Bible verses

Christian: First, it's true that the Bible condemns homosexuality. There is no doubt about it that God does not approve of homosexuality (either by a male or female). However, the Bible never says that a person will lose their salvation because of it. The only "unpardonable" sin according to the Bible is blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is essentially denying God.

It's true that we share different viewpoints on homosexuality. As you know, my viewpoint is based on what God's Word says. That being said, I do love homosexuals, as I do all people in that I recognize they are God's creations and that we all need God's presence in our lives. As I've shared with you previously, my first hand experience (while certainly limited in the context of the whole world's population) from reaching out to homosexuals to share Jesus Christ with them is that they are not satisfied with their sexual lifestyle. In fact when you speak to them individually and they begin to let down their guard (i.e., begin to openly share what's on their hearts and minds with you), they will admit that homosexuality is morally wrong and that they feel trapped in their lifestyle (i.e., a sense of hopelessness permeates their being). Typically, there was some type of family situation (e.g., sexual abuse, lack of strong male in their lives, domineering mother, etc.) that led them into this lifestyle. I'm not making this up, this is in fact what I've experienced time and time again over the years in witnessing to homosexuals.

Bright: The only reason homosexuality is a problem is because society makes it one. The stress caused by society not accepting homosexuality is what leads to homosexuals having shorter lifespans. Note that many more heterosexuals have AIDS than do homosexuals these days so don't relate homosexuality to AIDS. Anyone can get AIDS.

Christian: It’s true that anyone can get AIDS. Keep in mind that the story of the Bible actually predates homosexual activity – i.e., Adam and Eve were heterosexual (Eve, a woman, was created for Adam, a man), and lived in a perfect (i.e., a sinless world). It was Adam’s rebellion against God that led to sin. As a consequence, homosexuality was eventually introduced into the world through man’s disobedience against God. Remember that all things (including sex for both procreation and enjoyment between a husband & wife) were created by God, but it is man that perverts them into things that God never intended (e.g., adultery, lust, homosexuality, etc.).

Bright: You've made my point. The bible does say that homosexuality is wrong. The bible is wrong. Homosexuality is natural. It occurs in nature. We are part of nature. Homosexuals are either born or made this way. Nature vs nurture. Either way, they're preference for a sexual partner is the same sex.

Christian: A person’s “preference” for one thing over another does not mean that they are making choices that honor God, and his commands. One thing to point out is that God’s commands (i.e., as outlined in the bible) are not intended to be burdensome, but rather to protect us from harm.

Bright: There is nothing wrong with homosexuality. The burden the homosexuals have is the bible. It is causing the burden. The bible is hurting people. You are hurting people telling homosexuals they are doing something wrong. The guilt they feel adds stress to their lives. The bible is damaging society.

Scientology says we have "body thetans" causing us all of our ills but if we do what Scientology says, we can rid our bodies of these thetans and be free. Thetans are an artificial concept invented by L. Ron Hubbard. If you want to invent a religion first you invent things that people must change then you offer them the methods of changing.

Christianity does the same thing. It creates this concept called sin to make you feel guilty about certain things. The problem is that the concept of sin was invented thousands of years ago by ignorant men in a society far different from ours. Times have changed and society has advanced. Homosexuals would not feel burdened by their lifestyle if religion and society didn't make them. Religion and society are at fault, not the homosexuals. They are normal and should feel no guilt or burden about being who they are.

Exodus 21:7 - OK to sell your daughter into slavery
Exodus 35:2 - Anyone working on the Sabbath should be stoned to death
Corinthians 11:14 - Long hair is a shame
Corinthians 11:19-24 A man should not go near a woman when she's on her period

The bible advocates prejudice, cruelty, superstition and murder.

After watching Richard Dawkin's show The God Delusion on YouTube.com I have taken some notes and inserted some thoughts of my own below.

Part 1

People are trying to kill you, me and themselves because the suicide bomber believes that if he kills for his God he will be fast tracked a special martyrs heaven.

This is common to all religions ... a process of non-thinking called faith. There is a conflict of believing in science and believing in God. The idea of a divine creator belittles the elegant reality of the universe.

The 21st century should be an age of reason yet irrational militant faith is increasing in popularity. Religious extremism is the reasons for the worlds most bitter and unending conflicts. America has its own fundamentalist religious extremists.

Britain wants to restrict the freedom to criticize religion. The time has come for people of reason to say, enough is enough. Religious faith discourages independent thought, its divisive and its dangerous.

Religion asks us not to think, not to probe, not to doubt, and if we can retain our faith against the evidence then the more virtuous we are.

If you are under the delusion that you are Napoleon it must be very lonely because nobody supports you but a church provides a built in social network with others who share the same delusion. This gives great comfort and reinforcement to faith.

The Shrine of Our Lady of Lourdes in southern France is the most visited pilgrimage site in the world -- principally because of the apparent healing properties of the waters of the spring that appeared during the apparitions of the Blessed Virgin Mary to a poor, fourteen-year-old girl, Bernadette Soubiroux 18 times. The pilgrimage to Lourdes is very similar to the Muslim pilgrimage to visit Mecca.

