fiatlux

The answer to the question is hate is murder, no matter who does it. The only difference between a fundamentalist Christian and Muslim is the focus of their limited vision;other than that,they are the same. Religion or faith is secondary or tertiary or of no importance at all to the spiritual malady they both share, a mere prop or excuse to exorcise their particular demons. Neither serves God. Fundamentalism is both a spiritual and mental disorder. Christ's metaphors about the kingdom of heaven proves this fact.

Certainty is of ego, a psychological need that defeats wonder, love, curiosity, spontaneity, awe, and all the passive and vulnerable natural workings of the mind for the false safety of knowing truth. It is cognitive dissonance on steroids. I am sorry, but Genesis is so obviously not a literal account of creation, only those in great need to suppress trauma in their past would cling to this supposed "rock."

Fear is the enemy! And many Christians are quick to add kindling or fuel to this blaze that is devouring both faith and reason. If Islamic Extremists are our enemy, according to Christ,we should be showing them our willingness to die for them, not our potential to kill them.

Just noticed your last comment about abortion: if a person causes an abortion, and life begins at conception, what should be his punishment according to scripture? Obviously, death. An Innocent life has been taken. The Ten Commandments tells us clearly death is called for in such an instance. But what does scripture say? Not death, but a monetary recompense. How could that be?

WhatIt'sWorth Loc: Methane Sea, Jupiter

The Bible says absolutely NOTHING concerning abortion.

Absolutely NOTHING.

The "monetary recompense" alluded to is about nothing but accidental causing of a miscarriage -- that is NOTHING like abortion -- the BIBLE says NOTHING concerning abortion -- yet is has become a LITMUS TEST OF CHRISTIANITY

unless you equate abortion with MURDER:
you are "not a good Christian"

Hogwash.

The BiBLE says ZERO about abortion and I defy ANYONE on this boARd to provE DIFFERENT

You won't be able to -- I HAVE READ ALL OF IT

GO AHEAD AND SINK YERSELVES

smurphy Loc: Co

You are right. End of story. NOT!

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

You are correct, the Bible does not speak of abortion as we know it today. But it does say offering children to the fire god Molech was an abomination. The final result was the same, the child was just allowed to live little longer until it suffered unbearable pain.

Do you have any children or grandchildren you wished you had had aborted?

Poppino

Abortion is heinous: we should, just as decent human beings, agree on that fact. It is an ugly part of our existence. No one can argue against this fact. The call is for "Pro-choice" and not "Pro-abortion," for who in their right mind could be "Pro-abortion"? A life is destroyed and most women will not feel quite right about it for the rest of their lives. Any and all abortions are a true tragedy, even if the woman's life is at stake or the life was created by incest or rape. Speaking of abortion as "the right of a women to control her own body" or "as a sin against God" both miss the point. Why?

Our existence is not about abstract arguments of what is right and wrong, good or evil, but about people. Granted that there are those women who appear to feel little or no compunction about ending their pregnancy; abortion is, to them, a form of birth control that allows for the care-free continuance of their lifestyle. I knew such a women who had five abortions and seemed unfazed. 95% or better, I believe, of women who have abortions are adversely affected to some small or large degree. It is not a convenience or an easy decision; it is a burden. So why do it?

As I read recently, Pro-life needs to be really Pro-life and not just Pro-birth. If one believes in the sanctity of life, then also believe in helping that women in abject poverty who has had a child get proper care during her pregnancy, then support her in caring for that child and herself and in finding a way for her out of the hell-hole of her circumstances to decent motherhood and a productive life. Dire conditions exist most of us are clueless about. Blame her for a poor choice is life-affirming? Force her to bring this child into existence just to face the debilitating harsh reality of being malnourished, prey in a high-crime neighborhood, and generational enslavement to hopelessness.

WhatIt'sWorth Loc: Methane Sea, Jupiter

Slavery is heinous: we should, just as decent human beings, agree on that fact.

Yet Paul sent Onesimus back to Philemon -- in direct contrast to Old Testament directive to the contrary...

The New Testament condones slavery, then.

The truth is, contemporary Churchianity CHERRY-PICKS what is heinous and what is not

slavery - homosexuality - abortion
condoned - condemned - not mentioned at all

yet NO ONE today is "pro-slavery"

churches are divided about homosexuality

and abortion - the unmentioned thing in the Bible - becomes a litmus test for Christianity in so many people's eyes

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

To paraphrase a quote from I believe Mark Twain; (It ain't the things I don't understand about the Bible that bothers me, it's the things I do understand.)

Mankind has stepped into a dimension of life where nothing is wrong, nothing is right. It is becoming a everyone doing what is right in their own eyes. Tolerance of anything and everything will only end in total chaos and confusion.

Poppino

It seems that way but that is a surface read. Slavery is not directly approved of (and never condemned; it was the practice of the day yet Paul does appear to hint this is wrong); the point is no matter your state be content in the Lord.

The idea of life at conception cannot be found in the Bible. It seems utterly reasonable and likely, yet no scripture affirms it. There are references to the "quickening," which would occur late in the second trimester. The indication appears to be that a living soul is now present in the womb.

Armageddun Loc: The show me state

If you believe the Genesis account, (which I do) God breathed the breath of life into the nostrils of man and he became a living soul.

God told Jeremiah, He knew him while he was still in the womb.

Man begins with a seed and an egg. A corn seed is joined with dirt, sun and water. When does its life begin? In the ground or when it pops out of the ground?

Poppino

Unsure whether you are agreeing or disagreeing with me or just going off on another point. If that last analogy was meant to counter abortion, it failed miserably. Its life very obviously, and maybe only, begins and ends in the ground. Like potatoes or turnips. It appears that you're are saying when a child "pops" out of the womb, it is considered life.

I believe in the Genesis account--but not literally. To do so, I think, is absurd. Nowhere are we instructed in the Bible to take what it says as literal. Spiritual truth, yes, but that demands a far deeper inspection.