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But we are all not assholes. In fact I'd like to think of myself as what most Christians are - people who are really nice people who realize that changes in the laws regarding marriage isn't going to do jack squat to their own lives.
Only problem is that most of those people are just normal folks who live their day to day lives and probably don't get involved with political discussions or have a bully pulpit & microphone where they can say 'we aren't like that'. But a few of us out there are trying to make a difference, I'd like to think I'm one of those people even if it's coming here helping clear things up about Christianity.
See just like Islam isn't about those terrorists that are doing bad thing, Christianity isn't about those assholes that make bullshit statements about our faith. In the end we are actually both very peaceful religions that have these fundamentalist sides that take it way too far and try to make life miserable for others. Why? I just don't have a clue.
But here are the facts about the Bible. You are right, who knows who actually wrote those books although scholars have a good idea. But here is the truth - there are only 4 books in the bible that are specifically about Jesus and the things he said and those are Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. And if you line those 4 books up side by side and read them (which btw I have a book that does just that but my Step-father has it) you'll see there is consistency in those 4 books about the message. Most of the things Jesus said tended to have been said in at least 2 of those Gospels. So the message that Jesus put out there was pretty well documented by others, has shown consistency not just through those 4 books, but even some of the Gnostic Gospels (the ones that weren't picked for the bible and there are dozens). And having read all of these you'll find that Jesus was not some asshole who told people they were all sinners who were going to rot in hell and then passed judgement on all of them. Jesus talked about messages of love, he talked about not judging others, he talked about helping out the poor and he was accepting of people who were not of the Jewish faith because he saw the good in all people. And oh, Jesus pretty much said 'bullshit' to the laws of Leviticus. The perfect example was when the crowd was going to stone a woman for committing adultery. In Leviticus that was the typical punishment. When the crowds saw Jesus they asked him to join and help stone the woman and that is where Jesus said 'Those of you without sin let them cast the first stone' (John 8
). Then he dropped the stone to the ground and walked away, the rest of the crowd did the same and let the woman go.
Problem is the people who assembled put Paul, the guy who came after Jesus. Paul was really just one of some of the many random people who happened to have heard about Jesus, liked what Jesus said and then decided to change up the entire message and spread an almost completely different version of religion that was kinda what Jesus was NOT doing.
So here's the scoop, we 'scholars' aren't being apologists. We are simply telling you the history of how this faith assembled and then how some people over the centuries just assumed Paul = Jesus and felt they could use Paul's words as the same level of faith as Jesus.
The people who do that - those are the Christian Fundamentalists. Every single right-wing religious nut job almost has a direct lineage to how Paul wanted to create a religion which was to control the masses, something that wasn't really Jesus' thing.
I look at it this way - I am a Christian, I really do not do organized religion (methodist by birth) for the fact that organized religion isn't meeting my needs anymore. I figured my faith should be guided by what Jesus said. If one lives by his words then it's a message of love and acceptance. And here's the thing - I see people who follow His message who are avowed Atheists and you know what, I think that is awesome. Because to me those Atheists who show love and respect for their fellow human beings show more Christian values and more Grace than any of these fundamentalists.
...... when we "shuffle off our mortal coil" and spend eternity looking at this clueless fuckwit, or Michelle "Bat Eyes" Bachmann......shudder the thought.....
