Confused about Christ?

Motar

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40 Questions for Christians Now Waving Rainbow Flags | TGC

The previous blog by Kevin DeYoung, a senior pastor of University Reformed Church in East Lansing, Michigan appeared recently on The Gospel Coalition website. It is followed to date by 170 posts, one of which includes the following comments by Chris: "I am not a Christian, however for a large part of my life I considered myself a “born again."

Chris' comments highlight the extent of confusion in contemporary culture concerning Christianity. What is Christianity? Are you a Christian? Who is Christ?
 

gerryh

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Nov 21, 2004
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so deyoung is a bigot.... no real surprise. People like him like to "limit" those that "can get into heaven". They HAVE to come up with some kind of reason why the majority will be "going to hell" rather than to Heaven where all the righteous, like him, will be. Actually, a better word for those like him would be self-righteous, rather than righteous.
 

Cliffy

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Nov 19, 2008
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Contemporary Christianity is confused. You only need to ask yourself, "what would Jesus do?" If you don't love your neighbour as yourself, if you don't help the poor and feed the children, then you are no Christian. Jesus said we are all children of god. That means even gays are your brothers and sisters. There is nowhere in the bible that god says homosexuality is evil or a sin. The only place there is any mention of it is in rabbinical law (Leviticus and Deuteronomy). Nowhere does Jesus even mention it. So if you have a problem with gays, that is just your prejudice and you are using Leviticus as a crutch to justify your prejudice.
 

damngrumpy

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Mar 16, 2005
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Actually the Evangelicals are the ones confused they do limit those who are going
to paradise. People like me tend to say well if they are going to let them in I am not
going myself
 

Dexter Sinister

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Oct 1, 2004
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No, I am not confused about Christ. He's a mostly mythological hero character whose story has much in common with other stories about other such characters, and there almost certainly was a charismatic apocalyptic Jewish preacher in first century Palestine whose reality is the core of the myth. But resurrected Son o' God, miracle worker, redeemer, saviour? No, that's the mythological part.
 
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JLM

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Nov 27, 2008
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Contemporary Christianity is confused. You only need to ask yourself, "what would Jesus do?" If you don't love your neighbour as yourself, if you don't help the poor and feed the children, then you are no Christian. Jesus said we are all children of god. That means even gays are your brothers and sisters. There is nowhere in the bible that god says homosexuality is evil or a sin. The only place there is any mention of it is in rabbinical law (Leviticus and Deuteronomy). Nowhere does Jesus even mention it. So if you have a problem with gays, that is just your prejudice and you are using Leviticus as a crutch to justify your prejudice.

I think you got it right, Cliffy. I think a lot of what's wrong is denominational religion and the Bible thumpers involved with it. A lot of busy bodies, mainly interested in controlling people in things they don't know anything about! (If I'm not being politically correct, it might be on purpose) :) :)

No, I am not confused about Christ. He's a mostly mythological hero character whose story has much in common with other stories about other such characters, and there almost certainly was a charismatic apocalyptic Jewish preacher in first century Palestine whose reality is the core of the myth. But Son o' God, miracle worker, redeemer, saviour? No, that's the mythological part.

Lots of people believe that!
 

Cliffy

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Lots of people believe that!
That's because if you study the history of ancient religions and the bible, it is the only conclusion you can come to. Most people start out by assuming it is the word of god and only read the contents.It is an extraordinary book with a lot of wisdom but has a lot of nonsense, tons of contradictions and a generous helping of BS. God/Creator/whatever cannot be found in books. It is something you experience or you don't.
 

Motar

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Jun 18, 2013
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Nowhere does Jesus even mention it.

"Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning 'the Creator made them male and female', and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"? (Matthew 19:4-5)
 

Cliffy

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"Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning 'the Creator made them male and female', and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"? (Matthew 19:4-5)
How does that condemn homosexuality? It doesn't even mention it. You are really reaching for straws to justify your prejudice. If you knew anything about the culture of the time, homosexuality was as prevalent at the time as it is now. If Jesus considered it a sin, then why doesn't he mention it?
 

Tecumsehsbones

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"Haven't you read,' he replied, 'that at the beginning 'the Creator made them male and female', and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh"? (Matthew 19:4-5)
So, marriage is mandatory? I don't see any language in there that says a man "may" leave. . . it says a man "will" leave. . . and be united.

Is anybody who isn't married disobeying God?
 

Motar

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How does that condemn homosexuality? It doesn't even mention it. You are really reaching for straws to justify your prejudice. If you knew anything about the culture of the time, homosexuality was as prevalent at the time as it is now. If Jesus considered it a sin, then why doesn't he mention it?

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:19 NIV)
 

Cliffy

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"For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander." (Matthew 15:19 NIV)
The heart doesn't think. It feels. Minds think and not always nice things. What is sexual immorality anyway? If you don't like certain things, like homosexuality or abortion, then don't do them. Just because you think it is evil doesn't make it so. What other people do with their lives is really none of your business.
 

Motar

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The heart doesn't think. It feels. Minds think and not always nice things. What is sexual immorality anyway? If you don't like certain things, like homosexuality or abortion, then don't do them. Just because you think it is evil doesn't make it so. What other people do with their lives is really none of your business.

Is pedophilia sexually immoral?
 

Cliffy

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Did Jesus specifically identify pedophilia as sexually immoral in the written record?
There is no written record. Most of the NT was written so long after the fact that it not much more than second hand hear say. But according to those stories he did not.