Re: You blinded me with Science (no Who)

[Joe Lewinski <lewinski@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Helen responded:
>Hey Joe,
>you get the whole thing wrong. God is not about punishment. If you bother to
>read the Bible (being a man of science, you certainly should. It very well
>answers the questions you put in this post. You ARE a man of science, and
>men of science shouldn`t be narrow-minded).

Helen:

I don't mind being called narrow-minded when I am being narrow-minded.
In this instance, let's just say we don't agree here.  ;)

The Bible (capitalized only because it is a book title), is only a book.
This is a difference in our approach that I'm afraid divides us.
According to all Christian faiths based on the Bible (the Dead Sea Scrolls
Version, the King James Version, the Mormon Version, the New Southern 
Baptist -with-Mary-and-Jesus-as-Blacks- Version, etc.) God punishes Man
in many of the stories.

I have read this book, and always come away wondering how people can
buy this.  I will postulate that it is because they want to be lead,
protected and feel purposeful, and their hope wins out over logic.

The lessons of love as 

It says that if one is not a follower one is left out.  In this case
*left out* is not a pleasant experience even for a few minutes, let
alone an eternity.  

So you may believe that what the Bible says is that God is not about
punishment, but the way I read it if you are not a follower, you are damned.
I don't believe in this so I'm okay with the story that was concocted many
years ago to get people to stay in line.

I understand love and loyalty and all of these things, but this scenario
sounds like blackmail to me.   

If there is a god, I don't think he practices blackmail.

Joe in Philly




Joe Lewinski
ICANON Associates, Inc.
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