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The Bible; Inerrant And Infallible, Holy Spirit Inspired, Word Of God?


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I feel God is infinite so the Divine is in us and we are in the infinite. God's heaven and hell are also in the present infinite. I have compassion for the Evangelicals who need salvation from hell because that means that is where they are mentally. DrDon your presence without a word will introduce them to heaven. Enjoy the tug and pull as you spread the joy and light of Christ's pure consciousness.

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Dear Soma-

 

Thank you for your last entry. It was good to read centering words. I have a justice problem (I'm not alone in this) and still put myself through the ridiculous astonishment that has so long ago lost the right to do so. It is an indulgence, on my part, to carry this on. I would venture to say that having been brutally judged and found wanting has left me with a desire to return the favor. I'm not proud of that. It doesn't say much about my capacity for compassion nor my own inner conviction.

 

Soma, you are a voice of light and lightness. Living love is more than enough. Such is the method of those who follow the path, the way, the truth and, ultimately, the life.

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I feel God is infinite so the Divine is in us and we are in the infinite. God's heaven and hell are also in the present infinite.

 

I would say not that the divine is in me ... but that I am divine. (ultimately there is no intrinsic I)

 

So my neighbour's cat is divine

A rock in my yard is divine

 

There is no separation between me and the divine. I would argue we need to work on the last vestiges of dualism that pervades most of Western culture.

 

If you see what I mean?

Edited by romansh
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  • 3 weeks later...

As a professed agnostic\atheist, I've had many evangelicals try to argue and debate me. They usually always quote one sentence or another from the Bible as if that is something I haven't heard or read before. My experience is that very few Christians actually read the Bible (other than maybe a few key chapters and verses), and even fewer know of the origins and history of the Bible. I used to think that any normal rational sane person would consider changing their views once presented with the facts. Now I'm convinced that change is too difficult for most people. Critically examining their religious beliefs is nearly impossible for the vast majority of people. For me, it’s more natural to examine my beliefs, because I’ve been doing it almost my whole life. It’s easier to stay content in the blissful ignorance of doing the same things, and believing the same things.

 

 

As a child I was taught that the Bible was something to be revered, as if it were some magical tome. I never saw my parents reading the Bible (other than as directed Sunday mornings at church), but we always had a Bible proudly on display somewhere in the living room. To this day, my mother says that she believes in the Bible because no one has ever been able to destroy it, although many have tried. I don’t know where she got her revisionist history lesson from but that’s obviously not true, but even if it were true then using that same standard would mean that ANYTHING written that has survived the test of time and has been cherished generation after generation should be treated as “divinely inspired.” Perhaps we should start quoting chapter and verse of L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz” as divinely inspired?

 

 

I feel your pain, but we must face the facts; you and I are NOT going to change the hearts and minds of those so firmly entrenched in a literal interpretation of the Bible that they refuse to even entertain any other concept. I’m just grateful to have found that there are some Christians who see the Bible for what it is. It is those who are seeking to reconcile critical thought with spiritual faith that are receptive to the message that the Bible is filled with a lot of good stuff and SOME of it actually happened.

So very well written . Yet my Grandparents would have felt that this is blasphmey . Times are so changing . May we find the wisdom , that the many ancient Spiritual Texts , tried to show to us , to control our destructive part of Human Nature , and enhance the Creative

Part .

 

We search for an understanding , of the world , and the communities , around us . We can learn to make it continually more and more

complicated , or step aside of that , and recognise the wonderful opportunity , each new day , of simply working together . Such a big

step , for people to work towards " unity " , but look at the steps we have made to get from the Stone Age to now our Space Age .

 

We have done this together . Actually , it was our ancestors , each generation at a time , struggling to survive , and pass on a good or

better world to their offspring , you and me . Now it is our generation . to pioneer forwards , in rapidly changing uncertainty , as or ancestors had to . They managed , with the most basic of tools , by their strength of spirit , and their family drive .

