If Christ was completely without sin...

[Coriolis]

Jesus did not poop; he defecated.

 

[swordpath]

Titillating theory you've got there.

 

[Wonkavision]

I think that he desired women if that is what you mean. But at the same time I think he was more concerned with helping the women around him, rather than simply getting his rocks off.

This is the funniest statement about Jesus I have ever heard!

 

[swordpath]

So one could say: "helping women got his rocks off"? How sinful.

 

[The_Liquid_Laser]

This is the funniest statement about Jesus I have ever heard!

I'll be here all week.

 

[Thalassa]

It's kind of psychotic?

Hmmm....I don't know if "psychotic" is the right word...I think many of the "rules" in the Old Testament actually do imply a certain sense of intellectual (or spiritual) self-control. It really isn't a good idea to live entirely by one's impulses: it's self-destructive and destructive to others. There is much that is rational about the ten commandments (well, most of them) if they're obeyed in a moderate context. In fact, many of the old Jewish laws that seem preposterous in the modern world were actually quite practical for health reasons at that time.

I tend to agree with Victor that the Old Testament in particular seems to encourage child abuse and misogyny. It's just another case of a tribe of people mythologicalizing (is that a word? ) their human psychology. It was their primitive way of examining their own lives and motives.

The New Testament, perhaps not in myth but in philosophy, seems to represent an evolutionary intellectual step forward: forgiveness, charity, hope, peace...an even greater move toward intellectual self-control that rationally preserves self and others.

While there is much that seems "insane" to us about the Bible, in many ways it is a historical representative of the ways that people lived during that time, and it does tell a story of the ugliness and brutality of human nature. Why do people need saving? Well, good lord, look at all the stuff they do to others when left alone.

I do think there is wisdom in some of the ideas that at first glance seem abusive or misogynist. For example, "spare the rod and spoil the child" is scary if taken literally (visions of beating children obviously not sit well with most people) but typically undisciplined children grow up to be selfish monsters who have a sense of entitlement and no regard for other people. So metaphorically perhaps we should not be beating kids with rods, but there is complete common sense in disciplining children in other ways.

In Roman Catholicism the Virgin Mary is revered as a saint and she represents the feminine aspects of spirituality. Also, the way that Jesus saves Mary Magdalene, the prostitute, from public stoning was actually a move AWAY misogyny, not toward it.

There are many things in the Bible that cannot be justified because they're clearly examples of a more primitive way of life. However, if you extract the pure philosophy from the Bible, it seems quite rational and appears to be an evolutionary step forward.

I think one of the biggest problems with the Bible are people who are either not educated or intelligent enough to study the Bible as philosophy and who instead take it literally. That's just bad news. It's one of the positive things I will give to the Roman Catholic church...at least their priests are highly educated people who also educate their church members, unlike many fundamentalist Protestant churches which are hotbeds of complete ignorance.

I say this as someone who was raised as Christian, and baptized as Christian as an adult. I still believe in the peace and forgiveness of Christ, and see the common sense in following the major precepts of the Bible, but there is much about the mythology of the Bible that I cannot reconcile as a thinking person.

 

[garbage]

I have heard some churches say that since God (and presumably Christ) is perfect, then nothing he does can be considered evil or bad.

Sink your teeth into that meat, fellas :hi:

 

[Coriolis]

While there is much that seems "insane" to us about the Bible, in many ways it is a historical representative of the ways that people lived during that time, and it does tell a story of the ugliness and brutality of human nature. Why do people need saving? Well, good lord, look at all the stuff they do to others when left alone.

Yes. I have come to regard the Bible as an account of a specific people/culture's view of the divine, as well as a collection of inspired literature of that tradition, and some historical accounts.

In Roman Catholicism the Virgin Mary is revered as a saint and she represents the feminine aspects of spirituality. Also, the way that Jesus saves Mary Magdalene, the prostitute, from public stoning was actually a move AWAY misogyny, not toward it.

Yes again. It is my belief that Jesus was nowhere near as misogynistic as the writers of much of the New Testament, nor even many of its interpreters to the present day. Jesus reached out with compassion and hope to the marginalized of his society, which certainly included women.

I think one of the biggest problems with the Bible are people who are either not educated or intelligent enough to study the Bible as philosophy and who instead take it literally. That's just bad news. It's one of the positive things I will give to the Roman Catholic church...at least their priests are highly educated people who also educate their church members, unlike many fundamentalist Protestant churches which are hotbeds of complete ignorance.

Were you raised Catholic? I was, and if the priests I encountered were at all learned about the Bible, they certainly did not share it with their congregations. Most of them couldn't preach their way out of a paper bag, though many were very kind, compassionate men who took the service aspect of priesthood very seriously. By contrast, far more of the protestant clergy I have encountered (mostly Presbyterian, Methodist, and UCC) have demonstrated a much better knowledge and understanding of the Bible. I have not always agreed with their interpretations, but their sermons and conversation at least were intelligent and thought provoking. Part of the whole premise of protestantism is that each individual is to read and understand the Bible on his/her own. This is why the sermon became so central to the service. For the Catholics, the central part was always the ritual of communion; sermon and all else is almost incidental.