Mom

If man was "metaphorically" made in God's image, then how many other things God said and did were metaphors?

Did Jesus metaphorically die on the cross?

Did God metaphorically send Satan to watch over Hell?

When the Bible stated, "Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones." (Psalm 137:9). Did it mean dash them against stones metaphorically? Or that people would be happy metaphorically?

When God called Jews his chosen people (in the Old Testament) did he mean they would be his chosen people *metaphorically*?

Seems to me that saying God used metaphors is just a cop-out for denying the stuff people don't like.

Once upon a time there lived an unhappy young girl. Her mother was dead and her father had married a widow with two daughters. Her stepmother didn't like her one little bit. All her kind thoughts and loving touches were for her own daughters. Nothing was too good for them - dresses, shoes, delicious food, soft beds, and every home comfort.

But, for the poor unhappy girl, there was nothing at all. No dresses, only her stepsisters’ hand-me-downs. No lovely dishes, nothing but scraps. No rest and no comfort. She had to work hard all day. Only when evening came was she allowed to sit for a while by the fire, near the cinders. That’s why everybody called her Cinderella.

Cinderella used to spend long hours all alone talking to the cat. The cat said, . Miaow. , which really meant, . Cheer up! You have something neither of your stepsisters has and that is beauty.. It was quite true. Cinderella, even dressed in old rags, was a lovely girl. While her stepsisters, no matter how splendid and elegant their clothes, were still clumsy, lumpy and ugly and always would be.

One day, beautiful new dresses arrived at the house. A ball was to be held at the palace and the stepsisters were getting ready to go. Cinderella didn't even dare ask if she could go too. She knew very well what the answer would be: . You? You're staying at home to wash the dishes, scrub the floors and turn down the beds for your stepsisters. They will come home tired and very sleepy.. Cinderella sighed, . Oh dear, I'm so unhappy!. and the cat murmured . Miaow..

Suddenly something amazing happened. As Cinderella was sitting all alone, there was a burst of light and a fairy appeared. . Don't be alarmed, Cinderella,. said the fairy. . I know you would love to go to the ball. And so you shall!. . How can I, dressed in rags?. Cinderella replied. . The servants will turn me away!.

The fairy smiled. With a flick of her magic wand Cinderella found herself wearing the most beautiful dress she had ever seen. . Now for your coach,. said the fairy; "A real lady would never go to a ball on foot! Quick! Get me a pumpkin!. . Oh of course,. said Cinderella, rushing away. Then the fairy turned to the cat. . You, bring me seven mice, and, remember they must be alive!.

Cinderella soon returned with the pumpkin and the cat with seven mice he had caught in the cellar. With a flick of the magic wand the pumpkin turned into a sparkling coach and the mice became six white horses, while the seventh mouse turned into a coachman in a smart uniform and carrying a whip. Cinderella could hardly believe her eyes.

Cinderella had a wonderful time at the ball until she heard the first stroke of midnight! She remembered what the fairy had said, and without a word of goodbye she slipped from the Prince. s arms and ran down the steps. As she ran she lost one of her slippers, but not for a moment did she dream of stopping to pick it up! If the last stroke of midnight were to sound... oh... what a disaster that would be! Out she fled and vanished into the night.

The Prince, who was now madly in love with her, picked up the slipper and said to his ministers, “Go and search everywhere for the girl whose foot this slipper fits. I will never be content until I find her!”

So the ministers tried the slipper on the foot of every girl in the land until only Cinderella was left.

That awful untidy girl simply cannot have been at the ball,. snapped the stepmother. . Tell the Prince he ought to marry one of my two daughters! Can't you see how ugly Cinderella is?. But, to everyone. s amazement, the shoe fitted perfectly.

Suddenly the fairy appeared and waved her magic wand. In a flash, Cinderella appeared in a splendid dress, shining with youth and beauty. Her stepmother and stepsisters gaped at her in amazement, and the ministers said, "Come with us Cinderella! The Prince is waiting for you." So Cinderella married the Prince and lived happily ever. As for the cat, he just said "Miaow!"

(http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/clie...

The story of Cinderella was passed along orally for centuries before it was written down by Charles Perrault in 1697.

The oldest known version of Cinderella is tale of the Greco-Egyptian girl Rhodopis, known as “rosy-cheeked”, who lived in the Greek colony of Naucratis in Ancient Egypt around the 1st century B.C.