In reality they are more likely to catch something from the thousands of other pilgrims that have wallowed in the water. About 80,000 sick pilgrims visit Lourdes each year and this has been going on for about 150 years and there have only been 66 confirmed miracles. Statistically speaking there is no evidence the waters of Lourdes provide any healing powers.

No miracle has ever cured an amputee so why does god hate amputees? All of the so called miracles are cures that might have gotten better anyway. Doctors may say that you have no chance to live but if you do, it simply means the doctors were wrong. Doctors have been wrong before. It's not a miracle from the divine.

People lean on their faith as a crutch. But the suspension of disbelief can lead to far more dangerous ideas.

Science and belief are deeply opposed. Science is a discipline of investigation of constructive doubt questing with logic and evidence and reason to draw conclusions. Faith by contrast demands a suspension of critical faculties. Scientists sets up hypothesis, ideas or models then attempts to disproves them so a scientist is constantly asking questions and being skeptical.

Religion is about turning untested belief into unshakable truth through the power of institutions and the passage of time.

Part 2

The odd thing about tradition is that passage of time turns something that is made up into a fact. This is what happened about with the Virgin Mary. Pope Pius the 12th convinced himself that when the Virgin Mary died, her body and soul rose to Heaven. He claimed that God had revealed this to him. This is called the Assumption of Mary. The idea started around the 3rd century and by 1950 the Catholic Church finally declared it to be true. The passage of time eventually turned an idea into fact.

The power of the church through power, tradition and revelation can have devastating results on society for example the condemnation of condoms which leads to AIDS spreading more rapidly in Africa, pregnant teenagers or the spreading of STDs.

It's not just the Catholics that are guilty of this. All religions have the same problem for example Muslim Imams issuing Jihad Fatwas for terrorist bombers. The authority is issued and passed down from the parents to the children and believed without any evidence in the same way children believe in Santa Claus. But the difference is they learn that society does not really believe in Santa Claus so they stop believing.

Dogma is the established belief or doctrine held by a religion, ideology or any kind of organization, thought to be authoritative and not to be disputed or doubted. One must have blind faith and accept everything they are told with no questions asked. This is what makes religions so dangerous. People will follow the will of those in charge of the religion without question. Through faith they have lost the power to think freely for themselves.

For early humanity, what was mysterious and unexplained could only be explained by Gods. The sun must be a Fire Chariot. But today we know the our sun is giant nuclear reactor pumping out electromagnetic radiation, heat and light and is one of billions of stars.

How do scientists know this? How do scientists know the Earth is four and a half billion years old? How do we know the Earth orbits the Sun instead of the Sun and Stars orbiting the Earth? How do we know that dinosaurs are hundreds of millions years old? The answer is evidence.

Science is about testing this evidence to update old theories of how things work. A scientist who had a lifetime invested in a theory, when proved wrong by another scientist, would rejoice. It is about the pursuit of scientific truth, not that a single person be right.

Newton's theory of motion was later shown to be inaccurate when newer theories replaced it. As science advanced and our understanding deepens, old theories are replaced with new and better theories. String theory replaced another theory then later was replaced itself by yet another better more accurate theory and the process continues as we get more evidence.

In past centuries humanity had no choice but to resort to a super natural force to describe how humans, plants and animals came into being. The Christian book of Genesis imagines a Garden of Eden with an Adam and Eve that were cast out by God but in the 19th century science finally pieced together what really happened.

Charles Darwin's theory of evolution elegantly explains how all life on Earth formed without any need to invoke the supernatural or divine. Even in the face of overwhelming and accumulating evidence, people of faith still close their minds since the theory of evolution conflicts with their religious beliefs.

In the bible belt of the United States Evangelical Christians are fighting back against science.

Part 3

The Evangelicals are denying science truths just to support Bronze Age myths. Some want to teach evolution as just another theory alongside the bible's creation story. Intelligent design says that God caused evolution. Evolution by natural selection is backed by mountains of evidence while Creation only contradicts the evidence and is only backed by ancient scribblings.

The rationalist atheists in the bible belt have organized themselves a free thinker organization.

Part 4

If a person "comes out" as an atheist in the country they might suffer career damage, lose a job, not get a job, not get an apartment, etc.

We are beginning to see the dangers of Christian extremism, Christian fascism, Domination Theology, etc.

Fundamentalist American Christianity is attacking science. But what is it offering instead? A mirror image of Islamic Extremism. An American Taliban.

We've witnessed the religious insanities of the Middle East penetrate the heart of the secular West via attacks like 9/11. To understand them you have to understand their actions are inspired by deeply held faith. Their religion encourages non-reason as a positive virtue.

Religious warriors think about their actions as the ultimate good. Christians get the same message ... onward Christian soldiers, fight the good fight, stand up for Jesus ye soldiers of the cross, etc.

The Holy Land of Jerusalem is a microcosm of the religious conflicts that threaten rational values and civilization. Religious conflicts have caused the death of about 4000 people in the last 5 years. This is one of the least enlightened place in the world with barely suppressed religious hatred.

We live in a time when religious belief is fighting back against reason and scientific truth. This is a problem for all of us because religions irrational roots nourish intolerance to the point of murder.

