Hey guys, just popping back in to share a few thoughts I've been having lately. I really feel this thread has helped to warm-up atheist/Christian/non-Christian relations, and I can see this by the tone of the comments in the last two pages, that we are actually thinking critically together rather than fighting each other, this really brings a tear to my eye
A couple of things I want to mention:
Morality: Atheists seem to demonstrate an incredibly sharp representation of good moral ethic, so far as love your brother and do unto another. I think once an atheist can break through the feeling of being persecuted and outcast by religion, then they are able to share their thoughts in a much more comfortable manner, and this is extremely productive to achieving coherency in such a diverse society.
Morality according to the Bible: we must remember that the Bible doesn't set dogma by which we ought to live by, what it does is tell us what God approves of and what God disapproves of. When the topic of rape and slavery comes up, it must be taken in context of the social construct of the time that God gave those commands. Obviously the commands do not say that slavery and rape are ok, but rather that these are manifestations of the sin of our world, and in such cases as they exist, these are the ways God would like us to deal with them. Take for an example, when an axe head flies off the handle and kills another man. This is something that just happens sometimes, it's not something that God has caused and it's not something that God condones, but God has told us how we should deal with those situations when they arise.
So I think when we read the Bible we really have to consider how is it relevant to the situation at hand, because one thing I've learned recently is that a lot of the beliefs I once held about the Bible have been turned inside-out and I now understand things quite differently. This is certainly a result of having discussed the topic on this thread and come to a more complete understanding of what it means to be Christ's disciple. What I'm learning is that parts of the Bible are prophetic and when we go trying to guess what they might mean and how they will come about, we are actually making up a lie about the future and this is what so many churches do, they think they can explain everything in the Bible when in actual fact much of the Bible just isn't meant to be understood at all. As time goes by, parts of the Bible that are encrypted become unlocked and we get a better idea of what God has in store for the world.
So I think it's better if we can all concentrate on thinking together for the good of the globe and everyone in it, and that means to put aside our personal agenda's and look to see what we can be doing to help each other out.
Finally I'd like to add one more thing that I have realized recently, that many churches seem to think it is their duty to force people to live Christian lives. I think this is just downright wrong, because obviously many people simply don't want to be Christian and we have no right whatsoever to force them to live that way. This is drawing a lot of contention between Christian and non-Christian parties, where each side is fighting each other to get their own way. After thinking about this, I think as a Christian we have a duty to ourselves and to each other to identify the areas where we need to work on repentance, and listen to what our conscience tells us. For those who aren't Christian, they have obviously been quite sorely hurt by the vocal crowds that want to force them into a mold, that they have huge insecurities on their conscience. From walking around the streets recently I have seen so many people are insecure about their homosexual attractions, which is simply a hormonal response to light bouncing off skin and into the eyes. It is completely unfair that anyone should feel uncomfortable for something that is a purely natural part of life, so while I as a Christian cannot say that God condones homosexuality, I really don't feel as though I need to say it anyway because everyone already knows it. But I think it's more important that people feel comfortable with the way their body works, otherwise such suppression can lead to all sorts of emotional problems, insecurities, and even rage. So I think if we are Christian, it's our duty to love the non-Christians for who they are, remember that we have no place to condemn another person or even look down on them for having not decided to be Christian, because afterall, not everyone wants to be Christian and we aren't doing any favors for anyone by trying to force people to behave as one. How do these thoughts fit in with your recent thoughts JGG?