God & the Bible, squaring belief with reality

[PestControl02]

I personally, am not a religious person, meaning- I do not attend a formal church, nor do I subscribe to any specific denomination.
I do however read my Bible daily, and I read it from cover to cover, when I finish, I start over again..this has gone on for a number of years.

Until recently this has been sufficient and I have always felt strong in my faith.

I can't say specifically what has caused my need to reach out and try to bring others together, because I don't know, I'm not even good at it, but I feel it's necessary.

This is by no means a personal attack on anyone or any faith, I am honestly trying to understand.

which brings my first point.
Jesus said the most important commandments are "love God with all your heart" & "love your neighbor as yourself"
The reality around us is not love your neighbor, hardly at all anyway...as we would gladly kick the hungry off food stamps and label them lazy without any true knowledge of their situation or facts of their life. Also, we readily bomb our world neighbors in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc..not only ignoring Jesus, but also God's command that we shall not kill

you see what I mean?-the beliefs & the realty do not meet.

How can we change things so that our beliefs and our reality match?, I believe that if we can accomplish this- a more stable, equitable and safer environment for ALL can be achieved.

I have other examples but I think this will make a good start

[eagleeyes]

we are human be ings not human do ings
just be and let be

[Sandy Scott]

I personally, am not a religious person, meaning- I do not attend a formal church, nor do I subscribe to any specific denomination.
I do however read my Bible daily, and I read it from cover to cover, when I finish, I start over again..this has gone on for a number of years.

Until recently this has been sufficient and I have always felt strong in my faith.

I can't say specifically what has caused my need to reach out and try to bring others together, because I don't know, I'm not even good at it, but I feel it's necessary.

This is by no means a personal attack on anyone or any faith, I am honestly trying to understand.

which brings my first point.
Jesus said the most important commandments are "love God with all your heart" & "love your neighbor as yourself"
The reality around us is not love your neighbor, hardly at all anyway...as we would gladly kick the hungry off food stamps and label them lazy without any true knowledge of their situation or facts of their life. Also, we readily bomb our world neighbors in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc..not only ignoring Jesus, but also God's command that we shall not kill

you see what I mean?-the beliefs & the realty do not meet.

How can we change things so that our beliefs and our reality match?, I believe that if we can accomplish this- a more stable, equitable and safer environment for ALL can be achieved.

I have other examples but I think this will make a good start

I can certainly understand reading and re-reading a book and using it as a guide that was written hundreds of years after the events by unknown authors!

[revmedic]

Keep in mind a number of things (speaking as a person with a B.A. in theology)-

Jesus was quoting/summerizing Deut 6. Keep in mind that the same God that said "Love thy neighbor as thyself" also told the nation of Israel to wipe out whole cities- men, women, children, animals, ect. God recognizes there is evil in the world, and that because God is holy and perfect, evil must be judged. He can do that personally as in the case of the flood, but many times uses other nations and/or people to met out that justice. I'm not saying all war and/or conflict is God ordained (that gets into very dangerous assumption, holy wars, ect), but sometimes it is a possiblity

As far caring for those less fortunate- I'm all for a hand up. Most of us are a paycheck away from homelessness. However, a lifestyle of handouts is NOT biblical. The bible says "if a man will not work, he shall not eat", and "If a man will not provide for his relatives, especially his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."

Finally, the prohibition against killing found in the Ten Commandments is a bad translation of the Hebrew word for murder. Murder is what the biblical prohibition is about.

I hope that helps.

[JohnD13]

We are alike in some ways as far as belief goes. I also believe in God and Jesus Christ. I also have read my Bible several times cover to cover, and will do so again. I think that loving our neighbor can be extremely difficult in this day and age, when we hardly have time to get to know them. And I believe that like the way Jesus performed the miracle with the loaves and fishes to feed the crowd, we should try to help the hungry and beaten down. This will be our first turn in the path. I also believe that some people have abused that help, and have turned a good, even noble attempt to help into a means to avoid any unpleasantness that may be caused by accepting a hand up instead of a hand out. Why work when the "suckers" will give it to you? I grew up near families that were generations on welfare. They didn't work, and they didn't try. Why bother, what ever you need, tell the social worker. I believe in giving a hand to get someone back on their feet. People have helped me in my life and I have tried, not always successfully, to do the same.

