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Stephen3141

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Trying to explain everything with conspiracy theories, is even worse!

Note that in these ancient languages, the heart/mind were considered the same thing.
That is, our reasoning abilities, existed in the physical "heart".

Your implying that the "heart" is different than the mind, is biblically flawed.

Talking about reality, using logic,
was never meant to replace all the other ways of living in reality.
 
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fhansen

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Ah, it’s different because you believe it.
I believe it has true value for humankind-and has expressed itself as such. The basis of Christianity is love, and we can value that or not, whether we're inside of a church or never entered one. And many inside haven't yet seemed to have gained an appreciation for that virtue, incidentally.
 
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Runningman

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And yet we have history-the historical undertakings of the early church and, most importantly, perhaps, the testimony of the ECFS which gives a broad and virtually unanimous narrative of the basic beliefs and practices of that early church.
Well, I am a Unitarian Christian so I would have to respectfully disagree, but I won't comment any further because it's against the board rules.
 
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fhansen

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Well, I am a Unitarian Christian so I would have to respectfully disagree, but I won't comment any further because it's against the board rules.
Well, I don't know why it be against board rules to comment on the ECFs but what I would do if you want to comment intelligently on them, if you haven't done so already, is just to read them, the more extensively the better
 
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Runningman

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Well, I don't know why it be against board rules to comment on the ECFs but what I would do if you want to comment intelligently on them, if you haven't done so already, is just to read them, the more extensively the better
I'm pretty good at Unitarian apologetics and theology and I can go the distance with any Trinitarian. I've been banned from this board, if I remember correctly, three times so far for talking too much. Anyway, I'll just comment on the topic at hand.

Would you atleast agree that what is known as the modern day church has become an arm of propaganda? I think it has.
 
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Larniavc

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Based on what? what you feel?
 
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fhansen

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Wittingly or not some churches have-especially the religious right. And a great deal of disagreement exists based on differing interpretations of Scripture. But when I study the ECFs and the history in general of church teachings on God and what He desires of man, if I go back before the Reformation, I find a consistency which is still reflected today in the teachings of both the Eastern and Western churches, EO and RCC, for example.
 
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jayem

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If Christianity satisfies your questions about life, and the universe, and gives you peace of mind, then go for it. But it doesn’t work for everyone. Heck, I’m just past retirement age. In all honesty, even from my pre-teen years—I’ve been highly skeptical of religion and anything claimed to be supernatural. As my avatar notes, I’m a naturalist. I believe in matter/energy and the fundamental forces of nature. To me, all the gods, of all religions, are products of the human imagination. So what if we don’t have a complete naturalistic explanation for the appearance of life on this planet? That doesn’t mean we never will. (Off-topic: I’ll make a prediction that before the end of this century, we’ll have a realistic and plausible model for the appearance of nucleic acids--specifically RNA. Which is the first early step towards life.) Also, I’ve never felt my life was empty or devoid of purpose. Whatever meaning there is in life is what you give it. Your life is in your hands. It’s always seemed rather sad to me that anyone would need a supernatural entity to feel secure and fulfilled.

And BTW, though I don’t believe in any kind of god, I do believe in a higher power. It’s called my wife.
 
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fhansen

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Most beliefs can be dismissed out of hand with little to no consequence.
Love the people in one’s life and the new people that one meets as best as one can and leave the rest to the ineffable.
The ineffable is the one who is revealed and defined as being behind that love, the source of it, and so to love is a matter of being in alignment with that will of the universe so to speak, with that rectitude. And to know that is a good thing. A teaching I'm familiar with puts it this way:
"At the evening of life we shall be judged on our love."
 
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Runningman

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I'd have thought rejoining the boards after having been banned would in and of itself be a bannable offense.
Lol no just banned three times under this account and then the ban be lifted each time.
 
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fhansen

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I've read them both. What am I supposed to see?
When I read the gospels I come away believing that a rather ragtag group of commentators were attempting to the best of their abilities to report that they witnessed-just the facts. Even if they were making it up for some reason and colluding on the "facts", they nonetheless wanted the reader to believe that what they claimed to have observed truly happened. When I read the Epic I don't get that at all. I read one (apparently) commentator's vivid imaginations and, on top of that, walk away discerning that I've learned nothing of value.
 
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Bradskii

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Gandhi: "I like your Christ, but not your Christianity."

I'm in total agreement with Mahatma. I think Jesus was an example to us all. But then, so are so many people.
 
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FireDragon76

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But if they're so big shouldn't we be able to explain them?

Haven't you heard of Ludwig Feuerbach, and his notion that God is merely the idealization of humanity?


People don't have to make something up if the psychic structures pre-exist their conscious awareness.
 
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FireDragon76

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Really? The Jesus story is not really remarkable. There are loads of deity made flesh back from the dead stories in other religions.

Elements of Jesus' life clearly fit the template of myth, but other elements do not. Most historians believe Jesus existed, that he was a Galilean rabbi, apocalyptic prophet, and faith healer who was executed by the Romans. Historians of the period generally agree on those points.
 
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FireDragon76

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I'm unconvinced that the Gospels are anything like modern history. Most actual biblical scholars at places like Harvard or Yale would also agree.

Ancient people held to a kind of "ur-Platonism". What seemed true was just as likely to be true, if it fit an established narratival pattern.
 
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