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Old 21st December 2008, 04:13 AM   #34
Ageing Grace
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Join Date: Nov 2008
Posts: 738
Re: Do christian/atheist marriages work?

Aargh I replied to Allie's post without realising this was an old - powerfully argued - and very long thread!

Were I in Allie's situation, the preceding pages would scare the living daylights out of me! I stick by what I said to her - Christianity (and islam, and judaism, and the rest) come in many flavours. In every case the intention is benign but problems arise when one's reading of scriptures leads one to believe one is MORE RIGHT than everyone else.

Christ's big message, I believe, was one of understanding, tolerance and compassion. All of the great prophets preached pretty much the same.

It's a lesson that needs to be re-taught for each generation, but it's hardly rocket science. All of their teachings are easily subverted to fill passing needs. How come? Because the scriptures we have are verbal histories, passed along by 'chinese whispers' and written down, hundreds of years later, by assorted historians of their time - in languages that are now defunct.

Unless you are an expert in Aramaic, you do not know exactly what the Bible or the Torah says. Even the academics who wrote those first scrolls worked separately, from 300-year-old folklore. This is why there are so many various interpretations. The men who wrote it down for us tried to pass it ALL on, trusting that we would possess the wisdom to filter out the great truths to live by. Many today, as it turns out, do. Many don't.

You think there's One Truth in the bible? Consider this. It's fairly fundamental. God created woman (Eve) out of man (Adam's rib), right?

* Right, according to Genesis 2 - King James translation, general version:
"And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 21 And he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her to the man."

* Wrong, according to Genesis 1 - same translation:
" 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said to them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it ... "

According to your reading of Genesis 1, God either created a unisex human or created male & female at the same time. Also they were not created out of dirt. G1 was written before G2, that's why James's translators put them in that order.

It doesn't mean one version is better than another ...
I'm simply trying to point out that scriptures (this applies to them all) as doctrine don't work - unless they have been edited & subverted by preachers looking to use them for their own means.

Each one of the great Middle-Eastern prophets: Moses, Jesus, Mohammed and the others - taught compassion, sharing & learning.

Each one of them rose to influence as their people were being forced to comply with the edicts of some other culture; they stood up and said "Hang on a minute! This isn't how human beings treat other! We know; we sense; we are better than that." In each case, god was with them - or, the better side of human nature if you will.

If there is One Truth in the Bible, it's the truth that is also in the Torah and in the Koran: Love is the key. Compassion is strength, and tolerance is power.

I am not made of dirt (unless you want to get into quantum physics, in which case everything is made of everything!). I wasn't born sinful: I was born fresh & new, like every newborn everywhere. So were you

Mixed grrrs & aaahs
AG

Last edited by Ageing Grace; 21st December 2008 at 04:48 AM. Reason: odd spacing
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