, it's trolling. But this is FBB we're talking about and I think there are actually a fair number of people who legitimately don't understand why there are such things in the Bible. The whole "Jesus died as a way of taking care of all that nasty OT stuff" explanation isn't exactly obvious to non-Christians. All I've ever heard was the line "Jesus died for our sins," and I really didn't know what that meant either.

I've seen how some atheists can be real jackholes about these things, and I've made it a goal of mine to not be a jerk about it. I am constantly putting forth an effort not to judge people based on their religion. But I still sometimes judge the religion itself. And passages like the ones OP posted make it hard not to.

But yeah, to answer your other question, no, they didn't teach us very much about religion when I was in school. The historical aspects of it, sure, but not scripture. It has no place in schools anyway; if you want your kid to learn scripture, send him to Sunday School.

 

[Broheim]

You simply can have no meaningful grasp of history of Western Culture without it. Do they teach nothing in school anymore? Are you incapable of drawing those conclusions on your own? Do you understand anything about US History even, much less Europe? Christianity is central to all of that. Christianity, like it or not, is the dominant force that shaped all of Western culture for the past 2000 years. Your ability to speak and act freely is due to Christianity. Your ability to openly challenge Christianity is due to Christianity.

your logic, it does not compute...

 

[OutHouse]

Not everybody ignores those sections.

There are pockets of individuals in the South that are able to strictly follow the laws - and I mean all the laws - of the Bible, because they have law enforcement actually enforcing the Bible and nobody speaks up about it to get the story to go national.

I won't divulge the locations of these pockets, but generally they are towns of 2,000-10,000 individuals mostly centered around farming with very little contact with the outside world.

The ignorance in this thread is astounding, the fact that some people think that there aren't any literal followers anymore is really laughable.

Bullshit

 

[PowerYoga]

Bullshit

It's true.

They made a movies about it.

 

[SphinxnihpS]

To be fair, I did not learn a thing about religion in public school, and I am older than OP (based on his statement that he was in middle school 15 years ago).

I learned a lot in religious school, but there were plenty of other places and opportunities to learn about religion.

MotionMan

I went to public school and never saw a Bible in a classroom until I was in high school. This was mainly due to the consensus, and wrong, view of the US Constitution.

Fortunately, my wise school board and teachers were prepared to defend their decision to outright teach the Bible in History, English, and Philosophy classes, due to it's pivotal historical role in all these areas.

It would be impossible to understand the mind's of innumerable historical figures without understanding their faith.