Pick 'n' Mix Christianity

by nicolaou 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  nicolaou

  jgnat:

  One must not weigh every word in the bible equally. There are overriding principles that if they are broken, make all else null and void. Why else would God give us a heart and a mind to work these things through? The overriding message of Jesus on this earth was the language of love. If I forget that message, I am not a follower of Christ.

  I'm happy that your faith works for you jgnat. I don't want to appear churlish but I do struggle to understand how a clearly intelligent person cannot see the flaws in the sorts of argument you put forward. There are at least three assertions in the passage above and two circular arguments but I've learned that cold, hard, logic rarely advances a discussion and certainly wins few friends.

  May god go with you jgnat.
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  Narkissos

  Nic'

  One remark about the "Holy Spirit" factor...

  It's quite natural that "believers" and "unbelievers" would construe it differently (and I'm sure that all "believers" -- or all "unbelievers," for that matter -- would not construe it identically either) but I suppose you might make one step more toward a better understanding of the believers' stance by considering how many decisions or convictions you have reached in your own life through mental processes which were not entirely, or only, rational... call that intuition, gut feeling, love (or repulsion), faith or fear, they were strong enough to make you decide -- which of course does not relieve you of your responsibility for your decisions, no more and no less than "reason" would.

  I think you are quite right in pointing out that appeal to the "Holy Spirit" does not relieve the believers of their responsability, no more and no less than appeal to "Scripture" (as if no pickin' n' choosin' were involved) would, and that they've got to become lucid about it. But that cuts both ways...