well then, all us fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminates, and self abusers are going to hell. Jesus had long hair, did'nt he? Does that mean Jesus was effeminate too?
Didn't know long hair meant effeminant. Don't know if He wore His hair long either.
You see, to me, I think we miss the point. We want to change christianity, not so we can "sin" at will, but we want to do it to make christianity more in line with how we feel jesus would be, today. We are intelligent and rational beings, and we believe Jesus would be too.
Bible says God is timeless, so I guess that means Jesus would feel the same way now as He did then, and will do so tomorrow.
We have access to great philosophies, books, ideas. We want christianity to be relevant to us, in the 21st century. People are turning away from the church in droves, and all because they do not feel it has this relevance for them that it had for their grandfathers.
So, who would Jesus be today?
That really is a shame for all those people. They should realize one can't go online and order up God, with customized details like a Toyota. He is who He is, and it is we who must adapt to Him and His ways...not the other way around.
Would we have Jesus "A", a man who was intolerant of other's spirituality. Intolerant of homosexuals. Intolerant of many things, yet who pretended to be nice and sweet for votes, all dressed up in a nylon suit, handling snakes? Because lets not forget, it says in the bible that we should handle poisonous snakes.
Or would we have Jesus "B", who recycles his trash, is concerned about the AIDS pandemic and campaigns against social and global injustices?
Jesus looks at a man's spirit, he doesn't have time to bother with all the baggage we carry around.
Would Jesus would still knock about with whores and tax collectors? Would he still stay the ppl from stoning the adulteress, would he still preach love, tolerance, and compassion, would he suggest we love our neighbours, turn the other cheek, be decent, et cetera?
Jesus is the tax collectors and the whores, and the adultresses and you and me. He said so. He's not the one who is prejudiced...we are.
Jesus "A" wouldn't. Jesus "A" thinks him and his ppl are the chosen ones, which infers the rest of us can go to hell. Jesus "A" is just like his father- arrogant, thinks he knows it all, wants to punish ppl for their ignorance and idiocy, and far removed from the people.
Yes and no. He and His people are the chosen ones. Who the chosen are depends upon the people themselves. The rest can go to hell. Jesus is like His Father and does know it all. He doesn't have to punish people, they do that quite well on their own. He's trying to take our pain away, but we won't let Him. He can't be too far removed from the people since the Holy Spirit is here with us right now...
Yet Jesus "B" would still hang around with whores. Maybe he wouldn't be a fisherman, or the son of a carpenter, maybe he would be a drugs worker. Maybe he would help out with the soup kitchen run. What ever he'd be, he'd be in there, in the thick of it, fighting the good fight.
Are you?...in the thick of it, fighting the good fight? If so, then Jesus is there too. If not, then Jesus is having to do it alone.
The NT is supposed to be perceived as "good news". I don't see much in the way of good news here. I choose to take on board those aspects of the bible that resonate for me, that feel to me to be the message of Christ.
That is called wishful thinking, and also denial. It's hard to look in the mirror without acknowledging the truth of our flaws...the bible is that mirror.
and that's why some of us want to change the bible. To bring it more in line with what we perceive to be the true message of christianity. To get rid of the bad news, and spread the good news.
You're in good company. The JWs, the Scientologists, the Mormons, the UUs...and a whole bunch of others wanted to do the same thing. So they did.
but when they did, they pretty much threw the baby out with the bath water...just not quite the same after that.
v/r
Joshua
