And yet when he asks for clarity…makes an attempt to understand HER christianity (after all, you’re all saying there are so many different kinds), she refuses to answer because he finds it ridiculous? What should that have to do with answering a question about the faith she so rabidly defends? What a fuckin’ cop-out.
Believe me, none of you would want a dissertation on what any one Christian denomination believes, and you certainly wouldn’t want each of us to. The point of the discussion was that most of us…most Christians in the world…do NOT take the Bible literally. Arguing with non-Bible literalists that they should take the Bible literally so you can tell them how stupid they are for doing it is a pretty ignorant debating tactic, IMO. I’m sure any one of us would be happy to try to explain particular areas of our religion if questioned about them in the spirit of honest debate.
Sure, they are irrelevant to any point either Jodi or I have tried to make here. I have been more than open with my religious beliefs, and made as comprehensive explanations of them as I can, in relevant discussions.
I don’t feel any need to assist him to understand my Christianity. I think he’s a huge offensive jerk whose posts to date lead me to suspect has no sincere interest in what I think or believe. And I don’t believe I have “rabidly defended” any faith; I have rabidly defended people’s right to hold their faiths, and I have pretty unequivocally stated my firm refusal to discuss my own with anyone who cannot be civil in that discussion. That very clearly would include badchad. I don’t like him; I don’t respect him; I find him offensive and I find him tiresome, since this is the one song he ever bangs out on his drum, ever. I am declining to be the upteenth person to chime in on the chorus. If that strikes you as a cop-out, so be it.
Let’s see. You claim my criticisms are inaccurate. I say they are accurate. You say they don’t apply to your particular beliefs. I say I bet they do, and just to be clear, I ask what are your particular beliefs, so as to see if they differ appreciably from the stereotype. You say you’re not telling. Good job.
What I’m interested in is the reasons you select the parts of the Bible you hold dear, and the reasons for rejecting the parts that offend you. Does the Bible tell you to pick out passages you like, and passages you dislike, and to revere the one and reject the other? If so, where? If not, why do you feel free to do so? Without a clear answer, I’ll assume that “convenience” is one big reason, and “self-righteousness” is another. Justify for me why it is you feel I should respect a document that tells me plainly that it’s okay to have slaves.
If your answer is “That section’s is out of date” then I’m going to apply that answer far broadly to the entire document and move on with my life, advocating that other rational people do the same, and I’d appreciate it if you’d respect that position. My problem is that religious folks, and particularly those calling themselves “Christian,” show almost no respect at all for atheists, while insisting that atheists cut them all sorts of special slack. Nuh-uhh.
Horsefeathers. That’s not the argument at all, but rather how all of you twist into pretzels to explain away all those Bibble quotes – that are right there in front of all to see/read – that you find “inconvenient” to either your particular brand of faith or your personal conception of what your deity should be like. Which is ultimately nowhere to be found other than inside your heads: delusion.
If you gave me a specific example, and outside of this discussion which is not on this topic, then I would be happy to do so. Otherwise, I suggest you start by reading the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I don’t agree with 100% of it, but for the most part it reflects my beliefs. It might take you a while to get through it, but I’ll still be here when you’re done.
If you can show me where in my posts that I have not respected YOUR position, I would be more than happy to apologize. Because I certainly respect your right to reject the Bible in its entirety.
No, in saying you don’t believe 100% in the Catechism I think you’ll continue your evasion. Catholics believe many things and I wouldn’t want to erroneously attribute things to you that are not the case. How about you just answer those simple questions I gave to Jodi in post #563. They are short simple questions, and the questions are on topic.
No, it’s that he only wants to be able to then attack and nitpick to death her beliefs, hoping to jump on some inconsistancy or something so he can jump up and down and yell “GOTCHYA!”