Gannaed wrote:Only xianity could stoop as low as to making people feel ashamed of something as natural as their own bodies and sexuality. Before, people embraced it. Now they're afraid of it. In polytheism women were considered the "center of magical energy" and were celebrated for their sexuality. It was a beautiful thing, nothing to be ashamed of.
Adultery is nothing to be ashamed of? Fornication is nothing to be ashamed of? Lustful and evil thoughts are nothing to be ashamed of? Even if you don't believe in God and you are involved in a sexual activity, it is natural to feel unclean after that sexual activity. During puberty, it is natural for males and females to feel unclean because of what their bodies release. If one is a pagan and feels unclean during these activities and decides to clean his/herself up, what is the problem with a holy and perfect God saying that we are unclean when these things happen?
Gannaed wrote:Fine, jesus condoned dehumanization of people by implying that it was okay to beat a servant that did not comply with his master's will, supressing his "inalienable" right to be treated like a person deserving of hapiness and pleasure. Why not take a position for the "little guy," rather than condone their abuse from elitist snobs who treated humans of lesser wealth as inferior. I thought jesus, if anything, came to lead "the Way", instead of adhereing to the laws which we now know are wrong and unfair. Why did jesus adhere to the "slavery law," yet enccouraged his followers to STEAL colts and such, for his own whim. Eventually, many countries abandoned slavery and allowed it's citizens to have equal rights.
Looks like Man caught on to what was good for Man after all. Too bad jesus didn't enlighten us.
You make it seem as if the master is the one who is evil and not the servant. No, no my friend. When Jesus tells these parables, it is the servant who is the evil one and the hypocrite and the master is the righteous one. Note, they are not real stories that He tells, therefore Jesus is only telling it so His followers might understand in the type of environment they lived in. So "dehumanization of people" is not the idea He is portraying. Finally, Jesus never told His desciples to "steal" a colt. How can one steal something that is already theirs? We are just stewards of God's possessions my friend.
Gannaed wrote:The last of my biblical quotes were taken from the Apocrypha. Teachings not accepted by most xtians supposedly because they are of "dubious" orgin, or perhaps because xtians already have enough scriptures to choose to interpret figuratively, symbolically, literally, whatever, to make clarifications where their "holy" books only leave contradictions which often makes xtians contradict one another, thus leaving those whom they like to try to convert and other "nonbelievers" in even further confusion. "Ecclesiastics of the Apocrypha does not appear in most Bibles. However, in Catholic Bibles, the inferiority of woman still appears in the verses of Ecclesiastic"
There is something called Canonicity. Maybe you should look it up. And ultimately, Christianity is blindly judged by the actions of Christians instead of the teachings itself. Such a shame coming from "reasonable" skeptics. Too bad they don't know Christ died for sinners.
Gannaed wrote:External entities much like humans, have the compacity to do "positive" just as much as they do "negative." NO ONE else has the right to dictate what is good, bad, or even pure for ANYONE, but themselves. Whatever benefits an individual is considered to be good so long as it is not harmful to them mentally, chemically, or physically. That, in most part, is for the individual and the individual ALONE to determine. NOT xianity or anyone else
If you want to say that it is man who determines what is good and bad, then show me what promises we can test man by to see if it is really him who determines. The Bible is full of God's promises in which we can see He is the one who determines. He who denies the existance of God and does not even take his time to test the promises of God in the Bible is the same as a person who denies a microbe by refusing to look into a microscope.