(no subject)

[magedragonfire]

It's beginning to smell very damp. This is probably because it has been raining for the first time in an eon. Consequently, it smells like winter.
...Or, at the least, is reminiscient of it, and every time I step into my garage and inhale slightly, the first word that springs to mind is 'SNOW'.
It's very odd.

Still haven't found a job. Still passing out resumes. Hope that something comes up soon. It's a prime time to be working, now that Mom isn't here to use the car.
Yes, Stace had her kid (they're naming it Aiden, I think? Pft), and mom went down last Friday. No more her for a month. It was about time, too - the woman was getting absolutely insufferable for the week before she left. Terribleterribleterrible.

I've come to the conclusion that, at some point, I need to read the Bible. This is not out of any atonement for my hideous crime of being a pagan, nor is it that of masochism, or me suddenly finding the 'light'. I honestly can't understand what half of those who call themselves Christians think. I figure the best way to try and understand is to go to the source.
This thought came to me after reading a comic that centers around stories out of said book. Quite a bit of the time, I found my jaw gaping - ie, 'what, they can't actually think... oh, no, no, no'. Of course, I do realize that it is a webcomic, and therefore supposed to be funny... But it is a satire as well, and there is always a certain bit of truth in satire.
That, and I've come across numerous blatant contradictions in his followers, all with quotes out of the Bible to bring them up. Apparently, God is supposed to be pro-life, love everything living, etc... Or maybe not.
God, over the course of the Bible, apparently killed a few (million) people. Satan, by contrast, has a death count of 10 attributed to him.
There are also a few laws apparently laid out in the chapters of Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The most famous tells you to kill homosexuals. You might be surprised to see what else is against Biblical law.
So. I find myself wondering why the hell this religion has so many followers, and why said followers take it upon themselves to judge others (when they're told not to) or preach endlessly about how they're sinners and such. Why are there so many contradictions in thought, and such (for example, if you're going to follow one law's spirit, why not follow them all)? I figure the only way to figure out is to go to the source.
Anyone know what version might be the best to read?

Comments

[bastets-place.livejournal.com]

Ok, here I am, a Christian way, way out in left field.
I mean that literally.
And please - not a single word of this is intended to in any way change ANY of your opinions in general regarding Christianity, paganism, or anything else.
This here is just my experience, here because you don't understand Christians (or half of us) and I, like most other people, prefer to be understood, if not accepted.
I should probably add that I am very probably also some variety of pagan as well as self-identifying as Christian.

I could, if you wanted, explain how I came to accept that a "Christ-person" came to exist. I'm gonna pass on that for right now. I could detail what my opinion is of a book that has been in partial publication for well over 2,000 years; no one has the originals for; and many people refuse to accept it as the reallly long running game of "telephone" that it is.

For me, the basics of being a Christian, and the teachings of Jesus, are very simple: "Love Me" and "be Groovy to each other".
Yeah, I phrased it that way very deliberately; Jesus, as written, was a hippie. I also believe that there should have been an 11th commandment: "Thou shalt not take thyself too damned seriously".
You know what? I use Tarot cards. I do most of my praying in the woods, alone. I am damned uncomfortable in most churches. I believe my prayers are answered only if God thinks that this is for the best.

What is the main difference between this and what I did back when I self-identified as "Kinda Wiccan"? The name used to identify the creative/motive force of the universe. That's it.

I suppose I am a heretic, then.

Oh, and when you do read the bible? skip the ending. It's a wicked downer. I think that the boyfriend (what wrote it), there, ate the magic mushrooms. Just between you and me.

[magedragonfire.livejournal.com]

Hrrrrm. I see.

You seem to be one of the Christian-folk that I can understand; love, peace, and 'grooviness' being your ideologies and what-not. That's cool. My best friend is another example of such - she's quite devout, but doesn't push her beliefs and faith onto anyone. She may not agree in principle with everything I do, but thinks it's perfectly fine for me to do what I feel is right.

