Refuse part or all of the bible?

[Miller]

@Beaucarnea

Actually, I did read your contributions, and took note of **Quiddity Glomfusters ** gushing praise of your opinions. And this helped me to understand why you jumped me for using the phrase **Christian Lite™ ** but let Quid get away with the pejorative fundie.

Again, what I objected to was your hypocrisy, not your use of that specific pejorative. You might also note that Apos has been giving QG a pretty hard time in this thread, and I haven’t been rushing to her defence. Why? Because Apos isn’t being a hypocrite in his arguments against her.

Do you feel that all Christians are using exactly the same approach?

We’re not talking about all Christians, are we? Remember the OP?

@Snipe1978

If I refuse to believe parts of the bible, why should I believe any of it?

So, in the context of the OP, it should be pretty clear that I’m talking about Christians who believe in portions of the Bible, and write off other portions as metaphor, mistranslation, or latter day interpolation.

@Beaucarnea

Cite? How do you know how many Christians rely solely on the Bible?

I don’t have a cite. That’s why I said, “suspect” and not “know.”

Most of our politicians use the Bible as reference and ultimate authority when proposing legislation regarding equal rights for gays, abortion, and the teaching of science in public schools. Did your citeless sweeping generalization purposely exclude those conservatives in power?

Excuse me? How do you know how many Christians rely solely on the Bible? At least I had the grace to phrase my citeless sweeping generalization as supposition, and not fact.

Are you implying that discrimination and bigotry is excusable because Biblical text is prone to misinterpretation? Ignorance of the law does not excuse the crime.

No, and I’m genuinely amused that you managed to infer that meaning from what I wrote.

You’re question doesn’t make much sense. If you bother to pay attention to the context of that quote, you’ll see I was explaining how to apply a general maxim to three specific current political debates that are not specifically covered by the Bible. Not everyone (Christian or otherwise) follows that maxim. (I don’t: I’m an atheist, so I don’t concern myself with showing love to God.) Two of them don’t even make sense when adressed in terms of bigotry: you don’t have to hate women to be pro-life, for example. When it comes to homophobia, I’m of the opinion that very few homophobes ever bother to think, “Am I showing love to my neighbor by doing this?”

Although, I’ve met one or two who do: genuinely decent, well-meaning people who opposed gay rights out of a misguided sense that they were helping us somehow. These people are often vulnerable on that avenue: we had a poster here (I forget who he was, or if he still posts) like that, who was convinced to not vote against a gay marriage ban because, however good his intentions, his actions would be perceived as hostile and would serve to draw gays further from Christ instead of towards him. It was one of the most remarkable threads I’ve seen here.

But I digress.

You are incorrect. We are talking about a wide variety of Biblical interpretation and application, and this includes conservatives, liberals, and everything in between.

No, we’re specifically not talking about Biblical literalists. Remember the OP?

@Snipe1978

If I refuse to believe parts of the bible, why should I believe any of it?

People who believe in some parts, and not other parts. Not all Christians, just the non-literalists.

@Beaucarnea

Then the Bible should not be used as reference when deciding what should be taught in science class, whether or not birth control is allowable, and to determine what sexual acts and feelings are allowed.

Did I suggest otherwise?

[Apos]

@Quiddity Glomfuster

Apos you continue to make claims but have yet to respond to any challenge for cites.
You can’t back up what you’re saying, clearly. And I’m not about to waste my time on someone who discusses that way. This is in Great Debates, not Great Uninformed, Unsupported Opinions. It should probably be moved to IMHO. Ta Ta.

I already gave you cites: how can you possibly claim that I haven’t when they are sitting right there in plain view.

I cited a passage in which God directly commands Moses and his allies to slaughter anyone who created and worships a graven image, which is followed by Moses then doing so. Immediately preceding this, there are chapters and chapters of God explaining all sorts of other similar things that require the death penalty. Later on this will be reiterated yet again. In fact, anyone who had actually read the Bible would know that you are fighting a ridiculous and losing battle on this one.