I'll keep the next one short. The commandment said "Thou shalt not commit murder" an entirely different meaning the the way it is spoken today. The Israelis had enemies then just as they and we do now. Sometimes killing was necessary, again then as now, to preserve the life of an individual and indeed a people. Our "neighbors" in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, and wherever the Muslim extremists choose to reside did not take that into account when they decided to attack their "infidel" neighbors.

Thank you for a thought provoking post.

[Ringo]

I can certainly understand reading and re-reading a book and using it as a guide that was written hundreds of years after the events by unknown authors!

The Dead Sea Scrolls contradict you. Also the Book of Daniel, big time.

[eagleeyes]

you don't have to know your neighbors to love them unconditionally
just treat them and others as you yourself would like to be treated
now imagine if we all did that?.........what wonderful world this could be
i think each and everyone of us is a god or has at least the potential for becoming just as jesus christ was said to have been
namaste=the divinity in me recognizes the divinity in you .......divinity is the same power within us all however it's up to us to recognize claim and use it ........unfortunately many are separated from their divine nature via false religious dogma and indoctrination and bs belief systems .......imo

''Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information, and religion separates us from our divinity''

[tcox4freedom]

you don't have to know your neighbors to love them unconditionally
just treat them and others as you yourself would like to be treated
now imagine if we all did that?.........what wonderful world this could be
i think each and everyone of us is a god or has at least the potential for becoming just as jesus christ was said to have been
namaste=the divinity in me recognizes the divinity in you .......divinity is the same power within us all however it's up to us to recognize claim and use it ........unfortunately many are separated from their divine nature via false religious dogma and indoctrination and bs belief systems .......imo

''Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information, and religion separates us from our divinity''

I actually like this post "e".

The truth is many churches and many mainstream religions have paid far more attention to people in foreign lands and have greatly ignored people in there own backyards.

I am one of those people that do believe corruption in high levels of religious "denominations" is ever bit has bad as corruption in the highest places in government.

But, it's nothing new at all. Jesus experienced himself; and disciples after HIM. Even today many many Christians (and other people) are being persecuted around the world.

This however, doesn't mean we should throw the baby "Jesus" out with the bathwater. We need to cling on to what is GOOD; (1Th 5:21) while working to change what is bad. (1 Pe 2)

It is one thing to sit on the sidelines & complain. It is another to get your butt on the front lines, get down & dirty in the trenches and seek to change things for the better. Those that sit on the side & complain should know that NOTHING will change unless they are willing to GET ON THE TEAM and step up to the plate themselves.

-

[Shoobee]

I personally, am not a religious person, meaning- I do not attend a formal church, nor do I subscribe to any specific denomination.
I do however read my Bible daily, and I read it from cover to cover, when I finish, I start over again..this has gone on for a number of years.

Until recently this has been sufficient and I have always felt strong in my faith.

I can't say specifically what has caused my need to reach out and try to bring others together, because I don't know, I'm not even good at it, but I feel it's necessary.

This is by no means a personal attack on anyone or any faith, I am honestly trying to understand.

which brings my first point.
Jesus said the most important commandments are "love God with all your heart" & "love your neighbor as yourself"
The reality around us is not love your neighbor, hardly at all anyway...as we would gladly kick the hungry off food stamps and label them lazy without any true knowledge of their situation or facts of their life. Also, we readily bomb our world neighbors in Iraq, Afghanistan, etc..not only ignoring Jesus, but also God's command that we shall not kill

you see what I mean?-the beliefs & the realty do not meet.

How can we change things so that our beliefs and our reality match?, I believe that if we can accomplish this- a more stable, equitable and safer environment for ALL can be achieved.

I have other examples but I think this will make a good start

"WE" would not gladly do that.

The Repubs would do that.

Remember that, in November.

[Shoobee]

you don't have to know your neighbors to love them unconditionally
just treat them and others as you yourself would like to be treated
now imagine if we all did that?.........what wonderful world this could be
i think each and everyone of us is a god or has at least the potential for becoming just as jesus christ was said to have been
namaste=the divinity in me recognizes the divinity in you .......divinity is the same power within us all however it's up to us to recognize claim and use it ........unfortunately many are separated from their divine nature via false religious dogma and indoctrination and bs belief systems .......imo

''Doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, governments destroy freedom, the major media destroy information, and religion separates us from our divinity''

Jeeze louise you probably do not realize it but you are actually quoting Jesus himself.