The old city in Jerusalem has an area under heavy guard. The Muslims have enclosed a compound enclosing the Dome of the Rock where they believe the prophet Mohammad flew up to heaven. Unfortunately the Jews also believes the site is the location of the long destroyed first and second temples, the holiest site in Judaism. Jews are not allowed within the compound. They're prayers are confined to the ruined or wailing wall. If caught praying in an illegal area they can be arrested.

Part 5

Historical injustices toward the Palestinians breeds hatred and anger. The death cult of the suicide bombers requires a strong conviction of their righteous faith. Preachers tell their followers that paradise in martyrdom is better than the real world then some extremists will believe it leading to terrible cycle of revenge death, destruction and suffering.

They are brought up from childhood to think there is something good about faith, believing because you've been told to believe rather than looking at the evidence.

Unlike religion, science does not pretend to know everything. There are still keep questions about the origin of the universe that are yet to be explained. But just because science cannot explain everything does not mean we need to invent Gods to explain the unexplained.

Science cannot disprove the existence of God but that does not mean he exists. There are a million things we cannot prove.

Imagine there is a teapot orbiting the sun. You cannot disprove the existence of the teapot because it's too small to be spotted by our telescopes. Nobody but a lunatic would say "I believe in the teapot because I cannot disprove it". Now assume that everyone in society has faith in the teapot and the stories have been handed down through the generations and there are even holy books about the teapot. Then someone who said they didn't believe in the teapot would be considered eccentric or even mad.

There's an infinite number of things we cannot prove like fairies, goblins, gremlins, unicorns, etc. We cannot disprove any of them but we don't believe in any of them just like we don't believe in the ancient Gods that have been lost over time like Rha or Thor. We are atheists about most of the Gods society has believed in. Some of us just go one God further.

Labels: atheism atheist religion faith god delusion

The Christian Bible does in fact conflict with science and say that the Earth is flat and immovable and the sky is a big dome.

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/febible.htm

To be a Christian means you must believe what the bible says but obviously they don't since there are many things Christians don't believe in. Over time society is changing and Christian believe in the bible less and less.

The Christian bible says you must kill all homosexuals. Wow! Such hatred for a person who was born that way. It's merely a sexual preference whether it be from birth or it developed later in life. The fact that the Christian bible makes it out to be such an evil thing is damaging to society.

These days we have Christians fighting against the theory of Evolution and the Big Bang theory because it conflicts with the bible. I'm reminded of Copernicus and Galileo and and how their findings conflicted with the religious dogma of their time.

Galileo was ordered to stand trial on suspicion of heresy in 1633. The sentence of the Inquisition was in three essential parts:

* Galileo was required to recant his heliocentric ideas, which were condemned as "formally heretical";.
* He was ordered imprisoned; the sentence was later commuted to house arrest.
* His offending Dialogue was banned; and in an action not announced at the trial, publication of any of his works was forbidden, including any he might write in the future.

Religion is a hinderance to science and progress. It will come in constant conflict with society.

Let's say for example in the future robots become so human, you can't really tell them apart from a normal person. They feel emotion and pain and have goals, wants and needs. They will demand to be treated as equals. They may also be religious and believe in God and believe they have a soul which will rise to heaven.

I think religious people are going to have a problem with this. They will say "are we not made in God's image?" There will be great debates. It's all a waste of time to begin with. In a perfect world we wouldn't have religion so we wouldn't have this issue to begin with. Religion is just one more thing keeping us apart.

Christian Bible: Old Testament: Leviticus 20 verses 9 to 20: wording from New Living Translation

9. All who curse their father or mother must be put to death. They are guilty of a capital offense.

10. If a man commits adultery with another man's wife, both the man and the woman must be put to death.

11. If a man has intercourse with his father's wife, both the man and the woman must die, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

12. If a man has intercourse with his daughter-in-law, both must be put to death. They have acted contrary to nature and are guilty of a capital offense.

13. The penalty for homosexual acts is death to both parties. They have committed a detestable act and are guilty of a capital offense.

14. If a man has intercourse with both a woman and her mother, such an act is terribly wicked. All three of them must be burned to death to wipe out such wickedness from among you.

15. If a man has sexual intercourse with an animal, he must be put to death, and the animal must be killed.

16. If a woman approaches a male animal to have intercourse with it, she and the animal must both be put to death. Both must die, for they are guilty of a capital offense.

17. If a man has sexual intercourse with his sister, the daughter of either his father or his mother, it is a terrible disgrace. Both of them must be publicly cut off from the community. Since the man has had intercourse with his sister, he will suffer the consequences of his guilt.

18. If a man has intercourse with a woman suffering from a hemorrhage, both of them must be cut off from the community, because he exposed the source of her flow, and she allowed him to do it.

19. If a man has sexual intercourse with his aunt, whether his mother's sister or his father's sister, he has violated a close relative. Both parties are guilty of a capital offense.

20. If a man has intercourse with his uncle's wife, he has violated his uncle. Both the man and woman involved are guilty of a capital offense and will die childless.

The purpose of this blog is to highlight some of the more wild and crazy verse in the bible.