(http://www.bigsiteofamazingfacts.com/how-did-cinde...

So, by most Christians' definition, Cinderella was a real girl. The story was spread by many people verbally for hundreds of years before it was written down, and nothing in the story says it was false.

So why don't we worship Cinderella instead? She seems much nicer.

I'm a divorced mom with 3 boys, ages 10, 7, and 4. My oldest son beats up his 7 year old brother on a near daily basis. He calls the rest of us names, and screams "I hate you!" at me several times per week. He's been in counseling for a couple of years now, and has been labeled as a Narcissist by his counselor. He's on anti-depressants, and the behavioral therapy isn't helping because he thinks he is perfect just the way he is.

What more can I do? My friends and family say I should literally knock some sense into him, but I don't want him to think that it's acceptable to respond to violence with violence. But now my 4 year old is screaming, "I hate you!" and shaking his fist at me. I'm at a loss.

I don't want my oldest to think that when things get hard you ditch your family, but I'm wondering if it would be best if I sent him to live with his father. His father won't take him to his counseling, or help him with his homework, or do anything besides ignore him most of the time. Admittedly, it's not the best solution for my oldest.

Right now I feel like I'm sacrificing my other 2 boys' well-being for his. But at what point do I sacrifice his well-being for the sake of my other 2 children?

I bought my new van (a Chevy Uplander) about 2 years ago, and it has only 26,000 miles on it. I've had the anti lock brakes fail twice, the fuel injector replaced 3 times, one of the passenger doors broke and would not open (after being adjusted because it wouldn't close). The headlights went wonky on me once, the check engine light goes off on a regular basis, the sensors have been fixed a couple times, and right now it currently says I have no front right tire. And that is just what I remember off the top of my head.

It's not covered under the lemon law, because the same thing had to go wrong 4 times within the first 18,000 miles, and that didn't happen. But because trade-in value is so crummy on vans, I cannot afford to trade it in. But this is absolutely ridiculous. I don't feel safe driving my children in it. Does anyone know of any organization or consumer protection agency that can help with defective cars not covered under lemon laws?

We have 3 kids, ages 10, 6, and 3. We divorced almost 4 years ago.

He visits them about once a year, for a few days. He calls them about once every 3 months, and he frequently forgets their Birthdays. I found out quite by accident that he remarried a few weeks ago, and when I talked to his mother about it, she said he wants to "surprise" the kids with their step-mom when he visits this summer (about 6 months away).

I personally think that's a horrible idea. I think he needs to tell them sooner, so they can come to terms with it before they meet her. As it is, since he rarely has any contact with them, I'm afraid that if he shows up out of nowhere with a new family, that they will think he prefers his new family to them, and feel abandoned and left out. I'm afraid they will feel take it out on their new step-mom, as well as everyone else around them.

But is it my place to tell them since he won't? What should I do?

I've got an assignment for my Philosophy class that asks me to interview at least 10 people, preferably of different religions and cultures. Since my social network is rather small at the moment, I thought I might get a wider variety of answers here. I'd appreciate any answers given.

1) Do you believe in God?

2) What are your reasons?

3) What is your conception of the God you do or do not believe in?

4) What sort of data or experience (if any) might cause you to change your belief? Why?

Thanks in advance!

*DISCLAIMER* The following post is not intended to insult, generalize, or degrade any beliefs. I ask this question hoping for honest answers.

Over the last few weeks of frequenting this site, I’ve noticed a pattern. Many Christians say that non-believers are only focusing on the bad things in the Bible instead of the good things. They say that non-believers should learn the entire Bible, because then they would “see the truth” and “know the love and acceptance.” So I will continue on the premise that the Bible contains both good and evil.

However, my question is this: How many Christians here think homosexuality is against God? How many think abortion is wrong? How many believe that those who don’t follow Jesus are evil people who will burn in Hell? How many think Obama is evil simply because his father was a Muslim?

And why is this? Is it because the Bible teaches these things?

So even though the Bible teaches love and acceptance, Christians join in this hatred because the Bible teaches it? How is that love and acceptance? Perhaps the non-believers have a point when they say they don’t approve of all the hatred being taught in the Bible after all?

I am not religious myself, but I enjoy learning about religions and how they perceive various things.

My question is about our time line. If BC is "Before Christ" and AD is "After his Death", then how do Jews feel about our calendar years? Do they have another way of recording our time line? How would the year 2000 AD be recorded on the Jewish calender?

Thank you!