BillyBob's POTD 1-5-04

[BillyBob]

quote:
Buddha said that no man is immune to accusation. He was right.

Sozo;
If Buddha said anything that can be construed as truth,

Billy;
Much of what Buddha said is parallel to much of what Jesus said.

Sozo;
he got it from God, but of whom does Buddha testify as the source of truth?

Billy;
He doesn't provide a source, to my knowledge.

 

[BillyBob]

quote:
I could easily translate that as a justification for my position that much of Christianity is an invention of man, or at least, a misinterpretation of God's intent. It verifies that I do not have to be troubled because I sanctify God in my heart.

Sozo;
But you are not suffering persecution for righteousness sake,

Billy;
Are you sure?

Sozo;
nor have you set yourself apart unto God, but you are only setting yourself apart from religion, of which I commend you.

Billy;
I thank you for being one of the few who understand my whole point about that which I have argued.

Sozo;
However, I think that at some point you need to make some conclusions about God and His message.

Billy;
You are right. I am still working that out.

 

[BillyBob]

quote:
Sounds like apologetics to me. I do not, however, see many here at TOL being meek while offering their 'answers'.

Sozo;
Are you saying that you are unsure what your hope is?

Billy;
Nope. I am very confident.

Sozo;
Are you willing to reject how you interpret God's intent because others are not gentle in their presentation?

Billy;
No, not at all. The more resistance I get, the more confidence I gain that I am on the right track!

 

[BillyBob]

I liked this so much, I just had to post it once more. It was written by a long time friend of mine who lives in Ohio. We have worshiped together, played music in churches together [he is a drummer], shared meals together and gotten into long philosophical discussions together. He knows more about the Bible than most people I have met and he has some views concerning Christianity as it is perceived today.

His website is Jesusreligion.com

:BillyBob:




For all my Bible Thumpers:

"The bible is supposedly God's perfect word (as taught by traditional christian doctrines). It contains instructions to humankind for avoiding the eternal fires of hell. The all-powerful God could have, by a mere act of will, eliminated all of the problems we humans must endure, but instead, in His infinite wisdom, He has opted to offer this indecipherable amalgam of books which is the bible, as a means for avoiding the hell which He has prepared for us. The perfect God has decided to reveal His wishes in this imperfect work, written in the imperfect language of imperfect men, translated, copied, interpreted, voted on, and related by imperfect men. No two men will ever agree what this perfect word of God is supposed to mean, since much of it is either self-contradictory, or obscured by enigmatic symbols. And yet, the perfect God expects us imperfect humans to understand this paradoxical riddle using the imperfect minds with which He has equipped us. Surely, the all-wise and all-powerful God would have known that it would have been better to reveal His perfect will directly to each of us, rather than to allow it to be debased and perverted by the imperfect language and botched interpretations of man.

I submit that traditional christian doctrines are in error because the theology does not make sense. Traditional ideas concerning God, the bible and hell are in error. I am not saying there is not a God; I am saying the typical ideas of who He is are way off base!"