It's all about motives and intents of the heart. If your intent is to rebell against God all your life counting on that last breath of repenting I'd forget about it. That's a pretty foolish avenue to take, don't you think? It also makes you look pretty pathetic don't you think?
I have no intent to rebel, nor any conscious will to do so. I just question things a great deal. If God were to beam down in front of me it's not like I'd punch Him in the face or yell or go nuts. In fact, I'd be pretty psyched that I'd finally get some thing straightened out.
Heh, contrary to popular belief I'm not a callous, evil, sociopath plotting only for my own gain and evil intentions.
Yeah, if I were waiting to the last day to "get on the list" so to speak then it would make me pathetic...quite pathetic indeed. Hence, I shall not...mostly because I don't want to screw other people over in my attempt to build a dark empire.
I understand that, but I know that it's not for all your years of studying this Zoo. So where are you getting this bias from?
Society and history. I've seen people and read about people who call themselves Christians and proclaim such love for the Lord do such evil unto the world. That's why I question this book of love and how it springs forth such hate and intolerance.
like what? Could it be that perhaps maybe you just don't understand it?
What's not to understand about the stonings, killings, prejudice, hate, misogyny, genocide and seemingly psychotic nature of God? I know there's some universal point to prove in there...and I'd be fine with that if they were stories and just stories. If you take it as fact, do you feel no remorse or outrage at the acts committed in the name of God or by God Himself? All those people, evil or good, guilty or innocent destroyed like a pest. Blotted out of existence as one would erase a spelling error. It's just...surreal that such a loving God could take out whole populations and also without the tiniest bit of concern for the few people that may be diamonds in the rough. Probability would dictate that an entire group people would not be evil, especially to the extent where they deserve divine extermination.
how would you like it, if all your honest literal words I symbolized away? I could make everything you say into anything I wish it to be. Wouldn't that drive you crazy? How do you think God feels to see his words taken out of context and dragged thru the mud......mostly for lack of understanding?
Well, this often happens when women are around.
If you want to get technical all words symbolize something seeing as how words aren't technically things themselves, just representations of them...but I digress...
Stories are often metaphors or at least carrying cases for a moral or morals. Bible has a lot of stories, most are probably not necessarily true and the cool thing is they don't have to be to convey a point. I think the points that some make are great, but the stories are probably just stories. What does the Bible teach? Love, respect, living well, etc. and etc. It doesn't say you have to take everything literally(as far as I know...maybe it does).
I wish God would send someone and make sure everything is clarified to the extent it should be.(Although, according to Mormons that's already been done.
) 2,000+ years is a long time for something to get twisted.
~Zoo
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When I'm writing I do it very often...almost constantly because it makes it so much more pleasing to read. Like a lovely meal for the eyes and imagination. It makes my writing breathe, take on life, become almost it's own entity, and that, that is what I view the Bible as: bigger than life stories to illustrate points, enchanting tales to remember, it is a book and every book ever written is designed to capture the audience's attention. I believe that in this, the Bible has been quite successful.
) 2,000+ years is a long time for something to get twisted. 