 

As one species , one family group , we have that same opportunity . God is still beyond us to truly understand , BUT it does not divide us .

Creative Part unites us . Lets do this for the kids an grandkids . God will like that .

 

Long ago , did Humans make an error ? Now we can earn forgiveness , and work to find our ways , back to that Eden of a Garden .

 

Such a big step . BUT . Primordial Soup to now our Space Age , how many big steps was that ? We've done it together .

 

Lets keep on doing it again . One species one Planet , one shared history , one shared future . For our Vertebrate Family , an all of our

neighbors . ( I think that that includes every living thing )

 

Do not let recent history limit the Creative gift that we are born with .

 

Cool eh

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DrDon and NiteWatchman have got great points here IMO.

 

In my own experience, I've found that most Fundamentalist and Evangelicals have had a very rough childhood or tragic past / event. They've found something that makes them feel whole, 'better than before / ever' or perhaps in a 'better than others', perhaps not consciously. Now, by no means am I judging them or pigeon-holeing them, but if one were to take away that security, then they'd feel empty or confused again. The concept of 'not knowing' is just too daunting for people to even grasp, that they call the approach of 'not knowing' as 'less powerful' and thus not 'the truth'. But this can be said about almost all interpretations of religion.

 

That being said, I also find that most people who protect said book with such frantic fervor have admittedly not read the entire book; though always for strange and inconsistent reasons. These are the same people who are branding and telling others that 'their way is the only way'. If only facts, a rational approach and an open mind were enough to have a peaceful discussion without threats and name-calling. As previous posters have wisely stated, perhaps the interpretation of the 'Word of God' really is just a manifestation of the beholder's ego.

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  • 5 weeks later...

When I was in my 20s, I went into psychological/spiritual counseling. My therapist was both a historian and biblical scholar (and retired Baptist minister). I was having some personal issues but also lots of questions about Christianity. He was the one who introduced me to the writings of Bishop Spong and that was very much the perspective he was coming from. I forget what prompted this but one entire session was spent on the politics of how the Bible was put together. I wasn't taking notes and this was now 20 or so years ago so I won't even try to recount. But the point was that books were selected for political reasons, many of which were seen to strengthen the church. There were a number of very good writings that were never included, again for more political rather than spiritual reasons. While much of religion and religious practice may be inspired at some level by god, they are ultimately created by man and contain alot of the "issues" we've put in them over the years. And we've never done anything that is inerrant or infallible......

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Kathy be glad someone sent you on the right track earlier in life, me it was much later in my early 50's when I found time and the internet to research early Christianity for myself and after several years here I am.

 

Someone mentioned feeling bad for people who literally believe in heaven and hell, as a RC I believed in purgatory as well, and it is a rather awful way to live with the heaven and hell scenario always upon ones shoulder. I know many Christians who live with the quilt or they call it scruples, I know even after confession it was sin still haunted me, darn if you do and darn if you don't.

 

Apparently the fear of hell has not helped society too much!!

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Yes I was very fortunate to have a progressive counselor. And that was before I even knew what progressive was... Catholicism frustrates me because I so admire the social justice strand of the church (and was very influenced by some of the writings and missionary works I learned of way back) but still they are so simplistic in other areas.

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In the sixties I was a member of SDS a student organization working towards social justice and against the war. My senior year in High School I was kicked out of my home and my family disowned me. The people that organized with me all caved in when the personal hard choices had to be made, the government lied, which gave me a record so at the university I couldn't pursue my goal of medicine when my major was pre-med at the time. All these events what looked terrible at the time were blessings. I continued to follow the Divinity within, the consciousness that I found in the solidarity confinement I was put in as a result of what I thought was the result of following what I thought was social justice. I left the United States for 20 years and so many people helped, taught me and lead me to a deeper meaning or experience in the unity and wholeness of the infinite. I have learned to forgive, not desire and accept. I am a Christian who feels that the Christians who continue to push a superiority complex on their congregations to manipulate them are contributing to the injustices of today and in the past.

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