Wisdom in Faith

All of the uproar has been about the addition of "sexual orientation" to hate crimes legislation. Are you aware that "religion" is a protected class also?

Section 3, Part a, Part 1, Part C:

IN GENERAL- At the request of State, local, or Tribal law enforcement agency, the Attorney General may provide technical, forensic, prosecutorial, or any other form of assistance in the criminal investigation or prosecution of any crime that—is motivated by prejudice based on the actual or perceived race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability of the victim, or is a violation of the State, local, or Tribal hate crime laws.

Everyone is screaming that their "free speech" rights to bash homosexuals would be violated, why is nobody screaming about the violation of "free speech" rights to bash religion?

A public school art teacher asked his students to paint a picture that would be displayed in the school's hallway. Each student was free to express themselves and there were no religious overtones in the teacher's request. One student painted a picture of Jesus, that was initially displayed with the other paintings, but was later removed when some parents complained. Should this picture have been removed? Why or why not?

The Bible clearly tells Christians not to judge others. Yet, Christianity is one of the most judgemental religions. Why?

Why wouldn't Adam and Eve listen to the serpent? They were forbidden the knowledge to recognize him as evil. They would have seen him as good. If he is thought to be good then why not listen to him? They had no concept of evil, so they wouldn't know any better. How could they have possibly known what the serpent's intentions were when they had no concept of it? Why would Yahweh allow evil to run free around the garden, then forbid Adam and Eve the knowledge to recognize it?

when someone claims that God showed them something outside the bounds of Christian belief, SOME Christians call it the work of Satan? If your answer is that God would never do that, then aren't you limiting God's wisdom?

Nothing turns me off faster than watching some documentary about creationism, when suddenly the Christian god makes a guest appearance as the creator. Even if science could prove creationism beyond a doubt, why is the creator always assumed to be the Christian god? Proof of Creationism doesn't equate to proof of anyone's concept of god. Couldn't it be some god we have no previous revealed knowledge of?

Isn't that a very selfish thing to do? I say God bless the world!

Jesus had to perform miracles to prove he was who he said he was. What proof did Paul have to show that he had authority from God? Why was it so much less than what Jesus himself had to show? What was the purpose of Paul? Wasn't Jesus so inadequate that he need Paul?

The Old Testament calls Jehovah a man of war. Is it any coincidence then that it is the three spawns of Jehovah that are warring in the Middle East right now? Who is Jehovah really?

Some Christians claim that non-Christians are being deceived by Satan. How can Christians be so sure they are not the ones being deceived by Satan? The Old Testament throws into question the nature of the deity being described. Some say that Satan went so far as to plant evidence that seems to contradict the Bible, so why is it that Satan couldn't have planted evidence that supports the Bible to trick people into worshiping him?

If "God" chose your Christian town as his "special people," and commanded you to go to a neighboring town of Atheists and rip their little ones to pieces before their eyes, then thrust threw every man, woman, child, and goat, would you do it? What if he told you to keep all the virgins for yourselves as sex slaves? That is what he asked of his "chosen people" in the Old Testament, and they complied! Would you?

When Hitler had "chosen people," the Aryans, and ordered mass genocide we all agree that was evil. Yet, when Jehovah (the "God" of the OT) has "chosen people," the Israelites, and orders mass genocide, some people see that as a good thing. What makes one evil and one good? Simply because "God" is the perp in the one?

It amazes me how Christians are always crying that the Bible is the infallible "Word of God." Yet, when you point out some of the repulsive things attributed to God in the Old Testament, all of a sudden they deny that the OT God ever did those horrible things. They seem to go into some sort of trance, repeating over and over, God is good, God is Great. Is it the word of God, or isn't it?

I have been told that the pronunciation of the name had been lost, therefore it is not used in the NT. The curious thing though, is that if Jesus was his son (or God himself as some claim), then he would certainly know the name and the pronunciation. Why did God want to be known by that name in the OT, but not in the NT?

Would you want people to seek you out because they genuinely wanted to know you? Or would you send out a book telling people they better believe it or go to that big fry daddy in hell? Would you just reveal yourself, or some other way?

Life is dependent on information. All living things come with instructions called genetic DNA. Every cell in the body contains encoded information. The cells act as processing units to decode and act on that information. Information suggests intelligence. How is intelligent information produced by unintelligent matter?

Many do not know that viruses are not living organisms. Viruses are little packages that contain a sequence of information. When a virus enters the body it deposits it's information into a host cell. The host cell then processes that information, which includes instructions for replication. The whole thing is VERY Matrixy.

Please do not think that I am a Christian trying to trash evolution. I am a Deist and believe that evolution does indeed occur within a species, although not the theory that one species evolved from another. I really want to know if there is a reasoned explanation for intelligent information being formed by unthinking matter?

As a Deist, I believe in a God, AND I also believe in evolution. My belief is based on reason, logic and the evidence. Why must God and evolution be exclusive from each other?

Some Christians pull 1 Corithians 6, and 1 Timothy 1 out of context to justify their intolerance of Gays and Lesbians. A quick survey shows these passages to be unreliable.

The word being translated to "homosexual" in 1 Corithians 6, and 1 Timothy 1 is "arsenokoitai." This word does not appear in Greek writings prior to Paul's use of it in the NT. Paul made the word up!!

During the time of Martin Luther, the word was universally translated as masturbators. It wasn't until the 20th century that it began being translated to homosexual.

Homosexual is a modern translation that did not exist before the 20th century!! Yet, many Christians because of blind faith or hatred take these passages to be the word of God condemning homosexuals.

Did God change? Did he decide masturbation is ok, and turned instead to homosexuals?

Jehovah tells Adam & Eve that they are not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of good & evil. If they do, Jehovah tells them "for IN THE DAY that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die."

The serpent tells Eve "Ye shall not surely die. For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."

As soon as Adam & Eve ate from the tree we are told that their eyes were opened. Jehovah says "Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil"

So, in the day that Adam & Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge, they did NOT die, their eyes were opened, and they had become as gods, knowing good and evil.

The passage states "in the day" they shall surely die, not that the process of death would start.

Jehovah banishes Adam & Eve from the garden, not because of original sin, but because he did not want them to eat from the Tree of Life and live forever. Suggesting that they were already in a state of dying.