[jeniansmom]

The Bible is a great historical text and teaching tool.
Even if you believe in God, using The Bible literally to define modern day life does not compute on many levels. Times have changed. The Bible was written by people, and even if they were inspired to it by divine intervention, they were living in a very different time and their words were influenced by those times.
Retired bishop John Shelby Spong has been writing about how to interpret The Bible to make it relevant to modern day Christians for years. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Shelby_Spong

Also. as a person who has been married for many years, I say, let everyone equally enjoy both the misery and joy of it When it comes to sexuality, if you're not hurting anyone, everyone is adult and competent, and it's all consensual, have at it.

[kerovon]

Torah is the only accurate title for the topic simply because at some point Christ declared the Old Testament invalid since he had arrived.

I'm not finding the verse. In class and too lazy due to projects for finals.

Matthew 5:17

"Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.

Depending on the translation, "fulfill" can be interpreted as anything ranging from "validate" to "obey" to "complete".

This is pretty highly debated, but there is no actual part of the bible that conclusively abolishes the Old Testament as far as I'm aware.

[ChronicTacos]

@Kero
Your thoughts on New vs Old Testament?
Yes, it's a broad question but I would like to know more about what you think about the two testaments.

Done with classes for the day and heading home since my laptop is almost dead.
Will continue this once home. ~20 - 30 minutes from now.

[CirJohn]

Torah is the only accurate title for the topic simply because at some point Christ declared the Old Testament invalid since he had arrived.

I'm not finding the verse. In class and too lazy due to projects for finals.

Kress, only you and King James would think that changing the rules because you don't like them is a valid arguement. (though it has been proven a valid TACTIC)

Edit@Faeyn - My particular interest in Genesis is as a story, and how that story was used by ancient man to describe his world. Anywhere you'd like to start along those lines?

[fritterdonut]

Summary of my beliefs:

The Big Bang created the universe as we know it. Until science proves otherwise, I'll assume that this was an act of God. However, I believe that God did not have much interference after that. We evolved out of the primordial ooze, and turned into the free-thinking humans we are today. I believe he did give the commandments to Moses, after seeing the suffering of the hebrews under Egyptian rule. Upon seeing the wickedness of man, God sent his son, embodied in Jesus Christ, whose death absolved us of sin. From then on, I take the New Testament at face value, as the early Christian Church grew. I believe there is a heaven, but I believe the day of judgement spoken of in Revelations will come by our own hand, not God's.

TL;DR: God exists, but only very rarely interfered with our universe.

[ramien123]

Torah is the only accurate title for the topic simply because at some point Christ declared the Old Testament invalid since he had arrived.

I'm not finding the verse. In class and too lazy due to projects for finals.

Seeing as you misunderstood what Jesus meant, I will post the actual quote that you may be refering to.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." Matthew 5:17

This is not him declaring the Old Testament invalid, not at all. According to Jesus(at least, according to what Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John claim Jesus actually said) he was not declaring the Old Testament "invalid" because to do so would defy the Word of God. Rather, he was attempting to redefine and expand upon the moral, ethical, and societal codes that the Old Testament contained. This can be seen in Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28, 38-42, and 43-44, among other places.

Instead of following simple the Old Testament as the Law of the Land and the way to spiritual salvation, Jesus proposed a new understanding of the covenant made by Moses, one that was pure and untainted by the hands and minds of mankind. He instead adds new ideas and morals to the old, purging the uneeded or base commands. His redefined scripture revolves around a central, bindin idea, which is found in Luke 10:25-28.

"Just then a lawyer stood up to test Jesus. "Teacher," he said, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What do you read there?" 27 He answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." 28 And he said to him, "You have given the right answer; do this, and you will live."-New Revised Standard Edition of the Bible

He affirms this new, revised covenant during the Last Supper, when he says, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood". It is important to understand that he is not, and never intended to, declare the Old Testament invalid. He was at heart, after all, a Jew.
(Try to imagine this as an Amendment to the Constitution, if you can't quite get the entire picture)

Moving on from this, I am an atheist. The Universe was created by the Big Bang, which was started either by a being who has since died or become uninterested with its creation, or by some scientific mehod that would make my brain explode.

However, anyone who says that the entire Bible(you need to capitalize it, it is a book) is fake is not only insulting peoples faiths but also the message that Jesus is trying to give. Personally, I believe that Jesus Christ was a historical figure, and he has indeed been proven to be an actual person who lived on this earth, but that he was no son of "God". He was simply a man who had beautiful, wonderful ideas about how humans should treat each other and themselves. His followers might have embellished upon his "exploits" a large amount, but his message is still important.

[ChronicTacos]

Summary of my beliefs:

The Big Bang created the universe as we know it. Until science proves otherwise, I'll assume that this was an act of God. However, I believe that God did not have much interference after that. We evolved out of the primordial ooze, and turned into the free-thinking humans we are today. I believe he did give the commandments to Moses, after seeing the suffering of the hebrews under Egyptian rule. Upon seeing the wickedness of man, God sent his son, embodied in Jesus Christ, whose death absolved us of sin. From then on, I take the New Testament at face value, as the early Christian Church grew. I believe there is a heaven, but I believe the day of judgement spoken of in Revelations will come by our own hand, not God's.

TL;DR: God exists, but only very rarely interfered with our universe.

"Big Bang was the act of God," haven't heard that one before.
I believe in science and not at all religious.
What I don't get is the story of Adam & Eve, being banished from the Garden.
Yet this God still accepts us into "Heaven"?

[ramien123]

Yes Chronic. Adam and Eve sinned against God and, according to the Bible, Jesus's sacrifice freed us from their "Original Sin" which allows us into heaven.

[BSGSamuel]

Sounds legit.

[ChronicTacos]

Yes Chronic. Adam and Eve sinned against God and, according to the Bible, Jesus's sacrifice freed us from their "Original Sin" which allows us into heaven.

So God sent his own son to free us?