But it seems for every awesome-Christian out there, there are five more that are quite hostile to people of other faiths, or who seem to have forgotten that God got a whole lot more mellow down the line and didn't smite people/unbelievers/sinners quite so much, or that Jesus was preaching about love and fuzzy bunnies and not judging one another. I don't understand where that comes from, or where the mob mentality of 'must CRUSH all other faiths and people who don't agree with us or do what we say!' got acceptable.

I also don't get why people think that God is this great and loving force, when in his own holy book, he's kinda portrayed as an ass/mass murderer/mysoginist for a good deal of it (or at least, that's what it seems like, out of certain passages that I've seen; I think I maybe need context or something). :\

I don't think I'm going to read it right away... I probably need a bit more time to be able to approach it with a more open mind than I'd be able to give it at the moment (used to be quite hostile towards the faith, but I'm getting better at that, heh). But I shall keep in mind the ending - the Book of Revelation? XD

faith from "faithful"

[bastets-place.livejournal.com]

Well, in ANY religion, you will get people who are all about fear, and have no interest in love at all. Notice, I don't say hate - hate comes from fear, condemnation comes from fear. All of these people who feel the need to be right, and in order for them to be right, someone else has to be wrong - all those people are *SCARED*. What if they are not right? What if everybody doesn't believe the way they do, and those other people are happy? Lord, we can't have that!

Honestly, for every one of us noisy "good" Christians, there are probably five noisy "Frightened" ones. Notice I specify noisy - there are also probably ten or eleven quiet Christians who just don't pay that much attention to Christianity, save on Christmas and Easter, couldn't care less what you have for a faith so long as it doesn't injure thier pets or their property values.

Yeah, God is presented interestingly. I love the bit with "Soddam and Gamorrha" in which a "good man" is presented as first offering his virgin daughters up to a rapine mob, then, when he runs off with them to the hills, claims that THEY got HIM drunk and raped HIM, thereby explaining why he got the two of them pregnant. Yeah. I like that book. *grrrr*

My husband used the Bible, Christianity, and Prayer in an effort to convince me that I deserved to be, alternately, neglected, abused, molested, and that I should stay in a situation where my daughter had to watch it. I've got my issues.

And yes, I was referring to the book of revelations.

[honeybadger.livejournal.com]

Copying the disclaimer: not meant to change your thoughts as those are your own business &c &c &c; I just wanted to say this.

Leviticus and Deuteronomy were both in the Old Testament. So were most of the rampant killings.

The Old Testament is obsolete. The coming of Christ and his atonement for us is what nullified it.

Just a fun fact for you. Most people completely ignore this fact in favour of GOD HATES FAGS, but HEY WHAT CAN YOU DO.

[seventhfragment.livejournal.com]

I think I kind of understand what you're saying...but I know for sure that I answer your question completely. XD Try NIV (New International Version), it's what a lot of people are using nowadays.

Anyways... There are many religious zealots who, ironically, represent the bad side of their religion. But hey, what can we do? We can't necessarily stop them... People who are curious to know usually find the answers themselves by searching for the source.
To me, I think God is both portrayed as kind and wrathful. I mean, the Jews being freed from slavery in Egypt, and the whole dying for our sins and we're 'clean' again from Adam's first sin, love your neighbor, don't steal, don't commit adultery. And then there's Noah's Ark, the Tower of Babylon falling, the book of Revelations with the end of the world...

I think it kind of evens out, but there are a lot of hidden messages inside the Bible. You have to take time to figure it out and if you have questions, you just ask around. The way I meditate is through prayer, which is kind of like how Buddhists go to temples and meditate. Praying is just a formal way of meditation, I mean, there's a lot of ways you can just relax and stuff.

I mean, it is comforting to know and read about how someone's always watching over you during times when you're stressed out or you feel like the world's ending. All the bad things that happen to you aren't necessarily signs that God's trying to damn you or anything... you just learn from your mistakes.

Christianity, to me (now that I'm beginning to think about it), is a way to help me become to be a better person. Even though there are stories about how people died in the Bible and what'll happen to you if you don't follow the holy laws, it's like a firm guide to improve your own character.

ehh.

that's all I can really say... but that's just my opinion. =P