Why I am no longer a Christian

[FireDragon76]

How exactly do you belong to the same community and understand the scriptures from the anonymous authors (at least for the NT) who wrote them down 2000 years ago?

I believe the early Christian movement had leaders appointed by the apostles and disciples and they carried their tradition of interpretation down through the centuries. This is not mere speculation, these individuals are called "Church Fathers" and we can read their books today and get an idea of what they were talking about and see the historical presence of the Christian community.

Every large Christian communion today traces its origin in some way back to this early Christian movement that the Church Fathers attest to, and every one of these communions esteems their opinions to various degrees as authoritative. Not coincidentally, these same churches tend to have similar practices and beliefs, whether they are Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, or even Reformed Presbyterians or Methodists.

You see, the real world (science for example) has not had to adjust it's findings based on what the bible says, but interpretations of the bible, have had to be altered over time, when scientific evidence is so overwhelming (and contradicts the bible) and many christians simply find a way to adjust their view and still make their beliefs work for them.

Science only shows us a small part of the world. It is interesting but not a substitute for all those other things people consider making life worth living.

As I said, I disagree that being a Christian and having salvation is about getting our biblical interpretation right.

 

[bhsmte]

I believe the early Christian movement had leaders appointed by the apostles and disciples and they carried their tradition of interpretation down through the centuries. This is not mere speculation, these individuals are called "Church Fathers" and we can read their books today and get an idea of what they were talking about and see the historical presence of the Christian community.

Every large Christian communion today traces its origin in some way back to this early Christian movement that the Church Fathers attest to, and every one of these communions esteems their opinions to various degrees as authoritative. Not coincidentally, these same churches tend to have similar practices and beliefs, whether they are Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, or even Reformed Presbyterians or Methodists.




Science only shows us a small part of the world. It is interesting but not a substitute for all those other things people consider making life worth living.

As I said, I disagree that being a Christian and having salvation is about getting our biblical interpretation right.

I agree with you on one thing; getting a bible interpretation right is not only not important, it is impossible. Who would be the final judge as to which of the hundreds of interpretations is correct and why would they be qualified to make that judgement?

 

[Albion]

I agree with you on one thing; getting a bible interpretation right is not only not important, it is impossible. Who would be the final judge as to which of the hundreds of interpretations is correct and why would they be qualified to make that judgement?

I don't know why we'd call it impossible. That would be as presumptuous as claiming that one particular interpretation has to be the only correct one.

The big issue, I think, is WHAT PART(S) is in dispute. If the parts that almost all Christians agree upon are rightly understood, I'm sure that the rest can be a matter of disagreement and it not matter much.

 

[bhsmte]

I don't know why we'd call it impossible. That would be as presumptuous as claiming that one particular interpretation has to be the only correct one.

The big issue, I think, is WHAT PART(S) is in dispute. If the parts that almost all Christians agree upon are rightly understood, I'm sure that the rest can be a matter of disagreement and it not matter much.

Well, you really have two issues here:

1. What is the proper interpretation of the actual words?
2. What is the source of the actual words and how do we know they are reliable and not simply man made to fulfill an agenda?

Most christians don't like to discuss point number 2 and solely focus on point number 1. This is understandable, because no one wants a belief they are highly committed to, called into question.

Yet, when the bible is objectively reviewed by historians, there are significant questions as to how reliable the book is, but some folks discount that as hogwash and the bible is the divine word of God. These same people, will critique scientific discoveries (with boatloads of evidence) as completely wrong and evil, because they simply contradict what it states in the book they choose to believe in.

IMO, there are a lot of psychological gymnastics that has to take place, to convince oneself, they are being honest with themselves.