Senate Understanding Christianity

Not all Christians.

Just because I believe there are errors in the Bible, doesn't mean I don't want to hear your explanations even if they're Bible-based. I do. You might not persuade me (though I might learn something), but that's not a good reason not to explain yourself. Please use the Bible to explain yourself, just make it clear, start at the beginning, go through it with numbered bullet points or something, because I've had problems understanding where you're coming from and from what part it's based on.

I said the Bible was inspired. Some literal, some parable/metaphor. But also some human conjecture and traditions were thrown in (which even Jesus admitting some things should be understood differently than literally written, like of food/cleanliness/murder/marriage/"eye-for-an-eye"./etc. And there are a few, very few, where the translations are flat-out wrong, or just wrong.

This is what anakinfansince1983 was talking about.

The early Christians didn't believe it to be the final authority, it wasn't completely compiled until 300AD, and there were disagreements. Some said Revelation shouldn't be included. Some said the Good Shepard should be included. Etc. Even today, not all Christians agree on even the Old Testament. Plus all the translations, people finding some parts of the gospels (like the end of Mark) not existing for centuries and probably added on at some point.

Please don't tell me what we should do "as Christians" with regard to the Bible.

It was a parable. And God DID create the first humans. He did it through evolution.

And like I said above, just because you might not be able to persuade me, doesn't mean you shouldn't or can't explain yourself. I'm just asking you to explain yourself. It you want to use the Bible as a source, that's fine, I just want to see the explanation so I can understand. I'm always trying to understand things I don't agree with. I also started a "Understanding Islam" thread, reading through the Qur'an. I've read the Bhagavad Gita. My religion teacher in a Christian high school (an elderly priest/monk) told us all to understand evolution in science class, and learn about different religions, and I have. I like trying to understand the different branches of Christianity. Occasionally I learn something new, somewhere, that makes me think I should adjust my beliefs. I'm open-minded. Just explain yourself, spread what you think is the good news, don't worry about persuading, just explain. Plenty of us are genuinely here to understand, both Christians and Atheists. It's no revelation that Christianity is diverse. I'm not trying to persuade you necessarily either, but maybe you can learn a little more about the diversity of Christianity too, how to better explain your own beliefs, and how to better answer the questions/criticisms of others.

 

Honestly I don't mind explaining to you Ghost It's the trolls that only want to criticize and belittle any explaination I may have that "makes my heart hurt" You're obviously a well respected member and your confusion to my explainations only chums the water.

Besides, to be honest I've lost track of what It was you were not understanding.

 

darthOB1 Well I appreciate that. And some people are half poking fun, but half genuinely curious too. For any true trolls (and it's actually not that bad in this thread), just ignore them. People troll me a lot too. There might also be plenty of people reading along who aren't posting too.

How about this...
1. what are your core beliefs, overall? (I went over mine in the very first post on the first page, here: http://boards.theforce.net/threads/understanding-christianity.50007773/, though I'd change and refine a few things now since it's been 5 years)
2. And then zoom in on your beliefs on the afterlife.
3. And also zoom in on your timeline of the end-times, with pre-Armageddon, Armageddon, the general resurrection, the following millennium, the last temptation, what comes after, and anything else (that's what I could keep track of in your beliefs so far)

(I think 2 and 3 were where the most confusion was happening, that's when I stepped in)

 

Being open minded doesn't mean what you think it does. It means you're willing to accept new information. It does NOT mean blindly accepting random unsupported claims. If this is the best you can do, then you're not going to find many who will agree with you.

 

This thread is called "Understanding Christianity" and I do feel like it has morphed into "Arguing About Christianity" somewhere along the way. I mean, when I talk to someone with different beliefs from me, I do want to understand what you believe; I don't really want to convert you or rip your argument apart and I hope you're not trying either of those things with me. There's a place for that debate, but a lot of times, people do skip right over understanding the other person's beliefs straight to debating them, which usually leads to people arguing past each other. Not talking about everybody in this thread or anything, but it does happen in here. Ghost has been admirable in trying to stay focused on understanding, I will say that; he has gone above and beyond in this case.

 

To be fair, though, given how many denominations and branches of Christianity there are, sometimes I think Christians don't understand Christianity.

 

If you are truly interested in my beliefs and since apparently I cannot seem to articulate my beliefs clearly in writing I will refer you to the website JW.org
All the answers you seek to your questions are there. Although I would prefer to do it in my own words, my pathetic writing skill will only be a distraction I'm afraid.

 

That's true for every religion. Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism also have various different branches. Even Atheism, while not a religion itself, is not a monolithic block.

 

That's absolutely true. See my own efforts (and mostly failures) to fully grasp darthOB1's theology.

 

Something thats always baffled me about Christianity is the Gothic architecture , how in hell did they think this was a good idea , I mean it works great for Hammer Horror films but for the teachings of Jesus ??

I had to go to a funeral last year , the mass was in a fairly typical old Catholic church with that typical gothic architecture , and it brought back all those miserable memories of when I was a kid (I was raised Catholic) sitting in this cold , hard , dark stone place , hard benches , incense etc. being lectured by the priest that we're all sinners etc. and surrounded by quite awful pictures of torture . It was just grim , I certainly didn't get the feeling of love and forgiveness and appreciation of the 'gift of life' .

.

 

gezvader28, I'd bet that was one of the things that put Martin Luther on the road to the Protestant Reformation. Protestant churches are far less likely to go for Gothic architecture than Catholics are, and even many modern Catholic churches are much simpler, brighter, and more cheerful than Gothic.

As for how the medieval Catholics got into Gothicism, I have no idea, but I'd guess it was a long gradual process that nobody really noticed until it was well on its way. That's just human nature.

 

THE APPLE

Malus. A pun.

 

I never knew anyone who thought it was actually an apple? It was always just "fruit" in the story, and apple is usually the first fruit people think of. I'm not sure why it matters, either way, though.

 

long time getting into Gothic, even longer getting out.


The church I got married in was built in the first half of the 15th century. It's small and homely and stuck with a lot of gothicky elements.

 

Well, at least I don't see any gargoyles leering at the happy couple...

 

I love a gargoyle me , but you gotta wonder what some of these architects were smoking back then .

 

Even some Christians were critical of the existence of grotesques adorning their beloved churches when they were being built, but I can't say I agree.

Although Gothic buildings don't really reflect the piety and humility of Christian-kind in its flourish-y architecture, one cannot deny that those abbeys and castles and fortresses are anything but beautiful and majestic, right down to the haunting imagery of the gargoyles and chimerae.

Sent from Hell--depending on whether or not it exists.

 

While we're on the subject of medieval church architecture, this just popped up on FB: http://www.bbc.com/travel/gallery/20170427-the-extraordinary-angel-roofs-of-england-

That craftsmanship and artwork is breathtaking.

 

"link not available to UK " , oh thanks , BBC .!

 

Oh that is interesting.

 

If anyone remembers me, maybe this will blow their mind - but I became a Christian again!

 

Congratulations. Why were you not a Christian and what inspired you to become one again?

Sent from Hell--depending on whether or not it exists.

 

Welcome back, EBB. In more ways than one.

 

Sounds like an occasion for rejoicing in heaven!

In my experience, Christians who return after a prodigal phase are much wiser and stronger for the experience. Hope it works that way for you, EBB.