Glad that helped
I hope my recent post clears this up.
I think the popular meme , that if you are a Christian you must follow what’s written in the bible, does not apply to all Christians, but only to those who profess the Bible is literally the inerrant word of God.
Your post did clarify quite nicely. It still looks like cherry picking from where I sit but at least in the second case there seems to be some attempt at thought vrs blind obedience.
Technically speaking I’m not sure they can cherry pick if their belief system doesn’t require them to follow the bible. That said, humans being human, I’m sure there is justification and rationalizing going on in which people tweak their beliefs to fit their personal preference or the situation of the moment. Real discipline and stark personal honesty is hard. It’s also part of ongoing spiritual growth. Someone has to admit to themselves they are falling short and make the decision to improve.
I admit it. I’m not stoning enough people to death. But it’s so much more difficult without a mob to help with all the needed stones!
I was thinking more along the lines of dealing with personal flaws like greed, jealousy, being judgemental, etc.
If I Remove the word “spiritual” from that sentence then you are describing a truth I can completely get behind. Well stated.
I was referring to dealing with these flaws in other people. 
Yep, you could just as easily say personal growth as spiritual growth. different paths work for different people, but none work without some degree of discipline and personal honesty.
I see. Some good F.U. Therapy helps occasionally.
Plus some of those bigger stones are really good for decorating and landscaping your home.
To play devil’s advocate, you find the more fervent religious people to be more tolerable? Because they are truer to their convictions?
I think religion is fine if put into context; it’s a mythology that uses imagination to tell a story designed to give people comfort in hard times. The problem comes when you start taking it literally. Any religion. They don’t have to be true in order to contain truth.
Also, everyone religious person creates their own version of their religion. It’s human nature for us to remember the parts of the stories we find relevant. I can learn something about unconditional love and sibling rivalry from “The Prodigal Son” for example. It doesn’t matter whether the story actually took place, or whether the storyteller ever actually existed. The lesson is still the same.
And for that matter, there doesn’t actually have to be a wise little green creature on the moon of Dagobah in order for the words “Do or do not; there is no try” to ring true. Stories are what we as humans use to teach lessons by engaging the imagination. Nothing wrong with that.
I see fervent religious belief as synonymous with mental illness. A little be kind to others goes a long way, but you can have a peaceful civilization without the need for all the mytho/historical underpinnings. I tend to respect the moderately religious more than than the devout in terms of finding a balance.
Good luck getting that into the DSM.
Ha! Good point. And yet, the DSM has to be based on science and symptoms, not things that can’t be measured. Ultimately, religious belief has everything to do with the power of the imagination, and pretty much every bipolar person on their way to a manic high starts hearing the voice of God somewhere. Come to think of it, that’s pretty much the only people who DO hear the voice of God–those that have crossed that thin line between genius and insanity. Take Joan of Arc, for example.
Cite?
Personal experience. It’s one of the reasons I get very leery around overly religious people, especially those who have just experienced revelations.
You have “personal experience” of “pretty much every bipolar person”? Like, pretty much every bipolar person in the world? I find that hard to believe. So, again, where did you get the idea that
?
Oh, in that case, textbooks written by experts on the subject. People like Kay Redfield Jamison for example. Religious delusions of grandeur are a pretty common symptom. Maybe not for everybody, but for enough to be a trend.
So, not “pretty much every bipolar person,” then.
As for the idea of “fervent religious belief as synonymous with mental illness,” are there any “experts on the subject” who agree with you there?