Island said:
the bible is very confusing...
This is exactly what I am talking about. The Bible is very contradictory and confusingly written so different people get different things out of it.
As a result it bothers me when I hear Christians talking about groups like the WBC and saying "they aren't Christians" or " they aren't following what Jesus said" when in fact they are, it's just that they are following different parts of what Jesus and the Bible say than you are.
The difference is that Fred Phelps is an angry old bigot, so he naturally gravitates to those passages and messages, whereas most Christians are basically good people and therefore gravitate to the stuff about peace and love.
ReaperzXIII said:
Sorry about this, I know you don't want to turn this into a deconstruction but I feel slightly compelled to respond. I'm pretty sure the first one means "die" as in going to hell, as it breaks the 10 commandments, a lot of time in the new testament it means die as go to hell.
Um... what? I'd like to see some sort of basis for this.
As for the 2nd one that is just like the part where he says "if a roman asks you to carry his thing for so or so miles (can't remember exact number) do it for double instead" he is not voicing support of their deeds just giving alternatives to violence and hate.
Even
if you don't interpret that passage as supporting slavery it certainly doesn't condemn it which is bad enough for me. However, given the context of the Bible's view on slavery as a whole [footnote]It has detailed instructions on how long you can keep them and how badly you can beat them.
Hint: As long as they don't die prior to two days after the beating it's OK[/footnote] Jesus' lack of condemnation rings that much louder.
It pisses me off to see Christians twisting the original message of love and tolerance into their hate filled bile that they spew on everyone walking past.
As I have said before, they aren't twisting the Bible any more or less than you are. Their views have just as much Biblical support as yours do.
The difference is that, unlike them, you are actually a good person and therefor you gravitate to those good passages.
